This information was researched to make a sound decision on fracking alternatives and why. This is the research that I completed for the project.

1. Beth Schoren | Biology 1010 | BGSU Fall 2015
In Ohio alone, in just 3 months horizontal fracking produced 2.5 million barrels of oil and 88
billion cubic feet of natural gas from 504 active wells which then produced 1.38 million
barrels of oil brine. That is the by-productof the horizontal fracturing (alsoreferredtoasflowbackor
frac water) that mustbe disposedof inClassIIdisposal wells butsometimes isappliedtoroadways. The
total dissolvedsolids(TDS) salinityinflowbackfracwaterhave concentrationlevelsof 200,000 mg/L,
comparedto 35,000 mg/L seawater. Eachwell usesupto4 milliongallonsof freshwaterfrom streams,
lakes,rivers,andreservoirsnearbyandonly15 – 20% comesback to the surface.
These are Utica Shale drill locationsites inOhio. These are the locationsof the disposal sites.
Whenlookingoverthese locationsitisclearto see thatdrillinglocationsare heavilyclusteredinthe
Harrison, Carroll and ColumbianaCounty locationbutthe injectionwellsare locatedmore inStark,

2. Portage and Morrow Counties.Carroll ConcernedCitizensworksnow withthe Universityof Cincinnati to
monitorwaterqualitysince 95%of the residentsuse well water.
Studiesbythe University of CincinnatiinOctober2014 were done onair qualityinCarroll County
because of significantodorsonce drillingstarted.They found 32 hydrocarbon-based compounds
and state that air pollutionisworse thandowntownChicago, asreportedinthe AkronBeaconJournal.
The Beacon alsoreported ona Federal GrandJury of BenedictLupowho dumped over 400,000
gallons of fracking brine into storm drains inYoungstownthatleadintothe MahoningRiver. The
AssociatedPressreported onstudiesinWashingtonCounty,PA of environmental impactsof airquality
includingdangeroustoxinsthatcause cancer,confusionandbraindamage.
The EPA reportsthat
over 5 millionpeople
use the Ohio Riverfor
drinkingsuppliesand
the riveris 981 miles
longbefore itenters the
Mississippi River. The
Watersheditself covers
204,000 sq.mi..
Theyreportthat the
pollutantsinthe water
are alreadyhighand
mustbe reducedto
returnthe Riverto
health.
What happenswhen
these hydraulicfracking
practicesstart to move
intothe OhioRiver?

3. Accordingto Reuters, inPennsylvania,ExxonMobil
Corp. subsidiaryXTOEnergyInc. was finedbythe
AttorneyGeneral for spilling more than 50,000
gallons of brine intoa local waterwayfroman
openvalve ona tank.
Energyand EnvironmentReportingforTexasstates
on February20, 2014 that HalliburtonEnergy
Serviceswasfined$1.8 millionfordumping
hydrochloricandotheracidicwaste usedto dissolve
rock duringhydraulicfracturingprocesses.

4. These are the
temporarylagoonsfor
the brine before itis
transportedoff site to
an underground
injectionwells.Often
the brine sitsand
evaporatesandcan also
overflow withheavy
rains. The linerscan
alsobe punctured. Not
any of thispart of the
processishealthyfor
our environment.
Thisis the locationof the Utica and
MarcellusShale boundarieswhere
horizontal hydraulicfracturingmight
occur in orderto recoveroil andgas.
Because suchlarge volumesof our
freshdrinkingwaterisbeing
destroyedforthisenergyresource
productionanditspotential to
contaminate the remainderof our
freshwatersupply,we believe an
alternative should stronglybe
considered.

5. In an alternative tohorizontal hydraulic fracturingthere have beensome ideasbeing
made. A man bythe name of Ciris,whoholdsa doctorate inbiochemistryearnfromCleveland’sCase
WesternUniversity,developedatechnologytouse coal withoutburning itinordertodouble the
amountof natural gas normally thatcomes fromshale. Hiscompanyhas alreadyraised$50 millionfrom
investorssuchasConoco,General Electricandothers where theyconvert coal to methane.
Belowisa map of coal resources andcoal plantsinthe UnitedStatesthat couldutilize the newest
methodof gas recoverywithoutburningcoal orfracking.

6. AnotheralternativetechnologyfromaCalgaryAlbertabasedcompanynamedGasFrac, isa water-free
fracking technologywhich usesa gel withpropane because itretainsthe sandbetter,ispumpedslower
and eliminatesthe needforwateranditsremoval.
Evenwithoutthe use of oil or gas productionwe have extensiveRenewable EnergySourcesshownhere,
whichisan indicationthatwe shouldonlyneedfuelsforvehiclesnotforotherenergyaswe have plenty
of renewablepowersourcesavailable.
These are current
PowerPlantsinthe
UnitedStatesfor:
BiomassPower
Geothermal Power
HydroelectricPower
SolarPower
WindPower
Wood Power
Works Cited:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/news/po st/ohio-s-horizontal-shale-wells-reach-new-marks-in-second-
quarter
http://oilandgas.ohiodnr.gov/portals/oilgas/pdf/EPA-fact-
sheets/DrillingforNaturalGasintheMarcellusandUticaShales_EnvironmentalRegulatoryBasics.pdf

7. http://oilandgas.ohiodnr.gov/portals/oilgas/pdf/Class%20II%20Brine%20Injection%20Wells%20of%20O
hio%2011052014.pdf
http://epa.ohio.gov/MarcellusandUticaShale
http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/conventional_gas.jpg
http://adallonoffshore.com/
http://www.eia.gov/state/maps.cfm?v=Coal
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/24/biotech-whizs-methane-mining-technique-could-
be/2/?#article-copy
http://www.urbandesignlab.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/HancockAndTheMarcellusShale.pdf
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zaxCy5lyf7w8.ktszQQ3C0jUQ&ie=UTF8&msa=0&source=
embed&ll=40.663973,-77.805176&spn=5.832868,10.437012&z=6
http://www.ohio.com/blogs/drilling/ohio-utica-shale-1.291290/carroll-county-air-pollution-higher-than-
chicago-study-says-1.533777
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/wshednps/watersheds.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/11/exxon-spill-charges-idUSL2N0H712F20130911
http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2014/02/20/industry-looks-for-safer-ways-to-drill-with-acid/
http://cirisenergy.com/whatwedo/overview/