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Detroit Free
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The dredge Arthur J and tug Madison sank July 18 in Lake Huron. / United States Coast Guard
Contaminated water news:
Lake Huron, Canada – Coast Guard refloats boat that sank in Lake Huron.
The dredge that sent a two-mile fuel slick into Lake Huron when it sank July 18 was successfully refloated early today, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
In an update issued today, the Coast Guard said smooth water conditions allowed salvage operators to go back into the water at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. The Arthur J, a 100-foot-long dredge, was sitting in 22 feet of water after it — and the tug pushing it — sank in choppy conditions about two miles offshore. The incident sent an fuel slick onshore, washing onto beaches in Lakeport, north of Port Huron, before salvage operators stopped the flow.
Work crews used compressors Sunday to blow air into water-tight compartments, refloating the boat at 3 a.m. today.
“Although challenged by adverse weather conditions and sea state throughout the week, everything came together today to execute a safe, technical and organized salvage operation,” U.S. Coast Guard Commander Gary Koehler said in the statement about the salvage. “The professionalism and cooperation from all parties involved was truly impressive and instrumental to eliminating any further threat to this pristine international waterway.”
The owner and operator of the dredge Arthur J and Tug Madison, MCM Marine, Inc., hired environmental and salvage experts, which helped stem the environmental impact of the spill, Koehler said in the statement.
All local area beaches are now open. Cleanup crews are expected to complete a final inspection of the beaches to ensure they meet approval by the state of Michigan and St. Clair County Health Department officials once the dredge and containment boom are cleared from the site, according to the Coast Guard.
Anyone who notices debris washing onshore should contact St. Clair County Emergency Dispatch at 810-985-8115.
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Once a fishing and camping retreat among cool Ponderosa pines, Bonito Lake today is filled with silt and ash from the Little Bear Fire and is no longer viable as a drinking water source for the city of Alamogordo.
The odor of charred trees and rotting fish permeates the air.
“The lake is ruined,” Justin King said. “It will take several years of major dredging to correct this. It’s holding more than 40 feet of silt.”
Crews working around the lake are focusing on keeping the level below the spillway to prevent more damage downstream, he said Tuesday during a multiple agency morning briefing.
“We have three pumps working the lake now, moving 10,000 gallons per minute, but we’re unable to keep up with the inflow,” King said. Two more pumps will be installed by Wednesday to increase the pumpage to 20,000 gpm, he said.
“We had the lake down 18 feet below the spillway, but with the three rain events, it’s up to 5 feet, 6 inches below today. Yesterday alone, it went up 18 inches,” King said. “The goal is to maintain the water below the spillway, so all we have to be concerned about are the lower reaches of the Bonito (River). If for some reason it does come over the spillway, it’s, ‘Katy, bar the door,’ because there is no way we can handle those flows down the stream. We’re really trying to keep take level down so we can continue to capture everything coming from North Fork and South Fork.”
Pipelines removing the water, silt and ash are being run down the spillway and along the roadsides. While the fire that approached the lake stayed mostly on the ground, reaching only one area of the canopy, it devastated the drainages and canyons leading into the lake. Wherever the funding originates, “We’re not going to stop pumping,” said Don Scott with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Response. If one source runs out, the dollars will come from either the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the city of Alamogordo until new contracts are in place.
Residents and visitors must be alert even in areas outside the burn zone, King said.
“The springs will begin running again like they haven’t since the 1970s with the increased aquifer recharge,” he said. “All those canyons and drainages were here for a reason. This county used to flow water.”
People who have no business on Bonito Lake Road or in the recreation areas run by the city at West Lake or the U.S. Forest Service at South Fork should stay out. Heavy equipment is operating, many workers will be on foot and the road is down to one lane.
“Drivers should have their headlights on and not exceed 15 mph,” Scott said, adding, “Contractors who can’t behave with their speed need to be pulled off the mountain. Some have been hot-dogging because no one is up there.”
Beth Mitchell, with the U.S. Forest Service and a member of the Burned Area Emergency Response team, said additional law enforcement officers have been requested to heighten security.
“We are keeping a ‘hard closure’ of the burn area in place and have several additional officers on order and they should be in as soon as possible for more security,” she said. “We’re in a support function for this operation when you need help. With the fire activity nationwide, I don’t know how many we will get.”
Mitchell said despite the rain, seeding and mulching on vegetation stripped land is proceeding with just a few delays waiting for windows in the weather to fly.
More than 19,000 acres are being seeded and 11,000 acres will be mulched on top of the seeding, which will consist primarily of annual barley and native grasses.
“Barley sprouts within three to four days and will help stabilize the soil, reduce runoff and erosion, and reduce impacts downstream from these rains on private land, roads, bridges and infrastructure,” she said. The seeding/mulching approach has been found to be as much as 90 percent effective for recovery after a fire, she said.
State Environment Department officials are sampling drinking water sources and to date have not found “bad” bacteria. But sample bottles for residents with written instructions on how to sample and where to drop off the samples, were to be available late Tuesday at the Little Bear Recovery Center on New Mexico 48 in the former Mormon Church.
Debra Ingle of Greentree Solid Waste said she moved debris containers to Villa Madonna subdivision and Monjeau, but they are stuck up there, because the road washed out.
“Asbestos still is a problem and we are providing bags for containment,” she said. “Seventy-one percent of these homes are asbestos. People are trying to bury (debris) along the river in locations they shouldn’t and we will be stopping that today. Please remember asbestos is out there and should be handled correctly.”
Michele Caskey, Lincoln County public information officer, said she was scheduled to talk about the flood preparations on three different radio programs that day. “We’re trying to do our radio blast every morning and that’s working,” she said. “We expect as water levels start to rise to receive more calls from residents. We have two PIOs working on information lines, 258-4636. Anyone with questions should call right here. We’re at the command center and know what’s going on with the most up-to-date information.”
As the water level rises in streams, more television news crews from outside the county will begin to show up, she said. Caskey asked section leaders to report their locations to her and to escort them out of any unsafe situations. “We certainly don’t want any news crews being swept down stream today,” she said.
Despite many successful water projects, billions of people still lack adequate water and sanitation
Save the Water™ does not represent nor endorse the postings herein or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information furnished by the author.
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Fernando Salazar
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Fracking – Injection wells -An unseen leak, then boom.
Firefighters continue to watch the flame go at what used to be Woody’s Appliance store in downtown Hutchinson on January 21, 2001 four days after an explosion rocked the city. (Photo by Fernando Salazar)
On Jan. 17, 2001, Hutchinson, Kan., awoke to an apocalypse.
Gas that had silently collected inside a downtown appliance store ignited, reducing two buildings to tinder carcasses and shattering windows for blocks.
Three miles away, a geyser of gas shot out of the earth, sending mud and rocks 30 feet into the air. Elsewhere, the ground popped open like the rotten hull of a boat, spraying brown briny water or catching fire.
The next morning, just when the earth seemed to recover its temper, a new plume of gas and water shot through the floor of a mobile home, killing two people. Hundreds of other Hutchinson residents were evacuated from their homes, many for months.
The mysterious disaster claimed national headlines, but there was little public discussion of the fact that it was caused by problems with underground injection wells.
Among a small community of geologists and regulators, however, the explosions in Hutchinson — which ranked among the worst injection-related accidents in history — exposed fundamental risks of underground leakage and prompted fresh doubts about the geological science of injection itself.
Geologists in Hutchinson determined that the eruptions had sprung from an underground gas storage field seven miles away. For years, a local utility had injected natural gas between 600 and 900 feet down into old salt caverns, storing it in a rock layer believed to be airtight so that it could later be pumped back out and sold. The gas had leaked out and migrated miles into abandoned injection wells once used to mine salt, then shot to the surface.
“It was an unusual event,” said Bill Bryson, a member of the Kansas Geological Survey and a former head of the Kansas Corporation Commission’s oil and gas conservation division. “Nobody really had a feeling that if there was a leak, it would travel seven miles and hit wells that were unknown.”
Though regulated under different laws than waste injection wells, gas storage wells operate under similar principles and assumptions: that deeply buried layers of rock will prevent injected substances from leaking into water supplies or back to the surface.
In this case the injected material had done everything that scientists usually describe as impossible: It migrated over a large distance, travelled upward through rock, reached the open air and then blew up.
The case, described as “a continuing series of geologic surprises and unexpected complexities” by the Kansas Geological Survey, flummoxed some of the leading injection experts in the world.
Perhaps more troubling was that some of the officials assumed to be most knowledgeable about injection wells and the risks of underground storage seemed oblivious to the conditions that led to the accident.
“The existence of those widespread formations and old salt-solution wells was unknown to the operators of the storage facility, the Kansas State Geologic Survey, city personnel, and its inhabitants,” noted a 2006 paper authored by Sally Benson, a leading geoscientist at Lawrence Berkeley Lab’s earth sciences division, and others. “It is still not clear how long the leakage occurred.”
Bryson agrees that officials should have known more about the number of abandoned wells in the area, but he says that otherwise Kansas’ regulations worked as intended.
The cause of the accident was identified because workers were diligently monitoring pressure changes in the gas injection well, as they are required to do. Once in a while, accidents are going to happen, he said.
“How far do you go to make sure that nothing will ever happen?” he said. “Lets face it: Something is going to go wrong… states have to be trusted enough to let us deal with that.”
Flickr/prizepony
Methanol appeared most often in hydraulic fracturing products (in terms of the number of compounds containing the chemical).
Found in antifreeze, paint solvent and vehicle fuel.
Vapors can cause eye irritation, headache and fatigue, and in high enough doses can be fatal. Swallowing may cause eye damage or death.
BTEX compounds
Flcikr/arimoore
The BTEX compounds – benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene – are listed as hazardous air pollutants in the Clean Air Act and contaminents in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Benzene, commonly found in gasoline, is also a known human carcinogen. Long time exposure can cause cancer, bone marrow failure, or leukemia. Short term effects include dizziness, weakness, headache, breathlessness, chest constriction, nausea, and vomiting. Toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes have harmful effects on the central nervous system. The hydraulic fracturing companies injected 11.4 million gallons of products containing at least one BTEX chemical between 2005 and 2009.
Diesel fuel
A carcinogen listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act and a contaminant in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
In its 2004 report, the EPA stated that the “use of diesel fuel in fracturing fluids poses the greatest threat” to underground sources of drinking water.
Hydraulic fracturing companies injected more than 30 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel in wells in 19 states.
Diesel fuel contains toxic constituents, including BTEX compounds. Contact with skin may cause redness, itching, burning, severe skin damage and cancer. (Kerosene is also used. Found in jet and rocket fuel, the vapor can cause irritation of the eyes and nose, and ingestion can be fatal. Chronic exposure may cause drowsiness, convulsions, coma or death.)
Lead
Flickr/matthileo
A carcinogen found in paint, building construction materials and roofing joints.
It is listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the Clean Air Act and a contaminant in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Lead is particularly harmful to children’s neurological development. It also can cause reproductive problems, high blood pressure, and nerve disorders in adults.
One of the hydraulic fracturing companies used 780 gallons of a product containing lead between 2005 and 2009.
Hydrogen fluoride
Flickr/Molly Des Jardin
Found in rust removers, aluminum brighteners and heavy duty cleaners.
Listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the Clean Air Act.
Fumes are highly irritating, corrosive, and poisonous. Repeated ingestion over time can lead to hardening of the bones, and contact with liquid can produce severe burns. A lethal dose is 1.5 grams.
Absorption of substantial amounts of hydrogen fluoride by any route may be fatal.
One of the hydraulic fracturing companies used 67,222 gallons of two products containing hydrogen fluoride in 2008 and 2009.
Naphthalene
Flickr/CraftyGoat
A carcinogen found in mothballs.
Listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the Clean Air Act.
Inhalation can cause respiratory tract irritation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever or death.
Sulfuric acid
Flickr/yetanotherdave
A carcinogen found in lead-acid batteries for cars.
Corrosive to all body tissues. Inhalation may cause serious lung damage and contact with eyes can lead to a total loss of vision. The lethal dose is between 1 teaspoonful and one-half ounce.
Crystalline silica
Source: ProPublica
A carcinogen found in concrete, brick mortar and construction sands.
Dust is harmful if inhaled repeatedly over a long period of time and can lead to silicosis or cancer.
Formaldehyde
Flickr/Stadtkatze
A carcinogen found in embalming agents for human or animal remains.
Ingestion of even one ounce of liquid can cause death. Exposure over a long period of time can cause lung damage and reproductive problems in women.
Unknown chemicals
Flickr/SoulRider.222
“Many of the hydraulic fracturing fluids contain chemical components that are listed as ‘proprietary’ or ‘trade secret.’ The companies used 94 million gallons of 279 products that contained at least one chemical or component that the manufacturers deemed proprietary or a trade secret. In many instances, the oil and gas service companies were unable to identify these ‘proprietary’ chemicals,suggesting that the companies are injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify.”
Despite many successful water projects, billions of people still lack adequate water and sanitation
Save the Water™ does not represent nor endorse the postings herein or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information furnished by the author.
For your surfing
pleasure here
are some links in our revamped web site
The material posted is
courtesy of Abrahm Lustgarten ProPublica
Save the Water™
Water Research
Education Dept.
and is shared as
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For the better part of a decade, Rev. David Hudson has been fighting to uncover what’s polluting the water in his home town.
Hudson moved to DeBerry, Texas, a poor, predominantly black community straddling the Louisiana border in 2002.
DeBerry lies in the heart of the Haynesville Shale natural gas development. When Hudson moved in, the area was littered with injection wells used to deposit waste from oil and gas drilling deep beneath the earth.
The well sites – often located just a few yards from residents’ doorsteps – were busy industrial zones clogged with truck traffic and holding tanks. Oil stains spattered the ground around pipes where waste was pumped underground.
Hudson said he soon noticed that his well water had a metallic flavor and a sharp smell. Congregants in his church told him theirs was cloudy and salty to taste, leaving rings in toilets and sinks. They said they had been complaining to Texas officials since 1996, yet no one had investigated.
“Our cries, they just fall on deaf ears,” Hudson said.
Shortly after moving to DeBerry, Hudson sent water from his well and four of his neighbors’ to be tested for pollutants. The results showed high levels of chlorides, chemicals found in drilling waste, a federal report said.
According to the report, Hudson shared the tests with Basic Energy Services, the company that operated the waste wells nearby, which sent them to the Railroad Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates disposal wells for oil and gas drilling waste.
Nearly a year after receiving the material, commission officials tested DeBerry’s water themselves, confirming that it contained arsenic, cadmium, lead, benzene and other substances. The contamination was extensive enough that they advised DeBerry residents not to drink their water, leaving Hudson and others to purchase bottled water.
In 2004, Texas officials ordered the injection wells in DeBerry to be permanently shut down. A series of 30-foot monitoring wells were drilled to test for leaking waste around the area, and one deeper well was drilled to take samples from 170 feet below. None of the data collected enabled the Railroad Commission to determine the cause of the pollution, however.
To Hudson and others, there were powerful clues in the commission’s own records, which showed that one of the injection wells had a history of problems. In 2000, a Louisiana trucking company illegally dumped thousands of gallons of hazardous waste from an oil refinery into it, material far more dangerous than the well was allowed to accept under government regulations. Five years later, a mechanical integrity test detected a crack in the well structure that allowed waste to leak.
“Produced water was observed flowing from between the surface casing and the production casing,” a Railroad Commission official wrote to Basic Energy Services in Feb. 2006. “RRC staff requests that Basic immediately evaluate the need for further environmental investigation of groundwater.”
Still, federal and state regulators struggled to obtain a definitive answer about what caused the pollution.
According to a 2007 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general, the Railroad Commission had a difficult time getting Basic Energy to cooperate. The agency ordered the company to drill additional deep disposal wells to monitor DeBerry’s water, but the company refused.
“Basic Energy Services informed the State that it did not believe the contamination was its responsibility, and since the freshwater well had been plugged, deeper groundwater testing could not be conducted,” the inspector general’s report said.
Basic Energy Services did not return a call requesting comment.
The Railroad Commission told ProPublica that it had done everything it could to solve the mystery.
“The commission investigation did not identify a large plume of hydrocarbon and saltwater in the groundwater that connected the former… facility to residents’ water wells,” said Ramona Nye, a spokeswoman for the agency. “Commission staff address all water well complaints promptly and base their decisions on science and fact.”
Unsatisfied with the state’s progress, federal EPA officials took over the investigation in 2005 under the Superfund program, ordering more water sampling around the injection wells. For the first time, a decade after the saga began, the EPA also began supplying bottled water to DeBerry residents.
By 2007, however, the EPA also concluded that injection wells played no part in DeBerry’s water contamination.
“A range of surface activities including septic systems, surface spills and/or agricultural and domestic practices caused the ground water contamination,” an EPA spokesperson told ProPublica in an April, 2012 email. “Comprehensive review of the admin record for the injection wells in question indicated no ground water contamination from the wells.”
The EPA declined to allow any of its staff in Texas to be interviewed for this story, sending written responses to several questions.
The 2007 inspector general report suggested the EPA’s conclusion may have been premature, however.
“Region 6 personnel told us they believe evidence shows the contamination did not originate from the injection well,” the inspector general’s report states. “Neither the State nor EPA has conclusively determined the source of the contamination… The full extent of the contamination, its lateral limits, its depth, and its migration patterns or movement along the groundwater plume is not known.”
Earlier this month, EPA officials returned to DeBerry to sample five public drinking water wells, in “response to community concerns,” according to a statement sent to ProPublica by the agency Wednesday. The agency did not respond to questions about whether it was reconsidering its previous conclusions.
Hudson has little hope that the renewed scrutiny will yield closure.
“We will always have a problem proving the contaminants are coming from injection wells. You’d have to have a camera underneath the ground somewhere,” Hudson said. “Even if they find oil and gas carcinogens in the water, they are going to find another way to say it came from somewhere else. Nobody wants to say what the cause was.”
Flickr/prizepony
Methanol appeared most often in hydraulic fracturing products (in terms of the number of compounds containing the chemical).
Found in antifreeze, paint solvent and vehicle fuel.
Vapors can cause eye irritation, headache and fatigue, and in high enough doses can be fatal. Swallowing may cause eye damage or death.
BTEX compounds
Flcikr/arimoore
The BTEX compounds – benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene – are listed as hazardous air pollutants in the Clean Air Act and contaminents in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Benzene, commonly found in gasoline, is also a known human carcinogen. Long time exposure can cause cancer, bone marrow failure, or leukemia. Short term effects include dizziness, weakness, headache, breathlessness, chest constriction, nausea, and vomiting. Toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes have harmful effects on the central nervous system. The hydraulic fracturing companies injected 11.4 million gallons of products containing at least one BTEX chemical between 2005 and 2009.
Diesel fuel
A carcinogen listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act and a contaminant in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
In its 2004 report, the EPA stated that the “use of diesel fuel in fracturing fluids poses the greatest threat” to underground sources of drinking water.
Hydraulic fracturing companies injected more than 30 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel in wells in 19 states.
Diesel fuel contains toxic constituents, including BTEX compounds. Contact with skin may cause redness, itching, burning, severe skin damage and cancer. (Kerosene is also used. Found in jet and rocket fuel, the vapor can cause irritation of the eyes and nose, and ingestion can be fatal. Chronic exposure may cause drowsiness, convulsions, coma or death.)
Lead
Flickr/matthileo
A carcinogen found in paint, building construction materials and roofing joints.
It is listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the Clean Air Act and a contaminant in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Lead is particularly harmful to children’s neurological development. It also can cause reproductive problems, high blood pressure, and nerve disorders in adults.
One of the hydraulic fracturing companies used 780 gallons of a product containing lead between 2005 and 2009.
Hydrogen fluoride
Flickr/Molly Des Jardin
Found in rust removers, aluminum brighteners and heavy duty cleaners.
Listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the Clean Air Act.
Fumes are highly irritating, corrosive, and poisonous. Repeated ingestion over time can lead to hardening of the bones, and contact with liquid can produce severe burns. A lethal dose is 1.5 grams.
Absorption of substantial amounts of hydrogen fluoride by any route may be fatal.
One of the hydraulic fracturing companies used 67,222 gallons of two products containing hydrogen fluoride in 2008 and 2009.
Naphthalene
Flickr/CraftyGoat
A carcinogen found in mothballs.
Listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the Clean Air Act.
Inhalation can cause respiratory tract irritation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever or death.
Sulfuric acid
Flickr/yetanotherdave
A carcinogen found in lead-acid batteries for cars.
Corrosive to all body tissues. Inhalation may cause serious lung damage and contact with eyes can lead to a total loss of vision. The lethal dose is between 1 teaspoonful and one-half ounce.
Crystalline silica
Source: ProPublica
A carcinogen found in concrete, brick mortar and construction sands.
Dust is harmful if inhaled repeatedly over a long period of time and can lead to silicosis or cancer.
Formaldehyde
Flickr/Stadtkatze
A carcinogen found in embalming agents for human or animal remains.
Ingestion of even one ounce of liquid can cause death. Exposure over a long period of time can cause lung damage and reproductive problems in women.
Unknown chemicals
Flickr/SoulRider.222
“Many of the hydraulic fracturing fluids contain chemical components that are listed as ‘proprietary’ or ‘trade secret.’ The companies used 94 million gallons of 279 products that contained at least one chemical or component that the manufacturers deemed proprietary or a trade secret. In many instances, the oil and gas service companies were unable to identify these ‘proprietary’ chemicals,suggesting that the companies are injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify.”
Despite many successful water projects, billions of people still lack adequate water and sanitation
Save the Water™ does not represent nor endorse the postings herein or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information furnished by the author.
For your surfing
pleasure here
are some links in our revamped web site
The material posted is
courtesy of
Michael Kelley
Colorado Independent
Troy Hooper
science20.com
Gale Rose
Pratt Tribune
upi.com/Business
Save the Water™
Water Research
Education Dept.
and is shared as
educational material only
[PDF Format]– This 15-page booklet describes how a septic system works and what a homeowner can do to help the system treat their wastewater efficiently.
[PDF Format] – This worksheet allows homeowners to keep track of septic system inspections and maintenance. This checklist is included in the booklet above or may also be used separately.
A primary claim of the hydraulic fracking industry is that deeply buried rock layers will always seal and contain the dangerous chemicals that are injected thousands of feet underground.
But a new study released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that fracking for natural gas under Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania may lead to harmful gas or liquids flowing upward and contaminating drinking-water supplies.
The study found that salty, mineral-rich fluids deep beneath Pennsylvania’s natural gas fields are seeping upward thousands of feet into drinking water supplies. Although it found no evidence of fracking chemicals doing the same, the findings suggest that there are paths that would let hazardous gas or fluids flow up after drilling:
“The biggest implication is the apparent presence of connections from deep underground to the surface,” Robert Jackson, a biology professor at Duke University and one of the study’s authors, told ProPublica. “It’s a suggestion based on good evidence that there are places that may be more at risk.”
The study supplements another recent study that used computer modeling to predict how fracking fluids would move over time and found that they could migrate toward drinking water supplies far more quickly than experts have previously predicted.
Critics of the study said that it doesn’t prove that fracking fluids have traveled up to aquifers and argue that gas and water from fracking will flow into the well and not up through fissures that may exist.
Hydraulic fracking is a process in which water, sand and chemicals are injected into deep shale formations to crack the rock and free trapped gas.
The natural gas in Marcellus Shale, which stretches from New York to Tennessee and may hold enough gas to supply the U.S. for three years, has led to permits for more than 11,000 wells. The practice had been an economic boon for Pennsylvania and has helped set decade-low natural gas prices nationwide.
Researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health recently found that air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing raises the risk of acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites.
The powers that be may know the risk of those chemicals being known as there is a new “doctor gag rule” law in Pennsylvania that provides doctors access to trade-secret chemicals used in natural gas drilling so that they can treat people who have been made sick but prohibits doctors from sharing that information with anyone, even other doctors.
Fracking debate at Aspen Ideas Fest: Audience decides that fracking does more harm than good.
The Colorado Independent | By Troy Hooper Posted: 07/06/2012 5:02 pm
An emerging oil boom has been sparked by modern technologies using horizontal drilling and a technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” to coax out oil and gas. The potential production from the Mississippian Lime formation here – and its impact on domestic energy supplies – remains uncertain. But the use of the technology to unlock energy supplies previously unavailable i
ASPEN — After an Oxford-style debate Sunday night, environmental attorneys Deborah Goldberg and Katherine Hudson convinced 15 percent of the audience here to change their minds about hydraulic fracturing. Before the debate, only 38 percent of the audience agreed that the detriments of hydraulic fracturing are greater than its benefits but afterward, 53 percent agreed fracking does more harm than good.
“There are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to ensure that this industry can continue to operate without the science and without the protections we need — $320 million spent on lobbying the federal government in just two years,” Goldberg said. “As a result, what we are hearing now is not how we’re going to end our addiction to fossil fuels, but instead, a hundred years of gas. Now, a hundred years of gas is based on extracting every molecule of gas from all of our reserves, even those that we haven’t actually discovered yet, when it is well known that only about 10 percent of those reserves tend to be economically feasible to develop.”
On the other side of the debate were New York Times op-ed columnist Joe Nocera and former U.S. Department of Energy assistant secretary of policy Sue Tierney.
“Think about a world where you don’t have to worry about cartels, you don’t have to worry about being dependent on our enemies for oil, a world where foreign policy is not dictated by our need for oil,” Nocera said. “The ability of the United States to have its own resource once again in a way that we never thought we were going to is a tremendous gift that’s been handed to us, and fracking is the way that we’re taking advantage of it.”
The debate, hosted by Intelligence Squared at the Aspen Ideas Festival, tapped into the controversial practice of fracking, in which millions of gallons of water, along with sand and chemicals, are pumped thousands of feet into the ground, under high pressure, to break up rock to release oil and gas. One byproduct of fracking, methane gas, is often released into the air and it can even pollute drinking water. Studies show there is an increased risk of cancer and other maladies for residents in gas-land areas.
“One, there will always be accidents, spills, mechanical failures, and human error,” said Hudson. “Two, the gas industry has consistently fought enforceable rules and there is insufficient state and federal staff to ensure compliance with what rules do exist. Three, the idea that the industry as a whole will comply with voluntary best practices — as I think our opponents have acknowledged — in the face of falling gas prices, is unlikely. Given the continued risk of harm and all of fracking’s costs weighed against its limited benefits for most, it is beyond dispute that the natural gas boom is doing more harm than good.”
Tierney and Hudson called for a balanced energy outlook, one that embraces the promise of natural gas, which is abundant in the United States and burns more cleanly than traditional coal production. Natural gas is also more affordable than many fuels and viewed as “a bridge fuel” to renewables, they said.
“What I really wish is that people would stop demonizing this fuel, because it makes it impossible to find sensible solutions in the middle,” she said. “There are sensible solutions in the middle. We should be working on enabling those to develop over time. Our main argument is that the two principal sources of energy in the United States, coal and oil, are much more damaging to the environment than is natural gas, and that’s for the communities where those are used as well as to the nation as a whole.”
The debate is being broadcast this month on National Public Radio, and it will be telecast on WNET on July 18, the same day as a celebrity-driven protest is planned in Washington, D.C., called “Stop the Frack Attack.” The event will have three demands for Congress: stop dangerous fracking, close seven legal loopholes that exempt the oil and gas industry from parts of the Safe Drinking Water, Clean Air, and Clean Water Acts, and implement a pathway toward 100 percent clean renewable energy. The event will include Mark Ruffalo, Pete Seeger, Lois Gibbs, Bill McKibben, Ed Begley Jr., Ed Asner, Josh Fox, Gus Speth, Cornel West, Vandana Shiva, Holly Near, James Hansen, Dar Williams, Michael Kieschnick, Joe Uehlein, Margot Kidder and over 100 organizations and community groups.
Big and small governments across the country are grappling with ways to best regulate fracking, including North Carolina where on Monday night a state representative mistakenly cast the wrong vote. Democrat Becky Carney accidentally pushed the green button when she meant to hit the red one. It was the deciding House vote and it ultimately meant that North Carolina will have to wait until it establishes rules for hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling for oil and gas exploration.
“Oh my gosh. I pushed green,” she reportedly said, blaming her gaffe on fatigue.
A new paper by Natural Resources Defense Council says hydraulic fracturing (fracking) generates massive amounts of polluted wastewater in in the Marcellus Shale that threatens the health of drinking water supplies, rivers, streams, and groundwater – and that federal and state regulations have not kept pace with the dramatic growth of fracking and must be strengthened to reduce the risks of health issues throughout the Marcellus region.
Their paper contends the wastewater contains potentially harmful pollutants, including salts, organic hydrocarbons, inorganic and organic additives and naturally occurring radioactive material. These pollutants can be dangerous if they are released into the environment or if people are exposed to them. They can be toxic to humans and aquatic life and can damage ecosystem health by depleting oxygen or causing algal blooms, or they can interact with disinfectants at drinking water plants to form cancer-causing chemicals.
Condensed from their paper:
Natural gas is found in underground layers of rock and shale gas formations are generally tighter and much less permeable than other formations, causing the gas to flow less easily.
The Marcellus is the largest shale gas area in the United States by geographic area, spanning New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Shale gas sources generally require more complex and expensive technologies for production and are termed ‘unconventional’ compared to more conventional drilling for oil. Other sources of unconventional gas include coal seams and impermeable sandstone formations. As of 2008, unconventional production accounted for 46 percent of total U.S. natural gas production
Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of liquid under pressure to fracture the rock formation and prop open the fractures, allowing natural gas to flow more freely from the formation into the well for collection.
The development of hydraulic fracturing technology, along with advances that allow the horizontal drilling of wells, has facilitated the expansion of shale gas development over the past 20 years.
Prior to these innovations, shale gas development was not viewed as economically feasible, but recently such development has exploded. The first economically producing wells in the Marcellus were drilled in 2003; in 2010, 1,386 Marcellus wells were drilled in Pennsylvania alone (up from 763 drilled in 2009).
The liquids used in the hydraulic fracturing process consist primarily of water, either fresh or recycled, along with chemicals used to modify the water’s characteristics (for example, to reduce friction or corrosion) and sand or other agents, referred to as “proppants,” that hold open the fractures in the formation.
Wastewater, flowback and production phase water, contain potentially harmful constituents and the NRDC says the current regulatory approach is in adequate and their paper outlines limitations of current state and federal policies.
o Kansas landfills near a fracking site have declined to take in the drilling fluid waste, citing a blanket ban on liquids that cannot be contained.
Gale Rose from The Pratt Tribune in Pratt, KS writes the Pratt County landfill rejected an unnamed drilling company's proposal after a nearby landfill with more advance control precautions, like a protective liner, also said no.
"If they (nearby Reno County) have concerns about it I definitely have concerns about it,” Dean Staab, director of Environmental Services for Pratt County, told Rose.
The fluid is actually a mud, Rose reports. If it were to be delivered dry, the landfills would consider storing it, she said.
Meanwhile New Jersey last week voted to ban the transport of fracking wastewater into the state.
Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, a Democrat who's one of the measure's sponsors, said in a statement that allowing fracking waste to come into New Jersey is too risky for public health.
"Given the relative newness of this practice, the total damage inflicted during and after drilling is still unknown," Huttle said. "But the evidence is already mounting that fracking comes with serious environmental consequences."Read more: [/toggle]
1. aDivision of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
2. bCenter on Global Change, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708; and
3. cGeological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768
Edited by Karl K. Turekian, Yale University, North Haven, CT, and approved May 10, 2012 (received for review January 5, 2012)
Abstract
The debate surrounding the safety of shale gas development in the Appalachian Basin has generated increased awareness of drinking water quality in rural communities. Concerns include the potential for migration of stray gas, metal-rich formation brines, and hydraulic fracturing and/or flowback fluids to drinking water aquifers. A critical question common to these environmental risks is the hydraulic connectivity between the shale gas formations and the overlying shallow drinking water aquifers. We present geochemical evidence from northeastern Pennsylvania showing that pathways, unrelated to recent drilling activities, exist in some locations between deep underlying formations and shallow drinking water aquifers. Integration of chemical data (Br, Cl, Na, Ba, Sr, and Li) and isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr, 2H/H, 18O/16O, and 228Ra/226Ra) from this and previous studies in 426 shallow groundwater samples and 83 northern Appalachian brine samples suggest that mixing relationships between shallow ground water and a deep formation brine causes groundwater salinization in some locations. The strong geochemical fingerprint in the salinized (Cl > 20 mg/L) groundwater sampled from the Alluvium, Catskill, and Lock Haven aquifers suggests possible migration of Marcellus brine through naturally occurring pathways. The occurrences of saline water do not correlate with the location of shale-gas wells and are consistent with reported data before rapid shale-gas development in the region; however, the presence of these fluids suggests conductive pathways and specific geostructural and/or hydrodynamic regimes in northeastern Pennsylvania that are at increased risk for contamination of shallow drinking water resources, particularly by fugitive gases, because of natural hydraulic connections to deeper formations.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: vengosh@duke.edu.
Author contributions: N.R.W., R.B.J., and A.V. designed research; N.R.W., R.B.J., S.G.O., A.D., A.W., and A.V. performed research; N.R.W., R.B.J., T.H.D., K.Z., and A.V. analyzed data; and N.R.W., R.B.J., T.H.D., and A.V. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
New twist in fracking debate
upi.com/Business DURHAM, N.C., July 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. study found there may be some natural processes occurring with the contamination of water supplies in a shale play in Pennsylvania.
A study conducted by researchers at Duke University and California State Polytechnic University found natural processes were leading to some levels of contamination in drinking water wells and aquifers in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania hosts a portion of the Marcellus shale play, one of the largest sources of natural gas in the United States.
Shale natural gas extraction is controversial. There are concerns that some of the waste associated with the extraction methods could find their way into drinking water supplies.
Scientists found that salty water laced with certain chemicals like barium or compounds like methane were from natural pathways of contamination.
Robert Jackson, an ecologist at Duke University and one of the report's authors, said the mineral-rich fluids are seeping upwards through the shale layer.
He told National Public Radio scientists were working to figure out what was coming from shale gas extraction and what was from natural processes.
"They are a possible conduit for movement of salts or fracking chemicals or even gases up to the surface," he said. "But we just don't know how likely that is."
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Despite many successful water projects, billions of people still lack adequate water and sanitation
Save the Water™ does not represent nor endorse the postings herein or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information furnished by the author.
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[PDF Format]– This 15-page booklet describes how a septic system works and what a homeowner can do to help the system treat their wastewater efficiently.
[PDF Format] – This worksheet allows homeowners to keep track of septic system inspections and maintenance. This checklist is included in the booklet above or may also be used separately.
Contaminated drinking water
What contaminates it, and how do we learn more.
It may look okay but looks are deceiving. Drinking contaminated water is now becoming a norm that many just ignore. However protecting today’s water quality should be important to each and every one of us and can no longer be ignored. It should not become a concern only in times of drought when water is unquestionably in short supply. The essential need and purity of this resource which we take for granted comes to its true light; our planet’s water supply is finite and this is a fact that many cannot comprehend.
Each drop of water wasted is a drop less in a wild and scenic river, a drop less in a needed salmon run.
Every drop of water that circles a drain unnecessarily wastes energy through the manufacturing of chemicals in the cycle of sewage treatment. The world water supply is dwindling. Today’s water that we use carelessly is only water supply we will ever have. It is the same water that was here since the beginning of time, but now it has become a toxic soup. Further research is needed regarding the chemicals that are entering our drinking water sources and facts from those findings must be taught to our children.
The water that flows from our kitchens tap does not indicate an endless supply of safe, clean water and the photos in this article will substantiate this fact. This water will be treated and eventually returned to us again in a chemically altered state from the previous time we used it.
In this article, Save the Water™ has compiled comprehensive water education information for students, teachers and concerned individuals from the USGS, EPA, Clean Water Education Partnership, State of California Government, and USPA in order to help you educate our next generation about water conservation, pollution prevention and care of this precious resource.
From games and activities to helping choose the appropriate environmental curriculum, there is something for everyone, just click on the headings. As with anything, learning is half the battle.
Welcome to our Kids’ Pages! Here are five activities designed to educate kids of all ages on stormwater pollution and everybody-needs-to-help solutions!
Have fun and remember… Clean Water Begins with You and Me!
Find out how you can make safer cleaning products! Learn more…
Rainbows of oil after rain storms aren’t so pretty after all! Learn more…
The Clean Water Education Partnership aims to protect North Carolina’s waterways from stormwater pollution through public education and outreach.
If you have a question or comment regarding the Clean Water Education Partnership or its program areas, please send email to: cwep@tjcog.org or telephone: Sarah Bruce (CWEP staff support) at (919) 558-9343.
What is the water cycle? I can easily answer that—it is “me” all over! The water cycle describes the existence and movement of water on, in, and above the Earth. Earth’s water is always in movement and is always changing states, from liquid to vapor to ice and back again. The water cycle has been working for billions of years and all life on Earth depends on it continuing to work; the Earth would be a pretty stale place without it.
