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Fracking Review Misses the Mark
Blog posts reflect the views of their authors.
Many Nova Scotians don't want a review of fracking, they want a ban.
After a significant public outcry against the practice, the Government of Nova Scotia has launched a review of the rules and regulations of hydraulic fracturing.
Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial technique for extracting methane from shale deposits. Oil and gas companies drill wells and pump in a mixture of fresh water, sand and toxic chemicals to crack apart shale and release the captured methane. Some of the fracking fluid returns to the surface but much of it is lost underground. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been associated with the contamination of groundwater and water wells as well as other health and environmental impacts.
The review will be led by staff from the departments of energy and environment. The review addresses concerns around water exclusively. The public has been invited to provide comments on the review process and the window for comments closed June 6.
However the limited focus on water leaves out a number of other impacts of fracking:
Air Quality
Storing shale gas at drill sites involves the release of volatile organic compounds which reduce air quality locally. In some cases, rural areas have worse air quality than smoggy cities. Worse still, the haze caused by fracking has been associated with creeping brain damage and other impacts as documented by Dr. Theo Colborn.
Climate Change
The province and industry trumpet shale gas as a clean alternative to coal. It produces less greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy than coal. But a robust review would assess whether these claims are accurate. A full lifecycle analysis of fracking as undertaken by Robert Horwath of Cornell University would provide a clearer picture.
Tourism
Nova Scotia has invested heavily in the tourism sector. Rural areas especially rely on visitors from out of province as a source of economic development. As drill rigs and condensate tanks spring up around rural areas, will tourists avoid these unsightly, industrial structures? What impact would fracking have on the tourism sector?
Radioactivity
Injecting fracking fluids under pressure into the earth releases more than just shale gas. In some areas, radioactive elements are drawn to the surface in the fracking fluid. Water treatment plants have a hard enough time dealing with the toxic chemicals associated with fracking. Radioactive elements Nova Scotia has banned uranium mining in the province
Earthquakes
Fracking arrived in the United Kingdom with a bang. The first fracked wells drilled in that country may have stimulated earthquakes close to the drill sites. The exploratory company has stopped fracking after scientists expressed concerns that there may be a link between fracking and two small earthquakes nearby. Arkansas has also experienced unusual earthquakes and there may be a link with fracking in the state.
While this is not an exhaustive list, given the many negative and potentially dangerous impacts of fracking and the review’s limited focus on water, it’s clear that the review must be expanded at the very least. Some organizations such as the Ecology Action Centre are calling for a full strategic environmental assessment of fracking in Nova Scotia.
Other procedural issues with the review include:
- The terms of reference of the review are very limited and vague.
- The review committee's composition and minutes are secret.
- Many Department of Energy staffpeople have worked in the oil and gas industry. The Deputy Minister of the Environment has an oil and gas background. Is there a conflict of interest to disclose?
- The review focuses on regulations and best practices but does not consider a ban on fracking as an option. Is there a presumption that fracking is safe or can be made safe before any research has been completed?
Even though the review's public comment period has ended, Nova Scotians are welcome to express their concerns to Premier Darrell Dexter, Energy Minister Charlie Parker, Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau or their local MLA.
634 words
Commentaires
slickwater fracking
Submitted by Donald J Whitty (non vérifié) on mer, 06/08/2011 - 18:04.
The governments of Nova Scotia have had a long history of selling off our natural resources at a penny to the pound. Is there a rational, thinking person in this province who thinks the Dexter government will be any different?
Slickwater fracking will take place on the shores of Lake Ainslie and there's not a thing we can do about it. I can personally asure you however that, should the worse case scenario come to fruition, there will be retribution.
FRACKING SUCCESS!!!
Submitted by TruthBeTold (non vérifié) on sam, 06/18/2011 - 10:30.
The fracking review misses the mark allright thanks to everyone who screened and watched the Gasland video in Nova Scotia, the Minister of Environment says "public concerns have been raised primarily about the expanding search and development of shale", so NSE's Review of Hydraulic Fracturing excludes and ignores fracking for Coal Gas in Nova Scotia despite the activities that have been going on for several years now and what the experts say about the environmental risks and lack of regulations.
> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:48:25 -0300
> From: MIN_ENV@gov.ns.ca
> CC: ENERGYMINISTER@gov.ns.ca
> Subject: Review of hydraulic fracturing
>
> Thank you for your May 19, 2011, e-mail regarding the provincial review
> of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in shale for natural gas. In
> particular, you raised the question of why the proposed study is limited
> to shale gas and does not include coal bed methane. For information on
> our current study on hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, I would suggest
> you visit our website at:
>www.gov.ns.ca/nse/pollutionprevention/consultation.hydraulic.fracturing.asp
>
> As a government, we recognize that many of the technical issues may
> overlap but that public concerns have been raised primarily about the
> expanding search and development of shale. This includes large volumes
> of water both used and produced from drilling and fracking, as well as
> use of additives that are specific to the particular rock formations.
> The other concerns relate to the size, complexity and timing of the
> review that we recognize will be difficult to deliver within the
> proposed 12 month timeframe without expanding it to look at other
> issues. This timing is important because we want to reassure Nova
> Scotians that their government has the information necessary to decide
> if and where fracking in shale could be done and under what appropriate
> controls.
>
> I appreciate the information you have provided on coal bed methane and
> coal gasification and will pass this along to technical staff for their
> consideration. I can assure you that information that we do gain on
> fracking in shale may be used where appropriate when other forms of
> unconventional gas are considered for development.
