Shale gas environmental issues: A Natural Resource Perspective. John Quigley John H Quigley, LLC

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "Shale gas environmental issues: A Natural Resource Perspective. John Quigley John H Quigley, LLC"

Transcription

1 Shale gas environmental issues: A Natural Resource Perspective John H Quigley, LLC

2 A global issue

3 PA A cautionary tale

4 PA s History Punctuated by waves of natural resource extraction 4

5 Drake s first oil well PA s History 5

6 PA s History Timbering over of millions of acres of forests to fuel the early days of the Industrial Revolution 6

7 King Coal PA s History 7

8 In Each Case PA got it wrong Privatized profits, socialized costs Blighted environment Uncounted unplugged wells 180K acres of abandoned mine lands 5,000 miles of polluted streams Multi-billion dollar /perpetual clean up bill Blighted communities (during/ghost towns after) Impaired public health 8

9 Now Consider Marcellus underlays 2/3 of PA 9

10 Now Consider At least 7M acres 25% of PA land area leased for drilling 60K? 200K? wells drilled in PA in next 20 years Each well = millions of gallons of water; refrac? 1000 s mi. of 60K wells:15k mi. gathering lines, 1700 mi. pipelines, industrial infrastructure, (TNC, 2010) Air, water, soils, habitat, other impacts 10

11 Utica? Now Consider 11

12 The Marcellus/Utica Era The wave of natural gas development that is just beginning to sweep over PA will have profound environmental impacts. Change the face of Penn s 60K wells, 3-8% of PA forest damaged (TNC 2010) 12

13 The Marcellus/Utica Era Cumulative impacts will dwarf all of PA s previous waves of resource extraction combined. 13

14 Oil/shallow gas Timbering Coal Marcellus Utica 14

15 New York? 15

16 PA s Public Lands: Under the drill 16

17 PA s State Forest 2.2 million acres First, longest-certified sustainable public forest in US 12% of PA forested land, 88% of certified forest A working forest, managed in balance Critical to PA s: Environment air, water Forest products industry 90K jobs, 3000 businesses, 10% of manufacturing workforce Entrée to $5B green wood market Tourism economy PA s 2 nd largest industry - $33B impact Quality of life 17

18 18

19 The Numbers The Impacts 1.5 million acres SFL in Marcellus fairway 700,000 acres available for exploration 1/3 total state forest 40% SFL in PA Wilds Next years - 10K-12K wells? Plus infrastructure Cumulative impacts? 19

20 The Limits All unleased SFL is environmentally sensitive DCNR analysis - no additional leasing w/surface disturbance without threatening ecological integrity, wild character of the state forest Governor Rendell signed an executive order prohibiting additional leasing DCNR monitoring program WWCD? 20

21 PA State Parks 117 state parks 2009 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management by American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, National Recreation and Park Association 38 million visitors Return $10 to local economies for every $1 invested by PA (PSU, 2010) $818 million in local sales More than 10,500 local jobs 21

22 61 state parks lie atop Marcellus PA owns 15% -20% of state park mineral rights 22

23 Coming to a State Park Near You 23

24 However, Marcellus (and other shales): Vast source of domestically-produced energy Landowner wealth New jobs Replace gasoline, diesel in our vehicles Replace coal in our power plants (and reduce water consumption for electricity generation) Reduce soot, mercury pollution, no ash disposal Improve public health Enhance national energy security Reduce global warming emissions * 24

25 * About that Asterisk Artic Monitoring and Assessment Program: Record high temperatures in the Arctic higher than any time in the last 2,000 years are melting glaciers and ice caps at a rate that is projected to raise global sea levels by 3 to 5 FEET by the year That's up from a 2007 projection of 7 to 23 inches by the U.N.'s scientific panel on climate change. Gas - 50%-55% less CO2 emissions than coal (NETL, 2011) Bridge to renewable future Facilitate renewable energy deployment (Worldwatch Institute, 2010) 25

26 Getting it Right The right regulations The right enforcement The right monitoring The right taxation 26

27 Fracking Technology Developed in states with different land forms Applied to eastern forests for the first time in PA Much to learn Ample reasons for caution 27

