Why is it so difficult for me to dispose of batteries and electronic items, but the oil and gas industry can pay a tipping fee (part of which the DEP gets) and then dump radioactive fracking waste in landfills not built to properly treat them? What’s the difference between horizontal drilling and fracking, or between surface agreements and subsurface agreements? What are all the substances linked to fracking and the dumping of fracking waste, such as Uranium 238, Thorium 234, Radium 226 and so many others. Why are there so many complaints about black water, red water and orange water, filed with the DEP from people whose land is being fracked? If I am led to believe that the royalties from fracking pads on my property are going to make and my family fabulously rich for decades, is that really going to happen? The new book, Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves, not only helps answer these questions and more, but lay out an array of chapters dealing with everything from the basics to the nitty-gritty scientific details of what a lot of people just call Fracking, but which includes a number of related practices in the Oil and Gas Industry, both in America and abroad. Published by Cambridge University Press, it is co-authored/edited by three local scientists: John Stolz (Duquesne University), Daniel Bain (University of Pittsburgh) and Michael Griffin (Carnegie Mellon University). I spoke with Dr. Stolz recently, after meeting him a few years ago, before the pandemic, when our local environmental group, the Citizens’ Environmental Association of the Slippery Rock Area (CEASRA) held an information meeting in Grove City that Dr. Stolz led. He puts a lot of time into helping people, like us, who are threatened by the practices of the Oil and Gas industry, and now his book can help him spread the expertise he and others have, so people (and conscientious lawyers) can start waking up to the dangers that threaten them, and to how to combat those dangers with the facts of scientific testing and the resolve of those who have put so much of their lives into this calling.
Dr. John Stolz, Director of the Center for Environmental Research and Education and Professor of Environmental Microbiology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh is doing what all scientists should be doing: sharing what his research has taught him with people whose health and well being are affected by what he has been studying. If you live and/or work in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania (among other places), that means you. While Dr. Stolz has taught and conducted research in many areas, our primary focus in this interview is his work in the study of the environmental effects of oil and gas activities, such as fracking.
Jim: What was the genesis of, the motivating factor for, writing this book for you?
Stolz: I have been working on issues related to the environmental consequences of fracking for over a decade. It started back in 2009 when I attended a PA DEP meeting in Cranberry and met Ron Gulla. The hearing was about updating regulations on the amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) a public wastewater facility could discharge. Ron was there to talk about what had happened on his farm, where the second Marcellus Shale well had been drilled. He invited me to visit his farm and I did so in January of 2010. About the same time, I had begun a collaboration with Dr. Dan Volz, from the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. A combination of things led me to change the major focus of my research to water quality and resources. But the real impetus for the book was the two day conference I organized in November of 2013. Called “Facing the Challenges: Research on Shale Gas Extraction,” the symposium brought together experts in the field working on the environmental impacts such as air quality and water, but also a photojournalist (there was a gallery set up of the photos), a video photographer (with videos), and people living in the shale fields, for a multimedia event. Several of the research papers presented were published in a special issue of Environmental Science and Health in 2015, but it wasn’t as comprehensive as I would have liked. After a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Society in 2017, I was approached by an editor from Cambridge University Press, who suggested that I write a book. So, I contacted people, many of whom had been involved in the 2013 symposium and began to assemble potential chapters. The book went through several iterations. Cambridge University Press would market the book internationally and wanted global coverage, not just what was happening in America. So, we reached out to people in other places and were able to recruit contributions from Canada (seismic activity from fracking waste injection wells), Australia (fracking coal bed methane deposits), and the United Kingdom (microbiology of shale). There were chapters on the global distribution of shale deposits and on governance. It turns out that the political dimensions of unconventional oil and gas extraction differ around the world. For instance, whereas the more progressive politicians in the US tend to support environmental issues and act against industries damaging the environment, conservatives tend to support unconventional oil and gas extraction. Paradoxically, in Australia it is the Conservative party that advocates conservation, while the Labor party supports increased extraction of these reserves. But even though the political and geographic landscapes differ, and oil and gas reserves may be different, the techniques and infrastructure required are similar. Five years later; we have a book!
Jim: From the chapter descriptions, it looks like you have a variety of audiences in mind. Is the book meant to be read in sections by each audience? or do you see it as helping people not trained as scientists understand the more scientific sections, and helping scientists understand the applications of their work outside of academia?
It’s all of that. The book has three sections. In the first, we go over nomenclature so readers begin to have a better grasp of the terms and concepts used in the discussions to follow. What is a proven reserve? What’s the difference between a barrel and a gallon? What is the difference between horizontal drilling and fracking? How has the well stimulation and directional drilling technology changed over the years? What are “smart” drills? How is AI (artificial intelligence) involved? And how much guesswork is still part of the extraction efforts? (a lot, it turns out)
In the second section, we cover the specifics of air quality, methane and climate change, water usage, radioactivity, isotopes (both methane and metals), and the microbiology. This section is more technical, but the reader has been prepared in the previous section of the book.
In the third and final section, we look at case studies of what we’ve found in research related to unconventional oil and gas extraction. This research had to be boiled down; there could have been six extra chapters, but our publisher wanted us to stop at 400 pages total for the whole book. The book includes aerial photographs and color graphics. There is a hardback and an Ebook which can be ordered directly through Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org/9781108489195) or from your regular bookstores (Thriftbooks, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Books, etc.). Also, Cambridge University Press has a 20% discount if you purchase the book before May: (enter the code EIDUOGR22 at the checkout)
Jim: Do you think the industries involved in fracking will challenge this book? Have you had any pushback yet?
