Fracking raises concerns

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A natural gas well in Kalkaska County's Excelsior Township. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
A sign at a natural gas well in Kalkaska County's Excelsior Township. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

August 2, 2012

Fracking raises concerns

Oil, gas companies applied for 14 new permits in N. Michigan

BY GLENN PUIT gpuit@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu Aug 02, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

KALKASKA — Oil and gas companies in recent months applied for 14 new fracking permits in northern Michigan counties, raising environmental concerns for some and economic development hopes for others.

State records show 10 of the applications are for natural gas wells in Kalkaska County alone, where an unemployment rate of nearly 9 percent has county leaders on the constant search for new industry and jobs.

Kalkaska County Commission Chair Stuart McKinnon said oil and gas companies have expressed increased desire to explore in the county for natural gas. Two fracking wells are already operating in Excelsior Township, and the county Planning Commission just gave the go-ahead for a temporary worker camp that can house up to 40 drill workers.

"I think it's a pretty positive thing coming into our county," said McKinnon. "There's a lot of new technology, and I don't think it's going to be detrimental."

But the word fracking stirs significant environmental fears in some, and Traverse City-based environmental consultant Chris Grobbel said residents should educate themselves about the technique.

Deep injection hydraulic fracking requires huge groundwater draws, and there is the threat of spills, gas releases, and contamination of water and air.

"It seems like there's more interest in spending money and exploring the area," Grobbel said. "It's not a landslide, but there was an enormous investment made in leases on private and public lands, and some of these corporations are checking out their investments with these exploratory wells to see if their investments are going to work out."

Fracking, and in particular, horizontal fracking, is a controversial drilling technique that relies on injecting highly pressurized fluids into the ground to bust up rock and, in turn, allows drillers to extract the gas.

The process requires significant amounts of chemicals and water. Fracking-related environmental problems from fracking led to films like "Gasland," which documents negative impacts on communities because of fracking.

Industry experts said the threats of fracking are far overstated, and that technology has made the process much safer.

Mark J. Snow is the supervisor of Permits and Bonding for the Department of Environmental Quality in Lansing. He said Michigan fracking laws are adequate, and said state requirements for well casings and for storage of contaminated fluids brought out of the wells exceeds those in other states.

He said the state also requires technical assessments for water draws to prevent taxing water supplies.

"The safeguards we have here are protective from both an environmental impact standpoint and health and human safety standpoint," Snow said.

Rick and JoAnne Beemon of the group Don't Frack Michigan aren't convinced. They believe the state is doing a very poor job of regulating fracking and that loopholes present a serious problem.

Randy M. Awdwish is a real estate lawyer in Detroit who tracks natural gas drilling. He said the low price of natural gas, only modest success in prior exploration in the region, and the high cost of drilling infrastructure leaves him doubting the potential for a natural gas drilling rush in Michigan anytime soon.

"I really don't think there's going to be too much activity based on natural gas prices and the success (of drilling) in other parts of country," he said.