28 PA Problems Gas migration Contamination of drinking water wells caused by improper well construction Leaks of wastewater pits Fracking fluid, diesel, other spills at surface Well blowouts, explosions, fires Gas bubbling in middle of Susquehanna River Thousands of recorded violations of enviro regs Infrastructure damage Social impacts 28

29 Scale, pace, volumes The Odds The sheer number of wells that are/will be drilled in coming decades makes incidents inevitable A daily occurrence across PA State government must plan accordingly Full regulatory program Monitoring program Robust enforcement 29

30 Heroic Work Over last 2 years, PA s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) put into place: Drilling-related policies Regulations Fee increases Staffing increases Provided essential protections for PA s water, environment, public health 30

31 PA: Strong State Regulator of Drilling Protective water withdrawal policies Drilling w/w must be treated to Safe Drinking Water Standard for TDS if returned to a river New rules on well design, materials, construction, monitoring, testing and disclosure of chemicals 150-foot buffer requirement from all development for High Quality streams DEP doubled drilling staff by raising drilling application fees 31

32 2011: PA: Strongest State Regulator of Drilling TDS testing done quarterly and radionuclide testing once per year. Results to date show drinking water meets Safe Drinking Water Act requirements DEP Request no drilling w/w to POTW - zero discharge (subject to verification) 32

33 But More, World-Class Regs Needed Proposed: Extend well operator's presumptive liability for water pollution from 1,000 to 2,500 Restrict deep gas drilling within 500 of private water wells and within 1,000 of a public water supply; Prohibit deep gas drilling in flood plains; Comprehensive cradle to grave tracking of wastewater Increasing bonding requirements for deep gas wells Tougher penalties for violations Grant DEP authority to condition well permit based on assessment of impact on public resources 33

34 Need: More, World-Class Regs Needed Required disclosure of amount/chemical characteristics of frack water and wastewater Lifecycle methane emissions Protection of local government authority Local air pollution controls Public lands protections (where mineral rights are privately owned) Require100% water recycling Reduce surface impacts 34

35 What to Do? Abundance of caution in protecting irreplaceable water resources is defensible More study beyond EPA is needed Scientific research on impacts of fracking to groundwater (local and total) Cumulative impacts (air, water, soils, habitat, etc.) Baseline data needed Continual wastewater monitoring Long term ground/surface water monitoring Regulation must follow where the science leads 35

36 Collaborative Model 36

37 Taxation PA - the only gas-producing state in the nation that does not have a drilling tax. Natural gas production must be taxed responsibly Benefit all Pennsylvanians Pay for statewide environmental restoration Make whole communities impacted by drilling Support basic functions of government in a challenging fiscal climate Facilitate the shift to cleaner burning sources of energy that grow our economy, protect public health and the environment 37

38 New York 38

39 New York DEC s revised recommendations (reversing 2009 draft): No fracking in NYC, Syracuse watersheds, buffer zone. No drilling in primary aquifers, 500 buffer zone. No surface drilling on state-owned land 39

40 New York No drilling w/in 500 of private water well or domestic use spring, in 100-year floodplain, or w/in 2,000 of a public drinking water supply well or reservoir - at least until 3 years of experience evaluated. Additional well casing, watertight tanks, secondary containment New permit process for stormwater control measures. Water withdrawal permitting 40

41 New York Disposal of flowback water, production brine, Monitor disposal of flowback water, production brine, drill cuttings and other drilling waste streams similar to medical waste. POTW analysis Local governments notification, driller plans must be consistent w/local land use/zoning laws. Disclose of chemicals Evaluate alternative additives that pose less potential risk. 41

42 New York Enhanced air pollution controls on well pads, use of existing pipelines when available vs. flaring gas. BMPs required for disturbing surface of privately-owned forestland of 150 acres or privately-owned grasslands of 30 acres. Community impacts study High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory 85% of the Marcellus Shale in New York State accessible to natural gas extraction 42

43 With a prudent, thoughtful public policy response, Marcellus shale natural gas development can be an environmental victory that grows our economy. Whether we achieve that victory is up to all of us. 43

44 Contact John H Quigley LLC John.H.Quigley@gmail.com 44