U.S. drops final oil and gas leases in area sacred to Blackfoot tribes
Thursday, January 19, 2017
United States officials announced the cancellation of the final two oil and gas leases in an area sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of Montana and Canada, bordering Glacier National Park, according to the Associated Press. The announcement came more than three decades after the tribes claimed the leases were sold illegally.
The Lease owners were offered refunds of about $30,000 apiece after being notified of the cancelations in a letter from Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Connor on Jan. 10.
The undeveloped leases were issued in the 1980s in the Badger Two Medicine area, which is known as the site of the creation story for the Montana Blackfeet Nation and the Blackfoot tribes of Canada. The tribal members argued the leases were sold without considering the area’s cultural significants.
The cancelation of the leases is subject to potential court challenges.
Learn more: The Columbia Chronicle > US cancels final 2 energy leases in area sacred to tribes
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Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
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What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
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Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.