It’s easier to make the claim that no groundwater has been contaminated if you never test the groundwater for contamination.
This Star-Telegram article, Rural residents worry about Barnett Shale disposal wells, lists many examples of injection/disposal well failures yet the Texas Railroad Commission remains unconcerned.
Similar problems have occurred at wells near Boyd and Chico in Wise County. Drilling waste flowed to the surface near the Chico well. Nye said that those wells have been repaired and that there was no danger to groundwater.
But the commission hasn’t done testing to verify that.
“Commission staff does not see a need to test groundwater in any of these well incidents as there has been no evidence that these wellbores have been compromised in a way that would impact usable quality groundwater. Additionally, there has been no reports nor evidence of any contamination of usable quality groundwater at these sites,” Nye said in an e-mail.
I doubt that any TRC decision makers live near Barnett Shale injection/disposal wells so of course they are concerned with the frequent spill and failures or the radioactive water that seems to occur in areas with disposal wells.
Don’t forget about the Up Close and Personal view of a Wise County injection/disposal well and how the TRC faked an inspection and mishandled that “incident.”
Click on any slide to view a close up.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Aruba Petroleum's president James L. 'Larry' Poston response to a letter from us expressing our concern about his company's drilling activities contaminating our drinking water stated that he was 'Unaware of any drinking water contamination in the Barnett Shale through hydraulic fracturing." The very next day, Brett Shipp Channel 8 WFAA reported RADIOACTIVE water in Chico. Would you consider yourself now 'aware', Larry?
It’s interesting that they claim it hasn’t been contaminated yet refuse to test it. Maybe the reason they refuse to test it is that they don’t believe what they’ve been saying themselves.