The "Disaster in the Making?" Story

Map of the United States showing where the majority of the
shale is located that can be drilled to find natural gas. The upper-
-right of the map shows the Marcellus shale area.  Click to enlarge.

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to my uncle about his hunting cabin that he has in Potter County, PA.  It wasn't long ago that he and his brother, who also owns land and a hunting cabin in Potter County, were approached by a company who wanted to buy the mineral rights to their properties in order to drill and hydraulic frack their land in hopes of finding natural gas.  Both the properties were located in the mineral rich Marcellus shale area of Pennsylvania and have been the cause of great controversity over the last few years.  Many worry that the use of hydraulic fracturing is contaminating ground water and creating major problems underground that as of now are not known.  

On a recent trip to State College, PA to visit friends Jerry and
Just Sue we passed an area where fracking supplies were stored.
 The red units are water holding tank for the tracking procedure.

Hydraulic fracturing is the fracturing of rock by a pressurized liquid.  In this procedure a liquid, typically water, is mixed with sand and chemicals, and the mixture is injected at high pressure into a well bore to create small fractures (typically less that 1mm) along which fluids such as gas may migrate to the well.  This procedure is usually conducted once in the life of the well and greatly enhances fluid removal and well productivity. The procedure is known as fracking.  People in favor of fracking point to the economic benefits associated with the removal of vast amounts of formerly inaccessible hydrocarbons. These people would be the companies that will gain great monetary results from the fracking. 

A well-bore somewhere in north-east Pennsylvania.

Those against it point out the environ- mental risks such as contam- ination of ground water, depletion of fresh water, contam- ination of the air, noise pollution, the migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, surface contamination from spills and flow-back and the possible health effects of all these risks.  The Marcellus gas fields lie in 104,000 square miles and stretches across Pennsylvania and West Virginia as well as parts of Ohio and New York and is the largest source of natural gas in the United States.  But the gas is trapped in the shale below the earth's surface and requires the fracturing to allow it to flow to the well bore.  My uncle, after some time sold his mineral rights to a natural gas company, but it seems that Potter County threw the gas company a curve when it required a payment of $54,000 just to drill the hole in the ground.  If they found that the well wasn't prosperous, they would be out the money.  If they found natural gas, they then would owe Potter County more money.  Lots of money!  So, my uncle told me that the gas company has been very reluctant to drill unless they knew for sure they would find natural gas on his property.

Beautiful Tucquan Glen may be compromised is the
 natural gas pipeline comes through the area and could
be claimed as eminent domain by natural gas company.

 So, as of now it hasn't made him a wealthy gas baron.  But, this isn't the end of my story for it seems that the gas companies, that have drilled many other successful wells in the Marcellus shale area, want to run a pipeline through Pennsylvania to transport the natural gas they have discovered and are processing.  Proposed line happens to run about a mile from my uncle's house in Mt. Nebo, PA.  Big stink is being raised by environmentalists who talk about the harm it will have on the Chesapeake Bay as well as the many nature preserves in the area if something should happen to the pipeline.  And, you know that someday something will happen!  Some comments such as: This is disgusting, preposterous, and needs stopped now. What part of the Nature Preserve isn't understood; There is enough pollution of our river that leads to the Chesapeake and they will erode the banks of the river with the pipeline; Would you eat the food near a radioactive pipeline?; Tucquan Glen is a nature preserve and county park that, if the plan is passed, they are going to give them the power of eminent domain.  

Click to enlarge.  The natural gas pipeline is in green and
will hug the Susquehanna River as it passes through
Lancaster County.  Could be a disaster in the making.

The lands will be lost forever.  One group that has taken up the cause to stop the pipeline is the Quakers and they are totally against the pipeline going through Lancaster County.  Who will win?  The gas company with the big bucks, naturally.  You can count on it.  As for my uncle, he is in favor of the pipeline much the same as he was the fracking on his place in Potter County.  It's going to be neighbor against neighbor along the pipeline.  Sad to see that happen.  As for me, I know that progress has to happen for future generations, but is this really progress?  Will future generations of my family really be helped or hindered by the creation of a pipeline directly along a river that has so much meaning and provides so many jobs to people who live along it.  Will it destroy the river forever.  Do we really want to chance that?  But, money seems to speak louder than common sense.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.