FracTracker in the Field

Shell Ethane Cracker Plant in Beaver, PA

Over the past decade, fracking has extracted more gas than consumers demand, so the fracking industry has begun converting the gas glut into petrochemical products like plastic. Here, we’re at the construction site Shell Ethane Cracker, a facility that will crack fracked ethane to make polyethylene plastic. This is the primary component of a wave of new petrochemical infrastructure proposed for this region we're working to map. We’re also within a 2-mile radius of 23 schools and daycare centers, three hospitals, and many more homes. Residents and local groups, like the  Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community , are working to shine a light on the serious environmental and public health impacts this facility will have, and to encourage more sustainable projects in the county.

FracTracker has mapped over 16,000 pieces of infrastructure in the region that could convert fracked gas into petrochemical products, like plastic. Explore and download the maps  here .

Bruce Mansfield Coal Power Plant

Bruce Mansfield was the largest coal power plant in the state before closing last year. It’s part of a larger story about the legacy of polluting industries in PA and the crossroads the Commonwealth faces – will state leaders usher in another phase of polluting industry, or welcome a sustainable, regenerative economy? What voice do community members have in these decisions? How can we protect workers? Shout-out to the  Center for Coalfield Justice  for their work in giving these communities a platform in this fight for social and environmental justice.

Many residents in Beaver County are formulating new approaches to community development based on principles of resilience, sustainability, health and equity.  Reimagine Beaver  is a community-based group leading the implementation of this new approach. Learn more about them in the second video!

Donate to FracTracker today, to support our field work, like the map we are building today!

FracTracker is documenting 20 sites today. If you find the information we share to be helpful, please make a  donation of $20  - that's just $1 per site!

Midas Well Pad in Plum, PA

Matt stops by a well pad in Plum Borough with six active fracked wells on it that has racked up roughly 70 violations! Follow  @Citizens4Plum  to connect with residents working to protect the Borough.

Although sometimes hidden in the hills and valleys of the region, there are over 5,000 active fracked wells in southwestern Pennsylvania. View our  PA Shale Viewer  to see wells throughout the state in addition to any violations they may have received.

Pipeline Metering Station & Tank Battery Terminal in New Kensington, PA

Matt and Brook stop by a site that enters their field of smell before their field of vision. This leaky pipeline junction is emitting methane – a powerful greenhouse gas. A regular component of our work involves mapping & analyzing pipeline incident data like this. Learn more about this topic  here .

Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Hookstown, PA

Just down the road is the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station. Nuclear is also an important part of PA’s energy story. (DYK PA is one of the top nuclear generating states?) Similar to coal, nuclear plants like this one have teetered on the brink of shut down, facing increasing operating costs and competition from cheaper energy sources. Once again, we see the Commonwealth's legislature grapple with making a profit or protecting its people and environment, as it faces an energy crossroads.

Beaver County Conservation District & Falcon Pipeline, and landslide risks near the Ambridge Reservoir

The US has over 1.63 million miles of fossil fuel pipelines, and finding information on them can be quite the challenge. FracTracker's Public Environmental Impact Assessment for the Falcon Pipeline offers a rare opportunity for the public to get a highly detailed view of how a pipeline comes together. This project is currently under construction, and in collaboration with several other local organizations, we're continuing to monitor and map its impacts - click  here  to find out more.

The Falcon Pipeline passes through the headwaters of Ambridge Reservoir in Independence Township, PA. Notorious for its spills, it has also brought the risk of landslides, as you'll see Erica describe in the second video.

Cheswick Power Plant & Springdale Power Station in Springdale, PA

Again, we’re reminded that oil and gas is not the only fossil fuel being extracted in the region. The Cheswick Generating Station is a coal-fired power plant with a long history of releasing soot and coal ash into the neighborhood, seriously impacting residents’ health. There’s a gas fired plant here too!

Deer Lakes Park in Tarentum, PA

Laterals - the horizontal, underground portion of a well, extend up to three miles, crossing beneath parks, homes, roads, and waterways. We're at Deer Lakes park, a site that faced controversy over a well pad built ~800 feet from the park, and whose laterals cross beneath the green space. This well pad faced strong community opposition, with many residents concerned about air pollution from the well impacting children's health at the park, that drilling would deteriorate the park’s fishing lakes, and that flares would interfere with the park’s Wagman Observatory. However, the well pad was built. It's operator, Range Resources, recently pleaded no contest to environmental crimes in the region.

Cardinal Coal-Fired Power Plant and truck traffic in Brilliant, OH

Erica and Shannon passed this site sending massive plumes of pollution into the air - and they could smell them from the car!

The brine trucks in the next few photos passing Erica and Shannon are just another reminder of the enormous volume of fracking waste Ohio receives, ironically passing by as these two head to a waste site in Martins Ferry.

Austin Masters Waste Recycling in Martins Ferry, OH

We've crossed into Ohio, where many of these issues pertain to oil and gas waste. This waste treatment site accepts toxic, radioactive fracking waste and "downblends" it - meaning it mixes it with other forms of waste to lower its radiation level to a point where landfills will accept it. It's located along the Ohio River, less than a mile from the local high school. Residents and organizations throughout the region, including FracTracker, are sounding the alarm bells about the serious risks radioactive fracking waste poses to our health, and how under-regulated its disposal is.

 Sign the petition  to say "No" to barging radioactive oil & gas waste on the Ohio River.

Learning from this story map? Donate if you can, and support FracTracker's ongoing work!

Two FracTracker teams are in the field today building awareness about issues that affect our health and environment. Each team is attempting to document 10 sites across the Ohio River Valley region. It's not a competition but... Which team are you rooting for?  Please make a donation now and show your support! 

Rover Pipeline in Shadyside, OH

We're in Shadyside, OH and driving over the Rover Pipeline, which carries fracked gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale up to Canada. We're using the FracTracker app to locate the pipeline route as it's hard to locate its impacts where we are now, but the effects it had during construction were anything but discreet. Download the app on your iPhone or Android device through the app store, and visit our web app  here. 

Richland Township Active Well pad

The most obvious difference between a conventional well and an unconventional, fracked well is simply the size of the operation. Here’s a view of an active fracking operation in Richland Township, OH, located just yards from a day care center, and just a few miles from a Country Club and a shopping mall.

In both PA & OH, well operators are allowed to hide the identity of chemicals injected into fracked wells, creating a dangerous situation if these chemicals are released. See FracTracker's map of well pad violations in the second slide. We partnered with  Partnership for Policy Integrity    to uncover and map the use of secret fracking chemicals in OH - read the report  here. 

Guernsey Power Station Natural Gas Power Plant Construction

The construction site of a fracked gas power plant in Guernsey County, OH. DYK the cost of producing electricity with a renewable energy power plant is now cheaper than producing electricity from a fracked gas power plant? Despite that, the industry continues to build new gas-fired power plants like this one, which according to research by the  Rocky Mountain Institute , will be uneconomic to continue operating in 2035.

While there are far fewer fracked wells in OH compared to PA, there are many more wastewater injection wells in OH compared to PA. We calculated that OH’s 220+ wastewater disposal wells are accepting waste at a rate that’s increasing by ~2.7 million gallons of wastewater per quarter! These are the types of hidden inefficiencies and environmental costs we’re working to expose through our work. Read more  here. 

Sedat 3A Injection Well in Plum, PA

Here, Matt and Brook stop by a site that has been under consideration for a wastewater injection well for over two years. Despite opposition of the local government and residents, state regulators have approved Penneco’s Sedat #A well. The borough had outdated ordinances that didn’t mention injection wells when the application was first made, so the courts ruled that they were permitted anywhere. If you live in Pennsylvania and your community has not updated their ordinances, contact your local officials and urge them to update them. See what’s happening at the site now, and follow @Citizens4Plum on Facebook for future updates.

The typical well in PA uses over 12 million gallons of water, thousands of tons of sand, and a variety of chemicals - some of which are kept secret by the fracking companies that develop them - such as Haliburton. This fluid then mixes with brine that was already present in the drill’s path, bringing back problematic levels of salt, bromides, heavy metals, and radioactive materials. It can be reused to some extent, but the contaminants become concentrated, and must eventually be disposed of. The Commonwealth tried disposing of this at normal water treatment plants, which failed to keep pollutants out of rivers. Read more on injection wells in Pennsylvania  here. 

Abandoned Well in Plum, PA

There are hundreds of thousands of abandoned wells across the country - many are hiding beneath homes, buildings, or public parks. Maps on abandoned wells are hard to come by, and it's often up to residents to report the wells they stumble upon in their community. Here, Matt shows an abandoned well he recently found in a park near his home - a far too common experience in the Commonwealth!

Oftentimes, the emissions from oil and gas wells are invisible, making it difficult to identify leaks or fugitive emissions. Kyle Ferrar, our Western Program coordinator and certified thermographer, has used a FLIR camera to show these toxic releases for oil and gas wells throughout CA. Read more about the dangers of well emissions and abandoned wells  here.    Second video produced in collaboration with  Earthworks. 

PTT site in Dilles Bottom, OH

You may recall it was just a few hours ago we were at the site of the Shell Ethane Cracker. Now, we’re roughly 60 miles away, where a different petrochemical company would like to build another ethane cracker. These two sites are perhaps the most significant on our stop – the biggest land footprint, the biggest polluters, and most representative of the direction the fracking industry is heading. Grassroots organization  Concerned Ohio River Residents  has been instrumental in advocating for environmental protections around the petrochemical industry and bringing community members to the decision-making table. Follow them on Facebook @ConcernedOhioRiverResidents to learn more about upcoming exciting citizen science opportunities!

The second video shows the land PTTG has purchased for an ethane cracker in Belmont County, which used to house the R.E. Burger Power Station. Once again, it’s clear the history of polluting industries has helped pave the way for more polluters. But PTTG has not made a final investment decision on the site, it’s partner recently backed out, and its financial outlook is increasingly bleak. What does the future hold for this land?

 Sign the petition  to say "No" to plastic factories in Ohio.

Correction 8/19/20: PTT had to ask Ohio EPA for a 12-month extension for its air permit, not reapply as Erica states in the video.

Gathering Lines in WV & the Compressor Station it connects to

The first video offers a view of a pipeline right-of-way – the cleared ~50 ft section of land above a pipeline. Specifically this is for a gathering line, the type of pipeline that collects fracked gas from a well and carries it to processing stations. They’re generally smaller than other types of pipelines – and grossly under-regulated. The second video shows a compressor station right next to the gathering line.

Maps of gathering lines are generally not made public, so we’re working to close that gap. Using satellite imagery and other data sources, we’re  painstakingly connecting the dots  (i.e. drawing the pipelines) between the thousands of wells in the ORV.

Dominion Energy Compressor Station in Switzerland, OH

Here’s a massive compressor station operated by Dominion Energy Transmission Inc, a subsidiary of Dominion Energy. Just last month, Dominion Energy announced it was cancelling a major pipeline project – the Atlantic Coast Pipeline - and selling its natural gas transmission and storage operations. It’s one of many oil and gas companies facing a bleak economic outlook.

The Captina Creek Watershed - the highest quality watershed in the state, is also an area caught in the crosshairs of fracking and coal industries.  Explore FracTracker's maps and videos here. 

Proposed Mountaineer NGL Storage Site in Clarington, OH

Another reason why ethane crackers are so consequential is because of the infrastructure associated with them. We’re ~10 miles south of the planned site where a company is proposing to develop underground salt caverns to store feedstock for the plant. Watch the second video, a recent community meeting hosted by  OVEC  and  Concerned Ohio River Residents  on the status of this project.

JB Tonkin Compressor Station in Murrysville, PA

Compressor stations – which help fracked gas flow through a pipeline - are a major source of emissions associated with the industry, and within PA, are allowed to be as close as 750 ft from homes and schools. Here, we stop by a compressor station in Murrysville, one of 50 in Westmoreland County. Visit  Earthworks  to learn more about the potential health risks associated with compressor stations.

Beaver Run Reservoir in Westmoreland County, PA

We're at the Beaver Run Reservoir, a drinking water source for over 100,000 residents that's been heavily impacted by fracking. Last year, a well near the Reservoir experienced a crack in its casing underground, releasing gas into other nearby wells. To remediate the situation, gas from those wells had to be flared off for days. Following the incident, local organizations - including  ProtectPT  - called for an end to all fracking near this public water source.

Fatur Well Pad in Salem Township

The Fatur Well pad in Salem Township serves as an example of systematic problems in the ways wells are permitted. This well pad has received dozens of violations for problems, including discharging waste into a tributary of the Beaver Run Reservoir. Yet, the state Department of Environmental Protection continues issuing permits to the well pad's operator, Apex Energy.  ProtectPT  has persistently challenged dangerous actions like this one - keep up with their campaigns  here. 

Photo of well pad near the Beaver Run Reservoir, courtesy of ProtectPT.

Blue Racer Midstream Fractionation Processing Plant & Westlake Chemical

Across the River in WV sit two more facilities that could be connected to the Mountaineer NGL Storage facility (meaning pipelines would need to be installed beneath the Ohio River).

While our focus today was on the upper Ohio River, we maintain maps for every state where oil and gas development occurs, and a  national dataset  of all types of energy and petrochemical data. We believe access to this type of information is critical for building a smart, sustainable, and just energy future.

ReImagine Appalachia

"Now is the time to come together and reimagine a 21st century economy for the Ohio Valley that’s good for workers, communities, and the environment." This short video tells you more about the work that  ReImagine Appalachia  does to unify a diverse set of economic, environmental and community leaders, and grassroots organizations, to find common ground and build a better future.

As Shannon and Erica travel back north, they spot a pipeline being installed on a steep slope near the border of OH and WV, next to the Marshall County Coal operation, and past what looks like an oil train - but we’re not sure from here! If you squint, it looks like there's a drill rig tucked in the hillside, too.

The fight for a just, clean energy future is far from over, but the residents and organizations working towards it in the Ohio River Valley are in it for the long haul.

Westmoreland County Landfill

This landfill receives toxic fracking waste and recently sought to expand its fracking waste operations - raising serious concerns for the community. Thanks to the persistence of local organizations and residents, state regulators are taking public concerns into account, but the fight to protect drinking water from toxic fracking waste is far from over. Visit  Mountain Watershed Association  to learn more about this issue.

In collaboration with  Earthworks , we've mapped all the sites that accept Pennsylvania's fracking waste - see the map screenshot when you swipe right.  Resources like this  are a crucial first step towards understanding who could be impacted by fracking waste.

Oakford Compressor Station in Delmont, PA

The last stop for Brook and Matt is a brief glimpse at the Oakford Compressor Station - another site in the industry's immense expansion in this region. If you appreciated what you saw and learned today, consider  supporting FracTracker's work  by donating!