By Sandra Cason - The Marshall News Messenger - Friday, February 08, 2008
It's all about water, said Dale Henry, Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commission.
"My campaign is important for one reason," Henry said, "and that is because the state of Texas is running out of water. It is an abused natural resource and the Railroad Commission has done nothing about it for the past 106 years."
If he is elected in this, his third bid for the seat, Henry said he will be the first commissioner with hands-on experience in oil and gas exploration, the industry for which the commission provides oversight.
Henry faces Art Hall and Mark Thompson in the March 4 Democratic Primary. If he is the party nominee, Henry will face Republican incumbent Michael Williams in the November general election.
A resident of Lampasas, 50 miles west of Austin, and a graduate of University of Texas, Henry is a retired employee of Schlumber J company, having worked in the oil fields of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf.
"I spent a number of years in research and development and I hold several fracturing patents," Henry said.
"I've been out there and seen it all," he added.
While many people may not stop to think about it that way, Henry pointed out that oil and gas drilling operations have a tremendous impact on ground water.
"Oil and gas activity inherently produces a lot of water," Henry said. "Water is what is used to bring it to the surface, but on its way, the water accumulates contaminated materials."
A common disposal method for the liquid is "to put it back in the ground."
Henry said he learned of a DeBerry preacher whose church hasn't had water in a number of years. "One well was drilled too close to his church and all the wells in the area are contaminated with salt water. You can drill a hundred good ones, but it takes just one bad well to create a whole bunch of problems," Henry said.
Good drilling practices are particularly important at this point in time because so many production companies are now using a horizontal approach.
"There's an area called the Barnett Shale," Henry said. "It is a very thick layer of stone and breaking through it has never made the effort worthwhile until horizontal drilling. That's the key."
In this method, the pipeline goes down for a distance, "turns a corner," and goes under the stone, Henry explained.
This type of drilling uses "millions of gallons of water per day. Sometimes it will be as much as 275,000 gallons," Henry added.
With such large quantities to be disposed of, Henry said it is more important than ever that the Railroad Commission check all drilling permit applications thoroughly, a practice he claims is not currently followed.
"This rubber-stamping has to stop," he said.
Use of environmentally safe drilling practices are especially important to this area because of Caddo Lake, Henry said.
"I've done hands-on work for the Railroad Commission in Caddo — the plugging of abandoned wells. Ninety percent of those I plugged had not be plugged by Railroad Commission rules and regulations the first time around.
"I will make protecting our water a priority for the Texas Railroad Commission," Henry said in a promotional brochure.
"In dry West Texas, the ranchers have to work hard at salvaging water to grow grass with which to feed cattle and produce beef. At the ranch my wife and I have operated for years, we cut the number of production acres needed per cow and calf from 25 acres to 2.5 acres by getting our water to the right place.
"Water's my passion. I know how to do it," Henry said.
"I'm not a politician and I shouldn't have to be involved in this, but the oil and gas companies are polluting our water, soil, and air, and the Railroad Commission simply turns its back and lets it happen.
"Instead of regulating these industries, the three commissioners are raking in campaign contributions from their executives and political action committees and are burying their heads in the sand.
"It's time for change," Henry said. "I need to bring the knowledge I have back to the people, if they'd like me to share it.
"I can do the job. I want the job.
"The petroleum industry is a great benefit to our state's economy, but that should not come at the expense of our environment or our fresh water supply," he said.
Read more in the Marshall News Messenger
Showing posts with label water conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water conservation. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Oil and gas exemptions should be eliminated
Tomorrow morning, when you get up, do not turn on the water to make your coffee. Do not brush your teeth or shave. Do not wash your face or shower. Do not wash your clothes, your dishes, or your car. Do not water your plants, your lawn, your crops, or your animals. Do not turn on your water at all.
One may ask why I would suggest doing such a bizarre thing and my answer is that you might need the practice.
Many Texas Counties are facing two critical issues regarding water: contamination and depletion.
As county commissioners work toward establishing the greatly needed Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCD), some important issues about what a GCD can and cannot do for residents desperately need clarification.
