It’s been my experience that its not the fracking (or whatever method is used), but the collateral impacts caused by the a big drilling operation — large, heavy equipment, multiple large frac tanks, noise and dust, trucks tearing up highways, rural and farm roads at all hours of the day and night, and worst of all adjacent landowners (or surface owners) who do not own the mineral rights and are jealous of others making money and disturbing their peace and quiet.
However, unlike oil wells requiring tanks and pumpers to remove the oil and salt water, gas wells have a very small footprint when completed - just an empty pad, a Christmas tree wellhead (branches with valves and gauges), maybe a small gas-fired separator to remove moisture, a solar panel and meter boxes for flow data, and a buried pipeline leading offsite. At some point a compressor station must be constructed to put the gas into a mainline but these can be made relatively sound proof.
All of this is upsetting to rural folk who are set in their lifestyle. For those of us who have moved into an area with already producing wells, we accept these as just part of where we live.
I never thought about it from that angle but it sounds logical. We lived in a very rural area before moving here and that activity would have bothered us if we lived near it.
But like you say, once the gas wells are in they have a small footprint. With the gas reserves we are supposed to have we have to take advantange of it.
I read an article this morning on TPM. It’s about the possibility of developing technologies for CNG that could put electric vehicles out of business. Don’t know it’ll happen but I personally believe it would be a better way to go.
Here’s the link: