'Gasland': The Battle Over Energy Extraction Moves Inland From the Gulf
Sandra Fish
Correspondent
Posted:
06/22/10
While BP chief executive Tony Hayward turns his attention to yachting and other company officials take control of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company continues its quest for energy resources inland.
In fact, BP plans to start drilling again for natural gas in one Colorado county this fall.
But that method of drilling -- hydraulic fracturing is the technical term, "fracking" is the shorthand -- is getting plenty of attention this week with the release of the HBO documentary "Gasland," currently airing on On Demand. The film, which won the special jury prize for documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival, takes aim at fracking -- an increasingly controversial method of extracting natural gas in 34 states from the East Coast to the mountains in the West.
Fracking uses water, sand and chemicals --- many of which are banned by various federal laws -- pumped at high pressure into oil shale formations to crack the rock and release natural gas. Health groups and others claim the water contamination sickens livestock and people and hurts the air quality, not to mention the degradation to the scenery caused by drilling. Many believe fracking is causing chronic illness and cancer.
The energy industry disputes the documentary's representation of the fracking process, federal laws, state and federal regulations, and a range of other details.
One of "Gasland's" most amazing scenes is of a Fort Lupton, Colorado, woman striking a match and setting fire to the water coming from her kitchen faucet, where natural gas is clearly being released.
"It had some pretty alarming concerns," said Mike Eisenfel, state energy coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance in Farmington, New Mexico. "When you talk to industry, they'll probably say those are extreme circumstances."
A Rifle, Colorado, man who contracted cancer after washing tanks emptied of fracking fluids may sue several companies over his illness.
Last summer, benzene levels in DISH, Texas, were 55 times higher than allowed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Other chemicals exceeded legal limits, as well, with scientists and townspeople pointing at natural gas drilling.
Filmmaker Josh Fox points out his personal interest in the topic at the top of the film: He'd been offered $100,000 for natural gas drilling rights on his Pennsylvania land. He didn't accept the offer, but in this down economy, many of his neighbors did.
Drilling companies don't have to disclose what chemicals they use in fracking, in part because the 2005 energy bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating fracking -- a provision advocated by Vice President Dick Cheney. Some named the amendment after Halliburton, the huge energy company Cheney worked for before becoming vice president.
And the process doesn't always capture all of the natural gas; some of it seeps up through water faucets, as this trailer from "Gasland" shows:
But you don't need to spend 144 minutes in front of the TV to get a handle on the hazards of fracking. Just Google it.
A gas well blowout earlier this month in Pennsylvania required the evacuation of a portion of the Moshannon State Forest where the drill was located.
Eisenfeld says there's potential for other large-scale disasters.
"Given the very poor oversight by agencies like the BLM, there's all sorts of things that are possible and of concern," he said. "It's a very industrial process. There's a lot of chemicals, high pressures, in proximity to people's homes and schools."
At least 65 chemicals used in fracking in Colorado are listed as hazardous under federal law, according to a 2008 study by the Environmental Working Group. But they're allowed in natural gas drilling under the 2005 energy bill loophole.
The oil and gas industry is fighting back. Energy in Depth, an association of oil and gas contractors, counters some of the movie's claims. A New York Times review criticized the documentary for failing to provide more details about why views of oil industry executives and some government officials weren't included.
U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, an Oklahoma Democrat, also took aim at the film, saying: "I have not seen the movie in question but believe that it contains many inaccuracies. In Oklahoma, we have a proud heritage in the energy sector. We have seen the proper regulation of hydraulic fracturing at the state level."
"Gasland" shows Boren defending the industry during a committee hearing, saying there haven't been problems with fracking. At the same hearing, Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, asks why the industry objects to disclosing the chemicals they use. She doesn't get an answer.
DeGette, vice chairwoman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, is sponsoring legislation to require companies to reveal the chemicals they use in fracking natural gas, in an effort to protect drinking water.
