Marcellus Misinformation: Another Fracking Expert Unearthed

        
I know they'll never stop trying, but I wonder how much money the gas industry is shelling out to all of these "experts" coming out of the woodwork to perpetuate the myth of an impermeable/unfractured  "cap" layer above the Marcellus Shale that will prevent contaminated frackwater, thermogenic gas and other nasty stuff from migrating into our groundwater.

For your reading pleasure, here's the latest attempt by yet another heretofore mute expert.

Here's my favorite quote:

"When they intersect a natural fracture, it exhumes huge amounts of gas. The way hydrofracture is designed is that the fracture height is controlled by limestone cap rocks above and below. Fractures cannot grow out of the zone of the Marcellus shale. It’s the perfect circumstances to extract gas.”
 

S -o-o-o, are we to believe that the naturally occuring fractures already there abruptly stop when they hit the limestone "cap" layer as well? This "expert" directly contradicts yet another expert named Dr. Terry Engelder who claims the following in this widely-touted report:
  

"In some places, jointing was localized to form gas chimneys that are remarkable for their height, which extends vertically off the top of black shale units at least 50 meters."

IMHO, I think the industry should hire someone. or maybe even a team of folks, who know which end is up so they can compare notes before yet another "expert" opens his/her mouth and confirms what we obstructionist, tree-hugging, funeral-protesting radicals already know: The NG folks will say and do anything necessary to get their way, including spreading outright lies.      

  
One more time...here's a link to my Revelations 4:44 post.  I hope this issue of an impermeable, unfractured layer of bedrock goes away, but if it doesn't, I'll be here every time to call them on it.

  

Anyway...did a road trip yesterday and finally had a chance to meet and spend a few moments with some of the River Twice crew. Please take a few minutes to read Cecily's observations about their travels along the Susquehanna, especially the piece entitled "Deep Disturbance".

  

The little grove along the Susquehanna that I visited on Sunday has been owned by the same family since 1876. I hope to be back soon.

   

There's something special about this place, and I sense there's a story waiting to be told...