With over 11,000 wells for drilling, Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s leaders in natural gas production (PA Shale Viewer). A large deposit of Marcellus Shale, a mineral layer under the Earth, has sparked natural gas fracturing also known as fracking has become a huge industry for the state.

On a personal level, I find fracking (if done correctly and safely) very beneficial to local communities for a few reasons. Firstly, it has introduced over 250,000 new jobs for residents just within the state of PA (How Many Jobs). Secondly, if carried out in a regulated manor, natural gas drilling is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to create energy at the given moment. But that won’t stop me from pointing out the flaws of big business and their wrongdoings in the industry, as you will see in the following paragraphs.

Using extreme pressure, drilling companies such as Columbia Gas, pump thousands of gallons of water and chemicals into the Earth to harvest gas deposits. What chemicals you might ask? Well, you don’t know and officially, as a September report, you won’t know. Over 50% of drilling sites in PA left undisclosed what exactly they are pumping below the state within their pipes. It is unknown whether the chemicals are harmful or how harmful but they are being used currently in an unregulated manor.

Image courtesy of WCBE

The EPA calls for all materials to be disclosed in the process of fracking but at the same time seems complacent in letting drilling continue even without having all of the information on what they are putting into PA groundwater. This could mean that millions are residents within the state are ingesting these potentially harmful substances. Many people don’t even know this is currently an issue, as it has almost zero media coverage.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an organization committed to safe drilling tactics, has stated that they are dedicated to fully open reporting of what and how they put in the ground when drilling. Using the Frac Focus registry to open “all” information to the public. But many question if this is really the case, and so do I.

Since this is my first post, I’m going to be jumping around a bit on topics surrounding natural gas fracking to get you a feel of what this industry is doing here in Pennsylvania. In the following weeks, I will narrow down my focus to the most important economic and environmental impacts of natural gas drilling. There might be weeks where I seem to have a positive bias toward it and there will also be weeks where I seem to have a negative bias. Energy production is something we must all look at with an open mind.

Near my home of Beaver, PA, one of the largest Cracker plant in the United States is being constructed. Cracker plants use Ethane from natural gas and refine it into a plastic product to be used in anything from food packaging to furniture. Peaking at over 6,000 created jobs, the construction has introduced a huge (and much needed) economic boost to the western PA area. The plant is expected to produce over 1.6 million metric tons of Polyethylene from the refined ethane and also produce over 250-megawatts of energy from an on-site natural gas power plant. This power plant will be utilized to power the entire facility along with introducing about one third of its output into the local power grid.

Image courtesy of Observer-Reporter

Though the economy is receiving these benefits, there are many residents up in arms about the construction process and the environmental implications the plant might have. 24/7 blasting detonations have become a huge burden to residents as the explosions are rocking homes even across the nearby Ohio River. Also, in the suburban community of Beaver County, traffic is almost at a standstill on the I-376 interchange 2 times a day at peak rush hour times which angers those commuting for work.

So as you can see, the industry has ingrained itself within the PA economy. But at the same time has sparked debate towards its environmental impact. I can’t wait to dive in-depth into natural gas fracking going forward to both educate and criticize how it is being carried out.

For more information on the undisclosed chemicals, check out this report where most of the data was found.