All Fracked UpKyle Hicks, Matt Gnegy, Robert Simmons and

Christopher Coppock

What is fracking?

- Hydraulic fracturing is the process of extracting natural gas or oil from shale rock formations.

- While modern fracking got its start in the late 1940s, in last two decades technology has made fracking the premiere method of accessing natural gas.

How does fracking work?- A natural gas well is drilled vertically, like a standard well, to a depth of around 6,000 – 10,000 ft. - Monitoring devices above the ground will indicate when the wellbore has reached the level of shale rock - At that point, the drilling will turn horizontal and the wellbore will parallel the shale formation

- The wellbore is then cased and sealed with cement to prevent the fracking fluids from leaking into the groundwater

- A perforating gun is then lowered into the wellbore and an electrical charge creates fractures in the wellbore and surrounding formation

- Highly pressurized fracking fluid is then pumped into the wellbore creating fractures throughout the shale formation

- The fracking fluid is mostly water mixed with sand but can be mixed with hundreds of chemicals used to dissolve rocks or kill bacteria in the water

- The liquid and gas is then pumped back to the surface where they are mechanically separated

- The gas is then trucked to locations where it is cleaned, purified and sold to distribution companies

West Coast Fracking

- Only viable in California and mostly oil shale

-15 billion barrels of crude oil potentially in Monterey Shale

Baldwin Hills - CA-1200 acre fracking site in Ingelwood

California-Population of 32,000 in a 3 square mile

area-5 miles from USC-Has average between 2.5-3.1 million

barrels of oil for the past ten years

Study on Oil Field-Year long study done by Daniel Tormey

of Cardno Entrix-Study found that there are no effects on

groundwater or community health from fracking.

-Hard data only indicates residents within 1/2 mile are exposed to immediate health risks

- Very limited research onlong term risks/wider impacts

Public Reaction-The community has been critical of

report and question its legitimacy-Claim that reviewers of study were tied

to closely with energy company

Lawsuit-No regulation of fracking in California-Environmental group, Earth Justice, is

suing state regulators over this practice

-Hoping to force regulation on fracking

East Coast Fracking

- Marcellus Shale Deposits is utilized

- Largely gas shale

- Concentrated in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.

- Major industry

Fracking Sites

Hopewell Township - PA- 400k gallon wastewater holding tank

exploded in March 2010- Company fined less than $100k by DEP

for contaminating an entire watershed- Atlas had profits exceeding $150m- Residents smelled gas in days prior to

explosion- Unable to contact DEP to report smell

Hopewell Safety Violations- 16p PDF documenting violations

leading up to explosion- Ranging from:

- failure to contain erosion- deliberate discharging of fuel into the

ground- spilling 500+ gallons of hydrochloric acid onto the ground near a site

Atlas Holding Tank Explosion