HydroFracking News Briefs

For Pennsylvania's Doctors, a Gag Order on Fracking Chemicals
A new provision could forbid the state’s doctors from sharing information with patients exposed to toxic fracking solutions.
Under a new law, doctors in Pennsylvania can access information about chemicals used in natural gas extraction—but they won't be able to share it with their patients. A provision buried in a law passed last month is drawing scrutiny from the public health and environmental community, who argue that it will "gag" doctors who want to raise concerns related to oil and gas extraction with the people they treat and the general public.

Possible health risk tied to ‘fracking’ emissions
"Emissions from the wells include methane and volatile organic compounds that react with heat and sunlight to form ozone," according to a health scientist who is studying air quality near gas wells in Texas.
Non-cancer health impacts from air emissions due to natural- gas development is greater for residents living closer to wells,” according to a statement. “We also calculated higher cancer risks for residents living nearer to the wells.” 

New York environmental groups join to form coalition to work for hydrofracking ban
On Monday, a New York State Assembly proposal for an independent health impact study of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas was dropped during budget negotiations. Numerous physicians and environmental groups criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos for blocking the $100,000 Assembly appropriation for a health study. 
Cuomo has said a decision on whether to permit fracking in New York is likely in several months.
Sandra Steingraber, a biologist and environmental writer who recently won the Heinz Award for her work on how chemical contaminants in air, water and food endanger human health, said she'll donate much of her $100,000 prize money to start the anti-fracking coalition, New Yorkers Against Fracking.

Niagara Falls City Council Safeguards Water Supply By Rita Yelda
Prevents Region from Becoming NY's Science Experiment
On March 5th, Niagara Falls went on record against fracking, and against treating wastewater from fracking.  Elected officials said they don't want the city that endured the Love Canal toxic waste crisis to be exposed to the fallout from gas drilling operations. The City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting natural gas extraction in Niagara Falls, as well as the "storage, transfer, treatment or disposal of natural gas exploration and production wastes."
It would have been irresponsible and dangerous for the Niagara Falls Water Board to move forward with this proposal, given all of the unanswered questions relating to our health, safety and environmental concerns.

Water Board won’t sue city on ‘fracking’ issue
The city’s Water Board on Thursday decided not to file a legal challenge against a city law banning treatment of water from hydraulic fracturing at its wastewater treatment plant. But it does not prevent a legal challenge to the law should the state this year set specific guidelines for treatment of the water.

Mark Ruffalo, the Incredible Hunk - Actor and Anti-Fracking Activist
When Bruce Banner gets angry, he turns into the rampaging green superhero known as the Incredible Hulk. The charming 44-year-old actor Mark Ruffalo, who portrays Banner in the upcoming film The Avengers, isn't quite so quick to act out. But his inner Hulk emerges when he talks about hydraulic fracturing, a technology whose advances have triggered a boom of gas drilling and environmental backlash in shale regions—including the part of upstate New York where Ruffalo relocated his family from Los Angeles about three years ago.

Look for Mark Ruffalo on The Colbert Report on Wednesday night at 11:30pm, or on TV re-runs Thursday, or online anytime after that. Ruffalo's group, Water Defense, is part of the NY coalition working for a fracking ban, described above.

Vigil held to protest hydrofracking 
Protesters gathered for a candlelight vigil outside the Buffalo office of Senator Mark Grisanti, chair of the NY State Environmental Conservation Committee. They're hoping to pressure him to support a bill that would ban fracking in NY. Senator Grisanti's office tells WIVB News the senator still has not made up his mind about hydrofracking in NY. 

Gas Industry Spin Can't Cover Up Air Problems Associated with Fracking
At a Wall Street Journal conference last week, Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon told attendees: “I don’t know of any problem with air pollution from fracking in Fort Worth” Texas.  McClendon peevishly referred to air pollution concerns raised by Hudson Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay [whom McClendon refused to share the stage with] as “environmental nonsense.”  Since then, industry-sponsored posts argue against links between fracking and air pollution. Well, read on. Then decide who’s spouting “nonsense”.
 

Niagara Falls Bans Hydrofracking Wastewater Treatment

Treated waste flows into Niagara River - AP

Niagara Falls City Council voted on Monday to ban hydrofracking (a.k.a. fracking) and the treatment of the wastewater in the city. Fracking wastewater treatment has been the major topic of discussion at public meetings of the city's water board over the last several months.