Where does all the Earth’s water come from? Primordial Earth was an incandescent globe made of magma, but all magmas contain water. Water set free by magma began to cool down the Earth’s atmosphere, and eventually the environment became cool enough so water could stay on the surface as a liquid. Volcanic activity kept and still keeps introducing water into the atmosphere, thus increasing the surface- and groundwater volume of the Earth.
A quick summary of the water cycle
Here is a quick summary of the water cycle. The links in this paragraph go to the detailed Web pages in our Web site for each topic. A shorter summary of each topic can be found further down in this page.
The water cycle has no starting point, but we’ll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth’s water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air; a relatively smaller amount of moisture is added as ice and snow sublimate directly from the solid state into vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds.
Air currents move clouds around the globe, and cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snowpacks in warmer climates often thaw and melt when spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as snowmelt. Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or onto land, where, due to gravity, the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff, and groundwater seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes.
Not all runoff flows into rivers, though. Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some of the water infiltrates into the ground and replenishes aquifers (saturated subsurface rock), which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge, and some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. Yet more groundwater is absorbed by plant roots to end up as evapotranspiration from the leaves. Over time, though, all of this water keeps moving, some to reenter the ocean, where the water cycle “ends” … oops – I mean, where it “begins.”
Water Education Sites that contain lesson plans or projects.
Information aimed at educators.
Acid Rain
This book published by EPA is for students in grades 4-8 and their teachers. It covers the basic concepts and definitions involved with acid rain. Topics include the effects of acid rain on forests, water and humans, and explores the options of what can be done to diminish these negative effects of acid rain.
A Child’s Place in the Environment (ACPE)
ACPE is a series of six environmental education curriculum guides for elementary school teachers that integrates science, English-language arts, and selected children’s literature, and culminate with student projects which enhance their environment and provide experiences in service learning.
All Along a River
This site was developed by students in Singapore from the Chinese High School. The site discusses physical aspects of rivers including erosion, volume, and velocity. The site includes case studies about the Singapore River and the River Rhine.
Natural Sciences for Educators
Lesson plans, teaching resources, life sciences, physical and earth sciences, and ecosystems
Pollution Prevention (P2) Toolbox
The toolbox contains a series of four page lesson plans on various pollution prevention concepts for schools.
Recycle City
This site provides information about recycling for teachers and kids. There is an interactive game that requires a Shockwave plugin to operate but worth the effort.
USGS Water Science for Schools
We offer information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.
Water Sourcebook Series
The Water Sourcebook Series consists of 4 volumes appropriate for Grades K – 2, 3 – 5, 6 – 8, & 9 – 12. The Series explains how the water management cycle affects every aspect of the environment. The curriculum provides strong science and math content, but also links these subject areas to social studies and language arts. Each Water Sourcebook contains hands-on activities and investigations, fact sheets, reference materials, and a glossary of terms.
What’s Up With Our Nation’s Waters? (HTML, PDF) [migrate_later]
This booklet, designed primarily for middle-school-aged youth, presents key findings of the EPA’s National Water Quality Report in an easy-to-read fashion and includes projects for school or fun, a water quiz, and a glossary and resources for more information.
AQUATOX
Learn about AQUATOX, a program that models how nutrients and pollutants affect freshwater ecosystems, by viewing slides from the last AQUATOX training session.
BASINS
BASINS is a multi-purpose environmental analysis system that integrates a geographical information system (GIS), national watershed data, and state-of-the-art environmental assessment and modeling tools into one convenient package.
Clean Water Act Section 404 Regulatory Training
This four-day course provides an introduction to the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulatory program and training in the application of the 404(b)(1) guidelines for review of proposed discharges of fill material into waters of the United States.
Drinking Water Academy
The Drinking Water Academy provides information and online training modules to ensure that water professionals, public officials, and involved citizens have the knowledge and skills necessary to protect our drinking water supply.
Drinking Water Operator Certification
Operator certification helps protect human health and the environment by establishing minimum professional standards for the operation and maintenance of public water systems. A compilation of training materials, tools and guidance to help operators become and remain certified is available.
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Training
If you are implementing the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2) you may use our on-line module or request a Webcast for training. New Webcasts and other training opportunities will be posted.
NPDES Training Courses and Workshops
The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program offers training courses, workshops, and webcasts to explain the regulatory framework and technical considerations of the NPDES permit program. These courses are designed for permit writers, dischargers, EPA officials, and other interested parties.
Water Quality Standards Academy
To support water quality standards development, we offer the Water Quality Standards Academy (WQSA), which presents classroom-based and online courses, along with occasional webcasts.
Tribal Training
This site contains a consolidated, centralized listing of training courses offered by EPA that will help Indian tribes develop and implement water quality programs consistent with the Clean Water Act. It will enable Indian tribes to obtain, in one central place, a list of relevant training courses consistent with the goals established for individual reservations.
Watershed Academy
The Watershed Academy is a focal point in EPA’s Office of Water for providing training and information on implementing watershed approaches.
Wastewater Operator Training
The Clean Water Act authorizes funding for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator On-Site Assistance Training Program. The program addresses non-compliance at small publicly-owned wastewater treatment plants and ensures enough trained personnel are available to operate and maintain existing and future treatment works.
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[PDF Format]– This 15-page booklet describes how a septic system works and what a homeowner can do to help the system treat their wastewater efficiently.
Families of N.C. military base “Camp Lejeune” drinking water contamination finally get help, 30 years later. USA military toxic water investigation.
The following articles are courtesy of ALYSSA LITOFF (@AlyssaBL) and KATIE HINMAN, ABC news ..Save the Water™ @SaveTheWaterthank them for this coverage. Please support Alyssa and Katie by thanking them personally. June 28, 2012. These are our protectors. They deserve all that we can offer in support, from the staff of Save the Water™
Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina, is home to hundreds of thousands of Marines and their families. It’s also the site of what may be the largest water contamination in American history.
Now, nearly three decades after poisons were discovered in their drinking water, Congress is set to vote on legislation that will provide health care to those who suffered.
From the 1950s to the mid-1980s, the Marines who lived on the base with their families drank water laced with cancer-causing chemicals. Hundreds of thousands of Lejeune residents were exposed over the 30-year stretch. Many died and others are still getting sick today.
Watch “Nightline” anchor Cynthia McFadden’s full investigative report TONIGHT on “Nightline” at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT
The Marine Corps doesn’t often talk about the base’s water contamination history. But two men with ties to Camp Lejeune, Jerry Ensminger and Mike Partain, have worked tirelessly to get the word out to Lejeune alumni — maybe as many as a million people — who may have been exposed. For both men, the mission is personal.
Ensminger is a career Marine who raised his family at Lejeune. His daughter Janey died of leukemia when she was just 9 years old. She died in 1985, just shy of her 10th birthday. “She said, ‘I love you.’ I said, ‘I know.’ I whispered in her ear, and I said, ‘It’s time to stop fighting,’” he said.
“After I had time to sit and think about it, I did what any normal human being would do, I started wondering why,” Ensminger said. “That nagging question of ‘why’ stayed with me through [Janey's] illness, through her death.”
Ensminger said his first clue came from a local TV station’s report in 1997, saying that contaminants discovered in the base’s drinking water had been possibly linked to childhood cancer and birth defects, primarily leukemia.
“I dropped my plate of spaghetti right there on the living room floor,” Ensminger said. “That started this journey for the truth.”
He was soon joined by Partain, who also had cancer — breast cancer, which is extremely rare among men. Partain’s father was stationed at the base when his mother became pregnant and gave birth to him there, but he’s lived most of his life in Florida, where he’s an insurance adjuster.
