New York Times Looks Like Industry Shill in Latest Story on Gas Drilling

By Adam Federman, Earth Island Journal. Posted June 25, 2009.

Not surprisingly, on the day the report was released, the American Petroleum Institute issued its own statement arguing that the Committee's work, "underscores the vital role of hydraulic fracturing, a production technology needed to develop shale gas," even though the report has little to say on the issue of hydraulic fracturing. "Without hydraulic fracturing," the API continues, "these crucial American-owned natural gas resources would likely remain in the ground. 

Although the API is listed as a member affiliated with the Committee on the Committee's website (http://geology.mines.edu/pgc/members.html), API Media Relations Manager Karen Matusic said in an email that they are "not a member of the Potential Gas Committee." According to the PGC the API has been affiliated in the past but is not currently a member. In their statement, the API goes on to note that access to closed federal lands and offshore federal waters could help address global warming.

Times reporter Jad Mouawad echoes that argument, writing that, "The finding raises the possibility that natural gas could emerge as a critical transition fuel that could help to battle global warming." He then briefly mentions the role hydraulic fracturing has played in opening up shale formations and describes the process as one in which "water is injected at high pressure into wells to shatter rocks deep underground, helping to release trapped gas [italics added]." Of course, that is only part of the story.

Hydraulic fracturing involves not only injecting millions of gallons of water into wells but sand and hundreds of chemicals, many of which have not been made public. The industry's insistence that the chemicals used remain a trade secret has only contributed to skepticism among critics and environmentalists. If the process is clean and does not pose a threat to drinking water supplies, then what does the industry have to hide? If, as the industry claims, contamination of ground water and wells has not occurred why not release the list of chemicals it uses in fracking for public review?

Beyond the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing there are many other environmental issues that often go unmentioned. The massive wells required for hydraulic fracturing can stretch for over a half-mile in every direction. In the Catskills (where part of the Marcellus Shale is located) this is of particular concern because forests and farmland stand in the way of gas extraction. The region, much of which is designated forever wild, is mountainous and prone to flooding. Wetlands, the New York City Watershed (the largest unfiltered drinking water supply in the country), and the Upper Delaware Scenic area and Recreational River are also at risk.

Each time a well is fracked, between two and nine million gallons of water are needed. Each well may be fracked up to 6 or more times. The question of where the water will come from and where the wastewater (or produced water) will be stored is also an issue that must be addressed. There have been several cases of water contamination from poorly stored wastewater, which contains not only the chemicals injected into the well but also radioactive materials and heavy metals.

The New York Times article also leaves out what may be the most important development surrounding natural gas exploration in recent weeks: the possibility that the EPA will review its policy on hydraulic fracturing. EPA head Lisa Jackson recently told NY Rep. Maurice Hinchey that she thinks it would be a good idea for the agency to review environmental risks associated with hydraulic fracturing. Colorado Representatives Diana DeGette and Jared Polis, along with Hinchey, have recently introduced a bill (the FRAC Act) that would close a loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act of 2005 (the Halliburton Loophole) that exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulatory oversight. A matching Senate version has been supported by Bob Casey and Chuck Schumer.

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