The water board has been interested in accepting hydrofracking wastewater as a way to raise revenues. However, NY State is still in the process of developing gas drilling regulations, and has not put forth a proven plan for successfully cleaning up the wastewater. Such a plan is essential because fracking wastewater contains not only added chemicals, some toxic, but also toxic and radioactive chemicals extracted from the undergound shale. Municipal wastewater treatment has proven to be ineffective in cleaning fracking wastewater in Pennsylvania and is now prohibited. These facts left citizens with strong concerns about chemical pollution and public health, evoking comparisons to the Love Canal tragedy in Niagara Falls. Canadians were also concerned about fracking wastewater treatment, since the Niagara River borders their country and drains into Lake Ontario, which is a source of drinking water for millions of people in Canada.

The Niagara Gazette reported on Monday that the ordinance adopted — patterned after a similar ban imposed by the City of Buffalo and other communities in recent months — describes hydrofracking and the handling of waste from the process as posing a "significant threat" to the "health, safety and welfare" of residents in Niagara Falls. It also suggests that any involvement in the process within city limits could cause "irreparable harm" to the city’s water supply and may cause significant health problems for city residents. 

“The subject of hydrofracking is something that is going to effect everyone in our community,” said Councilman Glenn Choolokian, an employee of the city’s water board who pushed for the anti-fracking measures. “This dangerous process must be addressed now. It can’t be talked about in secret meetings anymore. If hydrofracking is such a great thing, let some other city be the test case.”

The Council also passed a resolution telling NY Gov. Cuomo that fracking should be banned in NY, like the statewide ban in Buffalo.

“I hope the governor gets the big picture here and bans it statewide,” said Council Chairman Sam Fruscione, who is expecting the council’s letter to be delivered to Cuomo within the next few days.

The language of the ordinance is similar to that used by two other NY towns whose local bans were challenged by the gas industry but were upheld by two different NY Supreme Court Justices.

“I’m sure we will be sued, but our job is to serve the city,” Fruscione said. “We’ll see what happens,” added Choolokian. “I feel very confident with the help we had on this.”

“Tonight, together, we draw the line in the sand against an industry and the state that desires to ruin this community,” said Roger Spurback, president of the Niagara Falls Block Club Council. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A tip of our hats for your response.”

Also see the WGRZ TV News coverage and watch a video report here.

Treating Hydro-Fracking Wastewater at Niagara Falls: Not Now, Maybe Later

At a public meeting of the Niagara Falls Water Board on October 27, the third meeting in two months, speakers again raised concern about the Board's proposal to accept, treat and discharge hydro-fracking wastewater derived from shale-gas drilling into the Niagara River.

Wastewater from hydro-fracking (a.k.a. fracking) contains chemicals added before drilling as well as toxic and radioactive chemicals extracted from shale. Wastewater is pumped back to the surface into exposed pits [see image], and then pumped into trucks for transport to other sites for treatment. Treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, where drilling is ongoing, have proven ineffective in removing all chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer and other health problems. Also, brine, far more salty than ocean water, can corrode treatment facility equipment and has turned up in drinking water.

The Niagara Gazette reported that Water Board Chairman Michael McNally informed the speakers at the public meeting of the Board’s position of not accepting hydro-fracking or any wastewater associated with it.

“The Board’s position is we are not accepting anything relating to hydro-fracking or any of its spoils,” he said. “But we appreciate your input as it gives us more information to work with."

In a followup report on the October 27 meeting, Water Board Executive Director Paul Drof clarified the Board's position on fracking wastewater.

“Right now, no facility in New York state is permitted to accept fracking wastewater,” he said. “Their edict is there is no one approved to take fracking water, so no one does. It’s not illegal because no one does it.”

“The treatment of trucked-in waste has been done in Niagara Falls over the last 20 years,” he said. “It’s something we do routinely. This is just another candidate for treatment. That’s all it is at this point.” Drof added that public input on the matter is appreciated as it gives the Board more insight into what actions they’ll take later. 

Canadians are also concerned about the possibility that fracking wastewater would be treated in Niagara Falls, NY, since the Niagara River borders their country and drains into Lake Ontario, which is a source of drinking water for millions of people in Canada.

