Host of Colorado Fracking Industry Failures - As Reported via my Twitter Account @fractivist

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll get to see near real-time fracking industry violation spills, violations, mishaps, fires, official documents exposed and much more.  Please follow on Twitter: @fractivist for more.

Here are a few examples of fracking industry failures that I have posted on Twitter.

Thanks for having a look!

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1.)  @NobleColorado can you answer 'why' you have 'no' officially documented spill reports for these #fracking wellpad spills? If these are not spills then what are they, and are the accounted for?

My thoughts:  Noble Energy operates these specific wellpads and may have had fluid spills on the surface (as depicted in the satellite image). It's so much cheaper for the fracking industry to not report spills of high volumes as these appear to be. The reclamation costs would be astronomical if benzene levels were in exceedance of COGCC limits. What fracking industry operator wants to fill out a spill report and file it with the state anyway? The person that may have been liable for the spills (foreman, etc...) would undoubtedly lose his/her job, so it 'unethically makes sense' to never report spills.  

Tip: You cannot hide from a satellite, nor me, as I have all of your documents regarding these specific fracking industry facilities and there are zero reports of your alleged misdeeds.

2.) TODAY:11/24/2014 #Foundation #Energy #wellhead breaks, forcing flowline to break - releasing ~126 gal #fracking flowback fluids on Federal land. Any guess on what the fine will be? I'll give you a hint (it starts with zero and ends with zero).
LINK

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5TICjekaSe-THNQNmV3LWgtYzQ&usp=sharing

Horizontal #fracking Permits Annually by Percentage in #Colorado 

2009 = 2.8%
2010 = 5.6%
2011 = 19.3%
2012 = 31.9%
2013 = 56.1%
2014 = 58.4%

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FRAC FACT: #Colorado currently has 76 #oil and #gas drilling rigs punching holes into the #earth every day. 

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FRAC FACT: Only 3,451 of the ~52,000 #fracking wells are horizontal. Over 90% of all wells are #fracking for #oil not #gas 

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3.) How many #fracking industry chemicals can you count? 

Check the full 4 page list link below. 
LINK TO CHEMICAL DOCX

Colorado Fracking Flood Images Part II - COGCC Must Inspect Subsurface Flowlines

Below are more images from Colorado's first tropical rainstorm that resulted in torrential flood waters that paved its way through the center of ~21,000 active oil and gas wells in Weld County, Colorado. The State of Colorado has only scratched the surface on the collateral damage from placing active oil and gas wellpads in a flood zone. Clearly the State and the industry were not prepared for 'worst case scenarios.'

I have surveyed the flood area several times by air and dozens of times on the ground, and found the flood waters were 5' deep or more in places extending greater than 800' beyond the 'designated' flood plain. The State of Colorado has an obligation to inform the people that they do not know the extent and volumes of petrochemicals and or liquid industrial waste waters that are leaking from flowlines and other subsurface pipes from oil and gas industrial sites. Oil and gas piping is ~ 3' below ground surface (bgs) in most areas, and vast areas of topsoil was washed away exposing large sections of piping. Large trees were found resting on sections of plastic piping which would indicate probable damage from exposure to, and contact from, heavy floating debris.

The state and the industry are reporting surface discharges but fail to mention the infrastructure below ground that has a high probability of being damaged by the flood waters and debris.  The greatest probable collateral damage from petrochemical and industrial wastes being discharged may very well lie below the ground. I implore the State of Colorado to fully inspect every inch of the hundreds of miles of flowlines below ground in the flood path to abide by its mission statement to 'prevent adverse impacts to the environment and the public.'

Shane

Letter to Weld County Commissioner: Barbara Kirkmeyer | ( Kirkmeyer claims no groundwater contamination from oil & gas)

Dear Barb Kirkmeyer et al.,

Your recent comment in theColoradoan.com http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201307161604/NEWS01/307160017 you state: 'Fracking detractors are trying to “scare the crap out of everybody with the wrong facts and making things up,” said Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, '  “They’re out there saying all sorts of things about how it’s contaminating the groundwater, and you know, that’s not true,” Kirkmeyer said.

