Dreams of enormous wealth waft through Appalachia as the sounds of heavy machinery, plunging deep into the ground, echo through the wooded valleys. From New York through Pennsylvania and into West Virginia and areas of Tennessee, throughout much of Appalachia, an ancient geological formation is about vast and enormous quantities of natural gas. The Marcellus Shale Gas deposit has landowners, municipalities, counties, states, drilling companies and environmental groups working feverishly.
The huge underground deposits of gas are a bonanza of sorts for the energy starved eastern United States. Pennsylvania, particularly rich in Marcellus Gas deposits, is the keystone state for delivery. Multiple gas lines carrying gas from Texas and Oklahoma already criss-cross the state heading towards the east coast. More pipelines are being laid almost everyday as new wells are drilled.
Pennsylvania has another rich resource for extracting the gas. A Marcellus Gas Well drilling operation requires a lot of water. Pennsylvania, in addition to rich, underground gas deposits and pipelines, has more miles of fresh water streams than any other state except Alaska. A Marcellus Gas well uses on the average an estimated 3.5 million gallons for drilling and a process called “fracturing”. The drilling, however, is based on relatively new technologies, has had it's share of problems.
Drilling companies generally go deep into the earth between 5,000 and 8,000 feet, then drill horizontally for upwards of two miles to tap into a gas pocket. Once the drilling is completed, water is blasted through pipes along with other chemical ingredients, including some toxic chemicals, to fracture (fracturing) the shale to release the gas.
Fracturing and water quality have been two areas of major concern for many communities. There have been some serious problems. Rivers and streams have been seriously contaminated with toxic water, a threat to clean drinking water and fishing.
Cabot Oil and Gas Company, based in Houston Texas, has recently been fined by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources and penalized for water contamination in the small town of Dimock, Pennsylvania. The Halibuton Company had supplied some of the unknown toxic chemicals used in the fracturing process. Similar water contamination problems have also been addressed in other communities, including Bradford, Pennsylvania.
In Tioga County, a rural area in central Pennsylvania, cattle, who drank from contaminated fracturing water were quarantined. The water contained hazardous chemicals, including strontium which is dangerous for humans
In Clearfield, Pennsylvania, another incident has created alarm among state officials and local residents. On June 3, 2010, a Marcellus Gas Well being drilled, exploded sending gas and water high into the atmosphere for many hours until the well was successfully sealed. While no injuries were reported, the explosion revealed a lack of preparedness and weak enforcement and emergency response procedures for gas well incidents.
In other communities, concerns have been raised by landowners regarding property values. In some communities, the concerns swirl around the impact on valuable hardwood forests and wildlife where hunting and camping are important natural resources. Other Marcellus Gas rich states have experienced similar incidents and the same concerns have been voiced throughout the picturesque Appalachian region.
New York State has placed a one year moratorium on any new Marcellus Gas drilling; other states are formulating better environmental and public safety controls. The Pennsylvania Legislature will likely impose new regulations and new taxes on the gas companies tentatively scheduled for late 2010. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is acting quickly to identify and document the state's native trout streams so they can be protected from possible contamination. Many of these streams are pristine, located in rural mountainous areas and are viewed as a valuable natural resource.
New federal legislation has been introduced which would force the drilling companies to list the chemicals used in fracturing a well. Under the current law, the chemicals used and the amounts are kept secret for business reasons or trade secretes.
Certainly, there is ample gas to be collected in the Appalachian region, and the deposits could be the richest in the world. The estimated value of the gas stands at an amazing $2 trillion and counting. It makes the oil fields of Saudi Arabia look somewhat like child's play in financial markets. Landowners and companies stand to make windfall profits, as do local municipal and state governments. For others, the Marcellus deposits are an environmental resource since burning gas is much cleaner than oil and coal use and could help control global warming threats.
Retrieving the gas is an industry in it's infancy in the Appalachian states. There have been serious and significant degradations to the environment and shoddy workmanship in the rush to get wells online or to fill bank accounts. Marcellus Gas is the latest “gold rush” in North America; many civic, governmental, environmental, industrial and religious organizations are working feverishly to formulate the best courses of action.
It has been a somewhat feisty debate and a debate which will continue to unfold in the near future; it is a debate being held against the backdrop of the tragic and global disaster of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf. In a Democracy, that is the way the process goes forward and reaches an ultimately best conclusion for all.
The environmental impact of Marcellus Gas is as equally enormous as the rich deposits.