Fracking Pennsylvania (16 images)

Fracking Pennsylvania

There is a war brewing in the hills of central Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York. Half a mile underground, in the shale bedrock, are vast natural gas deposits worth an estimated one trillion dollars. An increasingly common drilling method called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" makes it feasible to extract the gas by pumping millions of gallons of water, sand and proprietary chemicals down wells under high pressure.

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Fracking Pennsylvania

There is a war brewing in the hills of central Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York. Half a mile underground, in the shale bedrock, are vast natural gas deposits worth an estimated one trillion dollars. An increasingly common drilling method called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" makes it feasible to extract the gas by pumping millions of gallons of water, sand and proprietary chemicals down wells under high pressure.

In fracking, half the population of this rural region sees the end to the economic troubles they've known for too long. The other half of the population sees an end to the rural region itself, with fears of water contamination, air pollution, forest fragmentation, industrial truck traffic and human health problems.

In Pennsylvania, drilling has begun full force, while New York is still debating regulations. Already, the first complaints of water contamination have surfaced in Dimock, PA. At this point, only one thing is certain: the issue of fracking is dividing these communities as it stands to change them -- for better or worse -- forever.

These photos are part of an ongoing project documenting the impacts of fracking for families on both sides of the issue. Photos in this gallery include:

o Gas well drilling rigs, Hop Bottom and Elk Lake, PA
o Main St., Hop Bottom, PA
o Landowners in Hop Bottom: Denise Dennis, Darryl Gore, John Arnone
o Dimock, PA, residents with contaminated water: Craig Sautner, Bill Ely, Victoria Switzer
o Environmental activists: Pat Carullo, Alice Zinnes
o Scenic beauty and recreation, Upper Delaware River
o Assorted detail photos

The full project gallery is password-protected because this remains a work-in-progress. To get a password, contact Michael Forster Rothbart at info@mfrphoto.com or 607-267-4893.
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