Beyond comprehension

I have to admit that this whole gas drilling activity has my head spinning. The idea of using millions of gallons of clean water to harvest an energy that’s best left in the ground is a crazy idea to begin with, and it’s over the top when it comes to imagining that this risky behavior will be done in an exceptional value watershed. But it just keeps on coming.

I heard this week that the gas company that is seeking a permit for five wells in Peas Eddy, NY, in the Town of Hancock, somewhere in close proximity of the headwaters of the Upper Delaware River, have included in their application to the NY Department of Conservation (DEC) a plan to dispose of the “produced” water in injection wells. What this means is that the clean water to which chemicals and biocides have been added, which is then used to violently fracture the shale deep within the earth, amidst naturally occurring radioactive materials, heavy metals and salt, will be put back into the earth, for eternity.

While I’m no scientist, basic knowledge tells us that “what goes up, must come down. And since everything is itself and its opposite, the reverse is true: “What goes down, must come up.” Which is just an interesting way to say that the injected poison water is probably not going to stay put. And while geological science might very well contradict this gut analysis, industry experience in Texas shows that there is a tremendous amount of surface contamination that occurs during the injecting procedure. So much so that officials in Broome County don’t want the DEC to allow injection wells.

Bottom line: Those officials are right; it’s simply not a good idea. And it’s especially not a good idea in an important watershed.

I get it that no one knows what to do with this caustic water besides either injecting it into the ground or spreading it on dirt roads. Unfortunately, spreading the contaminated water on roads kills all the vegetation and, undoubtedly, although I haven’t read it, runs off into brooks and streams.

But getting back to Peas Eddy: The fact this is the first place that the gas companies have targeted, complete with the crazy idea to just put the poison back in the ground, is something that boggles the mind of someone like me. The idea that the first drilling will be within the vicinity of the headwaters of the Upper Delaware is almost prophetic because in its height of irresponsibility, it has the potential of allowing us, and our regulatory bodies, to wake up and say, “Huh, you want to do what? No way.”

But “no way” doesn’t seem to be the response. In fact,“anyway, just get it done,” seems to be the preferred reaction.

And quite honestly, that’s beyond my comprehension. What about you?