No fracking

Helis Oil &Gas, LLC has proposed to expand exploration, and possible cash advance everett development, of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale south of the existing shale production into St. Tammany Parish, LA. This would be the first use of hydraulic fracturing technology (aka “fracking”) to release oil from this geologic formation in St. Tammany Parish and in Louisiana’s coastal zone. LPBF has conducted a preliminary assessment of fracking within St. Tammany Parish and has identified potential issues of concern. Today, LPBF released its preliminary report on fracking in St. Tammany Parish (see saveourlake.org to access the report).

The selected well site has been identified as wetlands. Under current state policy, oil and gas operators can utilize the fracking technology as long as appropriate permits and mitigation requirements are met including, at least: unitization, a well permit, a Clean Water Act Section 404 wetland permit, and a Coastal Use Permit. Helis has already applied for a wetland permit and has requested a 30-day delay for the unitization hearing, which had been scheduled for May 13, 2014. LPBF submitted comments to the Corps regarding the wetland permit .

Helis has not applied for the well permit at this time, but would likely do so soon. Since fracking is a technology that has seen explosive growth in the US, and has had numerous allegations of environmental impacts, it is important to review the potential environmental impacts that may arise in general, and also for the particular local conditions and needs of St. Tammany residents. Indeed, this is the first confluence of fracking in wetlands, in the coastal zone, and in a parish of special significance to the greater New Orleans region. same day credit The significance is heightened further when one considers that much of the lower coastal areas are being abandoned due to storm impacts and wetland loss, in part due to conventional oil and gas activities. Populations are shifting northward to areas like St. Tammany where people expect a fresh start and high environmental quality. It would be tragically ironic if the Oil &Gas industry again contributed to jeopardizing the future health and safety of coastal residents.

Therefore, the Lake Pont­char­train Basin Foundation (LPBF) contends that consideration of potential impacts cannot be limited to the single well currently being proposed by Helis, but rather attention must be paid to the potential development of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale within the area leased by Helis and all of St. Tammany Parish (Figure 1). If profitable, this area could potentially be personal loans with bad credit and no security developed not just by Helis, but also by fierce competitors who would surely follow in any successful footsteps to do what commercial enterprise is expected to do: maximize their financial returns as quickly as possible. In short, this well could trigger a firestorm of activity that could overwhelm regulatory and parish officials and, therefore, utmost caution is surely warranted.

Due to the high potential for chain-reaction expansion of industry activity and undetermined consequences in response to a successful Helis drilling, coring or fracking operation, the initial proposed well operation should not proceed until these issues have greater definition and resolution. Fracking in St. Tammany Parish should be suspended indefinitely.

– John Lopez, Ph.D.,
Executive Director LPBF

This article originally published in the June 2, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.