Reposted from Clean Water For North Carolina
FrackUpdate: June 7-8!
Keep Up Those Contacts with Representatives and Governor!
Next week S820 will be heard in the House Environment Committee. Watch for an update when we know exactly when, and prepare to call or email your Representatives! Check to see if your representative is on the Environment Committee by clicking here. Find your Representative’s contact info here.
Events
- 7-9 PM, June 15, Macon County Public Library: CWFNC’s Katie Hicks presents on fracking. Contact Donn Erickson for details sandidonn2@yahoo.com.
- 7 PM, June 17th. The Depot in Hillsborough. Free screening of “Message from the Marcellus.” A short film by Todd Tinkham and the Dispersed Crew.
- June 20, Hendersonville: Gasland Screening. Details TBA
Clarification on Estimated NC Gas Supply from NC Shale Basins–Thanks to Grady McCallie
The June 4 USGS assessment for the Deep River Basin (mostly Lee, Chatham, Moore Counties) reported roughly 1,660 billion cubic feet (bcf) of “technically recoverable, undiscovered” shale gas. The term has a precise meaning: ‘technically recoverable’ means, recoverable at the current limit of technology; ‘undiscovered’ means it is an estimate based on what we know about the rocks, but has not been confirmed by drilling, so the gas might or might not actually turn out to be there. If the estimate is right, and we spent whatever it cost to pump it all, that would amount to roughly 5.6 years of supply (at 304 bcf/yr, the state’s consumption in 2010). However, it isn’t ever economical to pump it all.
The DENR Shale Gas study assumed only 20% of the technically recoverable resource would actually be recovered, and used that as the basis for its economic impact analysis. If you apply the same rule to the updated USGS estimate, you get 1,660 bcf * 0.2 = 332 bcf/ 304 bcf per year = a 1.1 year supply. Right now, the economics are worse than that; it’s probably not economical to pump any of it given the market price of natural gas, which is expected to stay low for years to come. We hope that helps!
Recent News:
Senate Posses Controversial Fracking Bill
“The bill that passed the North Carolina Senate was the committee substitute, an agreement reached by Senator Bob Rucho and Representative Mitch Gillespie, the two Republican factions who had been at odds regarding their vision for the proposed changes in hydraulic fracturing legislation.” June 6, Raleigh Public Record
State gas deposit not a ‘major play,’ one expert says
“The average estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey is that the so-called Deep River Basin contains about 1.7 trillion cubic feet – enough, a state official said, to meet North Carolina’s entire demand for natural gas for 5.6 years.” June 6, Durham Herald Sun
Hands Across Riverdale: The Human Costs of Fracking
Another link between water privatization and fracking:“The Susquehanna River Basin Commission had given Aqua America permission to withdraw up to 3 million gallons of water per day from the Susquehanna River to their fracking operations in the north, and the residents of Riverdale had been given a “generous” offer.” June 3, Huffington Post