Needless to say, she digs "Gasland," as evidenced through this statement:
"I am pleased that the film is bringing attention to hydraulic fracturing and I hope that it will give momentum to efforts to improve the safety of the process."
In fact, BP plans to start drilling again for natural gas in one Colorado county this fall.
But that method of drilling -- hydraulic fracturing is the technical term, "fracking" is the shorthand -- is getting plenty of attention this week with the release of the HBO documentary "Gasland," currently airing on On Demand. The film, which won the special jury prize for documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival, takes aim at fracking -- an increasingly controversial method of extracting natural gas in 34 states from the East Coast to the mountains in the West.
Fracking uses water, sand and chemicals --- many of which are banned by various federal laws -- pumped at high pressure into oil shale formations to crack the rock and release natural gas. Health groups and others claim the water contamination sickens livestock and people and hurts the air quality, not to mention the degradation to the scenery caused by drilling. Many believe fracking is causing chronic illness and cancer.
The energy industry disputes the documentary's representation of the fracking process, federal laws, state and federal regulations, and a range of other details.
One of "Gasland's" most amazing scenes is of a Fort Lupton, Colorado, woman striking a match and setting fire to the water coming from her kitchen faucet, where natural gas is clearly being released."It had some pretty alarming concerns," said Mike Eisenfel, state energy coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance in Farmington, New Mexico. "When you talk to industry, they'll probably say those are extreme circumstances."
A Rifle, Colorado, man who contracted cancer after washing tanks emptied of fracking fluids may sue several companies over his illness.
Last summer, benzene levels in DISH, Texas, were 55 times higher than allowed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Other chemicals exceeded legal limits, as well, with scientists and townspeople pointing at natural gas drilling.
Filmmaker Josh Fox points out his personal interest in the topic at the top of the film: He'd been offered $100,000 for natural gas drilling rights on his Pennsylvania land. He didn't accept the offer, but in this down economy, many of his neighbors did.
Drilling companies don't have to disclose what chemicals they use in fracking, in part because the 2005 energy bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating fracking -- a provision advocated by Vice President Dick Cheney. Some named the amendment after Halliburton, the huge energy company Cheney worked for before becoming vice president.
And the process doesn't always capture all of the natural gas; some of it seeps up through water faucets, as this trailer from "Gasland" shows:
But you don't need to spend 144 minutes in front of the TV to get a handle on the hazards of fracking. Just Google it.
A gas well blowout earlier this month in Pennsylvania required the evacuation of a portion of the Moshannon State Forest where the drill was located.
Eisenfeld says there's potential for other large-scale disasters.
"Given the very poor oversight by agencies like the BLM, there's all sorts of things that are possible and of concern," he said. "It's a very industrial process. There's a lot of chemicals, high pressures, in proximity to people's homes and schools."
At least 65 chemicals used in fracking in Colorado are listed as hazardous under federal law, according to a 2008 study by the Environmental Working Group. But they're allowed in natural gas drilling under the 2005 energy bill loophole.
The oil and gas industry is fighting back. Energy in Depth, an association of oil and gas contractors, counters some of the movie's claims. A New York Times review criticized the documentary for failing to provide more details about why views of oil industry executives and some government officials weren't included.
U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, an Oklahoma Democrat, also took aim at the film, saying: "I have not seen the movie in question but believe that it contains many inaccuracies. In Oklahoma, we have a proud heritage in the energy sector. We have seen the proper regulation of hydraulic fracturing at the state level."
"Gasland" shows Boren defending the industry during a committee hearing, saying there haven't been problems with fracking. At the same hearing, Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, asks why the industry objects to disclosing the chemicals they use. She doesn't get an answer.
DeGette, vice chairwoman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, is sponsoring legislation to require companies to reveal the chemicals they use in fracking natural gas, in an effort to protect drinking water.
Needless to say, she digs "Gasland," as evidenced through this statement:
"I am pleased that the film is bringing attention to hydraulic fracturing and I hope that it will give momentum to efforts to improve the safety of the process."