ITH Poker Forum

[Taardvark]

I don't watch the show ever but I'm in a hotel room this week and caught "CSI" and they had a show about frakking so it looks like it is starting to get more attention in the mainstream.

[darvon]

Yep.

I saw previews of it being in next weeks GLEE.

[Bullajami]

Pennsylvania just elected a new governor, who is fracking friendly. While we were in Pittsburgh recently the charm offensive was in full swing there. Lots of TV ads about how fracking in Pennsylvania is going to create gozillions of new jobs and break our dependence on foreign oil.

What will it take for President Obama to make these miners accountable?

[toom]

EPA administrator Lisa Jackson:

"I'm not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water but the investigation is ongoing."

Sen. James Inhofe (R, OK):

Lisa Jackson's statement today that she does not know of any proven case of water contamination further demonstrates that States are regulating hydraulic fracturing effectively and efficiently, and there is no need for the federal government to step in.

(emphasis added)

[janeg]

Gas Drilling Industry Makes Stunning Admission

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Officials with the Marcellus Shale drilling industry made a shocking admission Tuesday morning.
The president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents natural gas companies, said the group now believes the natural gas exploration industry is partly responsible for rising levels of contaminants found in area drinking water.
The group came to the conclusion after reviewing research from Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

Methane Contamination of Drinking Water Accompanying Gas-Well Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing

Methane concentrations were detected generally in 51 of 60 drinking-water wells (85%) across the region, regardless of gas industry operations, but concentrations were substantially higher closer to natural-gas wells (Fig. 3). Methane concentrations were 17-times higher on average (19.2 mg CH4 L-1 ) in shallow wells from active drilling and extraction areas than in wells from nonactive areas

Cattle from Tioga County Farm Quarantined after Coming in Contact with Natural Gas Drilling Wastewater

The Department of Agriculture announced today that it has quarantined cattle from a Tioga County farm after a number of cows came into contact with drilling wastewater from a nearby natural gas operation.

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said uncertainty over the quantity of wastewater the cattle may have consumed warranted the quarantine in order to protect the public from eating potentially contaminated beef.

“Cattle are drawn to the taste of salty water,” said Redding. “Drilling wastewater has high salinity levels, but it also contains dangerous chemicals and metals. We took this precaution in order to protect the public from consuming any of this potentially contaminated product should it be marketed for human consumption.”

Redding said 28 head of cattle were included in the quarantine, including 16 cows, four heifers and eight calves. Those cattle were out to pasture in late April and early May when a drilling wastewater holding pond on the farm of Don and Carol Johnson leaked, sending the contaminated water into an adjacent field where it created a pool. The Johnsons had noticed some seepage from the pond for as long as two months prior to the leak.

The holding pond was collecting flowback water from the hydraulic fracturing process on a well being drilled by East Resources Inc.

Grass was killed in a roughly 30- x 40-foot area where the wastewater had pooled. Although no cows were seen drinking the wastewater, tracks were found throughout the pool. The wet area extended about 200-300 feet into the pasture.

The cattle had potential access to the pool for a minimum of three days until the gas company placed a snow fence around the pool to restrict access.

Subsequent tests of the wastewater found that it contained chloride, iron, sulfate, barium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium, strontium and calcium.

[kinnipak]

Thought of this thread when I saw this today....

OH QUAKES

[janeg]

There have been other reports linking earthquakes to fracking; there was a whole weird cluster of them in Arkansas and one in Blackpool, England.