PUBLIC NOTICE OF STATE-OWNED
OIL AND GAS RIGHTS
TO BE OFFERED FOR LEASE AUCTION
"On October 27, 2011, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will offer, at an
oral-bid public auction, approximately 123,000 acres of state-owned oil and gas lease
rights in those Michigan counties indicated herein. More detailed information regarding location of the nominated parcels can be found at
http://www.michigan.gov/...
or by calling 517-373-7663.
Lands under consideration for oil and gas leasing include acreage in the following
counties:
ALCONA, ANTRIM, ARENAC, BENZIE, CHEBOYGAN, GLADWIN,
GRAND TRAVERSE, JACKSON, KALKASKA, LAKE, LENAWEE, MANISTEE,
MIDLAND, MISSAUKEE, MONTMORENCY, NEWAYGO, OGEMAW, OSCEOLA,
OTSEGO, SANILAC, AND WEXFORD."
The sale has happened already. Haliburton was there. In 2005, an exemption called the Halliburton Loophole was made thanks to Vice Pres. Dick Cheney, at the time, advocating for this exception. He was CEO of Halliburton until his election in 2000. Halliburton Corp. is the leading manufacturer of the drilling equipment.
For those not knowing what this means, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Hydraulic fracturing: "Hydraulic fracturing, often called fracking, fracing or hydrofracking, is the process of initiating and subsequently propagating a fracture in a rock layer, by means of a pressurized fluid, in order to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas, or other substances for extraction. The fracturing, known colloquially as a frack job (or frac job), is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations. The energy from the injection of a highly pressurized fluid, such as water, creates new channels in the rock which can increase the extraction rates and ultimate recovery of fossil fuels."
"The practice of hydraulic fracturing has come under scrutiny internationally due to concerns about environmental and health safety, and has been suspended or banned in some countries."
Here are some partial articles (with links) discussing this growing concern:
"ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON DANGERS OF FRACKING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, September 22, 2011: Contact: Nic Clark, 517-203-0754"
ARTICLE
"House Subcommittee has not allowed citizens to give input during hearings
LANSING - While the Michigan House Natural Gas Subcommittee held a third public hearing today to discuss a dangerous natural-gas extraction process known as fracking, one thing was once again missing from the agenda: public comment. Although the subcommittee has conducted three hearings this month, no time has been dedicated on the agenda to allow the public to address concerns over fracking.
“Of the nearly six hours the subcommittee has met over the past three weeks, only minutes have been given to address the dangers of fracking,” said Cyndi Roper, Michigan Director for Clean Water Action. “At each of these meetings, the committee has met with natural gas industry lobbyists. When do the citizens of Michigan get the opportunity speak? This committee is short-changing the public by only listening to industry lobbyists instead of doing the kind of fact-finding that will result in strong protections for Michigan’s water, air and the places we live.”
Another article:
Protect Michigan Waters from Fracking
SEPTEMBER 28, 2011 BY WMEAC GUEST
ARTICLE
"A recent Congressional report documents at least 750 chemicals used in the fracking process, of which at least 29 are known or possible carcinogens.
Michigan can’t afford to get this one wrong. Half of Michigan residents get their drinking water from groundwater wells. Tens of billions of dollars a year are pumped into the economy by water-dependent industries like fishing, boating and tourism. Countless jobs would be lost if our waters were contaminated."
"In other states, thousands of environmental contaminations from fracking have been reported. In Michigan, a recent spill connected to shallow drilling serves as a warning signal that we should pause and examine all aspects of natural gas production before it is allowed to proceed.
In addition to the chemicals and large volumes of water that have to be trucked in and out (often through natural areas degrading air quality), fracking operations around the country utilize high-silica sand that is mined from Michigan sand dunes."
And yet another article says
"Earthquakes have become unusually common in some areas of Arkansas where increased unconventional gas related drilling is taking place. Residents insist that there is a correlation between the quakes and the area’s wastewater disposal wells. After monitoring hundreds of earthquakes, the largest a magnitude-4.7 in February, investigators began confirming the connection." ARTICLE
Pittsburgh’s drinking water is radioactive, thanks to fracking. Only question is, how much?
"Residents of Pittsburgh -- as well as potentially tens of millions of other everyday citizens in the Northeast corridor who rely on their taps to deliver safe water -- are consuming unknown and potentially dangerous amounts of radium in every glass of water. That's the buried lede in the Sunday New York Times' massive exposé on fracking, the relatively new process for extracting natural gas from the massive shale formation that stretches from Virginia to New York state."
And how about what tends to happen after time when these wells become abandoned? This is from a Facebook page called Shale Gas Info:
""The other key part of an abandoned wells — the steel pipe liner known as casing — can also rust through over time. "I've seen casing they've pulled out of these old wells. It looks like a worm has eaten it," said petroleum geologist Norman J. Hyne, who owned inland oil and gas wells in the 1980s as a small independent producer. Any holes, cracks or spaces can open a path for repressurized oil or gas to surge to the surface slowly or, in extreme cases, as a bigger blowout. Petroleum engineer John Getty, who studies cement properties at Montana Tech, said it is reasonable to expect that some abandoned offshore wells would leak after decades of aging. At sea, huge blowouts, like the one at BP's well, would presumably be noticed by nearby rigs or passing ships. But otherwise these environmental violations generally go unnoticed." Gulf Awash In 27,000 Abandoned Wells Submitted by markh on Wed, 2010-07-07 15:14 No one is checking to see if they are leaking, investigation finds
Scared yet? You should be. This is happening NOW, in Michigan. President Obama could stop fracking by EXECUTIVE ORDER until the EPA study of it is complete in 2012. PLEASE ISSUE AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO STOP FRACKING
Please help us to keep this out of Michigan, as well as other states. Spread the word, get involved, write letters to elected officials and media, research, join groups. Please do not let this go, these harmful effects cannot be undone! Once it happens, it is too late.
YouTube video that sums it up: Fracking the Finger Lakes: speaker Sandra Steingraber
**My thanks to the people that helped me with links and info for this article, Stefanie Rinza and Cherie Walters and the rest of the crew from the Facebook group:
LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! BAN HYDRAULIC FRACTURE IN MICHIGAN **