Our Energy Future:
Renewed or Game Over?
Activist San Diego
April 15, 2013
Peg Mitchell
California’s New “Black Gold” Rush
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The Monterey Shale formation covers
1,750 square miles from southern to
central California.
Believed to contain more shale oil than
North Dakota’s Bakken and Texas’s
Eagle Ford combined.
Monterey may hold about 15.4 billion
barrels of oil – roughly half the amount
of conventional oil that Saudi Arabia
has and 64% of total 48 contiguous
states.
The oil is 6,000 to 15,000 feet below
the surface.
Because of the San Andreas fault, the
shale formations are folded like an
accordion rather than stacked on top of
each other.
California lags behind most other states
in regulating fracking. Draft regulations
issued Dec 2012 but are inadequate.
Anatomy of a Fracked Well
Image courtesy of ScienceNews.org
Key Fracking Facts and Issues
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Fracking used in 9 out of 10 wells nationwide; 11,400 new wells fractured annually.
Typical fracked well uses between 2 - 8 million gallons of locally sourced fresh water (12 Olympic
swimming pools). 5 mil gallons can supply fresh water to 100 households for a year.
Fracking fluid is 90% water, 9% “proppants” like sand, glass beads, to prop open the fractures. 1%
are chemical additives.
From 2005 to 2009, 14 major gas & oil companies used 750 different chemicals. 25 of these
chemicals are listed as hazardous pollutants under the Clean Air Act, 9 are regulated under the Safe
Drinking Water Act and 14 are known or possible human carcinogens, including naphthalene and
benzene.
Oil and Gas companies are exempt from regulation under 7 federal laws including the Clean Air and
Clean Water Acts (the 2005 Halliburton Loophole) and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Central Valley, where the majority of fracking is taking place, is already under major pressure
from contaminated drinking water sources. Nitrate contamination, for example, from agriculture is a
major threat to many communities’ drinking water sources.
Flowback water contains lots of salt, along with naturally occurring radioactive material, mercury,
arsenic and other heavy metals and cannot be disposed of via municipal waste water facilities.
Pollution from truck traffic, chemical contamination around storage tanks, and habitat fragmentation
and damage from drilling to environmentally sensitive areas all related to fracking has occurred.
Fracking has been linked to small earthquakes. U.S. Geological Survey documents a dramatic
increase in earthquakes in the Midwest coinciding with the start of the fracking boom. From 1970 to
2000, the region experienced about 20 quakes per year >= 3.0. Between 2001 and 2008, there were
29 such quakes per year, 50 in 2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011.
Legislative Status
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AB 1301 (Bloom) and AB 1323 (Mitchell) Moratoriums
Prohibits fracking until legislature has acted to remove the moratorium and determined
whether and under what conditions hydraulic fracturing may be conducted while
protecting the public health and safety and the natural resources of the state. (Natural
Resources Committee 4/29/13)
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AB 982 - (Williams) - Groundwater Monitoring
Requires groundwater monitoring before and after any hydraulic fracturing operations.
Also requires public disclosure of all groundwater monitoring data and providing specific
information on amount, source of water, and method of disposal of produced
wastewater. (Natural Resources Committee 4/15/13)
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SB 4 - (Pavley) - Regulations on Fracking
Provides a comprehensive framework for permitting & disclosure of fracking; requires
an independent scientific study on fracking addressing occupational, public and
environmental health and safety be conducted by January 1, 2015; requires DOGGR to
adopt fracking regulations by January 1, 2015 that include full disclosure of the
composition and disposition of hydraulic fracturing fluids with trade secret protection for
chemical formulas extended to industry; would allow neighbors to have baseline and
follow-up water quality testing on water wells and surface water by the regional water
board. (PASSED Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee 4/9/13, referred to Senate Environmental Quality Committee TBD)
Legislative Status
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SB 395 (Jackson): Oil and gas wastewater classified as hazardous waste
(Status: Senate Environmental Quality Committee 5/1/13)
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SB 665 (Wolk): Bonding levels, increased to meet current costs associated
with fixing problems in a well or well fields. (Status: Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee 4/23/13)
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AB 7 (Wieckowski): Disclosure and trade secrets (Status: Assembly Natural Resources
Committee 4/15)
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AB 288 (Levine): Positive approval/time period; extends the length of notice
to DOGGR from 10 to 30 days and requires DOGGR to actively approve the
project and notify the appropriate regional water board (Status: Assembly Natural
Resources Committee 4/15)
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AB 649 (Nazarian): Moratorium on fracking near aquifers (Status: Assembly Natural
Resources Committee 4/29/13)
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AB 669 (Stone): Wastewater approval; Requires operators to submit proof
that the appropriate regional water quality control board has approved the
method and location of wastewater disposal for the well; report origin and
total amount of freshwater, disposal of wastewater, and the well casing
failures in each county (Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee 4/15)
Regulatory Status
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DOGGR Issued draft regulations in December - Currently in
public comment period.
Some areas good, particularly:
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Requirements that operators provide written notice to DOGGR of
their intent to hydraulically fracture a well.
