Pendant que les législateurs de la Virginie Occidentale préparent un projet de loi qui encadrerait les drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale, a question becomes increasingly clear: the process and its relationship with water. The water is collected from waterways, and water, once used, could be contaminated with toxic chemicals and metals, and water, if it ever escapes, the same could contaminate rivers from which it was drawn.
"I do not think the average citizen of West Virginia include the phenomenal amount of water required for these wells," said Frank Jernejcic, a district biologist for the Division of Natural Resources of the state (DNR). "It takes 1 to 5,000,000 gallons per well. Most trucks can hold 4.5 gallons. If a well needs one million gallons, the driller would need 220 trucks to transport water to the well site. If the well needs 5 million gallons, it takes about 1,000 truck trips to do the job. "
Water is used for a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Drillers add chemicals to the water and pump it into the well under high pressure to fracture the deep layers of rock and helps to release additional volumes of gas. The companies already drill in the Marcellus formation, and larger volumes of water they use is pumped from waterways near wellheads. Many of these rivers are fairly small.
Jernejcic and his colleagues believe that collect too much water, or pump during periods of drought, some streams could dry to the point that fish and aquatic life would perish. "Right now, we have no laws that regulate water withdrawals from streams, and we desperately need." Jernejcic said. "The Division of Environmental Protection (DEP) has an interactive water withdrawals on its Web site that gives advice to drillers when a stream is too dry pipe the water, but it really only suggestions without teeth. "
Janet Clayton, a biologist with the DNR research specialized on mussels, said that several colonies of mussels were dry last summer in streams where it was pumped to the Marcellus. "We can not be sure if the pump was the cause, but companies taking water from these rivers during drought." Clayton said. "We can not drain a river and expect that aquatic life continues to survive. "An endangered species of mussels found in the watersheds of the Little Kanawha River and the Middle Island Creek, two regions where gas exploitation is intensive. A second common species in these streams is currently under observation and could also be found on the endangered species list. "In theory, if a company pump enough water to kill any of these mussels may be in violation of federal law in endangered species." according to Clayton.
Biologists are also concerned that the quantities of sediment are stirred up by activities related to gas operations, such as construction of access roads, traffic in streams and construction sites drilling. Scientists fisheries issues and conservation groups are concerned: drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale could impact fisheries, particularly in small streams, especially in the watersheds of the Little Kanawha Tygard and where it is a lot of drilling at this time.
"There are very serious things happening right now," said Jernejcic. "The best example is what happened in the basin of Fish Creek in Wetzel County. One company built a road right on the creek called Blake Run. Buldozer They fell and we made the filling. It is a road now. EPA federal investigation that case at this time. "
Larger rivers like the Ohio and Monongahela seem more conducive to environmentally speaking sites bulk water, but Jernejcic said that these watersheds have a few points against them." First, it are transport costs. "he says." It takes a lot less fuel for 200 trucks that shuttle between a small creek that sending 25 to 30 miles to a big river. "And there are concerns about potential losses of water that would feed the rivers navigable. The U.S. Corps of Engineers has already ruled against the removal of water from lakes Tygart and Stonewall Jackson. "
Another problem associated with fisheries is the potential for water pollution caused by spills of water fracturing. 20% to 50% of the water used to fracture wells returned to the surface. The companies that transport water by truck to a storage site or a treatment center, the pump in small reservoirs built for that, or re-inject the hollow in the earth beneath the water table known.
The proposed laws will focus primarily on issues of transport by truck. Larry Orr, an assistant vice president for environmental Trout Unlimited, Kanawha Valley area, would prefer that one focuses on the quantity of water withdrawn and the prevention of contamination of rivers by sewage fracturing. "From a viewpoint of a fisherman, quantity and water quality are of paramount importance," said Orr, a chemical engineer at retirement. "I am concerned about how they manage all these brines. I worry that they want to start everything here reinjected underground without treating them first. They say it will never return to the surface. I have a hard time believing that. "
While legislators are stuck with all this companies building the infrastructure necessary to provide the operation of Marcellus in even greater scale. "Some of these companies dig huge ponds where they can store millions of gallons of water." Jernejcic said. "They build pipelines to get the water out of rivers. In Wetzel County, there are at least a dozen of these ponds dug. They cover five acres and are 30 am 40 feet deep.
" And companies continue to apply for permits to drill. These permits are good for 2 years, then you have accountants in corporate offices who decide where drilling will be watching where they could get X million gallons water. I visited one of these drill sites perched on a slope of a steep cliff. I asked the boss why they chose this place, and he told me that someone in Oklahoma City had sent him the GPS coordinates. "
" It boils down to saying that people outside of Virginia Western make decisions about what will happen here, and we have no coherent legislative framework in place. We need it. We need a benchmark so that if someone makes a gaffe, the authorities may see. "
Effect of Marcellus drilling is West Virginia Fisheries could be profound
As West Virginia's lawmakers work on a bill that would regulate natural-gas drilling in the state's Marcellus Shale deposits, one point has become abundantly clear: The process revolves around water - water that would be pumped from creeks and rivers; water that, once used, would be polluted with chemicals and toxic metals; water that, if later allowed to escape, could contaminate the very streams and rivers it was drawn from.