A GCD has no control over the main offender in the usage and contamination of our water because the main offender, the oil and gas industry, is exempt from any local control. A GCD has no jurisdiction and no effect over water usage and contamination by the oil and gas industry. That is why it is crucial that we demand repeal of the exemption so that we all play by the same rules.
Contamination: Injection wells are located in counties throughout the Barnett Shale area and anywhere else where fracing ocurrs. In Wise County, we have 27 commercial injection wells and approximately 200 private injection wells that drilling companies use to pump hazardous waste into the ground. This hazardous waste includes but is not limited to the following:
• fumaric acid
• tolulene
• hydrochloric acid
• ethylene glycol (antifreeze)
• aromatic hydrocarbons
• methanol
• benzene (highly carcinogenic)
• salt is the main offending ingredient and renders the water unusable
The only chemicals not allowed in injection wells are high levels of radioactive materials, medical waste, and high levels of PCBs. Please note the use of the modifier, high levels. Who determines what a high level is? Who monitors these wells to guarantee that they are operated according to regulation? Unbelievably, the wells are self-monitored by the Oil and Gas Industry! In addition, the EPA does not regulate the chemicals that are injected by the oil and gas industry into or near our underground water supply.
Drilling in the Barnett Shale area is expected to increase dramatically in the future. The increased drilling significantly elevates the probability of water contamination. A GCD will monitor our water for contamination. However, the GCD also becomes responsible for any contamination, which translates into taxpayers paying for the results of that contamination. Since the Oil and Gas Industry is self-monitored or essentially unmonitored, there is no way to prove responsibility. Just ask residents of Panola County or other areas where water contamination by drilling has occurred how they manage having all their water brought in from outside sources. Or ask about the deaths and illnesses due to water contamination.
Lifting the exemptions on Oil and Gas would allow monitoring and local control, which would create more jobs for county residents and decrease the probability of contamination of our ground water.
Depletion: Barnett Shale wells require fracturing of the limestone formation to release the oil and gas trapped within. Water, sand, and hazardous chemicals are injected under high pressure down the drilling hole to fracture the limestone. Each fracing uses between 1.5 and 6 million gallons of fresh water. According to Halliburton at the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, each well is fraced an average of 17 times.
During a 17-month period from June 2004 to November 2005, the Railroad Commission issued 421 drilling permits in Wise County. Not every permit resulted in a well. Since water usage by the Oil and Gas Industry is not monitored, we cannot accurately determine how much Wise County water is used for drilling. However, using the 421 permits issued figure, we can create estimated, hypothetical best-case and worst-case scenarios. The best-case: 421 wells fraced 17 times each using 1.5 million gallons of water is almost 11 billion gallons of water. The worst-case: 421 wells fraced 17 times each using 6 million gallons of water is almost 43 billion gallons of water.
After fracing, the water containing hazardous chemicals is pumped into injection wells. Technology exists to clean up and reuse the frac water but currently no drilling company is routinely using that technology.
A GCD will monitor our ground water levels, alert the public when the level is low and enforce water rationing as needed. Water rationing is necessary to preserve our most precious resource. However, the Oil and Gas industry is exempt from any local rationing enforcement.
Lifting the exemptions on Oil and Gas would allow monitoring and local control of water usage by the Oil and Gas Industry. This will require more labor and will create more jobs for Wise County residents.
Plainly put, county residents will pay for any water contamination and suffer water rationing while the main offender, the Oil and Gas Industry, continues using billions of gallons of water and then pumping the contaminated remains into the ground and all the while making record-breaking profits. The industry can easily afford to play by the same rules that residents do.
Texas residents are a diverse mixture of ethnicities and political viewpoints but there is one thing we all have in common: One hundred percent of us drink water. Promoting a GCD as a panacea for water issues is misinformed and misleading. A GCD is a good and necessary start but we need to demand repeal of Oil and Gas exemptions before a GCD can fully protect our water.
The Wise County Active Democrats are ready to unite Texans to lobby for the repeal of Oil and Gas exemptions. Get involved by visiting www.wisedems.org.
One may ask why I would suggest doing such a bizarre thing and my answer is that you might need the practice.
Many Texas Counties are facing two critical issues regarding water: contamination and depletion.
