Chesapeake Reconsiders Cow Shoals Pipeline
Bryan Hendricks in Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette suggests Chesapeake Energy has lost interest in building a gas pipe line across the Little Red River at Cow Shoals and realizes it was a public relations disaster. The kicker to his article is mention of the conservation easement the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission holds across from the AGFC land Chesapeake wanted to lease. The easement prohibts such activity and would require legislative action and a waiver from Gov. Beebe to proceed. It’s fortunate ANHC held this property.
Thanks to all of you who got involved with this. Your vigilance saved another stream disaster potentially affecting White River tailwaters.
I attended the Arkansas Water Resources Center research conference this past week.
Doug Melton with Southwest Energy Company (Arkansas Western Gas) which drilled the first well in the Fayetteville Shale spoke from the industry perspective on Shale Gas Drilling and Production on Water Resources. He showed a video available on Southwest Energy’s website. A few important questions people had for him, e.g. on estimated future water use, he couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. He said his attorneys had gone through his PowerPoint and deleted stuff which they considered forward looking statements prohibited by the SEC. Most of the attendees were professional biologists/chemists/geologists/engineers. It became rather apparent to all he had nothing of significance he could say to address concerns.
Chris Davidson with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the regulatory perspective. He didn’t spend any time on groundwater withdrawal or disposal of waste water, but said the major problem right now in the industry is with major storm water runoff. The industry has had one reserve pit spill in the Barnett shale in Texas which resulted in a major fish kill. Because of the rapidly increasing number of drilling sites, the Corps has become involved and is doing cumulative effects analysis on its jurisdictional waters in Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale area.
The adverse effects of the drilling sites are:
- Reduced stream flow
- Alteration of biota and aquatic habitats
- Aquifer depletion
- Stream flow disruption
- Seeps (channel formation in the right of way)
- Fertility (excessive algae growth in the streams because of removal of overhead canopy)
- Channel incision below hanging outlets
- Slopes without vegetation
- Contaminants from well pads
- Well pads in karst areas with no erosion controls
- Well pads constructed on ephemeral streams and fill slopes which result in recut-rechannelized streams
- Sediment intrusion into the forest floor down to the perennial streams
The roads to the well pad are a major source of sediment and there are few sufficient erosion controls on the projects. Pipelines present the biggest erosion problem of all. Cadron Creek was spoiled by sediment, and this caused the USFWS to get involved in 2007. Wet open cut trenching has also ruined the middle fork of the Little Red River where Davidson says it is 100 percent embedded with sand which flowed out of the Indian Creek watershed due to drilling impacts.
Sometime ago I spoke with a gas industry executive. He confirmed to me the problems mentioned here and said the only way to keep the industry in check with regard to these problems is through constant, careful monitoring.
Please contact your state legislators and congressmen and ask that they increase monitoring efforts on the industry. Without continued vigilance, our streams will continue to be degraded. Thanks!
© 2010, Scott Branyan