His life’s work, though, has become a search for answers about what happened in the water and how it has affected his own health and those of thousands of others. Through his own research, Partain has documented 80 cases of male breast cancer among men who were born or served at Camp Lejeune.
The Marine Corps dragged its feet in contacting and alerting those who had lived at Lejeune about the water contamination and the possible health consequences. So Ensminger and Partain decided to team up and help get the word out. Their efforts are the focus of a 2011 documentary, “Semper Fi: Always Faithful,” which was short-listed for an Oscar.
“The Marine Corps needs to get people notified,” Partain says in the film. “They need to get on the TV, they need to get on the news, and they need to tell people what is wrong.”
But it is already too late for some of the tiniest victims. During the years when the water was contaminated, stillborn babies were commonplace on the base, so many that the local cemetery has a section locals call Baby Heaven, lined with the graves of children who never made it to their first birthdays.
Mary Freshwater was a young mother who lived on the base back in the 1970s. She said she and the other women at Camp Lejeune suspected something was terribly wrong.
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Delhi’s Lutyens’ zone reels under severe water crisis
New Delhi, June 21, 2012 | UPDATED 09:44 IST
The NCR continues to reel under severe water crisis. The areas badly hit on Wednesday included parts of New Delhi District under the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), especially the Lutyens’ zone – home to VVIPs and politicians.
According to DJB officials, the Haiderpur Water Treatment Plant has been functioning at least 15-20MGD (million gallons per day) below its peak capacity because of the shortage in supply of raw water from Haryana.
The officials blame it on the ongoing standoff between the Delhi and Haryana governments and say it could still take some days before the states reach an “amicable” solution to the water war.
In another development, the DJB signed an agreement with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and Temasek Foundation to gain expertise on recycling and reusing treated sewage and water. The SCE will put together a team of Singapore’s water experts to help Delhiites out, DJB spokesperson Sanjam Cheema said.
Delhi’s water crisis to continue as talks with Haryana fail, VVIPs to feel the pinch too
India Today Online New Delhi, June 18, 2012 | UPDATED 23:29 IST
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Delhi CM Sheila Dixit.
The deadlock between Delhi and Haryana continued with a meeting between the chief ministers of the two states on sharing Yamuna water ending without significant conclusion on Monday.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda rejected all demands by her Delhi counterpart Sheila Dikshit on water sharing. Officially, though, the talks would continue between senior officials of the two states.
Addressing media after meeting Dikshit in the national capital, Hooda said Delhi was already getting more than its legitimate share of water and that Haryana could not be held responsible for its wastage in the national capital.
“Water is precious. Its wastage should be avoided… Delhi is getting much more than its legitimate share of water,” Hooda said refusing to elaborate the exact volume of Yamuna water being released for Delhi.
The Haryana chief minister blamed media for playing up the scarcity of water saying it was natural to increase the demand during the months of summer.
“It is all because of media that everything is played up at such a level. Water crisis is being hyped these days. When there is a flood in Delhi, again Haryana is blamed for causing it. Media says that flood was caused because Haryana discharged excessive water in the Yamuna. Since Haryana falls before Delhi, we suffer first because of a flood. Media should understand this,” Hooda said.Read more >>
Water crisis: CM Sheila Dikshit hints at rationing water supply to Lutyens’ Delhi
Delhi’s water crisis has now reached the door of its high and mighty with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday hinting that the national capital’s posh Lutyens zone would soon see water rationing.
The 42 square km area of the city housing the country’s who’s who has been used to 24-hour water supply. However, reeling under a severe water shortage, which has been complicated by a scorching summer, the chief minister looked set to finally bite the bullet.
In a meeting with Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials, Dikshit said she favoured rationing of water to the Lutyens zone. The city’s water war was so far restricted to areas outside this zone.
The development comes even as Dikshit was scheduled to meet her Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Hooda later in the day to sort out the issue of shortfall in the release of Yamuna water. The two chief ministers agreed to meet after the Prime Minister’s Office intervened recently.
Despite many successful water projects, billions of people still lack adequate water and sanitation
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[PDF Format] – This 15-page booklet describes how a septic system works and what a homeowner can do to help the system treat their wastewater efficiently.
Canada water crisis: Water OK after Canadian oil spill
In an incident update, the company said automated valves were closed about 15 minutes before sheen was reported on the Red Deer River near Sundre, Alberta.
EDMONTON, Alberta, June 14 (UPI) — A pipeline company in Canada said water tests revealed drinking water met quality standards a week after an oil spill in Alberta province.
Plains Midstream Canada reported a leak from its Rangeland pipeline system last week. Stephen Bart, vice president of crude oil operations at the company, said at a Tuesday news conference that “the good news was the pipeline wasn’t flowing” at the time the leak was discovered June 7.
The company said elevated levels of hydrocarbons were reported from June 8 water samples. “All subsequent results have met Canadian drinking water quality guidelines,” it said.
In terms of air quality, the company said readings where within ambient air quality objects for the province.
As much as 3,000 barrels of oil leaked from the pipeline. Bart this week said plans were under way to vacuum residual oil from the pipeline.
Plains said a high flow rate through the Red Deer River contained most of the spill to a downstream reservoir.
EDMONTON, Alberta, June 12 (UPI) — Procedures for boring oil pipelines under rivers and streams in Canada may have left them vulnerable to the elements, officials said after an Alberta spill.
The Rangeland oil pipeline was reported by operator Plains Midstream Canada to have ruptured under the flooded Red Deer River in Alberta. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that as much as 3,000 barrels of oil may have spilled from the pipeline, which wasn’t in service at the time of the incident.
Built in 1966, the Rangeland pipeline wasn’t necessarily built to last, those in the industry told the newspaper.
Barry Singleton, a vice president at pipeline designer Singleton Associated Engineering Ltd., told said most older pipelines weren’t buried very deep.
“There were concerns back in the day,” he was quoted as saying.
River scouring caused by a flooded Yellowstone River was suspected of contributing to the rupture of the Silvertip oil pipeline in Montana in 2011. An estimated 1,200 barrels spilled from the pipeline.
Plains officials said about 1 mile of containment boom was deployed to handle the spill, noting high flow rates through the Red Deer River meant most of the spill was isolated to a downstream.
EDMONTON, Alberta, June 11 (UPI) — Oil wasn’t flowing through the Rangeland oil pipeline in Alberta province at the time of a confirmed release, Plains Midstream Canada announced.
Plains said it was able to confirm a leak from the Rangeland oil pipeline system last week. The provincial government reported an undetermined amount of oil spilled into the Red Deer River.
Stephen Bart, vice president of crude oil operations, said about 1 mile of containment boom was deployed within 12 hours of the incident.
“The good news is that the pipeline wasn’t flowing at the time of the release,” Bart said.
This meant the volume of the spill is “relatively” small. The rate of water flow through the Red Deer River meant oil leaked from the pipeline was in an area that responders could contain, he added.
Bart said the response would continue until the cleanup is completed and restoration activity for land and water potentially contaminated by the spill was finished.
Plains added that some images broadcast on national television and other media outlets depicted a 2011 spill from its Rainbow oil pipeline.
Canada’s Energy Resources Conservation Board said about 28,000 barrels of oil spilled from the pipeline, making it one of the largest spills since the 1970s.
“The Rainbow pipeline release site is now fully remediated and nearly 100 percent reclaimed with natural revegetation occurring,” Plains said in a statement.
EDMONTON, Alberta, June 11 (UPI) — Most of the oil spilled into a river from a ruptured pipeline in central Alberta, Canada, has been been contained, an official said.
