Testimony Presented to the
Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation
Regarding the Revised DSGEIS Governing Natural Gas Drilling in NYS
Paul A. Rubin
Hydrogeologist
HydroQuest
October 6, 2011
Protection of Freshwater Aquifers: Hydrogeologic and Seismic Threshold Requirements
My name is Paul Rubin.
consulting firm1&2.
I am a hydrogeologist and President of HydroQuest, an environmental
I have been actively researching hydrogeologic aspects of hydraulic fracturing technology, with emphasis
on gas industry state-of-the-art well sealant durability and failure mechanisms. My concern is that
breaching of confining beds that now naturally serve to separate and protect our freshwater aquifers will
result in long-term contamination by naturally-occurring deep chemicals and gases, toxic hydrofracking
chemicals, and saline water.
This concern is borne out by extensive research and publications of the petroleum industry and others.
Much of this information is provided on a CD that I am providing today in the form of several reports –
including one addressing draft gas drilling regulations of the Delaware River Basin Commission for the
Delaware Riverkeeper Network3&4 and another addressing water quality concerns associated with
underground injection of hydrofracking wastewater5&6. In addition, I am providing two color Fact Sheets
that condense many of the key points discussed in a less technical format7,8,9,10, as well as other reports
with material that supports this testimony 11,12,13,14,15. These are all incorporated by reference here.
Beyond this material, I have provided a flyer for an all day geology field trip that will visit a Marcellus
shale outcrop and discuss Hydrology & Hydrofracking16. You are invited to join me on October 15, 2011.
Thresholds
An excellent means of examining the issue as to whether it is hydrologically safe and wise to advance gas
drilling in an area is to consider relevant factors that together allow for the short and long-term protection
of our freshwater aquifers. Unless all of the following thresholds can be achieved, gas drilling should not
be permitted:
1) The durability and mechanical properties of well sealant materials are sufficiently advanced such
that freshwater aquifers will be safely protected for hundreds of thousands of years. The aquifers
we enjoy today took about a million years to form. Without unnatural alteration from gas drilling
activities, they should be capable of providing potable water for future generations for another one million
plus years. Industry documentation establishes that, under the best of circumstances, cement and steel
used to effect zonal isolation may last up to 100 years and 80 years, respectively – often far less;
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2) Legally-binding and enforceable provisions are made to guarantee long-term maintenance of
production well sealant materials. Since most cement plugs will fail in less than 100 years from
shrinking, debonding, cracking, and corrosion, all existing gas wells must be fully replugged from the
ground surface to the lowest production zone at least once every 100 years over the 1,000,000 plus year
life of freshwater aquifers – some 10,000 times per well;
3) Gas production wells should not be placed within seismically active regions where ground
shaking/motion will damage the integrity of cement seals. While assessment is warranted to establish
acceptable threshold values, appropriate maximum values for Richter magnitude and modified Mercalli
shaking-vibration intensity may be on the order of 3.0 (III) or less for both. Philadelphia, PA, for
example, recently experienced structural damage to buildings from an earthquake some 200 miles to the
SW. Clearly, if the related earthquake intensity of 4.7 could damage buildings, it was also likely to result
in damage to the integrity of cement sheaths, especially with repeated seismic events through time.
Seismic hazard risk must be evaluated over the duration of the life of aquifers – 1,000,000 plus years;
4) Gas production well arrays should not be placed within distances of less than 2,100 feet from
water bodies (e.g., reservoirs, lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands), dams, pipelines and other
vulnerable features. Based on aquifer test results in NYS, lesser gas well setback distances, inclusive of
all horizontal projections, have a high probability of degrading groundwater, wells, and surface water
bodies from natural gas and Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPLs) excursions along fracture and
borehole pathways;
5) All abandoned, unplugged, and poorly-plugged wells are first found and plugged throughout the
entire wellbore from the ground surface to the lowest production zone. Otherwise, hydrofracking
chemicals will follow fracture and poorly-plugged wellbore pathways into our freshwater aquifers.
