Coming soon? Town in N. Dakota may show future oil, gas impact

***********environmentalandenergylawbrief****/hydraulic-fracturing/duke-study-on-methane-in-water-wells/ drill baby drill

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So the Times removes my post yet lets all manner of slanderous posts remain in almost every thread about oil&gas development. Posts convicting companies of things they are not guilty of. I guess we know which side of the political and editorial fence the Times sits on... But then we wouldn't want facts to get in the way of a good emotional argument....

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Please watch the documentary Split Estate. It tells of people who are deathly sick now that there has been cracking in there communities. It is not just one area , but many. Money can't help you when you can't breathe or have no good water to drink. It is no help when your spouse is dying or your children have cancer either. You may not miss the clean water or fresh air till gone ,but you will miss them. They can drill 200 feet from your house.they make everything in the area higher priced too, so you are paying much more than currently. How is that a help?some of these peoe on documentary actually have water that can be lit with a match, even whole creeks full of it. Read, think, pray and lay your pen down and don't sign away your future generations heritage of clean water, soil, and air.

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There is in fact a documented case, and the E.P.A. report that discussed it suggests there may be more. Researchers, however, were unable to investigate many suspected cases because their details were sealed from the public when energy companies settled lawsuits with landowners. Current and former E.P.A. officials say this practice continues to prevent them from fully assessing the risks of certain types of gas drilling. I still don’t understand why industry should be allowed to hide problems when public safety is at stake, If it’s so safe, let the public review all the cases.

Tainted Water Well Challenges Claim of Fracking’s Safety - NYTimes**** 4/08/11

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Ya gotta love it! People working and getting paid good wages and benefits, taxes being paid, businesses thriving, and everybody's happy happy happy!

" the contamination was likely coming from fracking".????? Baloney!

We need scientific proof from reputable scientists who have no political agenda. Unlike the 60's hippies who inhabit the epa currently who make assertions based on their political agenda.

But strangely enough, I have to wonder now if fracking contamination had anything to do with that 8 point rabbit I spotted a while back. That thing was HUGE man! :)

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So EPA researchers drilled two wells and found lots of chemicals, which could be tied to drilling. For example, they found levels of benzene, which is known to cause cancer and other health effects, far higher than safe drinking water standards. The presence of other chemicals — like synthetic glycols and alcohols — persuaded them that the contamination was likely coming from fracking.

"Alternative explanations were carefully considered to explain individual sets of data. However, when considered together with other lines of evidence, the data indicates likely impact to ground water that can be explained by hydraulic fracturing," the EPA reports says.

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People in Pavillion, located on the Wind River Indian Reservation, contacted the EPA three years ago, complaining that their water smelled and tasted bad.

The agency started sampling drinking water wells in 2009 and found low levels of methane and other hydrocarbons in most of those wells. Although the levels did not exceed drinking water standards in most cases, the agency recommended that people get other sources of water for drinking and cooking, Encana, the company which drilled the wells, started providing water. The company says it provides drinking water to 21 households at a cost of about $1,500 per month.

The agency was concerned that higher concentrations of some of the chemicals might be lurking elsewhere in the aquifer.

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For the first time, a government study has tied contamination in drinking water to an advanced drilling technique commonly known as "fracking."

The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft study Thursday tying the technique, formally called hydraulic fracturing, to high levels of chemicals found in ground water in the small town of Pavillion, Wyo. EPA scientists found high levels of benzene, a known carcinogen, and synthetic glycol and alcohol, commonly found in hydraulic fracturing fluid.

The gas industry and other experts have long contended that fracking doesn't contaminate drinking water. The EPA's findings provide the first official confirmation to the contrary.

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@TXBuckeye I agree the ich from the EPA has been on a witch hunt after the gas/oil drillers over the last 4 years. The only thing that stopped her from doing anything was an election. The election is over so if crap is going to hit the fan so to speak it will be in the coming months.

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TX,thank you for the post.What isnt mentioned about the Cleveland issues are that it was methane from a COAL mine that was abandoned.In the Pa. case,it was a $$ grab perpetuated to coerce funds from the producers for gas that was NATURALLY there(yep,it bubbles to the surface from mother nature)before the wells were even drilled.Like the State Farm ad that says if its on the internet,it has to be true.Gasland was the largest hoax perpetuated on the public since the last election

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good info nascar, thanks

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The small town of Dimock, Pennsylvania was ecologically devastated after Cabot Oil and Gas drilled dozens of wells in the area. Faulty cement casing was the suspected cause of the contaminated local water wells, which, in turn, drove down property prices and caused residents to get sick from exposure to methane and other chemicals. State environmental regulators eventually fined the company and ordered the permanent shutdown of three wells, but the damage cannot be undone.

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Loophole.” This loophole, which exempts fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act, was included in the 2005 Energy Act. It was pushed by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, once head of Halliburton, a major player in the fracking industry.

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Ohio has already seen what can happen when fracking goes bad. In 2007, there was an explosion of a water well and contamination of at least 22 other drinking water wells in Bainbridge Township, near Cleveland, after hydraulic fracturing of a nearby natural gas well owned by Ohio Valley Energy Systems. More than two years later, over forty families are still without clean drinking water and are waiting to be connected to a town water system.

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You also need to see the You Tube that show Fracking Hell, the Untold Stories. Little town, then a bomb then the gas and oil pack up and leave. What is does to roads, etc.

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and then there is the data being used..we are not in the "sweet spot" as I understand it in this part of the county.Scrap,I been seeing rigs in places I would have bet they couldnt have got them.Any idea who is drilling your area now?I am still stuck in Penn. most of the time

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and the weather..those men earn their $$.

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Slo: Trustee says he`s broke, but 676 is ODOT, no way it will handle triples.

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And its still going to come down to a few producers, using a modest amount of tenders, and compressor station mechanics. and disposal and injection well attendants. Good if you can get that work. Those rigs still break a man down its not something for those that are AARP age.

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sorry Srap,I meant that very little pipe is handled vert now(by hand).Sounds like you might need to get on your trustee.Wait till the modern triples show up.I was amazed.

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slogoin, HR and construction is what I do, i'm comfortable, but like the $$$$ offered to me, but prob is, when this boom busts, what will i do, pray for another job local, or have to move?

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Slogoin:No Tongs used, to slam pipe, how to trip bit?. Admittedly, pads are better these days, but its not all biscuits and gravy, govt. "invested in fracking technology". Google it. Drive 676 from Watertown to 792, watertrucks have that road wavy and breaking down, that was chip and sealed last summer, Thanks John.

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If you can learn/fine tune your skills as in HR,it could be applied to many different jobs/industry's(sp) and IF all this happens could open up a lot of opportunity.I wont take on any debt right now until seeing what happens.My car fleet is getting old and a 16 yr old pickup.But until things stabilize,no debt at this house except some college costs for the kids.

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slogoin, I've read some of that, and that alleviates ALOT of concern, but i still think theres a decent amount of issues that could arise. And the job I was offered was more of a HR managing job, so a little more long term stability, but heck, do we really know?

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Ask,I am not comfortable with injection wells at all.But technology will soon drastically reduce the amt of water being used and disposed of.New process for cleaning used water,and the liquid propane/sand frac is going to change the whole game.New filtering tech is leaving the water cleaner than before being used and appears that it is cheaper than a disposal well.The Times needs to get a good write up so folks know the diff between an injection well,a frac'd well and the diff between horiz and vert holes.

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