New Resources

Wastewater Management and Marcellus Shale Gas Development: Trends, Drivers, and Implications​ - in Journal of Environmental Management Vol 120 by Brian G. Rahm, Josephine T. Bates, Lara R. Bertoia, Amy E. Galford, David A. Yoxtheimer, Susan J. Riha ​(March 2013)

EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study, Summary of Technical Roundtables​ (February 2013)

Research on Production and Disposal of Waste Materials fom Gas and Oil Extraction in Pennsylvanai Marcellus Shale​ - Penn State Copperative Extension (January 2013)

Contamination Concerns

Toward Strategic Management of Shale Gas Development: Regional, Collective Impacts on Water Resources in Environmental Science & Policy, Vol 14, Issue 1 by Brian G. Rahm & Susan J. Riha (January 2012)

"Communities, Water Sources and Potential Impacts of Shale Gas Development," describes the challenges a community may encounter as a result of shale gas development and offers suggestions for protecting community and water sources from potential negative impacts. The article is available through the National Environmental Services Center Assistance Water We Drink website. (Sept 27, 2011)

Rapid Expansion of Natural Gas Development Poses a Threat to Surface Waters by Sally Entrekin, Michelle Evans-White, Brent Johnson, and Elisabeth Hagenbuch (10-6-11)

Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources - published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) November 2011. This report covers the concerns about risks to drinking water supplies from the hydraulic fracturing process.

"Unconventional Natural Gas Development from Shale Formations" - A study of the technical challenges, environmental risks, and social and economic impacts and  opportunities. (Cornell Class lectures, Spring, 2011)

• Final Report: Geologic, Geochemical and Geographic Controls on NORM in Produced Water from Texas Oil, Gas and Geothermal Reservoirs
• Environmental Levels of Radium in Water of Central New York
• Water Issues in the Age of Marcellus Shale
  

Sources, pathways and relative risks of contaminants in surface water and groundwater: a perspective prepared for the Walkerton inquiry - by L Ritter, K Solomon, P Sibley, K Hall, P Keen, G Mattu, B Linton. J of Toxicol Environ Health A. 2002 Jan11;65(1):1-142.

How Energy Choices Affect Fresh Water Supplies: A Comparison of U.S. Coal and Natural Gas - a WorldWatch Institute Briefing Paper by Emily Grubert and Saya Kitasei (November, 2010).
 
Not So Fast Natural Gas: Why Accelerating Risky Drilling Threatens America's Water - Food and Water Watch, July, 2010.

Hydraulic Fracturing Research: Potential Relationships Between Hydraulic Fracturing and Drinking Water Resources - EPA (March, 2010) Information on the EPA Science Advisory Board - http://www.epa.gov/sab

DEP Briefing to the NYC Water Board on the Natural Gas Impact Assessment Project - Hazen and Sawyer, September 25, 2009.

Drilling Around the Law - by Dusty Horwitt, Environmental Working Group (2009).

Shale Gas: Focus on the Marcellus Shale - by Lisa Sumi, Earth Works Action, for the Oil & Gas Accountability Project.


Contamination Instances

A Perspective on the USAEPA Study of Pavilion, Wyoming - Relevance and Lessons for NY - New York State Water Resources Institute (January 16, 2012) - A summary and discussion of the EPA investigation of water quality complaints related to natural gas development in Wyoming.​

Investigation of Ground Water Contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming (Draft) - Dominic C. DiGiulio, Richard T. Wilkin, Carlyle Miller, & Gregory Oberley - U.S. EPA (December 2011)

Health Impact Assessment for Battlement Mesa, Garfield County, Colorado, Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado University Denver (2nd draft, 3/11)

The Garfield County Study of Methane Contamination

• Study's Conclusion: Review of Phase II Hydrogeolgic Study, Prepared for Garfield County, by Geoffrey Thyne, Dec. 20, 2008 "There is a temporal trend of increasing methane in groundwater samples over the last seven years that is coincident with the increased number of gas wells installed in the Mamm Creek Field"
• Phase I Hydrogeologic Characterization of the Mamm Creek Field Area in Garfield County (PDF), Prepared for Board of County Commissioners, Garfield County, Colo., March 23, 2006
• Phase II Hydrogeologic Characterization of the Mamm Creek Field Area, Garfield County, Colorado(PDF), S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc., Boulder, Colo., September 2008
• Appendix A: Garfield County Hydrogeologic Characterization Study -- Phase II Field, Sampling Plan for Task 1 (PDF)
• Appendix C: Task 1 and 2 Groundwater Sample Laboratory Analytical Reports (PDF)
• Appendix D: Task 1 and 2 Gas Composition and Methane Isotope Laboratory Analytical Reports

Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing - by S.G. Osborn, A. Vengosh, N.R. Warner, and R.B. Jackson, Duke University. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition, April 14,2011.