I'd like to inform you that your assertions are inaccurate, and without merit in regards to groundwater contamination(s) in Weld County as a result oil and gas operations. Your claim that oil & gas operations do not, and have not contaminated groundwater are simply unfounded.

I’m rather surprised that you, in your elected seat, appear to not have conducted due diligence by reviewing official COGCC data showing that Weld County not only has hundreds of groundwater contaminations, but the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer was also officially documented by the COGCC as contaminated by an oil and gas operation in 2009 with thermogenic methane, and an EPA known frac fluid, toluene. LINK: http://www.fractivist.blogspot.com/2012/10/colorado-aquifer-contaminated-by.html 

COGCC LINK: http://cogcc.state.co.us/cogis/FacilityDetail.asp?facid=12311848&type=WELL

I recently published a peer reviewed study of 1,000 randomly sampled, officially documented oil & gas operator spills in Weld County which indicate that 43% of all spills in Weld County resulted in groundwater contamination. DATA: http://www.fractivist.blogspot.com/2012/10/17-million-gallons-of-toxic-oil-and-gas.html

I’ll provide you with a recent, example, to demonstrate how common groundwater contamination occurs in your backyard, Weld County. Here is a link to an operator spill from July 9^th 2013 where the COGCC indicates that groundwater was in-fact impacted. LINK: http://cogcc.state.co.us/cogis/SpillReport.asp?doc_num=2614363

Another Case of groundwater contamination:

http://ogccweblink.state.co.us/DownloadDocument.aspx?DocumentId=3018364

Another Case of groundwater contamination: (You may have to contact the COGCC to have them reformat the document so that you can open it and view it) It's cumbersome for the general public, we know, and it's a disservice. 

http://cogcc.state.co.us/cogis/SpillReport.asp?doc_num=2607162

http://ogccweblink.state.co.us/DownloadDocument.aspx?DocumentId=2087894

Analytical results for operator spill above: (partial images below) http://ogccweblink.state.co.us/DownloadDocument.aspx?DocumentId=2164154

In conclusion, It is very harmful that you continue to proceed without the cautionary principal, and as a result it appears you are grossly misinformed thus grossly negligent in preventing adverse impacts to the environment and to the residents of Weld County.

Please let me know if I can supply you with hundreds more groundwater contamination cases from Weld County.


Shane Davis
fractivist at large
former Weld 'Well' County resident

Click documents to enlarge

KERR-MCGEE OIL & GAS BENZENE SPILL CONTAMINATES GROUNDWATER 17 UG/L

THE BATTERY WAS SHUT IN. THE PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IMPACTED SOIL IS BEING EXCAVATED. GROUNDWATER WAS ENCOUNTERED IN THE EXCAVATION AT ~4` BGS. LAB ANALYTICAL RESULTS CONFIRMED BENZENE IMPACTS TO GROUNDWATER ABOVE THE CGWQS AT A CONCENTRATION OF 17 UG/L.

OFFICIAL COGCC DOCX LINK


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Date Rec'd:	11/20/2012	Report taken by:	BOB CHESSON
DocNum:	2231131	API number:	05-123 -18271	Facility ID:	250468

Operator Information

Operator:	KERR-MCGEE OIL & GAS ONSHORE LP	Oper. No.	47120
Address:	P O BOX 173779 ATTN: ASHLEY COCCIOLONE  DENVER , CO 80217-3779
Phone:	(720 )929-6000	Fax:	(720 )929-7461
Operator Contact:	PAUL  SCHNEIDER

Description of Spill:

Date of Incident:	11/13/2012
Type of Facility:	WELL
Well Name/No.	HSR-BARCLAY  2-28	Fac. Name/No.
County Name:	WELD
qtrqtr: NWNE section: 28 township: 3N range: 66W meridian: 6

