This is what the well paid industry liars sound like. Township residents get fracking info 11/18/2014 12:00:00 AM By ALYSSA MANEVAL COGAN STATION - Hepburn Township residents heard from Inflection Energy LLC officials who eventually hope to drill wells in the township during a public meeting Monday night. Thomas D. Gillespie, Inflections director of regulatory, health, safety and environment, gave a presentation about how the natural gas is surfaced through hydraulic fracturing, answered questions and told residents they could look at model leases with land developers while they were at the Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Co. building. This is our first engagement in Hepburn Township, Gillespie said. He encouraged people to take home the model leases and discuss them with their attorneys. If they did not have one, he said Inflection provided a list of attorneys who are familiar with the gas industry, but they are not affiliated. We are here because we want to put money in your pocket, our pockets and the states pockets, Gillespie said. Lycoming County is the 10th largest producer of natural gas in the United States. You are living on the hotbed of natural gas, Gillespie said. Fracking has been conducted for more than 65 years. To date, more than 1 million wells in 27 states have been hydraulically stimulated. Ninety percent of all oil and gas wells are stimulated using hydraulic fracking, he said. Some of the additives used in fracking include friction reducers, similar to those used in cosmetics; anti-microbial, similar to disinfectants in medical and dental equipment; scale inhibitors, similar to household cleaners and de-icing agents; and diluted acid, similar to swimming pool chemicals and cleaners. Its not toxic, Gillespie said. Its stuff around your household and dentists office. It also will not affect well water because most wells are about 500 feet deep at the most, but fracking is done thousands of feet below the ground, he said. The work is done on a level gravel pad about 1 to 1 1/2 acres in size. Equipment includes low-to-ground wellheads with several tanks, valves and pipes. Following the core land-use principle of low- impact development, the site is integrated into existing topography, Gillespie said. Inflection tries to minimize forest cleaning so as to reduce wildlife disruption. On-site construction materials are used to eliminate unnecessary traffic. Landowners future plans also are integrated whenever possible, he said. There are three phases of the operation: production, construction and restoration. The production phase is 99 percent or greater of operations. The production probably will continue for 30 or more years, Gillespie said. All three phases must be defined in the original design approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection before construction begins. Also before construction begins, Inflection tests the wells of everyone in a 3,000-foot radius. Testers have found that 5 percent of wells already had methane in them, Gillespie said. Following construction, one car or pickup truck will visit the site daily for inspection, which should take about half an hour. One small truck, the size of a home heating oil truck, will visit about once a month, he said. Operations include no construction, no noise, no night-time area lighting and no routine on-site personnel, Gillespie said. The construction phase, is it disruptive? Sure, a bit. Is it noisy? Sure, a bit. He reminded the residents the construction phase is 1 percent of the total operations period. The land footprint also is larger than it is during the production phase. Instead of 1 acre, it could be 10 acres. Altogether, it could take six months of construction, but punctuated. Its temporary, he said. After building about 10 well pads, Inflection has learned how to reduce noise, minimize lighting glare during nighttime operations and reduce traffic, Gillespie said. Because of the watershed-based stormwater management and antidegradation, the water is not allowed to be changed in any way, he said. Its a rigorous process, but we dont mind it for that cliche reason we live here too, Gillespie said. Township residents get fracking info Williamsport Sun-Gazette 18 Nov 2014: A5
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 21:55:49 +0000
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