What would Rachel Carson Do? I can’t say for sure but I think she would speak out on this matter.
One July 27, 2011 the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission voted to shut down injection wells in the areas of Arkansas that are prone to earthquakes. After reading the announcement I did the “happy dance” in my living room. I had been anxiously awaiting the ruling and hoped it would go this way. Why do I care? I don’t live in Faulkner, White or Cleburne county. I don’t even live in Arkansas. I care because I’m a native Arkansan and love my home state. I care because I am concerned about the environment and what gas drilling is doing to Arkansas.
To understand all this you need to know about the Fayetteville Shale. It’s a layer of shale that holds natural gas deposits, not flowing reservoirs, but drops of gas locked in this fine grained shale. The Fayetteville Shale is a strip that stretches from near Fort Smith to around Little Rock. It is ranges from 50 to 550 feet in thickness is found anywhere from 1500 feet to 6500 feet deep. It formed during the Mississippian age as dead plants and animals became compacted. It has long been known about the gas deposits but there wasn’t a practical way to extract the gas. It wasn’t until the development of hydraulic fracturing that the removal of the shale gas deposits became feasible. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as hydrofracking or fracking, is performed by drilling a well vertically first then a horizontal well is drilled into the lower portion of the shale. Then, high pressure fracking liquids are injected to fracture the shale and extract the gas. Fracking chemicals are also used in the drilling process to reduce friction. There are over 500 chemicals in fracking fluids and by the passage of the 2005 Bush/Cheney Energy Bill (Halliburton Loophole) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, these chemicals didn’t have to be released to the public. Recently that law was modified and all but 62 chemicals must be release to the public. These 62 are considered trade secrets. That sends a big red flag up for me. We’re not making a secret recipe food here.
There are 10 gallons of waste water produced for each gallon of gas produced. A single frack can use between 1 and 8 million gallons of water and a well can be fracked up to 18 times. Not all this waste water comes back up. Around 20 percent of the chemical laden fracking water stays in the ground. The remaining water is put into storage ponds that are “supposed” to be lined to prevent leakage into the ground water. A second well, called an injection well, is drilled down below the area where the source of drinking water is located and above the fracking area. This waste water is pressure injected back into the ground for disposal. These injection wells are believed to have been the cause of the recent earthquakes in and around Faulkner County.
But earthquakes, serious as they are, are not the only issue at hand here. The fracking fluids are “allegedly” contaminating drinking water wells, creeks, and other bodies of water. Residents have reported water that is discolored (I’ve seen it), and has a foul smell. There are creeks in the Booneville, AR area that have visible petroleum residues and reddish substances in them. Tar looking water flows from some of the drinking wells in that part of the state. Other than water contamination and scarring of the land, is air quality. While waiting to inject waste water the water is placed in holding ponds and tanks and left to evaporate, releasing the chemicals into the air. A buildup of ozone is the result. Yes, we need the ozone layer, but we don’t need ozone in the Troposphere. It causes and exacerbates respiratory problems. We now have ozone alerts occasionally in central Arkansas.
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. While I’m happy about the ruling, there are still problems. With this ruling the waste water will be trucked to other parts of the state that are not earthquake prone or to other states. While we may be moving it from one “backyard”, it will be going to someone else’s. Then there is the wear and tear on our roads as the trucks move millions of gallons of water to the new disposal sites.
What’s the solution? I don’t know. Like everyone else, I live a lifestyle that is made possible by the use of petroleum products. If we could find a way to extract the gas deposits (we could drill for the next 60 years before all the Fayetteville Shale deposits are exhausted) and not contaminate, it would be wonderful. Also, in the defense of the gas wells – is that their income is supposed to keep Arkansas recession proof. As of a few weeks ago (I haven’t checked lately), Arkansas was 6th in the nation for the amount of surplus funds.
I hope an answer comes in the near future. I’m just one person who never intended to become an environmental activist. I will never be a Rachel Carson. I think that if I do nothing else, I can increase awareness of this issue. Look around you. Do you enjoy your clean air, good water and beautiful landscape? If you do, do your part to make sure it stays that way. If you get a chance, drive through a drilling area and look around. What you see will shock you and make you feel violated. Look at the creeks in central Arkansas and then imagine them as Crooked Creek, Mill Creek, Water Creek, Clabber Creek or Blue John. Not a good image. Think about all the times that you went to play in the creek in the hot summer or went to get crawdads or minnows to go fishing. Think how, we as kids, lay down on our bellies and drank out of the creek, never worrying about anything more than a cow upstream.
I've never wanted to be a trouble maker, whistle blower, or even do anything to call attention to myself - but the gas drilling in Arkansas has made me change how I look at life. I hope you will take the time to increase your awareness of what is going on here.
