Not a bad read and certainly answers a few questions and eases my mind,although I suspect we will always come up against negative agenda's.
Question: Media reports suggest that fracking has caused water well contamination in Pinedale and Pavillion Wyoming. Why will the Niobrara Shale development be any different?
Answer: There is no evidence that fracking has caused any water quality problems in Wyoming. In Pinedale contamination of some shallow industrial water supply wells was probably caused by lack of backflow prevention on vacuum trucks using the wells. In Pavillion, oil and gas development has been on-going for about 50 years. While the exact source of pollutants in some residents‟ wells near Pavillion has not been established, a working group will be looking at older pit closures and oil & gas well drilling procedures.
Question: Do you know what is in the fracking fluid?
Answer: According to the WOGCC, Niobrara Shale fracking fluid is +80% fresh water, 19% sand, and .07% additives. Primary additives are sodium chloride for clay control and a breaker to decrease viscosity. A surfactant, a gelling agent, a biocide, and a corrosion inhibitor are also usually used. One company (SM Energy) is planning to frack with carbon dioxide.
Newly adopted WOGCC regulations require operators to provide the Commission with the exact chemical content of their fracking fluid. While the information may be held as proprietary, if there is ever a question of aquifer contamination, the Commission will be able to provide DEQ with the chemical composition of the fracking fluid.
