Anyone seen Gasland?

[RaineyDaye]

I had heard of water being polluted to the extent that it could be lit on fire, but this movie was a real eye-opener. I didn't know the companies involved in fracking don't have to disclose the chemicals they use and don't have to comply with the Clean Air or Water acts. Contaminated water doesn't seem like a good trade off for "cheaper" energy. The most scary segments of the movie were the testimonies about the health problems suffered by people who had gas wells on or near their land.

[eofelis]

I saw Gasland quite a while ago. It was very good, but I didn't really learn anything new.

My degree, that I got locally, is in geology. I live in western Colorado so there is a lot of oil & gas development going on all around. Part of that film was in Garfield County, the next county over.

Although I was a bit shocked at the amount of development going on in the eastern part of the US. They aren't "used to it" like we are around here. (Altho I am originally from MA.) There aren't enough people around here to get riled up enough about fracking. There are more people (population density), and more influential people, in the east that would be concerned about environmental and water quality. Especially if they are are fracking in the watershed of New York City's water supply. So it is being examined more closely. Unfortunately, the big companies, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, etc, have a lot of influence on politics.

I wonder when California, who gets most of their water out of the Colorado River, will get concerned about all the fracking going on on direct tributaries on the river. Those chemicals don't degrade.

My job is involved in o/g development. I work for an archaeological consulting company. Any places on public land that are to be developed, such as well pads, pipelines, and access roads need to have an archaeological assessment done as part of the permitting process. I'm not an archaeologist, I do GIS mapping: I make the maps of the archaeological surveys.

I guess I'm a green environmentalist, but o/g is a fact of life around here.

[eofelis]

One thing I was curious about with the o/g development in the east is the "split estate". Maybe some of you that live in the east might know more.

Around here the land owner usually only owns surface rights. Sometimes they they might own mineral (subsurface) rights too, but not always. So if they don't own mineral rights (and, say, the Federal gov't owns them) those can be leased to be developed (drilled). Whoever leases the mineral rights can put a well pad on the private land above it and the landowner can't do anything about it. A landowner who owns mineral rights and leases them can make a lot of money off the royalties.

There is a film called Split Estate about all this. It's a good film.

So back to my question, I wonder if land in the east is in a split estate situation? Who are the mineral rights sold or leased from?

And then there is the question of directional drilling that I wonder about. Around here at a well pad they often drill 8-12 holes from one pad. They drill vertically, and then angle them out horizontally (L-shape) for a mile or more away from the well pad, in a fan shape. I see data like this sent from clients for their well pad designs. I wonder how this is handled if a drill hole goes into areas that are in a different owners.

Guess I got on a roll tonight.

[gottadance]

Not yet, but it's on my list of must-sees.

[RaineyDaye]

Josh Fox (director of Gasland) was prevented from filming a House hearing on fracking yesterday.

UPDATE: STATEMENT ISSUED BY JOSH FOX FEBRUARY 1, 2012

I was arrested today for exercising my First Amendment rights to freedom of the press on Capitol Hill. I was not expecting to be arrested for practicing journalism. Today's hearing in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee was called to examine EPAs findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids had contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. I have a long history with the town of Pavillion and its residents who have maintained since 2008 that fracking has contaminated their water supply. I featured the stories of residents John Fenton, Louis Meeks and Jeff Locker in GASLAND and I have continued to document the catastrophic water contamination in Pavillion for the upcoming sequel GASLAND 2. It would seem that the Republican leadership was using this hearing to attack the three year Region 8 EPA investigation involving hundreds of samples and extensive water testing which ruled that Pavillion's groundwater was a health hazard, contaminated by benzene at 50x the safe level and numerous other contaminants associated with gas drilling. Most importantly, EPA stated in this case that fracking was the likely cause.

As a filmmaker and journalist I have covered hundreds of public hearings, including Congressional hearings. It is my understanding that public speech is allowed to be filmed. Congress should be no exception. No one on Capitol Hill should regard themselves exempt from the Constitution. The First Amendment to the Constitution states explicitly "Congress shall make no law...that infringes on the Freedom of the Press". Which means that no subcommittee rule or regulation should prohibit a respectful journalist or citizen from recording a public hearing.

This was an act of civil disobedience -- yes done in an impromptu fashion -- but at the moment when they told me to turn off the cameras, I could not. I know my rights and I felt it was imperative to exercise them.

When I was led out of the hearing room in handcuffs, John Boehner's pledge of transparency in Congress was taken out with me.

The people of Pavillion deserve better. The thousands across the US who have documented cases of water contamination in fracking areas deserve their own hearing on Capitol hill. They deserve the chance to testify in before Congress. The truth that fracking contaminates groundwater is out, and no amount of intimidation tactics --either outright challenges to science or the arrest of journalists --will put the genie back in the bottle. Such a brazen attempt to discredit and silence the EPA, the citizens of Pavillion and documentary filmmaking will ultimately fail and it is an affront to the health and integrity of Americans.

Lastly, in defense of my profession, I will state that many, many Americans get their news from independent documentaries. The Hill should immediately move to make hearings and meetings accessible to independent journalists and not further obstruct the truth from being reported in the vivid and in-depth manner that is only achievable through long-form documentary filmmaking.

I will be thinking on this event further and will post further thoughts and developments.

I have been charged with "unlawful entry" and my court date is February 15.

Josh Fox
Washington D.C.
2/1/12