Volumes spilled and recovered (bbls)
Oil spilled:	Recvrd:
Water spilled:	Recvrd:
Other spilled:   0	Recved:  0
GW Impact? Y Surface water impact? N Contained within berm? N
Area and vertical extent of spill:  - X   -
Current land use:  AGRICULTURE
Weather conditions:  60 DEG F, CLEAR
Soil/Geology description  UNKNOWN
Distance in feet to nearest surface water:  535
Depth to shallowest GW:  4
Wetlands:  2700	Buildings:  1900
Livestock:	Water Wells:  320
Cause of spill:
HISTORICAL IMPACTS
Immediate Response:
THE BATTERY WAS SHUT IN. THE PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IMPACTED SOIL IS BEING EXCAVATED. GROUNDWATER WAS ENCOUNTERED IN THE EXCAVATION AT ~4` BGS. LAB ANALYTICAL RESULTS CONFIRMED BENZENE IMPACTS TO GROUNDWATER ABOVE THE CGWQS AT A CONCENTRATION OF 17 UG/L.
Emergency Pits:
NA
How extent determined:
SOIL AND GROUNDWATER SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED FROM THE EXCAVATION. THE ANALYTICAL RESULTS AND EXCAVATION DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED ON A FORM 27.
Further Remediation
WILL BE PROVIDED ON A FORM 27.
Prevent Problem:
A NEW TANK BATTERY WILL BE CONSTRUCTED.
Detailed Description:
FIELD CREWS DISCOVERED HISTORICAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IMPACTED SOIL WHILE REMOVING THE OLD TANK BATTERY. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF LEAKING DUMPLINES, TANKS OR FITTINGS. THE VOLUME OF THE RELEASE IS UNKNOWN.

1.7 Million Gallons of Toxic Oil and Gas Liquids Unrecovered in Weld County Colorado

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February 27, 2012

Ms. Tisha Schuller
Colorado Oil and Gas Association
1660 Lincoln Street, Suite 2710
Denver, CO  80264

Dear Ms. Schuller,

It has recently come to our attention that your Association has paid for and is airing a radio advertisement about drilling and fracking in Colorado.  The ad is here: http://www.coga.org/audio/Gov_Hickenlooper_HF_Rule_30sec.mp3

This ad contains this sentence:  “Since then [2008] we have not had one instance of groundwater contamination association with drilling and hydraulic fracturing.” 

This sentence is not correct.

Specifically, our organizations have analyzed the 615 “Incident Spill Reports” for oil and gas drilling and fracking reported to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) in just one Colorado County (Weld) from 1/3/2008 – 1/5/2012.  These publicly searchable reports (Table 1 below)available on COGCC’s website reveal that:

1.      44% of spills have contaminated groundwater.

2.      2.8% of spills have contaminated surface water.

3.      40% of spills have resulted in or been caused by berm failures.

Further, we have also reviewed the 1,000 Incident Spill Reports available on COGCC’s website for Weld County, dated 8/28/2003 – 1/05/2012 (the COGCC website only lists the 1,000 most recent reports).  Those reports (table 2 below) reveal that:

1.      43% of spills have contaminated groundwater.

2.      3.1% of spills have contaminated surface water.

3.      43% of spills have resulted in or been caused by berm failures.

These reports are available for each the 40 oil and gas companies operating in Weld County, revealing that bulk of the spills and contamination are due to a handful of companies.

Further yet, we randomly sampled 60 of the 1,000 Spill Incident Reports and extrapolated those results to generate an estimate of fluid contamination.  Those results (Table 3 below) reveal that:

1.      Up to 824,600 gallons of oil have been spilled and “unrecovered” in Weld County.

2.      Up to 383,600 gallons of produced water has been spilled and “unrecovered” in Weld County.

3.      Up to 547,400 gallons of “Other” fluid has been spilled and “unrecovered in Weld County.  (“Other” may include fracking fluids.)

The results above are just for one County, Weld, and do not reflect spills and groundwater contamination in the 41 other Colorado counties in which oil and gas drilling and fracking occur. 

Because the statement in your radio ad is incorrect, we request that you correct the ad or remove it from the airwaves.