The Council of Canadians sent a letter to the Water Board requesting they scrap the fracking wastewater proposal to protect the Great Lake. The Council is also advocating that the town council of Niagara-on-the-Lake take action to protect the Great Lakes Basin. A town councilor will introduce a resolution today calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and the treatment of fracking wastewater within the Great Lakes Basin.

An association of mayors on both sides of the Great Lakes is tracking the issue. "The position we've taken so far, until we get more information, is that nothing be done in terms of the hydro-fracking that could in any way contaminate the lakes, the St. Lawrence basin and the underground aquifers," said St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan, who chairs the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.


A Niagara Falls Water Board spokesman said the Board is waiting for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to bring down rules on drilling shale and fracking water treatment. He added that it's not clear if the treatment plant will need costly upgrades to handle the fracking water, and it's possible the venture will be too expensive to pursue. 

Permitting by the DEC was intended originally to begin in early 2012 but it was further delayed last week. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens raised doubts that the state will be ready to issue permits next year. Martens said the Governor's Advisory Panel on High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing will miss its planned report deadline since they still have no estimates on what resources will be needed by four major state agencies: Health, Transportation, Agriculture & Markets, and Public Service. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only just begun developing national standards for treating wastewater discharged from gas drilling. They propose to complete the rules by 2014, and the time for passage into law is uncertain. Also, the discharge of treated water into the Niagara River, and other rivers that flow into the Great Lakes, creates a need for international agreements between the U.S. and Canada, which may extend the time frame even further.

So even if treating fracking wastewater at Niagara Falls were found to be feasible, affordable and safe, and even if a massive transportation plan could be developed to move billions of gallons of the hazardous wastewater to Niagara Falls, it could be a long time before the plan is actually carried out, if ever.
 
The agencies involved should not be rushed. They need to allow plenty of time for investigations, deliberations, and input from the public. The gas will still be there. The safety of our drinking water and the protection public health must come first, and they are unquestionably worth the time.

For earlier posts about Fracking at Re-ENERGIZE BUFFALO, click here.

Niagara Falls sees profits in fracking waste, while critics see another Love Canal

 A public meeting will be held on Thursday, October 27.

The city of Niagara Falls is home to world-famous waterfalls as well as to a well-known, hazardous-waste disaster that occurred in the Love Canal neighborhood.

The Niagara Falls Water Board is exploring the possibility of cleaning up chemically-tainted wastewater derived from unconventional gas drilling using the process of horizontal, hydraulic fracturing, also called hydrofracking or simply fracking. However, critics are concerned that the treatment may not remove all of the hazardous waste and that the discharge would pollute the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, which are sources of drinking water.

The Niagara Falls Water Board (NFWB), encouraged by a feasibility study by an outside group, seeks to increase profits by making use of their industrial waste treatment facility, which is currently underutilized. The Board stated that "...treating wastewater from Marcellus Shale would provide the NFWB with a significant opportunity to increase revenues, provide financial stability to our organization and stabilize our rate structure over the long term, all to the benefit of NFWB ratepayers."

At a public meeting on September 22, citizens recalled the hazardous waste contamination at Love Canal in Niagara Falls, and indicated that the Water Board's new venture could be another environmental disaster in the making. Fracking wastewater includes not only chemicals added by the drilling industry, but also brine and well as toxic and radioactive chemicals extracted from the shale. In general, treatment facilities are not equipped to remove all of these chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic. 

Lois Gibbs, a resident of Love Canal in the 1970's, led successfully the battle to convince NY state officials, the U.S. government and the public that hazardous chemicals buried nearby were causing health problems and birth defects. 

In an interview about the Water Board's new venture, Gibbs wondered if city officials would ever learn. “They’re moving away from the chemical industry because the chemical industry is moving away from them, and it’s time to start a new economy,” Gibbs said by phone Thursday from Falls Church, Va., where she’s executive director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. “And the new economy is certainly not taking chemical waste.”

“We should be learning from past mistakes instead of risking our water so we can accept New York state’s hydrofracking waste,” said Rita Yelda, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, an environmental advocacy group. Yelda and a coalition of local opponents sent questions to the Niagara Falls Water Board, and attended a Board meeting on October 20th seeking answers about the potential environmental impacts, possible impacts on human health, and other issues. The Board has yet to provide answers to those questions. A TV interview with Rita Yelda is here.

