At what price? : Forum discusses environmental, economic impacts of gas drilling in state
Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008
Fayetteville citizens got a lesson Wednesday on the environmental and economic impacts of gas drilling in the Fayetteville Shale.
The League of Women Voters of Washington and Benton counties and the Arkansas Chapter of the Sierra Club sponsored a forum at the University of Arkansas School of Law to discuss the Fayetteville Shale gas play, a gas reserve located 1, 500 to 6, 500 feet below the surface across numerous counties in central and eastern Arkansas, including Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Independence, Johnson, St. Francis, Prairie, Van Buren, White and Woodruff.
Panelists discussed the potential consequences caused by gas drilling as well as the economic benefits to the state.
Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, described the potentially hazardous materials that come from gas drilling.
There are hazards from chemicals used in various components of the drilling process, Mall said, including drilling fluids, biocides, corrosion inhibitors and hydraulic fracturing fluids.
There are also hazardous substances that occur naturally when they are disturbed by the drilling process, she said, including mercury, arsenic, radioactive materials and hydrogen sulfide.
Mall said some contamination occurs from spills or leaks, the seeping of chemicals into the ground, the evaporation of chemicals into the air and the venting into the air directly from the well.
“ Basically, we know toxic substances are present, we know they have certain health effects that are documented by research, and we know they are being released into the environment, ” she said.
James Bradbury, an attorney from Fort Worth, Texas, who is involved in cases concerning the Barnett Shale, said gas drilling is much different than it was in the past. The process now involves 3 to 5 million gallons of water to drill one well, he said, and the water comes out of lakes, ponds and rivers.
The water is pulled out of the system and injected into the ground to fracture the shale to stimulate the production of oil and natural gas, he said. The water comes back out with a heavy salt content and other contaminants.
“ It can’t go back into the system; it can’t be put back in the river, ” he said. “ It has to be disposed of. ”
The water is hauled out of the ground by tanker trucks, Bradbury said, and is injected into another well site.
“ The problem is we don’t know enough about the water to say if this is right or wrong, ” he said. “ We need to know more about what is in that water. ”
State Rep. Betty Pickett, who represents Conway and Faulkner counties, discussed the severance tax charged to companies operating in the shale, which at three-tenths of 1 percent per 1, 000 cubic feet of natural gas is the lowest severance tax on natural gas in the nation.
Gov. Mike Beebe is pushing for an increase in the tax with the proceeds to be used for fixing and building highways. However, some natural gas companies have warned that an increase would drive operations out of the state. The current severance tax, which is based on the volume produced rather than the market value, brings in about $ 600, 000 a year.
“ What we need is a fair severance tax that does not have an undue burden on the producing companies, ” Pickett said. “ It is in Arkansas’ best economic interest for the oil and gas companies to be profitable, but we also need a tax there for the citizens. ”
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