Respectfully,

Shane Davis, Chair, Poudre Canyon Group of the Sierra Club, shane.davis@rmc.sierraclub.org, 509-570-4422

Gary Wockner, PhD, Colorado Program Director, Clean Water Action, gwockner@cleanwater.org, 970-218-8310

1/3/2008 - 1/5/2012	271 YES	17 YES	246 YES
	344 NO	598 NO	369 NO
GW CONTAM	44.0%	YES
GW CONTAM	56.0%	NO
SURFACE H2O CONTAM	2.8%	YES
SURFACE H2O CONTAM	97.2%	NO
BERM CONTAINED	40.0%	YES
BERM CONTAINED	60.0%	NO

Table 1

		INCIDENT SPILL REPORTS
			271 YES	17 YES	246 YES
2008		GW CONTAM	44.0%	YES
		GW CONTAM	56.0%	NO
		SURFACE H2O CONTAM	2.8%	YES
		SURFACE H2O CONTAM	97.2%	NO
		BERM CONTAINED	40.0%	YES
		BERM CONTAINED	60.0%	NO

Table 2:

Company Name	Ground Water	Surface Water	Berm Contained
TOTAL 1000 SPILL INCIDENT REPORTS	427 YES	31 YES	429 YES
40 OPERATORS –WELD COUNTY	563 NO	969 NO	571 NO
TOTAL PERCENTAGE FROM 1000 SPILL REPORTS	GW CONTAM	42.7%	YES
	GW CONTAM	56.3%	NO
	SURFACE H2O CONTAM	3.1%	YES
	SURFACE H2O CONTAM	96.9%	NO
	BERM CONTAINED	42.9%	YES
	BERM CONTAINED	57.1%	NO
Company Name	Ground Water Contamination	Surface Water Contamination	Berm Not Contained
BAYSWATER EXPL AND PROD LLC   * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
BLUE CHIP  * 2 reported	50.0%	0.0%	100.0%
BONANZA CREEK  * 21 reported	16.0%	11.0%	63%
CDM  * 1 reported	0.0%	100.0%	100%
CHESAPEAKE  * 4 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0%
COLTON  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
CONQUEST  * 5 reported	0.0%	0.0%	20.0%
DIAMOND  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
DUKE  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
EDDY  * 3 reported	67.0%	0.0%	100.0%
ENCANA  * 46 reported	44.0%	4.0%	61.0%
ENERVEST  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
EOG  * 4 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
FOUNDATION  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
FOUNTAINHEAD  * 3 reported	100.0%	0.0%	34.0%
GREAT WESTERN  * 2 reported	0.0%	0.0%	50.0%
GRYNBERG  * 3 reported	0.0%	0.0%	34.0%
HIGH PLAINS DISPOSAL  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
HYNDREX  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
KP KAUFMAN  * 23 reported	13.0%	30.0%	91.0%
KERR MCGEE  * 391 reported	59.0%	2.0%	47.0%
LONE STAR  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
MACHII   * 6 reported	17.0%	17.0%	100.0%
MATRIX  * 2 reported	50.0%	0.0%	0.0%
MERIT  *15 reported	20.0%	0.0%	47.0%
MINERAL  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
MONAHAN  *3 reported	0.0%	0.0%	67.0%
NOBLE  * 236 reported	31.0%	2.0%	69.0%
PATINA  * 20 reported	30.0%	0.0%	30.0%
PETRO CANADA  *29 reported	45.0%	0.0%	62.0%
PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT  *158 reported	47.0%	3.0%	67.0%
PRIMA  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
RED WILLOW  * 3 reported	0.0%	0.0%	33.0%
STARLIGHT  * 3 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
SYNERGY  * 2 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
TEXAS AMERICAN RESOURCES *2 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
TOP OPERATORS * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
US EXPLORATION  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
WALSH PRODUCTIONS  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
WINDSOR  * 1 reported	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

Weld County “Spill Release Reports" (08/28/2003 - 01/05/2012)
	60 Randomly Picked	If 60 statistically represent 1,000, estimated	Estimated Unrecovered Fluid (1,000 reports)
Spill Area (square feet)	146,717,366	2,445,289,440
Oil Spilled (gal)	65,646	1,094,100
Oil Unrecovered (gal)	49,476	824,600	824,600
Produced Water Spilled (gal)	31,164	519,400
Produced Water Unrecovered (gal)	23,016	383,600	383,600
Other Spilled (gal)	34,104	568,400
Other Unrecovered (gal)	32,844	547,400	547,400
Total Estimated Unrecovered Fluid (gal)			1,755,600