Study Proves Fracking Didn’t Cause Methane in Dimock Water Wells
A research study appears in the May-June 2013 issue of Groundwater, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, that completely debunks the notion that fracking was the cause of methane contamination in local water wells in Dimock, PA (as famously claimed by Josh Fox and Gasland). The article, titled “Evaluation of Methane Sources in Groundwater in Northeastern Pennsylvania” (full copy embedded below), has flown completely under the radar and has received, so far as we can tell, no coverage in the mainstream media. It likely hasn’t been been covered because (a) the findings don’t fit the media narrative that fracking contaminates water, and (b) the study’s lead author is the head geologist for Cabot Oil & Gas, the company accused of contaminating some Dimock water wells with methane from nearby drilling activity.
The study looks at test results for 1,701 water wells around Susquehanna County, PA (where Dimock is located), both close to and far from shale drilling. What does the cold, hard data show? Methane is everywhere in Susquehanna County groundwater–and it has been for hundreds of years. No wonder Susquehanna County is such a productive gas field for Cabot! The study finds that methane in water is more prevalent in certain locations like valleys. Perhaps most importantly–the study finds no correlation between shale drilling and the level of methane in water wells. There’s no more methane in water wells close to drilling than there is in wells far from it. Science is science, and this study cannot be discounted simply because the wizards at Cabot wrote the report…
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Those who hate fossil fuels and want to stop all shale drilling because of their irrational beliefs are logic-challenged. Witness their claim/belief that fracking fluid (99.5% water and sand, 0.5% chemicals) pumped a mile or more below the surface will magically travel up to the surface and contaminate groundwater supplies. Never mind that 80% of the fluid disappears into small cracks a mile down. Never mind there’s a mile of solid rock between the fluid and the surface. Never mind there have been more than 50,000 horizontally fracked wells since the early 2000s with not a single case of water contamination from migrating frack fluid. And never mind there have been more than 2 million vertically fracked wells worldwide over the past 60+ years with not a single case of water contamination from migrating frack fluid. Anti-drillers cling to their irrational faith that fluid migration has and continues to happen and hucksters like Josh Fox of Gasland and Gasland 2 fame are all too willing to feed their delusion.
Potential trouble is brewing for Marcellus drillers in Pennsylvania. As MDN has chronicled since early last year, seven towns (and a few individuals) sued PA over a provision in “Act 13” passed in early 2012 which creates uniform statewide standards for oil and gas zoning regulations–regs that supercede and replace local zoning laws related to oil and gas drilling (see