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Propane Fracking in Tioga County

03/29/12




Landowners in Tioga County say they will start applying to the DEC for permits to start fracking for natural gas, but the process is called propane fracking.

This uses liquefied petroleum gas, not a water and chemical solution, to break up rock and release gas underneath.

It's not hydrofracking which is currently banned but under review in New York State.

Because of that difference the Tioga landowners hope to get a permit to start drilling.

Supporters say the process is better for the environment because it doesn't produce the waste water hydrofracking does, but opponents disagree.

"The main focus here is on doing things with an environmental responsibility and doing it in such a way that we don't have to be concerned about our property that we want to protect. Whether it's a run-of-the-mill conventional well that might have been drilled decades ago or a horizontal hydrofracked well, or a well that is fracked with liquefied petroleum gas, they all produce this incredibly toxic brine," said Nick Schoonover, Chairman of the Tioga County Landowners Group.

The landowners would work with Gasfrac Energy Services, which would provide the liquid propane technology, and E-Corp, who would produce the gas.

Schoonover says the Tioga landowners would be entitled to up to two-thirds of the profits from each well under the deal.