Potential water and air pollution from gas fracking and production worries family
By Brandon Evans | Published Sunday, December 6, 2009
Tim and Christine Ruggiero's biggest issue with the drilling of a gas well in their front yard is the potential of the operation to pollute the air their daughter breathes and the water she drinks.
In September, Aruba Petroleum cut down 100 feet of fenceline while the couple was at work, and their 9-year-old daughter Reilly was at school. The company proceeded to convert the Ruggieros' modest horse pasture into a gas drilling and production site.
The drilling operation now occupies four of the Ruggieros' 10 acres of property. They own the property but not the mineral rights beneath it. Tim understands the law but said he never expected an energy company to occupy his land and drill a well there because they own so few acres on such a large lease.
"We own 10 acres on a 953-acre lease," he said. "So it's difficult to understand why Aruba Petroleum felt compelled to take over at least four of those acres without notice or just compensation when they had so many other options."
Lack of oversight?
Due to current laws related to gas production, the Ruggieros can expect little help from traditional environmental regulation agencies.
When the U.S. Congress passed The Energy Policy Act of 2005, it exempted the use of hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The act was passed by Congress in 1974 to protect America's water supply. It included rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs and ground water wells.
This prompted the couple to pay for testing their well water prior to the fracturing.
"They are going to be drilling through the water table," Tim said. "They use carcinogenic chemicals during the fracturing. Some of it might get into the table."
Fracking has begun at the well in front of the Ruggieros' home. Fracking is done by injecting more than a million gallons of water, combined with sand and chemicals, into the shale. The pressure of the sand, water and chemicals cracks the shale. This frees natural gas from underground pockets to flow back into the well.
The industry does not have to identify the types of chemicals it uses in this process. According to a study released last month by the Environment Texas Research and Policy Center though, enough is known about the chemicals to deem them hazardous to human health.
"Even with incomplete information from disclosure laws in several states and partial information supplied by some companies, we know that chemicals injected in fracturing operations are dangerous and belong nowhere near drinking water," read the report.
Some of the most hazardous chemicals include 2-butoxythenol, naphthalene, formaldehyde, ethylbenzene and xylene. The report reads that as much as 91 percent of the fluids remain underground. The chemicals "may migrate through underground aquifers and find their way up to drinking wells."
In Pavillion, Wyo., nearly a third of the town's water wells were contaminated with a certain fracking chemical. The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a study to determine if fracking is the culprit in the contamination.
The Ruggiero's pre-fracking water test found the water from their well to be clean. After the fracking is concluded, they plan on testing the water again.
"How can we continue to live here?" Tim asked. "We can't afford to keep testing the water."
Air quality also is not regularly monitored. The gas companies must self-report any possible violations. Several recent studies have found that gas production has the potential to seriously deteriorate air quality.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently began their own study on the impact of gas production on air quality in the Barnett Shale.
"TCEQ is in the process of studying emissions from gas production and their impacts in the Barnett Shale area," said TCEQ spokesman Terry Clawson.
Thirty staff members have tested air quality at more than 60 locations in Wise, Denton, Parker and Tarrant counties.
"The study will be ongoing, but we expect to have a report by the end of the calendar year or early next year," said Tony Walker, director of TCEQ's Dallas-Fort Worth office.
Keeping clean
Some energy companies have taken it upon themselves to limit emissions from gas production.
"It is fundamentally important to reduce emissions," said Chip Minty, a spokesperson for Devon Energy. "No matter what industry you are in it is important to cut down on emissions."
He said Devon performs what is called a "green completion." They fit wells, pipelines and valves with apparatus that better controls pressure and limits the amount of certain emissions. Minty said they have done a green completion on 95 percent of their wells.
However, since such pollution-preventing efforts are completely voluntary, many energy companies fail to utilize such technology.
Wilma Subra, a chemist and a grandmother, conducted an air quality study at DISH, a small town several miles east of Wise County. She has conducted tests on air pollution by the oil and gas industry since the 1970s. She said making the efforts done by companies like Devon mandatory would significantly cut down on pollution created during gas production.
"Policies could be adopted that require companies to install vapor recovery units on condensation tanks," Subra said. "And they could limit the number of tanks that could be in one area."
The gas industry also avoids compliance with the Clean Air Act due to the size of individual wells and condensation tanks. They are considered minor sources. Instead, companies simply apply for a permit by rule from TCEQ.
"Under the permit by rule, one is allowed to release up to 25 tons of pollutants per year," Subra said. "A single condensation tank will easily release 22 tons."
She said this becomes hazardous to human health when several are positioned in the same area. Her studies have found the release of high quantities of benzene and other toxic chemicals into the air.
"(Benzene) is a known cancer-causing agent," Subra said. "When several of these are grouped together the pollution released is sometimes worse than what is released from big industrial facilities."
State starts another study
Subra's study in DISH has prompted the Environmental and Injury Epidemiology and Toxicology Unit of the Texas Department of State Health Services to conduct an investigation into concerns related to natural gas production.
At least 50 residents will be tested by the agency.
Residents have reported sinus infections, nosebleeds, irritated eyes, lingering coughs and acute headaches. These symptoms match what is expected due to exposure from the toxins identified as above permissible levels in the DISH study.
At this point, the industry is mainly self-regulated. Even though the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) regulates oil and gas production, concerned citizens provide a lot of the reporting of gas industry infractions to the TRC.
On Oct. 29, Christine Edwards-Ruggiero witnessed the spill of a muddy substance into her yard. She reported it to the TRC a couple hours later. An agent from TRC said Aruba had not reported it. She was told it was "mud from the cellar." TRC instructed Aruba Petroleum employees to clean the spill. It was also going to be tested for chlorine, benzene and hydrocarbons.
"Do we stay and ruin our health, or leave and ruin our credit?" said Christine of their home in the Allison area.
On Tuesday night, the North Central Texas Communities Alliance (NCTCA) met in Fort Worth to call for a moratorium on further gas production and drilling in the Barnett Shale until several issues are addressed. According to its Web site, the NCTCA is a collection of "individuals, organizations and communities throughout the Barnett Shale area working on local, state and national levels for positive solutions to the problems related to natural gas drilling and pipelines."
