Another case of dirty drilling!

Here is another case of water well contamination. This is near the Colorado town of Silt. Many people have reported illnesses since drilling started. The first 2 phases of the testing showed the amount of methane is increasing at an alarming rate. Part of the money for the study was paid for out of a $371,200 Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission fine against EnCana Oil and Gas in 2004. Encana was found at fault after gas and benzene seeped to the surface in the Divide Creek area.


It seems every time you turn around there is proof that gas drilling is dangerous to humans and the environment.


There is currently 1700 wells in the area and the potential of 7000 in the years to come.


As of a year ago, there were over 76,000 gas wells in the state of Texas!! Over 377,000 oil and gas wells combined. The Texas Railroad Commission had only had 84 inspectors in 2008.

http://stopthedrilling.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-many-gas-wells-in-state-of-texas.html

Here are a few articles we have posted in the last 30 days.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32477588/

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Mysterious-Substance-Rains-Down-on-Keller-Neighborhood.html

http://www.krld.com/pages/4867184.php

http://stopthedrilling.blogspot.com/2009/07/citizens-complain-about-bad-odor.html

Clean Burning Gas. What a joke!

Here are a few paragraphs from the article about the Colorado Study

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20090822/VALLEYNEWS/908219993/1001/NONE&parentprofile=1074

Tests will determine the extent of methane gas contamination in domestic water wells in the area
County commissioners this week approved a $199,879 contract for GeoTrans, Inc. to complete the Phase III Hydrogeological Study of the Mamm Creek area southwest of Silt.


The first two phases of the study were paid for out of a $371,200 Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission fine against EnCana Oil and Gas in 2004, after gas and benzene seeped to the surface in the Divide Creek area.


Since 2004, the county has been conducting a study that finds that there is methane showing up in local domestic wells in the Mamm Creek area that may be the result of gas drilling in the area. More than 1,700 natural gas wells are currently operating in the area, with the potential for up to 7,000 wells in the coming years.


The study indicates that “thermagenic” methane and chloride have been infiltrating wells in the area at an increasing rate over the last seven years, a period that coincides with stepped up intensity in drilling activities around the county.


The presence of such gases could be an indication that drilling activities are in some way the cause, although she said the COGCC may not agree with that interpretation.


Neither gas has been found at levels that would trigger regulatory action, the study states, although indications are that the levels are rising and that the chloride could soon reach a threshold that warrants government intervention.


The main hazard from the methane, Jordan said, is that it could accumulate in water tanks or, if it is being vented into the atmosphere, in low-lying areas close to the ground, and be ignited by an errant spark.


Jordan has recommended more detailed study and monitoring than what is now planned, however funds are not available at this time.