FrackTracker Summarizes Shale Gas Environmental Impacts

Last year we had Samantha Malone on SN to talk about FrackTracker's interactive geographic information systems approach to Marcellus development. John F. Stolz, Ph.D. Professor of Biological Sciences just put up a piece that briefly explains many of the environmental impacts caused by a single gas well.

Here is the bare bones on just water:

• The amount needed for fracking (5 million gallons/frac)
• Loss of well (aquifer) water through disruption or contamination
• Gas migration causing methane contaminated water
• The fate of the produced water (“treated” at POTWs)
• Degradation of water quality in local streams and rivers
• Degradation of drinking water quality (need to purchase bottled water)

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There are also impacts to land usage, exposure to toxic chemicals (spills, aquifer contamination, traffic and road degradation, noise, air pollution, property devaluation, EMS and emergency procedures, and increases taxes to cover infrastructure damage, additional public services and security. Mike and I have wondered for some time what the long-term property damage will be.

How about an 85% loss of property value?