Hydraulic Fracturing: Is the Risk Worth the Reward?

Renae Polensky

Rhonda Tilly

ENGL 1023

29 October 2013

Hydraulic Fracturing: Is the Risk Worth the Reward?

Are they willing to risk their health for wealth? That is the question on everyone’s mind in North Dakota right now. North Dakota residents are scratching their heads and asking, “is the money that oil and gas development is providing to our state important enough that we are willing to risk the health of our families”? Why is there a risk? Because the oil companies are not satisfied with reaching oil only a few hundred feet below the surface. Oil and gas companies are interested in retrieving the oil and gas from a layer of shale and dense rocks at depths of 10,000 feet. The oil companies are retrieving the oil and gas from the shale and rock using a method known as hydraulic fracturing (fracking). This method was developed over 60 years ago. The process of fracking injects water, sand, and chemicals through a cement casing or tubing into shale and dense rocks, cracking the shale and rocks to open the pores, allowing the oil and gas to flow more freely to the surface (Svoboda).[pic 1][pic 2]

Even though the oil companies are using less invasive chemicals, leaving behind fewer toxins, they are still using chemicals with health risks attached such as ethylene glycol. The other health concern today is the dumping of wastewater that comes from the fracking process. There were more than 1,000 reported spills or illegal dumps of wastewater and other drilling fluids in 2011, just in the state of North Dakota. This contaminated water has to go somewhere, and it is likely going into our groundwater, killing our wildlife, aquatic life, and sterilizing our croplands (Kusnetz).

We agree that oil and gas development is a good thing for our state and our economy. It has brought in millions of dollars in revenue and taxes, infusion of jobs and major growth to our moribund local businesses. North Dakota is second, only behind Texas in the output of oil nationwide (Kusnetz). It has also helped the United States become less dependent on foreign oil.

The problem is lack of regulations and enforcement on the oil companies for drilling and dumping violations. Farmers and landowners get very little support from regulators regarding dumping and damaging property. The farmers and landowners would like this problem changed. State regulators have only sanctioned one oil company in the past three years for spilling brine that caused two streams to become toxic dumps (Kusnetz). This problem reaches far beyond the state of North Dakota; places such as Pennsylvania, Alaska, Idaho, and Texas have also reported water contaminations because of oil fracking.

The use of fracking is a two sided coin. As the oil companies extract more oil and gas, our nation continues to become more self-sufficient, thus making us less dependent on foreign energy. On the other hand, if that extraction results in the majority of the population of North Dakota having health issues, what is the point? “What do you want your legacy to be” (Kusnetz)?

Oil and gas companies will continue to develop and use new methods to extract oil and gas as long as there is a never-ending demand for fuel to power our vehicles, heat our homes, and supply energy for our factories and businesses.