Because groundwater flow rates are slow, contaminant plumes may take decades before widespread
groundwater degradation reaches our water supplies. All contaminant excursion pathways should be
sealed before any new hydrofracking is conducted in an area;
6) Old gas and oil wells should not be used for disposal (i.e., underground injection) of
hydrofracking wastewater where homeowner wells or abandoned or poorly plugged production
wells are situated within a radial distance of at least 3,000 feet. This includes wastewater disposal in
New York and other states, inclusive of the recently EPA-permitted Bittinger wells just over New York’s
border in neighboring PA. Until zonal isolation sealant materials are developed that are capable of
surviving intact for hundreds of thousands of years, NO underground injection of hydrofracking waste
should be permitted anywhere. The risk of toxic chemicals discharging upward into overlying aquifers,
homeowner wells, and surface waterways via fractures and failed cement sheaths and casing is too great;
7) The regulations are amended to A) require all gas companies to use company-specific tracers in
their frack fluid (at concentrations that allow appropriately for dilution), and B) legally require full
disclosure of ALL groundwater and surface water contamination information. The costly burden of
legal and hydrologic proof incumbent upon adversely impacted homeowners must be removed.
Similarly, the regulations must ban non-disclosure agreements between gas companies and homeowners.
There cannot be a veil of secrecy regarding any contaminant information;
8) No hydraulic connection is present along fracture pathways between planned gas wells and
homeowner wells within a radial distance of at least 3,000 feet, as determined by a short-term (~ 24
hr), high-yield, pumping test. As discussed previously, at best, industry sealant technology used to
isolate and protect freshwater aquifers will fail within 100 years - generally far less. While long-term
aquifer contamination is assured, regulatory agencies and homeowners can predict and therefore
decrease the immediate risk of contaminant migration to their water supplies by requiring basic
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hydrologic testing in advance of production well development. All homeowner and farm wells should be
electronically monitored with transducers before, during, and after aquifer testing. If a hydraulic
connection is determined via pumping, then the planned gas production well should be abandoned and
completed as a water supply well, or plugged and abandoned as per regulations. This testing should be
mandatory on all planned wells before they are drilled below the base of freshwater aquifers.
Failure to achieve all these thresholds will, without doubt, result in long-term and irreparable
contamination of our freshwater aquifers. The productive life of gas wells is less than 20 years compared
to aquifer life of about 1,000,000 years. While we may be able to export natural gas today, we would be
far better served to protect our freshwater aquifers for the remaining 999,980 plus years of their
productive lives. In today’s world, we need to realize that freshwater is more valuable than natural gas or
other fossils fuels. To maintain this freshwater supply now and into the future, we must protect its
quality. This requires that all the thresholds above be met.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Paul A. Rubin
Hydrogeologist
HydroQuest
HydroQuest Testimony Attachments on CD:
[All items below may also be viewed at:
http://hydroquest.com/Hydrofracking/]
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: Paul Rubin Resume Sept 2011
: HydroQuest Gas Drilling Related Work 9-29-11
3
: HydroQuest DRBC Draft Regulations Comment Report 4-09-11
4
: April 9, 2011 DRBC Comment Report Figures (Folder includes 21 figures & 2 addenda)
5
: HydroQuest – Bittinger – EPA Report July 8, 2011
6
: Bittinger Report Figures 7-8-11 (Folder includes 13 figures)
7
: Aquifer Protection Expert Fact Sheet Front 9-2-11
8
: Aquifer Protection Expert Fact Sheet Back 9-2-11
9
: Seismic Hazard Expert Fact Sheet Front 9-4-11
10
: Seismic Hazard Expert Fact Sheet Back 9-4-11
11
: Zarin & Steinmetz DSGEIS Comment Letter 12-30-09
12
: HydroQuest EPA Comments 9-11-10 with figures
13
: HydroQuest Geologic Report on Exploration Wells 11-15-10
14
: Exploration Well Report Figures 11-15-10 (Folder includes 10 figures & 2 addenda)
15
: HydroQuest Commissioners Statement 9-6-11
16
: Hydrology & Hydrofracking Field Trip Flyer (An invitation to an Oct. 15, 2011 workshop)
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