Update on the Ongoing Investigation of the Presence of Methane Gas in Water Wells in Laramie/Fox Hill Aquifer (PDF), From Colorado Oil & Gas Commission's David S. Neslin to the Weld County Commission, April 13, 2009

Documenting Contamination of Private Water Supplies by Gas Well Drilling in New York State, by Stephen Penningroth, PhD Executive Director, Community Science Institute, 2009.

BP to clean up contaminated water well- Public involvement requires written request Pinedale Online! - August, 2007

Hydrocarbons found in 85 Jonah/Pinedale Anticline water wells. 3 of the 85 have Benzene Hydrocarbon levels above allowable WY DEQ levels by Dawn Ballou, Editor, Pinedale Online! - April, 2007

Penn. DEP Notice of Violations to Cabot Oil and Gas Re: Dimock Gas Migration. Improper casing caused methane migration.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Report on the Investigation of the Natural Gas Invasion of Aquifers in Bainbridge Township of Geauga County, Ohio 153-page report blamed a nearby gas well's faulty concrete casing and hydraulic fracturing on methane contamination.

Public Health

Videos of the 2nd Annual Conference: Health Effects of Shale Gas Extraction, Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pa. - November 18, 2011

• Donald S. Burke, MD - "Welcome Message and Introduction to the Marcellus Shale"
• Bernard D. Goldstein, MD - "Public Health, Sustainability and the Marcellus Shale"
• Allen Robinson, PhD - "Regional air pollution emissions from the development and production of Marcellus Shale"
• Adam Law, MD - "Endocrine and Metabolic Disruption"
• Charles Werntz, DO, MPH - "Worker Health Concerns in Marcellus Shale Work"
• William Burket, CFPS - "Industry Safety Initiatives and Community Emergency Preparedness"
• Simona Perry, PhD - "'It’s like we’re losing our love': Documenting and Evaluating Social Change in Bradford County, PA during the Marcellus Shale Gas Boom (2009-2011)"  
• Kathy Brasier, PhD - "Community Impacts of Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale: A Research Summary"
  

"Communities, Water Sources and Potential Impacts of Shale Gas Development," describes the challenges a community may encounter as a result of shale gas development and offers suggestions for protecting community and water sources from potential negative impacts. The article is available through the National Environmental Services Center Assistance Water We Drink website http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink/articles/ShaleGas.cfm (Sept 27, 2011)

Natural Gas and Un-natural Consequences: the Health Risks of Shale Gas Drilling
Presentations focusing on chemicals used in hydrofracking and their potential impact on human health. Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), Dryden, NY, February 23, 2010.

• Natural Gas Extraction from New York’s Shales: how it’s done and why it’s done that way (pdf) Ron Bishop, SUNY Oneonta
• The Health Effects and Other Hazards of Hydrofracking (pdf) Thomas Shelly, chemical safety & hazardous materials specialist. References (pdf)
• Health Risks of Shale Gas Drilling: Endocrine Disruption (pdf), Dr. Adam Law, Endocrinologist
  

Testing

A Quick Summary of Private Water Well Testing and Natural Gas Drilling in New York - by Amy Galford (8/29/2012)

Water Quality and Testing - Penn State Cooperative Extension 

Pre-Drill Water Quality Data Demonstrates the Importance of Private Water Supply Testing (Part 1 of 2), Penn State Extension (May 6, 2012)

Flowback and Produced Waste Water

The Role of Isotopes in Monitoring Water Quality - a review and discussion of stable isotope techniques for diagnosing the origin of methane contamination in private water wells. Water Resources Institute, Cornell University (February 17, 2011)

Tom Biksey, MPH - "A Risk Assessment of Fracing Fluid Flowback Water from an Operation in an Asian Pacific Setting"
 
Marcellus Shale Wastewater Issues in Pennsylvania-Current and Emerging Treatment and Disposal Technologies - an eight-page fact sheet on treatment and disposal strategies for marcellus wastewaters. Penn State Extension

Private Water Well Testing in Areas Impacted by Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling (guide)

Withdrawals

Water Resources and Natural Gas Production from the Marcellus Shale - by Daniel J. Soeder and William M. Kappel,  U.S. Geological Survey (May, 2009)

Monitoring for Water Resource Impacts: Risks and Science - a Marcellus Shale webinar. Presenter: Brian Rahm, Post Doctoral Associate, NYS Water Resources Institute, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University.  To access the webinar slides as a PDF, click here.  Questions may be directed to Dr. Rahm:bgr4@cornell.edu.

Other Resources

Water's Journey through the Shale Gas Drilling and Production Processes in the Mid-Atlantic Region​ - Penn State Cooperative Extension (December 2012)​

Dissolved Methane in New York Groundwater, 1999-2011​ - By William M. Kappel and Elizabeth A. Nystrom. USGS. (9/4/2012)

Hydraulic Fracturing and Horizontal Gas Well Drilling Reference List - a new annotated bibliography of key references on gas well drilling.  Compiled by the NYS Water Resources Institute at Cornell University (October, 2010).

New York State Water Resources Institute