Well, I did say "city water."

But ALL well water should be good - protected from potential contamination from fracking. Once it is contaminated, you just can't flip a switch and turn off the damage.

We agree, they can go frack themselves. Not knowing enough about it means to go very slow. I really don't want to cook over the kitchen sink.

Oh, you mean like self-boiling water? LOL

The only contamination from fracking has been from spills above ground. It happens everyday on the highways, farms and back yards.

I'd like to know your reasoning.
if this is true: "Between 2005 and 2009, the 14 leading hydraulic fracturing companies in the United States used over 2,500 hydraulic fracturing products containing 750 compounds. More than 650 of these products contained chemicals that are known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, or listed as hazardous air pollutants."
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/toxic-fracking-fluids-revealed-in-congressional-report/5698
and this is true:
"as much as 85 percent of the fluids used during hydraulic fracturing is being left underground after wells are drilled "
http://www.propublica.org/article/new-gas-wells-leave-more-chemicals-in-ground-hydraulic-fracturing
then your statement can only be false.

We are not drinking the fracturing water. That water goes underground and stays there contained. Cement, surface and conductor casings contain any pollutants. Your scare tactics are costing us energy independence, jobs and livelihoods. You stop at the first "problem" and cant look beyond. There is an inherent danger in everything. Dopey environmentalists are politically motivated buy money. But I'm sure you will find another reason to stop it. "Save the Earthworm" You are spreading propaganda.

And by the way those chemicals you list are used everyday in our households. More propaganda.

Many of us drink water from wells 300-400 feet below the ground. Just like they do in Pennsylvania. We get it from the water table, you know, where those chemicals they use are left behind. You apparently don't know what you are talking about.

Are you Joe/Sanchez now CP? Hmmm, Joe has been missing lately. Does sound familiar though.

FIFA i just told you it is contained. You are ignorant. Go away.

Joe/Sanchez/CP - you seem to know everything about everything and everybody else knows nothing? You must be the next Albert Einstein? Or not? Second thought, you clearly are not and you should go back to dumpster diving.

And before you question my knowledge i am frequently involved in sustainability projects/proposal/procurement.

You are a child. Now be gone.

Trying to keep employed there Joe/Sanchez/CP by buttering up to your fracking customers? I apologize in advance for use of the "f" word (it is not hidden obscenity), but it fits CP's fracking statements.

What? What are you talking about? You're like that pesky itch under the scrotum. You obviously know nothing. Very apparent in 100% of your posts.

CP, can you tell us how it is contained? You say it is capped off with concrete. but as you are drilling through the great distance to get to the shale, how do you encase the entire length of that drilled shaft?

Too deep down to contaminate any ground water. that water can't seep through thousands of feet of bedrock. Basic geology.

For someone "involved" in the business, the level of information provided by CP/Joe comes under the label of general BS. He has no special knowledge or experience. His comments could be garnered by watching Fox News. Just hilarious!

CP--Lets, for a minute, say I do not understand anything about drilling into the ground or anything about "basic geology". Please help me understand that you do actually know what you are talking about. I will understand better and have more faith in your credibility if you explain your answer to a more comprehensive degree.

My question is: "when you drill through soil near the surface of the ground where houses, kitchen sinks and plantable farm land is how do you keep the fracking liquid from seeping out of the drilled shaft? How is it contained. My understanding is that bedrock may or may not contain the liquids. But lets just say for discussion it does. Lets also say there is a long distance between the surface and the bedrock. is the drilled shaft encase in concrete all the way to the bedrock or is it contain in some other manner? Please help me understand what you are saying.

FIFA do you have anything to contribute? Insult after insult. Grow up!

CP, we are waiting for a meaningful contribution from you on your high level of experience in geology and fracking. Is that forthcoming or not?

I ridicule frauds, you are in the Hall of Fame for Frauds for sure.

Mark I'm not a book. Do some research. Learn a little. Like i said with anything there is an inherent risk. Most of the information i got from reading and speaking with individuals from government and independent enviro firms.

CP, this is a conversation, i thought you were challenging my understanding that fracking fluid seems to leak into ground water. I have done some research and it disagrees with your statements. I was hoping you could point me to a valid source to back up your statements.

I, too am waiting to hear how the fracking chemicals (which, by the way, are NOT household compounds - and the companies will not reveal what they are) are contained in the gas field beyond the concrete and steel sheathing that surrounds the well pipe. Bedrock does tend to be fairly solid, but that is not a lock solid guarantee that the water cannot find a way to the aquifer, or to another aquifer miles away - we are talking up to millions of gallons of fracking fluid per well.

CP seems to be what I call "The world's oldest man." In order for him to be the expert he claims to be he would have to have had endless numbers of careers - not to mention the extensive family of experts he claims to have at his disposal. So as long as he dismisses others with one and two sentence comments while not providing meaningful facts and opinions I will ascribe him to the wilds of Geezerville.

Honeygo Hal, oh no, I have been mixing those household compounds under my sink and mixing them with my drinking water for years and it hasn't bothered me one bit. That's pretty obvious, eh? Just ask Buck or BO or Joe or now CP!

