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Binghamton Mayor leads push to prevent fracking
A letter is on its way to Governor Cuomo asking him to oppose test runs of hydraulic fracturing in the Southern Tier. As our Elyse Mickalonis tells us, Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan says the residents shouldn’t be treated as guinea pigs and more research needs to be done before fracking is allowed in New York.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- The fracking debate continues in the Southern Tier as Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan joined environmental advocates, physicians, farmers and local business owners Tuesday to announce the release of a letter sent to Governor Cuomo.
"We came together as a coalition to say, 'look governor, support the executive order 41 that's in place to make sure everybody is treated equally in the state of New York' and we want the governor to listen clearly that there should not be a demonstration project. We care just as much about our children and future as much as anyone else in the state,” said Ryan.
The letter has almost 2,300 signatures. It asks the governor to oppose any test runs of Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing in the Southern Tier or anywhere else in New York State.
"If it isn't safe in the New York City watershed, then it shouldn't be allowed anywhere else. Until all these safeguards have been adopted, we don't think that the Southern Tier or any other area should be the learning experience for the fracking industry,” said Walter Hang, Toxics Targeting President.
The letter comes at a time when the DEC has not yet finalized permitting regulations and there is a statewide moratorium on fracking. But not everyone agrees with the terms of the letter. Some say they would even allow test runs on their land.
“It wouldn’t be experimental, because, let’s face it, they been hydrofracking, horizontal drilling since 1982. That’s 31 years, it’s not a new process,” said Victor Furman, Chenango Forks resident.
Proponents of hydrofracking say it's safe and could bring jobs to an area hit hard by flooding, but people here say it’s not worth the risk and more research needs to be done.
"If the Governor is really going to listen to executive order 41. Which, really, if you read it closely, he can't go forward. Legally he can't go forward because they have not done sufficient research into many different areas and so I hope that he's listening,” said Ryan.
A debate both sides are passionate about.
The city of Binghamton currently has a two year ban on hydrofracking. A lawsuit was recently filed with the state Supreme Court on behalf of five plaintiffs to overturn the ban.
Southern Tier residents fear fracking test
Advocates against hydrofracking fear the Southern Tier will be used as a testing ground. Photo by AP.
Toxics Targeting, an environmental database website, has released a letter with more than 1,600 signatures requesting Gov. Andrew Cuomo block a feared three-year hydraulic fracturing test project in the Southern Tier, as well as continue to review the potential environmental impact.
Hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, is the process of blasting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break up rock and release natural gas.
"Pressure on Gov. Cuomo continues to build regarding the fate of Marcellus Shale gas extraction in New York," said Toxics Targeting President Walter Hang. "That is why we must make absolutely sure that no wretchedly bad compromise deals are struck to provide political cover for the powers that be."
The three-year hydrofracking demonstration described by the organization – but not widely publicized elsewhere – involves the Department of Environmental Conservation issuing permits for no more than 100 wells annually in the Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties. The wells would be monitored in a few major areas and would be a test to whether hydrofracking is safe.
"Shale gas extraction must not be allowed in the Southern Tier or any other areas of New York until it is safe for all areas of our state, including the New York City and Syracuse watersheds," wrote Hang. "Until there is a consensus among local, state and federal government authorities, as well as potentially impacted parties that these concerns have been fully resolved, we request that you maintain New York's horizontal hydraulic fracturing moratorium."
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Tioga County landowners look towards propane fracking
A moratorium on hydraulic fracturing is still in place in New York State. But now a group of Tioga County landowners are exploring an alternative to the controversial drilling technique. Our Melissa Kakareka has more.
TIOGA COUNTY, N.Y. -- A group of Tioga County landowners are hoping to bring an alternative form of natural gas drilling to the region.
"It's extremely environmental and it's one we think that can be applied here with great results," said Tioga County Landowners Group Chairman Nick Schoonover.
It's called propane fracking. The Tioga County Landowners Group entered into an agreement with Ecorp and Gasfrac Energy to bring the technique to Tioga County this week.
The process uses gelled liquid petroleum gas instead of water to break up rock and release natural gas in the earth.
"The LPG as a gelled agent goes into the earth transporting the sand, fracturing out into the shale and the LPG then at a point returns to a liquid state and then a gaseous state. So when it returns to the surface of the earth, it returns in a gaseous state with some methane," explained Schoonover.
The method would open up about 135,000 acres of land for drilling in Tioga County. Supporters say it is better for the environment than regular hydrofracking and also requires less truck traffic. But some opponents disagree and are hoping to see a more thorough environmental impact study by the DEC.
"It is not a silver bullet in any sense that there is no pollution problems. It doesn't eliminate what I believe is most significant problem with fracking, which is the brine or produced water," said President of Toxics Targeting Walter Hang.
"The idea is to see how it's accepted by everyone. I think it's a good sound solution and one that I hope we can get with all the environmental community on and go ahead with, because I think it has tremendous merit," said Schoonover.
The DEC says they will follow the guidelines set up for the technique in 1992. They may also conduct additional environmental impact surveys as landowners begin applying for permits.
