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Beyond all the other environmental issues
involved with horizontal gas wells on Marcellus Shale, such as water
pollution from fracking and air pollution from heavy truck traffic,
remain
the serious air quality issues related to compressor stations.
Compressor station for Marcellus Shale gas production.
Stations often end up with four 1,340 HP Caterpillar
diesel engines, creating a total of 5,280 HP
Once gas wells are producing, next come the gas lines, and compressor
stations to move the gas. Whether its the adverse effects of one compressor station, or
the cumulative effects of many, the town of Dish, Texas has become the
poster child for these air quality issues.
1,340 HP Caterpillar engine
One university expert, Al Armendariz, whose SMU
study was backed by
Texas state officials, has indicated
that air pollution created by Barnett Shale gas drilling and production
in Texas is equivalent to all the air pollution created by vehicular
traffic in the Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex. Similar reports out of Colorado have shown a link
between gas production activities and haze. Health issues follow.
The air quality issue in Dish became severe enough that the town
commissioned a thorough study of local air quality. Below is an open
letter from the Mayor of Dish Texas which lays out a warning to those
communities not yet affected by multiple compressor stations moving
Marcellus Shale gas.
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