Another danger has been noted from the disposal of those "household chemicals" when they are pumped underground. Rather than clean up the fluids, the fracking companies find underground disposal sites - are they verified to not leak into the ground water? That puts the contamination in 2 different locations. And truthfully, there has not been enough time passed to know if the contamination spreads. It's a scary thought, and out of sight is not necessarily out of danger.

You guys are completely ignorant of the facts. Then again most Libs are.

The chemicals used in fracking are also used in these products
Swimming pool cleaner
Table salt
Household cleaners
Laundry detergent
Cosmetics
Soap
Glass
Ceramics
Baked goods
Ice cream
Toothpaste
Sauces
Lemon juice
Glass cleaner
Antiperspirant
Hair coloring

Many industries are converting to natural gas from fuels such as coal and petroleum. The coal folks are taking gas (okay, intended) over the dropoff in their market due to natural gas which is not only cheaper, but cleaner as well.

I like the fracking concept - it just needs to be safe.

Actually, the coal folks are now able to send coal overseas as a result and sell it quite handsomely there. Making big bucks where they don't care about "clean" coal.

It's interesting that many of the coal mines in Canada are simply burning off the natural gas that is released during coal extraction. It's too expensive to contain and transport to markets elsewhere.

Hal it is safe. All chemicals are contained and recycled. No chance of them reaching ground water. Unless physics and basic geology miraculously change.

Sorry, the chemicals are not recycled - they are injected into the ground in disposal wells - maybe you need to read up a little.

Lies Lies Lies!!!!
You are misinformed. It is not possible for water to transfer through thousands of feet of bedrock.

CP, you have not yet affirmed the idea that there is a long distance from the surface to the shale. Possibly as much as 85% of the chemicals used in fracking remain in the ground. This "remaining in place" chemical mixture does not confine itself to "bedrock". It has to get to the bedrock. there are plenty of points along the way for the "cocktail" to seep into the soil, or the water table. The path from the surface to the bedrock MUST pass through the water table. My other observation is that any containment devices will eventually decay. You are looking at this situation through rose-colored glasses. "Lies, Lies, Lies" is not an answer to anything. If you make a statement, you need to support your point.

Judy,

Thank you. Can you provide the title of the book, and a way to buy it?

This will be high on my reading list.

Where is our resident expert from the other side, aka CP? I guess like gas in the wind?

Propaganda!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/top-10-myths-about-natural-gas-drilling-6386593#slide-1

Here's a real website. Not some academic trying to get a grant.

Okay, so this is Popular Mechanics - not a fake site, but not a definitive engineering and enviromental assessment of fracking.

As with any new technology, there is promise. But the total book is not written. Fracking areas are experiencing unexplained earthquakes in areas that that have never before experienced them. Flaming tap water, while not necessarily widespread, is real. Add to that the inevitable industrial accident(s) that occur when the oil & gas companies ignore the rules (remember the Deepwater Horizon and BP - "Bringing oil to America's shores")

I want fracking to be successful. The money involved will probably guarantee that the process continues. But maybe by making it safe the general public can be protected - and the oil & gas companies just make a whole lot of money instead of a sh*tload of money.

As with anything there is an inherent risk. An assumption of risk. I'd be very curious to see the actual failure rate of these wells. Probably the same as any other risk.

The writer (a journalist, not a scientist) of the PM article is one Seamus McGraw who said about the Marcellus gas deposits (family farm sits in middle of the Marcellus gas reserve in Pennsylvania):

"Ultimately, however, neither the state, nor the industry, nor the environmental community alone can ensure that the benefits of the vast Marcellus gas reserves in Pennsylvania can be responsibly extracted and used for the greatest benefit."

How about you build your house on a fracking site, use well water only, and we'll get back to you in a couple years to see how you're doing?

Funny you say that. I know someone who has a drill right underneath their house in Texas. Its been there for over 10 years. No issues. They make great cash from the oil company.

From Megan's link:
“More than 75% of the chemicals could affect the skin, eyes, and other sensory organs, and the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. Approximately 40-50% could affect the brain/nervous system, immune and cardiovascular systems, and the kidneys; 37% could affect the endocrine system; and 25% could cause cancer and mutations.”

So much for fracking chemicals being found under your sink...

I'm sure the resident geologist/fracking expert will deny it. But you gotta love his anecdotal evidence. "I livd abve that darn wel fer ovr tennn yers, didn't hert me one bite. An ther gven me a chek evry mnth to."

Yeah, I know - I've had a "drill" in my basement for over 30 years, but no oil company has ever paid me because of it. How does that work?

Denied. Fracking will begin!!! Thank God.

"The fact that this bill came so close to passing is a testament to the strong and growing movement of Marylanders demanding protections against the risks of fracking," said Mike Tidwell, executive director of CCAN. "The narrow loss will only energize our movement further. We'll only grow and not slow down until we can positively say that no Marylander will ever face the widespread harms linked to fracking in nearby states."

Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/politics/Fracking-bills-die-in-Senate-committee-withdrawn-in-House/-/9379266/19238002/-/ijy9suz/-/index.html#ixzz2MyThS0ZG

this sentence should be included:

"A state advisory commission is working on recommendations to allow fracking in Maryland. No drilling permits can be issued until after the commission's final report in August 2014."

Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/politics/Fracking-bills-die-in-Senate-committee-withdrawn-in-House/-/9379266/19238002/-/ijy9suz/-/index.html#ixzz2MyUPBo54