The Costs of Fracking

tion during low-flow periods. 65 It described
the water supply in the Monongahela basin
as “fully tapped.” 66
On a broader scale, the clearance of
forested land for well pads, roads and
pipelines reduces the ability of the land to
prevent pollution from running off into
rivers and streams. Among the waterways
most affected by runoff pollution is the
Chesapeake Bay, where excessive runoff
of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus
causes the formation of a “dead zone”
that spans as much as a third of the bay in
the summertime. 67 The Chesapeake Bay
watershed overlaps with some of the most
intensive Marcellus Shale fracking activity,
creating the potential for additional pollution
that will make the bay’s pollution
reduction goals more difficult to meet.
A rapid expansion of shale gas drilling
could contribute an additional 30,000
to 80,000 pounds per year of nitrogen
and 15,000 to 40,000 pounds per year of
phosphorus to the bay, depending on the
amount of forest lost. 68 While this additional
pollution represents a small fraction
of the total pollution currently reaching
the bay, it is pollution that would need to be
offset by reductions elsewhere in order to
ensure that the Chesapeake Bay meets pol-
Many waterways in the Marcellus Shale region drain into the Chesapeake Bay. The loss of forests to
natural gas development could add to pollution levels in the bay, threatening the success of state and
federal efforts to prevent the “dead zone” that affects the bay each summer. Sources: Skytruth, U.S.
Energy Information Administration, Chesapeake Bay Program
The Costs of Fracking 21