Fracking in N.Y. proposes use of propane

In upstate New York, a landowners group may pair up with a Canadian company, GasFrac, that uses liquid propane instead of water-based fracking fluid to get natural gas flowing into wells, Wheeling News-Register reports.

This alternative technology cancels the need for water by using a thick gel made from propane to carry sand and other particles to hold open cracks instead. The company claims to have performed over 1,000 frack jobs in 400 wells from Canada to south Texas.

Supporters of this technology are excited to prove that safe natural gas production is possible, while critics claim this process won’t eliminate methane gas releases.

A new weapon in the Fracking Wars

In an effort to deter fracking in the state of New York, the Preservation League of New York State plans to announce this week that it will list strips of land in the upstate drilling region as endangered, historic and cultural resources that cannot be drilled, NYT reports.

League officials say they are trying to protect buildings and landscapes across 30 counties that date back as early as the 1700s. These preservationists want state officials to include a survey of the historic and cultural resources of land before granting drilling permit applications.

“You’re in effect seeing landscapes that existed 150 years ago,” said Daniel Mackay, the league’s director of public policy. “That type of setting is at risk of having its character transformed by the drilling, support traffic, pipelines and water withdrawals.”

A farm from 1826 in Wayne County. Photo credit: Preservation League of New York