Oil and gas drilling threatens fish and aquatic habitat onshore

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst

Boulder, Colorado

Switchboard.NRDC.org
April 30, 2010

A recent article reported that the Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection has stated that "water discharges from Marcellus shale drilling operations have already harmed aquatic life in the state...." Because of this, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is seeking the help of anglers to identify and survey 45,000 unmanaged Pennsylvania streams in search of native trout. These streams have to be identified in order to be protected from industrial development.

Pennsylvania is not the only place where fish are being harmed or are at risk from oil and gas production. ...

According to Trout Unlimited, the ecological effects of gas and oil development are extensive: "If not done responsibly, this development can contaminate ground and surface water supplies, reduce water quantity and degrade fish habitat."

Back in Pennsylvania, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found that natural gas production activities can impair important trout fisheries. The Corps has stated that these activities pose a "genuine and extreme threat to regional water quality."

Many win-win solutions exist that can protect our wildest lands and streams--our most vital wildlife habitat. Our federal and state agencies should preserve the most vulnerable areas while requiring the highest possible protection where drilling does occur.

LINK to complete post on Amy Mall's blog.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Pennsylvania regulators to inspect gas wells proactively

Tom Fowler
Houston Chronicle: chron
November 18, 2009

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says it will start inspecting natural gas drilling sites more aggressively, instead of just responding to incidents:

"Until now our agency has only reacted to those drilling sites where a problem resulted in material entering a waterway or wetlands," said Dr. Douglas Austen, PFBC executive director. "We are now taking a proactive approach to identify possible problems at a drilling site and to work with the company to ensure necessary measures are in place to minimize the possibility of damaging nearby waterways."

The agency will focus on those well sites that are in close proximity to Commonwealth waterways, including wetlands. The inspections will determine if adequate measures are in place at the drilling site and access roads to prevent damage to the nearby aquatic resources. As part of the inspections, PFBC staff will also be obtaining water quality data from several locations in the nearby waterway.

Pennsylvania and New York lawmakers have been increasingly nervous over the growth of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus shale formations because of concerns over the fluids used in a key drilling method, hydraulic fracturing. Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas created a stir in Pa. recently when it was fined for spilling fracking fluid three times. It has since entered into an agreement with state regulators over ongoing operations.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!