New York, which is currently under a drilling moratorium, is not the only possible source of fracking wastewater. The gas drilling industry in Pennsylvania, which has been heavily engaged in fracking since 2008, has polluted rivers by passing wastewater through sewage and industrial treatment plants and is now looking for new disposal sites. Disposal of wastewater from Pennsylvania at the Buffalo sewage treatment plant occurred earlier but is no longer permitted.

Richard Roll, the director of technical and regulatory services at the Water Board, said "Since we do have a unique kind of wastewater treatment plant that's very much under-loaded, we're looking into the possibility that, with the addition of other treatment processes, maybe our plant would be much more amenable to accepting this waste than your typical municipal biological plant."

A recent report indicated that the Niagara Falls Water Board is poised to accept fracking wastewater from Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York for treatment and discharge into the Niagara River. The Board has hired a public relations firm to promote the venture and has apparently been working with the Cuomo administration to develop a massive transportation plan.

The Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario, the source of drinking water for millions of people in the U.S. and Canada. Their drinking water could be at risk if the Niagara Falls Water Board moves forward with its plans. The Council of Canadians, a social and environmental justice organization, sent a letter to the Niagara Falls Water Board concluding that "Given the significant risk posed to the Great Lakes by this proposal, we ask that you scrap it in order to protect the Great Lakes Basin for current and future generations."

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that it will develop standards for disposing wastewater from the shale-gas drilling process. The EPA stated that many treatment plants are not properly equipped to treat such wastewater, and indicated that it would consider standards required to be met before water can be sent to a treatment facility. The rules will be proposed by 2014. If passed, the rules would be among the first federal regulations directed at potential water contamination by fracking waste.
 
The Niagara Falls Water Board will hold a public meeting on Thursday, October 27th at 5pm in the Water Treatment Plant, 5815 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY [MAP]. Concerned citizens are encouraged to attend. Those who wish to speak should sign up before the meeting.

Niagara Falls Plans to Treat Wastewater from Shale-Gas Drilling

A Public Meeting will be held on Thursday, September 22

In July, the Niagara Falls Water Board was reported to be exploring the possibility of treating wastewater containing toxic chemicals resulting from unconventional shale-gas drilling, known as horizontal, hydraulic fracturing or simply fracking. Water from the treatment plant would be released into the Niagara River which flows into Lake Ontario and provides a source of drinking water. A new report issued last week indicated that an outside firm has completed a feasibility study and that the Water Board is moving forward with the plan to treat fracking wastewater.

The Buffalo Avenue treatment plant was built over 30 years ago to clean up wastewater from chemical industries in the city of Niagara Falls and it benefited the region by generated millions of dollars income annually. The Executive Director of the Water Board, Paul Drof, said "Until the state finalizes their guidelines on the treatment of fracking waste, we can't say for sure even if we can do it." He added, "Frankly, we have a responsibility to our rate payers to at least look at this as a possibility."

However, Walter Hang, Ph.D., an expert in wastewater management and head of Toxics Targeting Inc., has studied the Niagara Falls plant and believes that it can not handle fracking wastewater. Hang said "The wastewaters generated by the chemical manufacturing facilities in Niagara Falls are vastly different from the gas-drilling wastewater that could be generated by horizontal hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale."

Dr. Hang does not stand alone in his criticism of the concept. Over fifty scientists signed a letter warning NY Gov. Cuomo that it would be impossible for municipal systems to practically protect against chemicals used in fracking and others in the wastewater. The scientists indicated that municipal systems were not designed to filter the toxic chemicals, biocides and radioactive compounds, and that some of these would pass through the systems and enter water supplies.

Local environmentalists expressed concern about the Niagara Falls plan. Rita Yelda, organizer of WNY Drilling Defense, said "If this fracking waste is not treated correctly, it could contaminate our water. It's a potential risk."  Brian Smith, with the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said "The Niagara Falls sewage treatment facility is ill equipped to properly treat hazardous fracking waste. Allowing this would risk the discharge of toxic, radioactive, and caustic waste into our fragile Great Lakes ecosystem."

The Niagara Falls Water Board will hold a public meeting on Thursday, September 22 at 5pm in the Water Treatment Plant, 5815 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY [MAP]. Concerned citizens are encouraged to attend. Those who wish to speak should sign up before the meeting.