Propane fracking deal reached in NY; Plan would open 130,000 acres in Tioga County for drilling
The leadership of a group of landowners in Tioga County, New York has reached an agreement with gas drillers to begin developing the Marcellus Shale using liquid propane as a fracking agent.
Brokers of the deal, between eCorp, GasFrac Energy Services, and the Tioga County Landowners Association, believe that fracking with natural gas is not included under a New York state moratorium that prevents drillers from using high volume hydraulic fracturing. The moratorium was put in place in 2008 due to environmental concerns, pending the completion of a review by the state DEC.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding announced on Thursday, the members of the Tioga County coalition will form an LLC called Southern Tier Energy Partners to participate in the deal.
“Our intention is to prove up the play,” said Chris Denton, an attorney representing the landowner coalition. The deal has been accepted in concept by the leaders of the coalition and has to be brought to the membership base of about 2,000 families in coming weeks, Denton said. The deal would give landowners a working interest in the development and production of wells rather than traditional lease payments. It may take several months before the pieces of the deal, including title searches of property owned by the participants, will be finalized, Denton said. He could not release more specific details about the terms as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Fracturing shale with propane is a developing technology proposed as an alternative to traditional high volume hydraulic fracturing, a process that uses sand and a proprietary chemical solution, or diesel fuel. Drawbacks to traditional hydraulic fracturing include the large quantities of fresh water required -– several million gallons per well -- and like amounts of waste produced, including brine and organic solvents.
Chevron has used Gasfrac’s proprietary process of fracking with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in its $7.3B Piceance basins natural gas project. The company’s 2011 annual report supplement noted that the technology is recognized by the World Shale Gas Conference for its economic and environmental performance potential, and “significantly increases production while minimizing water usage.” The company is continuing to test the process. Chevron's assessment of LPG fracturing is the strongest endorsement yet of the process by major company.
Using the process in Tioga County, New York will provide a breakthrough in gas development in a state that has been mindful of concerns with traditional fracturing, according to Denton.
“We’re also concerned about how fracking will affect the environment,” Denton said. The strategy is to show the worth of the Marcellus and the Utica shale’s in Tioga County with initial test wells, which is known in the industry as “proving” a play. The project is intended as a literal proving ground for both the Gasfrac process and the worth of the Marcellus and Utica shale’s under upstate New York and Tioga County in particular, Denton said., and it is a prerequisite to more capital interest.
Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Endwell, has been an influence in the public debate over hydraulic fracturing since the Paterson administration ordered the high volume fracking moratorium in the summer of 2008. She has long advocated consideration of alternative, more benign fracking agents. “This certainly takes the concern over water issues off the table,” she said, “and that’s a big one, with the whole issue of withdrawals, contamination and treatment.” It would not address problems associated with methane migration, she added, which continues to plaque shale wells in Pennsylvania, despite stronger standards adopted by the state last year.
The pending environmental review puts a hold on fracking with chemical solution in New York until the impact is better documented and new guidelines are established. The policy review, called the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), would not apply to fracking with propane. But some have questioned whether propane fracking is sufficiently covered under pre-existing regulations outlined in the state's original Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) from 1992. If not, then the Tioga County project would require separate environmental reviews that could be costly and time consuming.
Denton said attorneys and landowners have done their homework. “Our research indicates that we are in good shape,” he said.
Some environmental advocates questioned that assessment. Even if fracking with propane is less damaging than fracking with a chemical solution, other issues associated with shale gas development must be addressed, said Walter Hang, an activist who has organized anti-drilling efforts in New York. They include waste disposal associated with “produced water,” which is fluid that comes from the ground with high concentration of brine, heavy metals and sometimes naturally occurring radioactive particles.
Propane fracking "is not a magic bullet that lets them go forward,” said Hang, who heads Toxic Targeting, an Ithaca firm that compiles environmental data on brownfield sites. “I’m not so sure they (the Tioga County project) will be able to avoid a more vigorous (regulatory) review.”
LPG Fracking Coming to Tioga NY?
Tioga County (WENY) - Deep shale hydrofracking could be coming to the Southern tier a lot sooner than a lot of people think. A company has come up with a way to do it without using millions of gallons of water.
And a group of about two-thousand local land owners, called Southern Tier Energy Partners, signed an agreement with 2 companies that want to start drilling in a matter of months. The Method is known as LPG Fracturing. It uses gelled liquid petroleum gas instead of chemically infused water and sand.
The method's never been used in New York and still needs to be tested by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The company GASFRAC primarily uses this method in Canada, and claims it wouldn't violate any provisions in New York's Environmental Impact Study.
The LPG Fracking method is similar to other horizontal fracking methods in that it uses a substance to crack the shale and release the gas. Walter Hang from Toxics Targeting in Ithaca says this method still doesn't get rid of the brine that comes back up with the gas.
“You're not using water to crack the rock but that does not eliminate the generation of the toxic brine if we don't have a good way to manage this contaminated brine then this proceeding should not be allowed to go forward.”
WENY's calls to the Chairman of the Tioga Landowners Group were not returned. We will keep you updated on this story as it develops.