This page was last updated on January 29, 2012.
Fracturing Our [sic] health; Ashley Boots; Beaver County Times; January 25, 2012.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“While I am not opposed to Marcellus shale drilling, I am opposed to the toxic waste left behind at the land owner’s expense.”
[RWC] I believe this is the first letter from Ms. Boots on this topic. I don’t know Ms. Boots, but my experience is letters like this tend to be red herrings and are about the religion of manmade global warming. Knowing the manmade global warming myth is increasingly falling on deaf ears, followers of this faith now try to use safety, water quality, etc. as backdoors to stop drilling and production of Marcellus natural gas. You can find examples here.
“While not entirely proven but strongly suggestive, toxins, carcinogens and mutagens such as methane, radium and nitroquinoline oxide are all products left behind in the aftermath of fracking. These chemicals have been found in increased levels near current gas wells, which in turn could vastly affect our well water supply.
“Drilling companies should be held 100 percent accountable to disclose potential threats to our health and to correct contaminated drinking water supplies. Not just six months after completion of drilling and not just by placing a vent on water wells. These companies should be held responsible for the entire time they are leasing the land.
“Just as a car dealership is not responsible for damage caused to a vehicle while in the leaser’s possession, land owners should not be held responsible for the harmful and destructive effects of gas well drilling.”
[RWC] As for who is responsible for what, I suspect that’s in whatever contract the parties sign. It’s up to the landowner and his attorney to make sure he knows what he’s signing and gets the terms he wants.
As I’ve written previously, companies harvesting our natural resources must do so in a responsible manner and must have the financial and technological wherewithal to handle worst-case scenarios. It is government’s responsibility to enforce these rules and to make sure everyone involved [businesses and government (local, state, federal)] is prepared (via drills, for example) to execute disaster plans. In the very, very unlikely case we can’t do this while providing a commercially-viable energy source, there should be no drilling until we can.
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