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A Groundbreaking Revelation from the reporters in Binghamton at the Press & Sun Bulletin:
Expert: Anti-drilling claims full of hyperbole | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin
Expert: Anti-drilling claims full of hyperbole
Meeting touts benefits of tapping into Marcellus Shale
By Steve Reilly •sreilly@gannett.com • June 24, 2010, 10:30 pm
BINGHAMTON -- Anti-drilling activists have presented harrowing images -- explosive tap water, contaminated waterways, animals mysteriously losing their hair -- of what they think are the side effects of hydraulic fracturing.
But according to Syracuse University Earth Sciences professor Don Siegel, these concerns are more myth than reality.
"This is the first environmental issue that I've thrown my hat into the ring on," he said. "As a hydrogeologist, I really am almost offended by some of the opposition that's trying to paint a picture of what groundwater resources are like that is completely wrong."
Siegel was among a cadre of industry, government and academic proponents of natural gas extraction in the Southern Tier who spoke at an invitation-only media event Thursday at the Holiday Inn-Arena, where they sought to combat what they claim is misinformation propagated by anti-natural gas activists.
Even though the session was invitation-only, two protesters showed up outside with signs against drilling.
Inside, the message was all positive.
"New investments will be made in a region where multimillion -- and even multibillion -- dollar investments have not been seen to this level in years," said Broome County Executive Barbara Fiala, "and we can do all this while protecting the environment."
Drilling that makes use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or "hydrofracking," has been stymied in New York since 2008, when Gov. David Paterson ordered the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to stop granting well permits while it drafted a supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement to address the technique.
As the sGEIS nears completion, the redoubled efforts of those opposed to drilling in the Marcellus Shale have put its advocates on the offensive.
Siegel, perhaps the star speaker at the event, said he "felt compelled to speak out for good information" after hearing environmentalists raise concerns he thinks are invalid. He presented a list of the "not-problems," of hydraulic fracturing.
The radioactivity of shale cuttings, he said, is "almost unmeasurable" and won't pose a danger if it is placed in area landfills. Water extraction needed to fracture shale beds is also not an issue, Siegel said, noting that the millions of gallons needed for each well pale in comparison to other uses and are not a threat to waterways.
Siegel added that drinking water supplies are "essentially disconnected" from the Marcellus Shale, and the "microscopic little cracks" created by hydraulic fracturing in shale beds a mile deep pose little danger to the residents and landowners above.
Although Siegel pointed to two concerns he does have -- methane migration that can occur when wells are improperly cemented and the relatively high salinity of the waste water that emerges from a well after it is fractured -- he said they are relatively minor compared to the hyperbolic claims of those opposed to drilling and expressed confidence the gas industry is finding solutions.
Another local academic with experience around natural gas industry, incoming Broome Community College President Kevin Drumm, described his experience with the gas industry in Wyoming as "virtually entirely positive" during his remarks Thursday.
Drumm previously served as president of Northern Wyoming Community College District, which sits just north of two massive pockets of natural gas "which could only be dwarfed in the future, possibly, by the Marcellus Shale."
"Our campus was one of the fastest-growing campuses in the United States, and virtually all of our graduates were going out into very good-paying energy industry jobs," Drumm said. "The energy industry creates great jobs -- lots of jobs -- and we were heavily involved in our colleges in training for those jobs."
Drumm sees potential for the expansion of BCC's civil engineering, technology and health science programs if the natural gas industry comes to the Southern Tier.
Mark Scheuerman, director of government and media relations for Talisman Energy USA, agreed with Siegel that the primary issues from hydraulic fracturing are controllable and occur at the surface rather than deep underground, pointing to the transportation of non-diluted chemicals and the cement casings around wells as areas where DEC regulators should focus.
"We do really well in engineering a safe, responsible operation," Scheuerman said, "but what we need to do better is to communicate and have information provided."
After the speakers finished, Mayor Matthew T. Ryan rose to ask why taxpayers were paying for DEC's regulation of the industry and why the gas is being shipped out of state by pipelines rather than being kept locally to lower energy costs.
"Why isn't there a plan in place that makes a certain portion of that gas stay in the state and lower our costs immediately, because we're sitting on such a great resource?" Ryan asked.
Scheuerman answered that industry has been funding regulators in other states, including Pennsylvania, through the permit fees it pays for each well; and he said it sells its natural gas on the open market, so it doesn't control where it is ultimately used.
Laborers Local 785 union representative Alex Parillo and Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lou Santoni also spoke in favor of the economic benefits exploitation of the Marcellus Shale might bring to the area.
