What happens to the waste water and chemicals? Once the fracking process is complete, anywhere from 40-70% of the fracture water comes back to the surface. This means that each well produces millions of gallons of wastewater, called flowback, which will have to be disposed of in injection wells. Because flowback fluids are part of an oil and gas operation, the fluids are designated as an oil and gas waste, even if there are hazardous chemicals in the wastes. This designation results in less protective requirements such as no requirement to analyze the constituents in the fluids prior to injection and the injection wells are exempt from local zoning.
How close together will the wells be? Current law requires that drilling units for wells be a minimum of 80 acres. The DEQ Office of Oil, Gas, and Minerals (OGM) has stated they recognize this size, which was set for typical vertical wells, is not appropriate for the new horizontal fracking wells. OGS originally proposed to make the lot size 640 acres; however, spacing has been put on hold until the DEQ obtains more information to determine what an appropriate unit size would be.
Should we be concerned about water contamination? Errors in gas well construction or spills during transportation can occur and lead to water contamination. Fluids can spill before they are injected and fluids recovered from fracturing can contaminate surface waters. Additionally, drilling into these formations can create pathways by which fluids or natural gas itself can find its way into water supplies, if drillers are not careful. It should be noted also that the horizontal sections of the wells are not cased in cement and, therefore, leakage from these sections could represent a significant threat to ground water.
What other impacts may result from fracking operations? Construction equipment emissions, fracking equipment, and unintentional gas leaks are sources of negative air emissions during the fracking process. Large areas of cleared land and many miles of roadways can scar the landscape and result in habitat fragmentation. Drilling operations also involve lights, 24 hours a day, and noise pollution from the initial month of drilling the well to the continuous noise generated by operation of compressor stations.
What else should property owners know? Property owners should contact an attorney with experience with oil and gas issues to navigate through all the important elements connected to mineral right leases. Even if you do not agree to lease your mineral rights, you can be forced into an agreement under compulsory pooling.
How is the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council involved? Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council has been actively involved since the gas frenzy in the Collingwood and Utica Shale erupted. We are conducting research, educating landowners and the public, and working with the State to address many unanswered questions. Before commercial operations begin, Michigan needs to strengthen existing rules and regulations to address unanswered questions and unresolved issues. We will be fully engaged to ensure that this happens.
The Watershed Council, with many partners, has been working in a variety of means to strengthen Michigan’s regulatory standards and has in the process achieved some successes towards our ultimate goals.
We developed a fracking update email List which is intended to keep list members up to date about not only our work on fracking in Michigan, but also what is going on with fracking in the state. If you are interested in being added to this list, contact Grenetta Thomassey at grenetta@watershedcouncil.org.
Additionally, the Watershed Council developed a Rapid Response Coalition which is meant to exert pressure on elected and public officials in a coordinated manner. We intend to make our presence felt, bringing the Northern Michigan region to Lansing when it is time to influence decisions and policy making in the state regarding Fracking.
Furthermore, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council was asked to take the lead in forming a statewide coalition to address fracking. We agreed to do so. We developed a “regulatory wish list” that we sent to the DEQ and included support from over 30 other organizations in Michigan. The regulatory wish list identifies many of the changes that are needed to our regulatory system to ensure that hydraulic fracturing is done is a sustainable manner to protect our resources. This has been the basis for agency actions to date and will serve as the basis for future discussions on additional agency actions as well as legislation.
Click here to see the Sign-on Letter Regarding Fracking_Regulations - November, 17 2010
The DEQ also issued new Permitting Instructions. Overall, we believe that the Permitting Instructions were a baby step in the right direction. However, it fell short of what is needed in the long-term. Of particular concern is our top priority of chemical disclosure of fracking fluids. We need disclosure of chemicals used, up front, before drilling. The Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that will now be required by the DEQ are not required until after the fracking is complete. There are ways to get what we believe Michigan citizens deserve - full chemical disclosure in advance of drilling - while still respecting proprietary information and trade secrets. After discussions, DEQ is beginning on a trial basis, the posting of MSDS sheets as soon as they are available. Beginning in late October, the sheets that disclose all hazardous substances on a site in reportable quantities (typically 10,000 pounds) will be available online at the DEQ’s Office of Oil, Gas, and Minerals page as well as the Oil and Gas page. This will allow citizens near fracking sites to conduct baseline testing of their own wells or surface waters.
Furthermore, the Watershed Council has also begun our legislative efforts, particularly to educate legislators in Lansing about hydraulic fracturing. We are planning some events this year for legislators and we will create a set of fact sheets to help them with various complicated elements of this issue. We intend to pursue legislation for chemical disclosure first and foremost, but will also be pursuing the items on the regulatory wish list to strengthen Michigan’s current regulations to keep up with the new technology being proposed to reach the deep shale layers.
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