As county commissioners work toward establishing the greatly needed Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCD), some important issues about what a GCD can and cannot do for residents desperately need clarification.
A GCD has no control over the main offender in the usage and contamination of our water because the main offender, the oil and gas industry, is exempt from any local control. A GCD has no jurisdiction and no effect over water usage and contamination by the oil and gas industry. That is why it is crucial that we demand repeal of the exemption so that we all play by the same rules.
Contamination: Injection wells are located in counties throughout the Barnett Shale area and anywhere else where fracing ocurrs. In Wise County, we have 27 commercial injection wells and approximately 200 private injection wells that drilling companies use to pump hazardous waste into the ground. This hazardous waste includes but is not limited to the following:
• fumaric acid
• tolulene
• hydrochloric acid
• ethylene glycol (antifreeze)
• aromatic hydrocarbons
• methanol
• benzene (highly carcinogenic)
• salt is the main offending ingredient and renders the water unusable
The only chemicals not allowed in injection wells are high levels of radioactive materials, medical waste, and high levels of PCBs. Please note the use of the modifier, high levels. Who determines what a high level is? Who monitors these wells to guarantee that they are operated according to regulation? Unbelievably, the wells are self-monitored by the Oil and Gas Industry! In addition, the EPA does not regulate the chemicals that are injected by the oil and gas industry into or near our underground water supply.
Drilling in the Barnett Shale area is expected to increase dramatically in the future. The increased drilling significantly elevates the probability of water contamination. A GCD will monitor our water for contamination. However, the GCD also becomes responsible for any contamination, which translates into taxpayers paying for the results of that contamination. Since the Oil and Gas Industry is self-monitored or essentially unmonitored, there is no way to prove responsibility. Just ask residents of Panola County or other areas where water contamination by drilling has occurred how they manage having all their water brought in from outside sources. Or ask about the deaths and illnesses due to water contamination.
Lifting the exemptions on Oil and Gas would allow monitoring and local control, which would create more jobs for county residents and decrease the probability of contamination of our ground water.
Depletion: Barnett Shale wells require fracturing of the limestone formation to release the oil and gas trapped within. Water, sand, and hazardous chemicals are injected under high pressure down the drilling hole to fracture the limestone. Each fracing uses between 1.5 and 6 million gallons of fresh water. According to Halliburton at the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, each well is fraced an average of 17 times.
During a 17-month period from June 2004 to November 2005, the Railroad Commission issued 421 drilling permits in Wise County. Not every permit resulted in a well. Since water usage by the Oil and Gas Industry is not monitored, we cannot accurately determine how much Wise County water is used for drilling. However, using the 421 permits issued figure, we can create estimated, hypothetical best-case and worst-case scenarios. The best-case: 421 wells fraced 17 times each using 1.5 million gallons of water is almost 11 billion gallons of water. The worst-case: 421 wells fraced 17 times each using 6 million gallons of water is almost 43 billion gallons of water.
After fracing, the water containing hazardous chemicals is pumped into injection wells. Technology exists to clean up and reuse the frac water but currently no drilling company is routinely using that technology.
A GCD will monitor our ground water levels, alert the public when the level is low and enforce water rationing as needed. Water rationing is necessary to preserve our most precious resource. However, the Oil and Gas industry is exempt from any local rationing enforcement.
Lifting the exemptions on Oil and Gas would allow monitoring and local control of water usage by the Oil and Gas Industry. This will require more labor and will create more jobs for Wise County residents.
Plainly put, county residents will pay for any water contamination and suffer water rationing while the main offender, the Oil and Gas Industry, continues using billions of gallons of water and then pumping the contaminated remains into the ground and all the while making record-breaking profits. The industry can easily afford to play by the same rules that residents do.
Texas residents are a diverse mixture of ethnicities and political viewpoints but there is one thing we all have in common: One hundred percent of us drink water. Promoting a GCD as a panacea for water issues is misinformed and misleading. A GCD is a good and necessary start but we need to demand repeal of Oil and Gas exemptions before a GCD can fully protect our water.
The Wise County Active Democrats are ready to unite Texans to lobby for the repeal of Oil and Gas exemptions. Get involved by visiting www.wisedems.org.
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