Not exactly ‘science’

For those of us concerned about the effects of gas drilling, the Northern Wayne Property Owner’s Alliance (NWPOA) promise to provide its members with “a substantial amount of peer-reviewed scientific data” was an encouraging sign. After all, we can ask nothing more of our neighbors than that they carefully consider the effect that drilling may have on our economy and our environment.

But it was deeply disappointing to read what passes for “peer-reviewed science” with the NWPOA. Of the two documents cited in the article, neither takes an unbiased look at the hard questions presented by shale gas extraction.

“Understanding and Fixing the Gas Exploration Paralysis” is not peer-reviewed and it is not scientific. It was not even written by a scientist. It was written by a NWPOA member and, to read the excerpts, it seems to be little more than a verbose version of “drill, baby, drill.” When you’ve read a phrase like “Get safety off #1 on the hit parade” you know you’re reading a political manifesto, not a scientific report.

The second document, “Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: a Primer,” has the appearance of being a bit more serious but, as Ms. Long points out, it was prepared by organizations and firms with close ties to the oil and gas industry. It does not take an unbiased look at shale gas extraction and, as the disclaimer makes clear, “the views and the opinions of the authors… do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.”

In a way, one has to sympathize with the NWPOA. There isn’t a lot of credible scientific data on shale gas extraction to draw upon. A May 2009 report by the United States Geological Survey found that several important issues have not been adequately investigated. Among its findings:

• “While the technology of drilling directional boreholes, and the use of hydraulic fracturing processes to extract gas resources from tight rock have improved over the past few decades, the knowledge of how this extraction might affect water resources has not kept pace.”

• “Little is known about how a Marcellus Shale drilling ‘boom’ might adversely affect the land, streams and available water supplies in the Appalachian Basin.”

• “The current disposal practice for Marcellus Shale liquids in Pennsylvania requires processing them through wastewater treatment plants, but the effectiveness of standard wastewater treatments on these fluids is not well understood.”

So until we get answer to important questions like how do we prevent the contamination of drinking water wells, as is happening to our neighbors in Dimock and McNett Township, PA, let’s give the scientists a chance to study the matter before we start drilling.

(Bruce Ferguson, a resident of Callicoon Center, NY, is a member of Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy.)