Fracking in Colorado - What are the Impacts?
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Fracking in Colorado
What are the Impacts?
1
Source(s) of data
• The source of all Colorado oil and gas related information was
derived from the COGCC’s website and subsequent
documentations per specific well API.
• All COGCC data is un-redacted, thus remaining true in its
original form and can be found on the COGCC’s website.
• Data compilation was conducted from 2011-present.
2
Types of observed & recorded oil and gas
development impacts in Colorado
Soil Contamination, ground and surface water
contamination/impacts
Drinking Water impacts
Aquifer impacts
Well – water impacts
Vegetation impacts
Wildlife & habitat impacts
Agricultural impacts
Air quality degradation
Human impacts
Mechanical failures
3
What does this mean to the people of Colorado?
4
Colorado Wells by County
5
Active Well Density Map Larimer & Weld Counties
7
Active Well Density Map
Larimer & Weld Counties II
Yellow Areas are designated as oil & gas ‘Exploratory Units’
8
What Would 100,000 Wells Look Like?
9
10
What does a ‘fracking pad’ look like?
What does Weld County look like?
1112
Halliburton tanker trucks
‘forcing’ water, chemicals and
proppants at extremely high
pressures down the wellbore(s)
to ‘frac’ or ‘fracture’ the shale
formation to release liquid
natural gas or oil.
1314
15
16
17
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19
What are Some of the Parts
of an Active Well?
~6CFM methane & hydrocarbon vapor release per actuator per separator
-EnCana
Minor source vs. major source VOC release
Aggregate well-bores per pad would indicate a major hydrocarbon vapor
release source.
20~ 2 tons of hydrocarbon vapors ~16 tons of
escape per tank battery per year - EnCana hydrocarbon
vapors released
annually from
8 this specific site
- EnCana
21WHAT IS PRODUCED WATER?
Produced water is the water that is
‘produced’ during the fracking
operations. Produced water is
classified as Industrial Waste and may
contain highly toxic and carcinogenic
chemicals such as: benzene, xylene,
toluene, ethylbenzene, naturally
occurring radioactive materials
(NORM) and many other potentially
dangerous and or lethal chemicals.
22What is Produced Water?
• Produced water is a term used in the Oil and Gas industry to describe
water that is produced along with the oil and gas production.
• The ‘produced water’ is reported to contain dozens of toxic chemical
additives, to include but not limited to; sands and various inert products.
• Over 750 chemicals that make up frac-fluids have been identified. Many
chemicals remain in the ‘produced water’ and are subsequently disposed
of.
• Hydraulic fracturing was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act & the
Clean Water Act in the Energy Policy Act of 2005
• Frac-fluid is considered proprietary and is not regulated under the Safe
Drinking Water Act
• Produced water is considered a liquid industrial waste
23Water Contaminations - 1,000 COGCC spill/release reports studied
42.7% appear to result in groundwater contamination – COGCC
3.1% appear to result in surface water contamination – COGCC
57.1% appear to have a berm failure – COGCC
24
Source: COGCC, Jan 2012What’s the real cost of water?
I’m simply amazed that we are using our
most precious natural resource, (water) to
mine for something far less valuable…
- Phil Doe
25Produced Water – Industrial Waste Spill 2005 26
Weld County Oil Spill
2,100 gallons spilled 420 gallons unrecovered groundwater depth 3-4’
27Weld County Oil Spill
2,100 gallons spilled 420 gallons unrecovered groundwater depth 3-4’
28Weld County Oil Spill
29Unreported
spill/release?
3031
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Are historic cement well-bores safe for re-entry?
Weld County
The Case of Mr. Anderson’s water well and the Laramie-Fox Hills Aquifer
Weld County – August 1st 2009 Mr. Anderson Filed a complaint with the State alleging an impact to
his water well was caused from a mining operation ‘that uses hydraulic fracturing.’
State tested Mr. Anderson’s water well and found it had been impacted from the mining operation
with thermogenic methane and toluene.
State issued a notice of alleged violation to the Oil and Gas operator. It was determined that the
wellbore had a hole in the production casing.
State determines that the oil and gas operator’s operations caused contamination of the Laramie-
Fox Hills Aquifer and Mr. Anderson’s water well from the hole thus contaminating groundwater.
