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A National Crisis in
the Making

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING – “FRACKING”

What is Fracking? Fracking is a form of gas and oil well drilling

Drill 7,500 feet down

Forcing water, sand, and chemicals into shale – (a form of

sedimentary rock)

Release oil and gas

Shale Oil and Gas Reserves (U.S. Energy Information Administration – eia)
 National Issues from Natural Gas Production by
Fracking
PROS
Creates jobs nationally
Less CO2 emissions than using coal or oil
Tax revenue
Lease income from Public Lands use
Energy independence from foreign oil ,create trade
surplus from export of liquid natural gas (LNG)
Geopolitical implications
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uVGY3sIBsA
CONS
Water and air contamination
Harmful to humans, livestock, and crops
Excessive water usage
Seismic activity
Costs for regulation, inspection, litigation, cleanup
Cumulative effects of fracking is still unknown
Generally unregulated
Still produces CO2 at significant levels
NOT A RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE
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The Expert Opinions on Fracking

BLM - (U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management)
“Companies pay for development of public energy resources.
Total royalty, rentals, and bonus payments vary from year to year.
In fiscal year 2008, $5.5 billion was paid to Federal and State
governments for Federal onshore energy leasing and production.
 For oil and gas, half of this money goes to the States and half goes
to the U.S. Treasury.”
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy.html
USGS - (United States Geological Survey)
“USGS has conducted research that associates deepwell fluid
injection, a process sometimes used to dispose of produced waters
or flowback waters from hydraulic fracturing and gas production,
with the triggering of earthquakes.”

“Concerns also exist regarding the potential contamination of

fresh groundwater resources from oil and gas extraction wells that
use hydraulic fracturing; either from the petroleum resource being
produced or from the chemicals introduced in the fracturing
process. USGS is studying well water quality in several states
where hydraulic fracturing is being practiced, including Arkansas,
New York, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. “
http://www.usgs.gov/hydraulic_fracturing/
GAO – (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Water is also the primary component of fracturing fluid. Table 3 shows the
average amount of freshwater used to drill and fracture a shale oil or gas well.
Average freshwater used (in gallons):
Shale play For drilling For hydraulic fracturing
Barnett 250,000 4,600,000
Eagle Ford 125,000 5,000,000
Haynesville 600,000 5,000,000
Marcellus 85,000 5,600,000
Niobrara 300,000 3,000,000
Table 3: Average Freshwater Use per Well for Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing
Source: GAO analysis of data reported by George King, Apache Corporation
(2011).
GAO – (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
“Oil and gas development, whether conventional or shale oil and
gas, pose inherent environmental and public health risks, but the
extent of these risks associated with shale oil and gas development
is unknown, in part, because the studies GAO reviewed do not
generally take into account the potential long-term, cumulative
effects.”(Summary)
http://gao.gov/products/GAO-12-732
OSHA – (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
“Hydraulic fracturing sand contains up to 99% silica. Breathing
silica can cause silicosis. Silicosis is a lung disease where lung
tissue around trapped silica particles reacts, causing inflammation
and scarring and reducing the lungs' ability to take in oxygen. ii
Workers who breathe silica day after day are at greater risk of
developing silicosis. Silica can also cause lung cancer and has been
linked to other diseases, such as tuberculosis, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, and kidney and autoimmune disease.”

https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/hydraulic_frac_hazard_alert.html
U.S. Department of Energy
“Protection of water quality through a systems approach. At present
neither EPA or the states are engaged in developing a
systems/lifecycle approach to water management.”
“Agencies should review field experience and modernize rules and
enforcement practices to ensure protection of drinking and surface
waters. Reflects Subcommittee unease that the present arrangement
of shared federal and state responsibility for cradle-to-grave water
quality is not working smoothly or as well as it should.”
“Managing short-term and cumulative impacts on communities,
land use, wildlife, and ecologies. No new studies launched; funding
required from federal agencies or from states.”(p.8)
http://www.shalegas.energy.gov/resources/111811_final_report.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy
“The Subcommittee believes that if action is not taken to reduce
the environmental impact accompanying the very considerable
expansion of shale gas production expected across the country –
perhaps as many as 100,000 wells over the next several decades –
there is a real risk of serious environmental consequences causing a
loss of public confidence that could delay or stop this activity.
 The Subcommittee cautions that whether its approach is followed
or not, some concerted and sustained action is needed to avoid
excessive environmental impacts of shale gas production and the
consequent risk of public opposition to its continuation and
expansion.” (Shale Gas Production Subcommittee Second Ninety
Day Report November 18, 2011, p.10)
http
://www.shalegas.energy.gov/resources/111811_final_report.pdf
EPA – (Environmental Protection Agency)
“Overall, EPA found that applying wastewater discharge requirements would
impose significant burdens in terms of immediate or early shutdown and loss of
gas production from the projects that remained economically viable at 2008 and
2010. For new projects, EPA reached the following findings: (1) CBM projects
do not generally appear economically viable at present, and for many
development opportunities, for substantial periods into the future, and (2)
discharge requirements would further delay these projects ‟ economic viability.
Given these findings for both existing and new sources, EPA ‟s judgment at
this time is that it should not move forward with additional regulation of
wastewater discharges from CBM projects. Pending changes in CBM gas
production economics, and increased volume of CBM activity and wastewater
discharges, and possible changes in the available wastewater management
approaches and/or associated costs, EPA may revisit this decision in future
years.” 
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/oilandgas/upload/cbmea2013.pd
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 There are benefits to increased production of natural gas from fracking

However, every government agency that has investigated fracking concurs

Conclusions that fracking poses many difficult, and possibly unknown, complications to
the environment and to humans

Continued dependence on natural gas development will delay development

of renewal energy sources

Current infrastructure can not easily convert from coal and oil based
sources to natural gas

Dangers are still undetermined

WEBSITE: http://perspectivesonfracking.wordpress.com/