>
> Thank you for your interest and input on this issue.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Original signed by
>
> Sterling Belliveau
> Minister
>
> c: Minister Charlie Parker, Energy
>
So fracking Coal Gas in Nova Scotia is nothing to be concerned about?! Go figure:
- May 2006 Call for proposals for onshore Coal Gas exploration in Inverness County, Cape Breton www.gov.ns.ca/just/regulations/rg1/2006/ma0306.pdf
- Nova Scotia approves coal-bed methane project, November 7, 2007
A Calgary company has a 10-year deal to extract natural gas from the coal fields underneath Springhill, the first development deal of its kind in Nova Scotia. The 10-year production agreement with the province, announced Tuesday, gives Stealth the right to commercially develop methane from the Cumberland Basin coal seam. Within weeks, the company will pump water into the seam, fracturing the coal and releasing methane that will flow up to the surface. "It is often hard to predict what the coals are going to do when you try to produce them," said Kim Doane, who is with Nova Scotia's Department of Energy.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2007/11/07/stealth-gas.html
- List of Oil and Gas projects in Nova Scotia
http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/oil-gas/onshore/current-activity/ e.g.:
"Stealth Ventures Ltd. holds the rights to explore coalbed methane in the Springhill area with their production agreement. East Coast Energy Inc. holds the rights of a coal gas production agreement in the Stellarton area; and Donkin Tenements Inc. also has a coal gas agreement in Sydney Basin area of Cape Breton."
- April 2010 NS Energy Call for Proposals for Coal Gas exploration and development in Tompkinsville Block
http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20100414005
- Map of April 2010 Call for Proposals for Coal Gas exploration in Tompkinsville Block
http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/meb/data/pubs/rn/rn2011-01.pdf
- The provincial energy department is looking for companies interested in exploring for coal gas in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, 14 April 2010
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Business/2010-04-14/article-1010114/Province-seeks-bids-for-coal-gas-exploration/1
- Coal, The Next Generation, 15 April 2010
Kim Doane, a Manager in the Petroleum Resources Division for the Department of Energy, tells us about bids to explore for coal gas in a huge tract of land between Sydney and Glace Bay. (runs 7:29)
http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningcb/2010/04/coal-the-next-generation.html
- Paul Younger's presentation at CBU IMWA Conference about risks of Coal Gas proposal, 8 September 2010
http://www.imwa.info/docs/imwa_2010/IMWA2010_Younger_378.pdf
- Coal Gasification, 9 September 2010
Old ideas like coal gasification are sparking new interest globally. Paul Younger is an expert on the topic from the UK, he is in Sydney for the Mine Water Remediation Conference at CBU. (runs 9:27)
http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningcb/2010/09/coal-gasification.html
- Underground Coal Gasification Environmental Risks and Benefits (Laurus Energy mentioned in CBC interview)
http://laurusenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Laurus-final1.pdf
- Jessica Ernst, Alberta woman blames natural gas fracking for flaming well water, is talking about Coal Gas not shale gas:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iO8Xzq8RqA0T3bwWKDNJ2LsDJuKg?docId=7127574
- NS govt Fact Sheets:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/oil-gas/explore-invest/fact-sheets.asp
- An Introduction to Natural Gas from Coal
http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/resources/RA/onshore/Introduction-to-Natural-Gas-from-Coal.pdf
- Natural Gas from Coal and the Environment - pdf
http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/resources/RA/onshore/Natural-Gas-from-Coal-and-the-Environment.pdf
- Getting Natural Gas from Coal - pdf
http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/resources/RA/onshore/Getting-Natural-Gas-from-Coal.pdf
- What Natural Gas from Coal Means to Nova Scotians - pdf
http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/resources/RA/onshore/What-Natural-Gas-from-Coal-Means-to-Nova-Scotians.pdf
- Energy Assets in Inverness County
http://www.strait-highlands.ns.ca/shrda/shrda_main.nsf/1036295%20-%20Final%20Report%20-%20SHRDA%20Energy%20Asset%20Map2.pdf?OpenFileResource
- Extracts from http://laurusenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Laurus-final1.pdf :
At the most basic level, Underground Coal Gasification projects are developed by drilling two wells into the underground coal seam and creating a connection between them. One of the wells injects oxygen or air while the other extracts the gas. A connection between the injector and extractor is normally created by hydrofracturing, where high pressure water (hydro) is used to break up (fracture) the rock. Once the two wells are connected, the operator ignites the coal and then controls its gasification by varying the amount of air let in and the amount of gas that exits. The gasification process creates a number of compounds in the coal seam, including phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, carbon dioxide, ammonia and sulphide. These compounds can migrate from the gasification zone and contaminate surrounding ground water. UCG is much more difficult to control than conventional gasification as many of the variables (rate of water influx, distribution of reactants in the gasification zone, growth rate of cavity) cannot be controlled. When asked how a catastrophic failure may occur and what form it may take, one of the interviewees noted that the most likely scenarios have already take place — catastrophic groundwater contamination at Hoe Creek (Wyoming) and an underground explosion at a European trial site (Spain). UCG land use constitutes a series of wells drilled into a coal seam with connecting roads and pipelines on the surface as well as any surface facilities required to process the syngas. A large UCG development in a relatively undeveloped environment will still lead to habitat fragmentation issues similar to in situ oil sands development.
- Council of Canadians submission to Review of Hydraulic Fracturing in Nova Scotia never once mentions Coal
http://www.canadians.org/water/documents/fracking/submission-NS-study-review-0611.pdf
- "What sets propaganda apart from other forms of advocacy is the willingness of the propagandist to change people's understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. The leaders of an organization know the information to be one sided or untrue, but this may not be true for the rank and file members who help to disseminate the propaganda." - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
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