We have had no pushback yet, and we hope people in the industry buy the book. One of the things I’ve found over the years is that people in the industry don’t know the industry in depth, especially as you go up the corporate ladder. They are either being coy or they honestly don’t know what is happening on the ground. The book notes that there are now over 175,000 chemicals listed in the Frack Focus Chemical Disclosure Registry so it’s virtually impossible to figure out what is actually being used (https://fracfocus.org/). Still, there are some that are undefined or considered proprietary. The Physicians for Social Responsibility has recently discovered that the forever chemicals, PFAS and PFOS, have been used as surfactant in drilling.
Jim: Is there any legislation in the upcoming term that would benefit from the information in your book?
There is legislation being proposed for regulating the use of sanitary landfills for gas waste, which addresses the negative impact of leachate and the quality of the landfill itself. But people need to get their lawmakers to understand the science behind that legislation. Landfills are generally built for specific functions, but in most cases, housing radioactive substances is not one of them. The introduction of fracking wastes at some landfills (e.g. Westmoreland) has proven to affect nearby water treatment facilities, making them nonfunctional. We are hoping for a change in Harrisburg. We hope this book can contribute to improving regulations, catching up with the scientific data these studies have documented. People’s health and well being are clearly being impacted. While over 11,000 Marcellus wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since 2004, there have been over 10,000 complaints filed with the DEP. Over 4000 of those complaints are about water issues: black water, red water, orange water; people who have lost their water wells; problems with pipelines; well integrity on the pad. People are also being led to believe they will get royalties for the next 50 years. The truth is that the fracked wells produce 75% of their lifetime production in the first year. Production rates decline dramatically after that, and agreements often require that production costs be subtracted from royalties due to landowners, so that profits decline dramatically after the first year, and continue to decline and then level off by year five. And yet, the landowners are left with the consequences to their own health and that of their animals. We have the data that can help update the regulations in the industry. We need people, especially those in power, to read this book and act on the data provided.
Jim: What can people who read your book, and want to get more involved in combating industries that are harming our environment, do? Are there organizations you are working with or that you can recommend? What about the Three Rivers Quest Project? As I understand it, the Three River’s Quest Project began studying water in the three river’s basins with the work of the West Virginia Water Institute, with help from the Colcom Foundation. Since 2012, Duquesne University, West Virginia University, West Liberty University and a contractor in Tionesta have taken monthly water samples, monitoring various sites.
Stolz: 3RQ has been monitoring water quality on the upper Allegheny to the mainstem, the Monongahela, and the upper Ohio. Recent work has focused on the Shell Ethane Cracker Plant, in Beaver County, with nurdle (the plastic pellets) patrols and testing for microplastics in the rivers.
It used to be that those in the Three River’s Quest Project took samples twice a month. Now it is down to once a month. So, yes, we need more people and groups getting involved. Leachate can be dumped overnight, but weeks later it is difficult to detect at that source. We need to test for Chloride and Bromide, and other substances. Groups can get involved: (https://3riversquest.wvu.edu/about/volunteer-organizations (https://3riversquest.wvu.edu/)
You can also talk to local representatives. Ask them if they’ve seen the book. Are we looking out for this stuff or is it making its way into local landfills?
We also need changes in the agencies that make and enforce rules with respect to radioactivity. I am on the advisory committee for LAAC (Laboratory Advisory Accreditation Committee) which helps set the guidelines for labs to maintain state accreditation. One of the water standards for radioactivity addresses discharges from nuclear power plants, but doesn’t take into account the radioactivity introduced because of fracking. A drinking water facility only needs to test for radioactivity every nine years. If something is detected, then they have to test every 3 years. But this is usually only for Tritium. Radium 226 and 228 are typically associated with fracking waste water. Regulations haven’t caught up with what’s happening up there. Dan Bain and I just submitted a paper on this topic, dealing with samples from 17 different sites near discharges from wastewater treatment plants taking leachate from these landfills. There was more radioactivity downstream than upstream. That tells you something is being added to the environment that wasn’t naturally occurring.
People and groups can contact Three Rivers Quest, and local groups can organize to create a Source Water Protection Plan. I recently attended a meeting in New Castle with the Beaver/Shenango River Regional Source Water Protection Partnership. The US EPA has a program for Source Water Protection, and through state agencies like the PA DEP provides funding for these efforts. This is focused on source water; the water we drink; not wastewater. Start working with other people, build bonds, coalitions. Three Rivers can help you start. At some point, you may want to hire a hydrologist to find out where your water is coming from, where the recharge areas are. The city of Aliquippa started a Source Water Protection Organization and found out that even though they were getting their water from a radial well, 70% of their water was, nevertheless, still derived from the Ohio. Finding out areas of recharge is important because those locations can introduce dangerous substances into your drinking water. If there is a business at a recharge area, say it’s a truck rental business, if someone knocks over a diesel barrel, that diesel can get into your drinking water unless authorities know to act immediately. While this new book may help people understand things better, people need to use that information to get more involved in the efforts to make sure our water is safe to drink.
Jim: Great! It’s easy to just throw up our hands in exasperation when confronted by these issues, but the work you’ve done helps it seem less confusing, so that doing something about it feels more possible. The Campfire Dispatch is meant to help people and groups who want to do their part to help protect our environment, along with the people and animals who depend on it to live and flourish. I will urge people to follow your advice, as well as read your book! Thanks for your time and all you are doing for our health and well-being, in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Stolz: Thanks!
CampfireDispatch2023 
Leave a comment