"I don't think the average West Virginian understands the sheer amount of water required for these wells," said Frank Jernejcic, a district fisheries biologist for the state Division of natural Resources. "It takes 1 million to 5 million gallons per well. Most tanker trucks hold about 4,500 gallons. If a well needs a million gallons, the driller would need 220 trucks to transport the water to the well site. If the well needs 5 million gallons, it's going to take around 1,000 truckloads to do the job."
The water is used for a process called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Drillers add chemicals to the water and pump it into the well under intense pressure, where it fractures deep-lying rock strata and frees up additional volumes of gas. Companies are already drilling in the Marcellus formation, and much of the water they're using is pumped from streams located near wellheads. Many of those streams are quite small.
Jernejcic and his colleagues believe too much pumping, or pumping during dry spells, could dewater some streams to a point where fish and other aquatic life would die. "We currently have no law regulating water withdrawal from streams, and we need one," Jernejcic said. "The [Division of Environmental Protection] has an 'interactive water withdrawal tool' on its website that recommends to drillers when a stream is too low to pump from, but it's really only a suggestion and it has no teeth."
Janet Clayton, a DNR biologist who specializes in mussel research, said several beds of mussels were left high and dry last summer on streams where Marcellus pumping was taking place. "We don't know definitively if pumping led to those mussel beds being stranded, but companies were removing water from those streams during a drought," Clayton said. "You can't dewater a stream and expect aquatic life to live." One endangered mussel species - the clubshell mussel - is known to exist in the Little Kanawha River and Middle Island Creek watersheds, both Marcellus-drilling hotspots. A second species common to those streams, the snuffbox mussel, is currently under consideration for endangered status. "Theoretically, a company withdrew enough water from those streams to kill a snuffbox or a clubshell, the company would be in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act," Clayton said.
Biologists also worry about the amount of sediment being stirred up by Marcellus-related activity by road building, stream crossings and well-site development. Fisheries scientists and conservation groups worry that gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale might affect fishing, particularly in small streams and more particularly in the Tygart and Little Kanawha river watersheds, the current hotbeds of Marcellus activity.
"Some of the stuff that's going on is pretty bad," Jernejcic said. "The big, bad example is in the Fish Creek drainage of Wetzel County. One of the companies built a road right up the streambed of a little stream named Blake Run. They bulldozed a waterfall and filled it in. It's a road now. The [federal] EPA is investigating that one."
Large rivers such as the Ohio and Monongahela would appear to be environmentally friendlier water-withdrawal sites, but Jernejcic said those watersheds have a couple of strikes against them. "First there are the transportation costs," he explained. "It takes a lot less fuel to move 200 trucks a few miles from a little headwater stream than it would take to move them 25 or 30 miles from a major river. "And then there concerns about the potential loss of water that could be used to supplement river flows for navigation. The [U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers has already expressed misgivings about having water taken from Tygart and Stonewall Jackson lakes."
Yet another fisheries-related concern is the potential for water pollution caused by escaped frack water. Twenty to 50 percent of the water used to frack a well returns to the surface. Companies can truck that water to storage or treatment facilities, pump it to small reservoirs built for that purpose, or re-inject it into the earth deep below existing water tables.
The legislation under consideration largely deals with issues related to truck transportation. Larry Orr, acting environmental vice-president for the Kanawha Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, would rather see it focus on the amount of water being withdrawn and with preventing frack water from poisoning streams. "From a fisherman's point of view, water quantity and quality have to be the main concerns," said Orr, a retired chemical engineer. "My concern is how they handle all that [frack water] brine. My concern is that they want to start injecting it underground without treatment. They say it isn't ever going to [resurface]. I have a problem believing that."
Even as the legislative wrangling takes place, companies are building the infrastructure needed to support Marcellus drilling on an even larger scale. "Some of the companies are building big pits where they can store millions of gallons of water," Jernejcic said. "They're building pipelines so they can pump the water up from the rivers. In Wetzel County, there must be dozens of those pits. They're up to 5 acres in size, and 30 to 40 feet deep.
Photo: Google Earth "And the companies are continuing to apply for drilling permits. Those permits are good for two years, so you have accountants in corporate offices deciding where to drill based on where they can get X million gallons of water. I visited one well site perched way up on the side of a steep slope. I asked the boss why they chose that spot, and he told me someone in Oklahoma City had sent him the [GPS] coordinates.
"The bottom line is that people outside West Virginia are making decisions about what is going to be done here, and we don't have a coherent regulatory apparatus in place. We need one. We need a bottom line so if someone messes up, [state officials] can give them a proper kick in the ass."
Excerpts from article written by John McCoy published in The Charleston Gazette here: http://wvgazette.com/Outdoors/201102192178
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