Stephen Bart, vice president of crude oil operations for Plains Midstream Canada, said crews have been working since the company’s control center received an alert about the leak Thursday night from its Rangeland pipeline system just north of Sundre, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
About 3,000 barrels of oil leaked into the Red Deer River and spread downstream to Gleniffer Lake and reservoir, the focus of containment efforts.
Bart said the pipeline wasn’t flowing at the time of the release, “so the volume of the spill is relatively small.”
He said the river also was flowing quickly at the time because of high rainfall, flushing most of the spill onto the lake, where it can be handled more effectively.
CBC said there’s no health risk for those living downstream of the Gleniffer reservoir, which provides drinking water for more than 100,000 people in Alberta.
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 29 (UPI) — Energy regulators in Canada gave their final approval for the restart of the Rainbow oil pipeline but put limits on the pipeline’s operating pressure.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board issued its final approval to Plains Midstream Canada to restart operations on the Rainbow pipeline, though no official restart date was set.
Operators closed the Rainbow oil pipeline in April after a spill was discovered in northern Alberta. Canada’s RCB said about 28,000 barrels of oil spilled from the pipeline, making it one of the largest spills since the 1970s.
An assessment of the April incident found stress on a crack in a weld on the pipeline contributed to its failure. Plains committed to pulling and inspecting all sections of the pipeline containing the type of welds in question, the ERCB added.
The ERCB said the interim maximum operating pressure of the pipeline was limited to 75 percent of its maximum operating pressure.
Plains All American Pipeline, the parent company of Rainbow operator Plains Midstream Canada, was scrutinized in 2006 for a 7,500-barrel leak at a section of the same pipeline in Edmonton. Investigators blamed stress and corrosion for the 2006 leak. The pipeline was built in 1966.
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For many people in the U.S., hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its link to the natural gas industry has become a very important topic. Technological advancements have made access to pockets of natural gas contained in shale beds easier and therefore more profitable.
Fracking is a process used to inject fluids under high pressure into a well. By doing so, fractures are created in deep shale rock, enabling natural gas to escape. While fracking has been in use in the drilling industry since the 1940s, fracking combined with horizontal drilling has made extracting natural gas from shale easier. Horizontal drilling is a process by which wells are drilled first vertically, then horizontally for several thousand feet. On average, three to five times more natural gas is produced by horizontal drilling when compared to vertical drilling. Both the increased quantity and access equal increased revenue for the natural gas industry. The current boom in natural gas fracking can also be equated to availability of new jobs.
Despite the benefits, concerns over the environmental impact continue to cause debate. Environmental concerns include ground water contamination, decreasing air quality, potential migration of gases and fracking chemicals to the surface and mishandling of waste. There is also concern that the fracking process can cause small earth tremors. And despite natural gas being touted as a fuel that burns more cleanly, it is projected that 3.6-7.9 percent of methane produced by a well will be leaked into the atmosphere. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and its leakage, means shale gas could be worse for the environment than coal or oil.
At the center of current debate in the U.S. is the Marcellus Shale, which covers approximately 90,000 square miles of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Between January and June 2011, Marcellus wells produced 432.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
In the fight to keep their backyards safe and clean, residents are leaning on lawmakers for their staunch support. Steps are being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of residents in this area. In Pennsylvania, gas wells cannot be drilled within 200 feet of structures, water wells or freshwater springs or within 100 feet of streams and wetlands.
Only time will tell the full story of fracking for natural gas, but in the meantime there are many facts and figures to be considered. To learn more about fracking, visit www.exploreshale.org for more information.
Classroom Discussion
How did the Marcellus Shale form?
What is a greenhouse gas and why is it bad for the environment?
What other areas of the country are dealing with the issues related to hydraulic fracturing?
History of Hydraulic Fracking / Fracturing from Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, is the process of utilizing pressurized water, chemical additives, and physical proppants to fracture rock layers and release petroleum, natural gas, or other substances so that they can be extracted. Environmental safety and health concerns about this process have emerged and are being debated at the state and national levels.[1]
History
Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer caused by the presence of a pressurized fluid. Hydraulic fractures can form naturally, as in volcanic dikes, sills, and veins or dikes. Energy companies accelerate this process in order to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas, or other substances for extraction, via a technique called induced hydraulic fracturing(illustration). Hydraulic fracturing incorporates principles from the disciplines of fracture mechanics, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and porous medium flow. Hydraulic fracturing for stimulation of oil and natural gas wells was first used in the United States in 1947.[2][3] It was first used commercially by Halliburton in 1949,[2] and because of its success in increasing production from oil wells was quickly adopted, and is now used worldwide in tens of thousands of oil and natural gas wells annually. The first industrial use of hydraulic fracturing was as early as 1903, according to T.L. Watson.[4] Before that date, hydraulic fracturing was used at Mt. Airy Quarry, near Mt Airy, North Carolina where it was (and still is) used to separate granite blocks from bedrock.
Hydraulic fracturing as it is used today is primarily a product of technological innovations made in the late 20th century.[5][6] The Morgantown Energy Research Center (MERC), a predecessor to today’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, initiated the Eastern Gas Shales Project in 1976[7][8] in response to concerns from the gas industry that US domestic conventional gas deposits were losing their production potential.[9][10] MERC, the Department of Energy, several national labs, and other federal government agencies spearheaded the R&D and technology demonstration projects that led to the development of massive hydraulic fracturing (MHF), horizontal drilling, and microseismic imaging of gas deposits in shale.[11] The Department of Energy later subsidized Mitchell Energy’s first successful horizontal drill in the north-Texas Barnett Shale in 1991.[12] Mitchell Energy component technologies and techniques such as horizontal drilling and microseismic imaging and techniques to achieve the first economical extraction of shale gas in 1998 via an innovative drilling process called slick-water fracturing.[13]
The practice of hydraulic fracturing is controversial. Proponents of hydraulic fracturing tout its potential to make the United States the world’s largest oil producer and make it an energy leader.[14] Others say that the well productivity estimates are inflated and minimize the impact of the reduced productivity of wells after the first year or two.[15] Proponents say that hydraulic fracturing would give the United States energy independence,[16] however, United States oil and natural gas companies have recently sought to build a new pipeline through Pennsylvania and Maryland[17] to new liquid natural gas export terminals in Maryland,[18] in order to increase profits by exporting gas to Europe and Asia (e.g., China and Korea). Such a move could potentially threaten national security.[18] Globally, gas use is expected to rise by more than 50% compared to 2010 levels, and account for over 25% of world energy demand in 2035.[19] Anticipated demand and higher prices abroad have motivated non-US companies to buy shares in invest in US gas and oil companies,[20][21] and in some cases buy them, and their shale plays, outright[22] leading to greater international control of US gas resources. In addition, lower natural gas prices in the US have reduced incentives to investigate renewable sources of energy, perpetuating dependence on gas and oil.[23] In the interim, rather than pass the savings from lower natural gas prices on to US consumers, companies are reducing production to reduce supply and inflate natural gas prices in the US.[24]
There are environmental concerns, including contamination of ground water, risks to air quality, the potential migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, the potential mishandling of waste, and the health effects of these, like cancer.[25][26] There is already evidence of environmental contamination,[27][28][29][30][31] and it has been predicted that exposure to chemicals in hydraulic fracturing fluid will increase as gas wells using this technology proliferate.[26]
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View monthly posting’s calendar, become a subscriber or obtain RSS feed by going to the bottom index of this page.
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A carcinogen listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act and a contaminant in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Source: 
A Homeowner’s Guide to Septic Systems:
