I was looking at tonight's news and saw that Bloomberg is reporting that Range Resources, MarkWest Energy Partners and Williams Company have settled with a Pennsylvania family on a claim that drilling activities and fracking caused pollution of the water at the family's land and also that the drilling released "toxic gases" which harmed the family. The settlement involved the energy companies buying the land in question from the family for $750,000. The article does not say how much land was included in the sale; nor does it mention the size of the home on the land or if there were other buildings there as well. As a result, it is impossible to tell what portion, if any, of the payment exceeded the value of the land purchased. Nevertheless, Bloomberg plays this up as if it is major news. For all we know, this was a great way for the energy companies to get rid of a nuisance lawsuit, end bad publicity from an ongoing legal battle and save attorneys fees.
More important, however, is the lack of coverage of another bit of news regarding drilling in Pennsylvania. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper reporting on an extensive investigation of water quality in Pennsylvania as it relates specifically to natural gas drilling and fracking. The paper reports that detailed sampling of surface water just downstream from a large number of drill sites selected at random across the Keystone State showed no pollution of that water. All that was found was an increased level of particulate suspension in the water due to the agitation of the water from the drilling activities. As a control, the same researchers tested the water just downstream from the water treatment plants located across the state and found higher levels of pollution in those locations than at the drilling sites. This is the first large scale sampling of water quality in drill sites across Pennsylvania, and it shows that there is no pollution resulting from the drilling activities. Is it just me or do others find it strange that Bloomberg reports on a small lawsuit settlement but fails to ever mention a detailed, scientific study of statewide effects of fracking? Who knows; maybe Bloomberg never heard of the National Academy of Sciences.
More important, however, is the lack of coverage of another bit of news regarding drilling in Pennsylvania. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper reporting on an extensive investigation of water quality in Pennsylvania as it relates specifically to natural gas drilling and fracking. The paper reports that detailed sampling of surface water just downstream from a large number of drill sites selected at random across the Keystone State showed no pollution of that water. All that was found was an increased level of particulate suspension in the water due to the agitation of the water from the drilling activities. As a control, the same researchers tested the water just downstream from the water treatment plants located across the state and found higher levels of pollution in those locations than at the drilling sites. This is the first large scale sampling of water quality in drill sites across Pennsylvania, and it shows that there is no pollution resulting from the drilling activities. Is it just me or do others find it strange that Bloomberg reports on a small lawsuit settlement but fails to ever mention a detailed, scientific study of statewide effects of fracking? Who knows; maybe Bloomberg never heard of the National Academy of Sciences.
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