Fracking Fridays
by Kayoua Lee
July 25, 2014
Part 1 of 10: Fracking 101
Being misinformed should be the scariest part to anyone’s life. Especially, when the information is political and becoming more relevant to our daily lives. But, as passionate as we may get about a political matter - turned personal - we don’t pry into the facts far enough, or early enough, before we start voicing our opinions on the subjects that is affecting the essences of our society. For the purposes of educating all affected communities, near and far, it is important that everyone bring forth the newest AND oldest subject to the table to discuss with their family, neighbors and friends.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s talk Senate Bill 786, also known as the Energy Modernization Act.
Since this subject isn’t entirely new to our state, why is it just now becoming a topic of discussion? In a valiant effort to bring forth some transparency and publicity on the subject, we’ll cover multiple subjects week to week; from the effects of hydraulic fracturing to our economic concerns, to the parties at the forefront fighting for and against the Act.
As a supporter of the Act, Representative Mike Stone (R-Lee) has claimed that “North Carolina needs energy independence,” and remains hopeful that the bill will serve as an economic stimulus by creating jobs in NC. However, Clean Water for NC, one of many non-profit groups debunked this statement by stating that “70% of the jobs will be given to out of state workers.”
Not only will employment be a concern, but one of the biggest question will be: are the 3-5 millions of gallons of contaminated water per day, risks of earthquakes, and climate change be worth it for only roughly 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas? To provide some perspective on the measurements; in 2010, the average use of natural gas in North Carolina was 811 million cubic feet per day. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the Deep River Basin consists of 1.66 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which meets the state’s demand for only 5.6 years! The 49 billion cubic feet at the Dan River Basin in Danville will last only 60 days!
From locals to outsiders, who love North Carolina for what it is and what it has provided you, we encourage all to voice in on why it is essential to preserve the foundations of what continues to keep our hearts near and dear to this state. We invite you to read more about how you can, or can plan, to participate in submitting your oral and written comments to the overseeing committees. To read a draft of the rules, please refer to this link. On when, where, and how to submit your comments, along with dates and times of the public hearings and samples of how to construct a comment for submission, please click on this link,
We look forward to seeing and hearing from everyone on this matter, and hope you’ll join us next week for Part 2 of our 10 part series on Fracking in North Carolina.
Sources:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/15/4007165/ncs-public-comment-period-for.html (public hearings to take place soon)
http://nclbc.com/2014/06/house-approves-fast-track-fracking-bill/ (Representative Mike Stone’s comment and outlook of the bill)
http://www.cwfnc.org/documents/Economic-Community-Impacts-Handout.pdf (reference for impacts)
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/20/3874764/nc-senate-committee-passes-bill.html (lifting of moratorium)
http://rafiusa.org/issues/landowner-rights-and-fracking/rules/ (reference for dates of hearing and samples of comments to submit)http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=501a1b36-ccaa-4bd3-b0bb-3910494ea3fb&groupId=8198095 (Masterlist of Rules and their Status)
http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=5e6d5e81-a4f5-4781-8f56-b1c44e0f5141&groupId=8198095 (Subchapter 05H Oil & Gas Rules - Clean)
http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=3453e2dd-5caa-4eac-b5fa-c24526790296&groupId=8198095 (Subchapter 05H Oil & Gas Rules Track Changes)
http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=722c0a7a-e949-40ff-a27c-d8a6a66f3a15&groupId=8198095 (MEC May 15 & 16 Subchapter 05H Oil & Gas Rules)
http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=812822fd-9e97-4359-8935-4f07e713f0b1&groupId=8198095 (Rules Submitted to OAH for Publication)
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mining-and-energy-commission/draft-rules (MEC Contact Information)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/05/140502-scientists-warn-of-quake-risk-from-fracking-operations/ (Risks of earthquakes)
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/21/southwestern-energy-executive-admits-fracking-linked-to-climate-change/ (climate change)
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/opa/shale-gas-news-releases/-/asset_publisher/Uj51/content/statement-on-release-of-u-s-geological-survey-assessment-of-north-carolina-oil-and-gas-resources?redirect=/web/opa/shale-gas-news-releases (amount of natural gas and where)
http://www.ncdp.org/blog/fracking-fridays-kayoua-lee
