New Duke Study Shows Shale Drilling Benefits Municipalities
In the past, researchers at North Carolina’s Duke University have published some really sloppy research when it comes to shale drilling (see What’s Missing in Latest Duke “Radioactive” Study? Real Science). Then at other times, it seems as if a different set of profs and students would turn around and do some real research (see Duke/Kent State Publish New Research on Marcellus Wastewater). We always felt like Duke picked on the Marcellus as a way to score more grant money. So when we saw a new Duke study–this one on the economic benefits or lack thereof for municipalities–we were skeptical. However, the new study, titled “Shale Public Finance: Local government revenues and costs associated with oil and gas development” (full copy embedded below) seems to indicate all in all, shale drilling is a benefit to local municipalities…
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Range Resources built an open-air frack wastewater and brine impoundment in Amwell Township (Washington County), PA in 2009–the Jon Day Impoundment. At the time, they installed a monitoring system under the impoundment to alert them (and the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection) in case the impoundment–essentially a big pond with a rubber liner–sprung a leak. The monitoring system included 4-inch perforated pipes under the impoundment located inside trenches of gravel. The theory was/is if anything leaks, it will hit one of those pipes and come out the end. According to the DEP the monitoring system was “over and above” DEP requirements at the time. Unfortunately, the monitoring system somewhere along the way failed and the impoundment sprung a leak and now we have some 15,000 tons of “contaminated” soil which has nearly all been removed from the site…