Expert: Anti-drilling claims full of hyperbole | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin
Expert: Anti-drilling claims full of hyperbole
Meeting touts benefits of tapping into Marcellus Shale
By Steve Reilly •sreilly@gannett.com • June 24, 2010, 10:30 pm
BINGHAMTON -- Anti-drilling activists have presented harrowing images -- explosive tap water, contaminated waterways, animals mysteriously losing their hair -- of what they think are the side effects of hydraulic fracturing.
But according to Syracuse University Earth Sciences professor Don Siegel, these concerns are more myth than reality.
"This is the first environmental issue that I've thrown my hat into the ring on," he said. "As a hydrogeologist, I really am almost offended by some of the opposition that's trying to paint a picture of what groundwater resources are like that is completely wrong."
Siegel was among a cadre of industry, government and academic proponents of natural gas extraction in the Southern Tier who spoke at an invitation-only media event Thursday at the Holiday Inn-Arena, where they sought to combat what they claim is misinformation propagated by anti-natural gas activists.
Even though the session was invitation-only, two protesters showed up outside with signs against drilling.
Inside, the message was all positive.
"New investments will be made in a region where multimillion -- and even multibillion -- dollar investments have not been seen to this level in years," said Broome County Executive Barbara Fiala, "and we can do all this while protecting the environment."
Drilling that makes use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or "hydrofracking," has been stymied in New York since 2008, when Gov. David Paterson ordered the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to stop granting well permits while it drafted a supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement to address the technique.
As the sGEIS nears completion, the redoubled efforts of those opposed to drilling in the Marcellus Shale have put its advocates on the offensive.
Siegel, perhaps the star speaker at the event, said he "felt compelled to speak out for good information" after hearing environmentalists raise concerns he thinks are invalid. He presented a list of the "not-problems," of hydraulic fracturing.
The radioactivity of shale cuttings, he said, is "almost unmeasurable" and won't pose a danger if it is placed in area landfills. Water extraction needed to fracture shale beds is also not an issue, Siegel said, noting that the millions of gallons needed for each well pale in comparison to other uses and are not a threat to waterways.
Siegel added that drinking water supplies are "essentially disconnected" from the Marcellus Shale, and the "microscopic little cracks" created by hydraulic fracturing in shale beds a mile deep pose little danger to the residents and landowners above.
Although Siegel pointed to two concerns he does have -- methane migration that can occur when wells are improperly cemented and the relatively high salinity of the waste water that emerges from a well after it is fractured -- he said they are relatively minor compared to the hyperbolic claims of those opposed to drilling and expressed confidence the gas industry is finding solutions.
Another local academic with experience around natural gas industry, incoming Broome Community College President Kevin Drumm, described his experience with the gas industry in Wyoming as "virtually entirely positive" during his remarks Thursday.
Drumm previously served as president of Northern Wyoming Community College District, which sits just north of two massive pockets of natural gas "which could only be dwarfed in the future, possibly, by the Marcellus Shale."
"Our campus was one of the fastest-growing campuses in the United States, and virtually all of our graduates were going out into very good-paying energy industry jobs," Drumm said. "The energy industry creates great jobs -- lots of jobs -- and we were heavily involved in our colleges in training for those jobs."
Drumm sees potential for the expansion of BCC's civil engineering, technology and health science programs if the natural gas industry comes to the Southern Tier.
Mark Scheuerman, director of government and media relations for Talisman Energy USA, agreed with Siegel that the primary issues from hydraulic fracturing are controllable and occur at the surface rather than deep underground, pointing to the transportation of non-diluted chemicals and the cement casings around wells as areas where DEC regulators should focus.
"We do really well in engineering a safe, responsible operation," Scheuerman said, "but what we need to do better is to communicate and have information provided."
After the speakers finished, Mayor Matthew T. Ryan rose to ask why taxpayers were paying for DEC's regulation of the industry and why the gas is being shipped out of state by pipelines rather than being kept locally to lower energy costs.
"Why isn't there a plan in place that makes a certain portion of that gas stay in the state and lower our costs immediately, because we're sitting on such a great resource?" Ryan asked.
Scheuerman answered that industry has been funding regulators in other states, including Pennsylvania, through the permit fees it pays for each well; and he said it sells its natural gas on the open market, so it doesn't control where it is ultimately used.
Laborers Local 785 union representative Alex Parillo and Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lou Santoni also spoke in favor of the economic benefits exploitation of the Marcellus Shale might bring to the area.
