The first stop on the Arkansas Watershed Conference Field Trip last week was for breakfast. I was sitting across the table from a man whose cell phone kept going off. He said he was getting text messages. Then he told us the text messages were informing him of earthquakes that were happening right then in north central Arkansas. There were 3 or 4 small earthquakes in less than an hour! It seems he works for the U.S. Geological Society (USGS) and was based in the Arkansas office. We commented that we did not know there that many seismic events in north central Arkansas and were told there had not been until the mining or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) started in that area. While I had heard of fracking on the news, I really did not know the details. This morning's conversation started my education on fracking which was then continued two days later with a presentation during the convention.

Hydraulic fracturing (also referred to as fracing or fracking) is the process of injecting fluids under high pressure into underground formations with the intent of fracturing, or breaking, the rocks to increase their ability of flowing oil and/or natural gas into a production well. Hydraulic fracturing has been used in the petroleum industry for approximately 60 years, but has dramatically increased in use due to the development of shale natural gas formations and the switch to lower cost water based formulations as is being used in the shale formations in north central Arkansas.

Typical hydraulic fracturing operations use millions of gallons of water, some of which is returned to the surface and must be properly handled and disposed of. This "flowback" fluid is contaminated with the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process, plus naturally occurring constituents such as chlorides, sulfates and naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM).

In its Fiscal Year 2010 budget report, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriation Conference Committee identified the need for a focused study of this topic. EPA agreed with Congress that there are serious concerns from citizens and their representatives about hydraulic fracturing's potential impact on drinking water, human health and the environment, which demands further study. EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) is conducting a scientific study to investigate the possible relationships between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. EPA will use information from the study to identify potential risks associated with Hydraulic Fracturing to continue protecting America's resources and communities. I was surprised to find out that EPA has no power at this time to actually regulate the mining industry.

On September 9, 2010, EPA issued voluntary information requests to nine leading national and regional hydraulic fracturing service providers. The data requested is integral to the Hydraulic Fracturing Study now underway by EPA, which seeks to understand any potential relationships between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. EPA is seeking information on the chemical composition of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process, data on the impacts of the chemicals on human health and the environment, standard operating procedures at hydraulic fracturing sites and the locations of sites where fracturing has been conducted.

Location of hydraulic fracturing in Arkansas

 On November 9, 2010, EPA announced that eight out of the nine hydraulic fracturing companies that received voluntary information requests in September agreed to submit timely and complete information to help the Agency conduct its study on hydraulic fracturing. However, the ninth company, Halliburton, has failed to provide EPA the information necessary to move forward with this important study. As a result, and as part of EPA's effort to move forward as quickly as possible, EPA has issued a subpoena to the company requiring submission of the requested information that has yet to be provided.

From the information I have received, I feel these are the major issues with hydraulic fracturing:

·         Water usage: Millions of gallons of water are being injected deep into the earth under the drinking water formations. The water that does not return to the surface is being removed from the water cycle

·         Contamination of drilling water: The water that returns to the surface is polluted with drilling chemicals and natural pollutants. It is collected in holding ponds and taken to a wastewater treatment facility, but those facilities are not designed for chemicals, and to date, we do not even know what chemicals are present

·         Contamination of drinking water: As we know from the Gulf oil spill, accidents do happen. The wells have to be cased completely through all the drinking water formations to prevent drilling chemicals from mixing with drinking water. If the casing fails, contamination could occur.

·         Earth quakes: While EPA has not listed earthquakes as a problem, USGS (at least the man I had breakfast with) feels there is probably a connection between the fracking and the huge increase in frequency of earth quakes in the mining area.

I think we all agree that natural gas plays a key role in our nation's clean energy future but the process of accessing that vital resource needs to be environmentally safe.  A fact sheet produced by Chesapeake Energy, the company that operates much of the mining in Arkansas, feels the process is safe: