Update :
http://www.nofrackingway.us/2012/04/05/tioga-commie-clusterfrack-accounting/
The deal makes the landowners co-owners of the operating company.
Meaning when it loses money , they lose money.
When it encumbers the land, they get encumbered
And when it gets sued, they get sued.
Adding new wrinkles to the normal role of royalty owner : liability and debt
There will be multiple commie clusterfrack operating companies -
At current gas prices, none of them would make a nickel.
Since foregoing the royalty alone does not make shale gas wells economic.
There are some unique challenges associated with propane fracks
Spontaneous explosions - no blasting caps required. Of unprecedented proportions. A long way from a fire hydrant . . .
Something no NYS town or county EMS would be prepared to deal with. . . .
The 1992 GEIS and the regs based on it are the only places that setbacks for gas wells appear.
And the NYS setbacks are the worst anywhere:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/72545747/Worst-Fracking-Regs
Drillers are able to site a gas well 100 feet from a home or 150 feet from a public building.
These distances were never enough for the smaller wells covered by the 1992 GEIS.
They are not enough for HVHF wells, and, with the increase hazard posed by propane fracking, they are absurdly unsafe.
The equipment for propane fracking has to be set up at a distance from the well and operated robotically because of the dangers.
Hazards that the DEC has no clue how to regulate properly.
This process should not come under any of the existing or proposed generic regulations.
It needs a complete review and separate regulations.
Propane fracks may or may not turn out to be better for the environment than HVHF using water.
They do not address the problem of aging well-bores releasing methane into groundwater.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/65577477/How-Gas-Wells-Leak
Propane poses unique immediate safety risks during the process which require significant extra precautions.
Propane is heavier than air, so any leaks will flow downhill and could be ignited by any open flame or spark encountered.
Propane is also subject to spontaneous explosions - BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion)
See the links below for videos of BLEVEs prepared by the Industry and emergency responder groups.
A well blow-out during a propane frack that causes a fire near the propane tanks, can cause what you see in the videos.
This hazard is one reason why the propane fracks are controlled robotically— to protect the crews.
But any nearby nearby houses, building, trees and animals = toast
The second video gives distances of potential damage from the BLEVE’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM0jtD_OWLU&feature=endscreen (Demonstration)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJt7CkqGcS8 (Detailed explanation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C59fnf7eX20&feature=related
Here is a link to an article from Fire Engineering Magazine -
http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-155/issue-4/features/bleve-facts-risk-factors-and-fallacies.html
Ask your local Emergency Responders what they know about BLEVE’s and how they would handle one.
Or dozens . . . at the same time . . .at a multi-tank propane farm - out on the side of a hill.
As part of the Great Tioga County Propane Clusterbomb
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