State issued fines of $66,000 – later reduced to $46,200
Well was then plugged and abandoned by the oil and gas operator.
33
ORDER NO. 1V-34934
Water Contaminations - 1,000 spill/incidents studied
42.7% appear to result in groundwater contamination – COGCC
3.1% appear to result in surface water contamination – COGCC
57.1% appear to have a berm failure – COGCC
35Where does all of the potentially ‘toxic produced’ water go?
• Class II Injection Wells
– Large open formations underground that the oil and gas industry
pumps produced water/industrial fracking waste water down into
where it is to remain forever.
– A waste injection site has been found that holds up to 1.26 trillion
gallons of industrial fracking waste water.
• Pumping into streams and rivers, lakes and open bodies
of water.
• Agriculture – crops, livestock
• Spraying on dirt roads or out in the field
3637
38
Well Pad
3940
41
42
Rifle, Colorado
• Evaporation Pits
– Some pits can hold million gallons of produced water and evaporates
tens of thousands of gallons of toxic produced water per day –
displacing the chemicals from the water to the air.
43Fugitive Emissions Risks
• Includes hydrocarbon gases released from leaks and from the evaporation
of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from open pits
• VOCs such as benzene, ethylbenzene, cyclopentane and dozens of other
released chemicals pose a long term health risk to workers and local
communities.
• If methane emissions are contained in a building, there is a
risk of an explosion. Florence CO case…
4445
Jan 13, 2011 -COGCC requested
emergency funding
for explosive levels of methane
seeping into occupied residential
homes from plugged and abandoned
oil and gas wells .
ORDER NO. 1E-10
46Fugitive Emissions
Dirty Secret
v
i
d
e
o
47
source: txsharonFugitive Emissions
Dirty Secret
48Zoning and Hazards
Multiple active oil & gas wells near an elementary school, public playground
and residential area in Firestone, CO WELD COUNTY
Is there a risk of fugitive emissions to the public?
49Are Cement Well-bores Really Safe? Weld County
The Case of Mr. Andersons water well and the Laramie-Fox Hills Aquifer
Weld County – August 1st 2009 Mr. Anderson Filed a complaint with the State alleging an impact to
his water well was caused from a mining operation that uses hydraulic fracturing.
State tested Mr. Anderson’s water well and found it had been impacted from the fracking
operation with thermogenic methane and toluene.
State issued a notice of alleged violation to the Oil and Gas operator. It was determined that the
wellbore had a hole in the production casing.
State determines that the oil and gas operator caused contamination of the Laramie-Fox Hills
Aquifer and Mr. Anderson’s water well from the hole thus contaminating groundwater.
State issued fines of $66,000 – later reduced to $46,200
Well was then plugged and abandoned by the oil and gas operator. Operator researcher , Don
Libhart states that 12 additional wells in the area have been open to the water zone for 30 years.
What is the state doing to protect the aquifer in this area?
50
ORDER NO. 1V-34951
52
53
54
Wildlife trails leading to and from water sources
5556
Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells
How many are there and are they a risk?
Colorado has 129,073
oil and gas wells of all
statuses
~47,000 ACTIVE oil & gas
wells
~90,000 abandoned/historic
wells (many await re-entry)
57COGCC HAS 17 INSPECTORS FOR COLORADO
EQUALS 2,764 WELL
47,000 ACTIVE OIL INSPECTIONS PER YEAR, PER
& GAS WELLS INSPECTOR
82,073 INACTIVE 82,073 ABANDONED WELLS
WELLS MUST BE VISITED ONCE PER
YEAR ALSO…
EQUALS 4,827 ABANDONED
WELL INSPECTIONS PER YEAR,
PER INSPECTOR
TOTAL ANNUAL INSPECTIONS
PER INSPECTOR = 7,591
129,073 wells in
Colorado – all
statuses IS THIS A FAILURE?
58General Citations
• All data sourced by COGCC unless otherwise noted.
• All images and research by Shane Davis unless otherwise noted
• All GIS maps courtesy of COGCC (except predictive map S. Davis)
• Dirty Secrets Video - txsharon blog
• Slide #34 WTFrack.org image
• Air quality testing - NOAA
• Do not distribute without permission(s)
Shane Davis Executive
Committee ‘At-Large’ Sierra Club – Rocky Mountain Chapter
shanedv@yahoo.com
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