Requirements that operators must alert DOGGR of well casing
failures.
The intent of well construction requirements to limit fractures and
fluid/gas movements to the intended geologic zones.
Inadequacies are significant. Comments were provided
back on:
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Must close the Halliburton loophole, which exempts the injection of
fracking fluids from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act’s
underground injection control (“UIC”) program;
An affirmative review/approval process requiring a finding of no
harm to public health and safety, natural resources, and
environmental quality prior to fracking.
Regulatory Status (cont)
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Inadequacies (cont):
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At least 60-day advanced prior notice to the public and actual written notice to
nearby landowners and water users and providers.
Disclosure and approval of sources and volumes of water used in fracking and
disposition, volume, and composition of wastewater, including flowback and
produced water associated with well stimulation operations.
Groundwater testing performed prior to any well stimulation operations to
establish baseline water quality and subsequent to all drilling and well
stimulation.
Air quality protections, including monitoring, containment, and limits on volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), air toxics and greenhouse gas emissions.
Green completions must be placed on all wells to prevent any flaring or
venting of greenhouse gases.
Limits on the use and injection of dangerous chemicals including a prohibition
on the injection of diesel, BTEX, and other hydrocarbons.
Expansion of definition of “protected water” to include waters of all beneficial
uses consistent with the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and
Porter-Cologne Act.
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Regulatory Status (cont)
Inadequacies (cont):
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Advance public disclosure of chemicals which will be brought to a frack
site to be injected, and reporting of chemicals actually used for the
frack job.
Monitoring to establish baseline ground movement and seismic activity
and post fracturing seismicity in the surrounding area.
Prohibition on fracking confidential/exploratory wells.
Elimination of trade secret protections for the volumes and identities of
chemicals injected into the ground.
Public disclosure be posted on a state-run website, instead of a
nationwide, industry-backed site such as FracFocus.
Prohibition on fracking in or around sensitive areas including, but not
limited to, the Pacific Ocean (offshore oil platforms), coastal estuaries,
near residential areas, sensitive receptors (hospitals, schools, daycare
facilities, elderly housing and convalescent facilities), sensitive
ecosystems, wetlands, critical watersheds and groundwater recharge
areas.
Will Fracking Save Us?
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Will natural gas and previously unrecoverable tight oil provide energy
independence? (from “Drill, Baby, Drill. Can Unconventional Fuels Usher in a New Era of Energy Abundance? David J.
Hughes, Feb., 2013 Post Carbon Institute)
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80% of world energy consumption is fossil fuel based. Shale gas production is
nearly 40 percent of U.S. natural gas production. Tight oil makes up 20% of oil
production in the US. Shale gas production has been on a plateau since
December 2011.
Shale plays decline rapidly after first few months of production requiring
continuous capital input to maintain production levels.
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Needed capital input estimated at $42 billion per year - to drill more than 7,000 well
to maintain production. The value of shale gas produced in 2012 was just $32.5
billion.
Tight oil requires more than 6,000 wells to maintain production at a cost of $35
billion annually. 1,542 wells needed annually, at a cost of $14 billion, in the Eagle
Ford and Bakken plays alone to offset declines.
Tight oil production from these plays will be a bubble of about ten years’ duration.
The only true independence will come from renewables and reduced
consumption.
The “Exploration Treadmill”
Since 1990, the number of operating gas wells in the United States has
increased by 90% while the average productivity per well has declined by
38 percent.
New Wells Must Replace Old
Figure 66. Future oil production profile for the Bakken play, assuming current rate of new well additions.
This scenario assumes constant new well quality and EIA estimate of remaining available well locations. Production declines at the overall field rate of 40
percent after peak in 2017.
Raping Mother Earth?
Tight oil and shale gas plays require density of rapidly depleting wells and constant
new investment to maintain production. Beware of rosy 100 year forecasts!
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What Can We Do?
Learn more: Attend “California Communities Rising Against Fracking”, April 20th, 5 pm,
Joyce Beers Community Center. http://sandiego350.org/ai1ec_event/fracking-california
Follow Clean Water Action’s Legislative Tracking Page for status on bills:
http://cleanwateraction.org/page/stop-fracking-ca-2013-legislative-priorities
Contact your local state Assemby and Senate legislators and demand support for Bloom
bill at a minimum (AB 1301); send Bloom a letter directly to thank him for his bill. Sample
at: http://www.laprogressive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/AB-1301-Sampleendrosement-Letter.pdf; call all members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee
by April 29, see here for list of names and contact numbers:
http://antr.assembly.ca.gov/membersstaff
Circulate the petition calling on the Governor to ban fracking (partnership of Food & Water
Watch, CREDO, CBD, DFA and Enviro CA).
https://secure3.convio.net/fww/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=193
Public education-Reach out to your allies and partners, e.g., faith based and labor groups
Hold screenings of Gasland II - releasing on April 21
Write letters to the editor to counter false promises, distortions and present strong
alternatives.
Be aware and vote! Local levels are important, especially Water Boards, County
Supervisors, Land Use roles on City Councils.
Thank You!