WATERSHED GAS DRILLING

[Bill Latchford]

I fell for it also....Bumming....But at least I like the song...Did I just admit to that?

[SoccerMom]

Ha, ha! We can always count on you Yertle to interject some humor into these discussions. Actually I was totally in the dark regarding rick-rolling phenomenon. Thanks for enlightening me, though I had that goofy song in my head all day!

[sandstone]

DEP wants drilling ‘myths’ put to rest

By SANDY LONG

PENNSYLVANIA — When Tom Rathbun, spokesman for the Office of Mineral Resources Management, PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) contacted The River Reporter to ask that we help put some myths about gas drilling in Pennsylvania to rest, it presented an opportunity to hear the agency’s perspective on a number of issues. Following is a conversation with the agency that holds the greatest oversight of gas drilling in the state of Pennsylvania. The interview will continue in the next issue of The River Reporter.

For more information, DEP has updated its Marcellus Shale webpage at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate ... cellus.htm. Rathbun can be reached at wrathbun@state.pa.us or 717/787-1323.

Rathbun writes: There are a number of valid questions and concerns surrounding development of the Marcellus Shale including how large water withdrawals will affect the health of streams, and how companies will deal with the large volume of water that must be treated.

There are a great many untruths being circulated about the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania regulates oil and gas drilling much differently than western states. Many of the problems that have happened in western states don’t or can’t happen here for a number of reasons including increased regulation and dramatically different geologic conditions.

Oil and gas exploration and production in Pennsylvania is regulated under all or part of the state oil and gas laws (Oil and Gas Act, Coal and Gas Resource Coordination Act and Oil and Gas Conservation Law), and the environmental protection laws that include the Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, the Solid Waste Management Act and the Water Resources Planning Act. In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry regulates certain aspects of drilling under a portion of the state Worker and Community Right to Know Act.

TRR: Can you elaborate on the problems that “can’t happen here” due to increased regulations and different geologic conditions? What are some of the differences in geologic conditions? Is the fracking process the same as that used in the western states?

Rathbun: One of the biggest differences between Marcellus Shale and western shales is the sheer depth of the formation and consequently, the distance and layers of strata between the shale and the fresh water aquifers.

In Pennsylvania, state law requires drilling companies to drill completely through the fresh water “zone” using no lubricants to protect groundwater from contamination. Once that is completed, the drilling must stop while they “case” the well with heavy steel pipe. Grout is then forced down the well under high pressure and forced up the outside of the steel casing until the well is completely sealed off from the fresh water zone.

Once that grout hardens, drilling can resume. The casing protects the groundwater from being contaminated by fracking fluids, minerals or other fluids from different strata.

Once the well is cased, the groundwater is separated from the Marcellus Shale (and the fracking fluids) by either steel pipe or 6,000 feet of rock strata. This is not the case with some other shale formations which are very close to or even part of the surface aquifers. The requirements for well casings are found in Pennsylvania state law and may not be required in other states.

Another requirement under state law is that drilling wastes and fluids must be stored in lined impoundments or impermeable tanks. These materials cannot be allowed to contaminate surface or ground water. Water must be treated to state and federal water-quality standards before it can be discharged into streams. These requirements are not found in drilling regulations in all states.

TRR: Regarding the “lined impoundments,” are you referring to the open storage pits that appear to be lined with plastic? What fracking chemicals may be contained in these open pits?

Rathbun: The impoundment used to contain the fracking fluid is separate from the drilling sump impoundment. They are for temporary storage only. It is in the company’s best interest to send this water for treatment quickly so they can restore the site and also so that they are not paying to treat rainwater that might collect in the pit.

All the fracking chemicals can be stored temporarily in the pit. These pits are open. The water is usually pumped directly into tank trucks for transportation.

TRR: What about the undisclosed chemicals in fracking fluids?

Rathbun: This is a myth that continues to be circulated. Drilling companies involved with natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale must disclose the names of all chemicals to be stored and used at a drilling site in the pollution prevention and contingency plan, as well as response plans in case of an accidental release. These plans contain copies of material safety data sheets [MSDS] along with emergency contact information and training protocol for employees. This information is on file with DEP and is available to landowners, local governments and emergency responders at the drilling site.

TRR: Is it true that the fracking formulas are proprietary?

Rathbun: The companies may keep the “formulas” proprietary, but the ingredients are public record under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know (R2K) law. There is an exemption to these requirements under the federal R2K law, but state law closes that loophole—again, not the case in all states. Companies may be able to keep that information a secret in other states, but not here. We don’t ask for the recipe—we ask for the ingredients.

Well drilling permits (and associated paperwork) are public record and can be viewed at the regional office where the permit was issued. The county and/or local emergency responders may share this information as well. Landowners can certainly request it from the drilling company. It is public record in Pennsylvania.

TRR: Where can one find the list of the ingredients in the fracking formulas?

Rathbun: Each company has its own “recipe” for the mixture of chemicals. The MSDS sheets for the individual chemicals used on site are part of the Operator’s Pollution Prevention and Control plan, which is on file in the regional office where the permit was issued.

[SoccerMom]

This article appeared in Pittsburgh Gazette today. Notice where 40% of the problem is coming from.

State probing contaminants in Mon River
Problem could cause bad smell, bad taste in drinking water for thousands
Thursday, October 23, 2008
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the source of contaminants in a 70-mile stretch of the Monongahela River that could cause bad smelling and tasting water for customers of 11 public water suppliers.
Although there are no reports of illness caused by the tainted water and lab tests do not indicate it is unsafe, the DEP is recommending that consumers supplied by the companies drawing water from the river use bottled water for drinking and preparing food.
"It's a precaution at this point," said DEP Secretary John Hanger. "We value the health and safety of our citizens foremost, but we have no reports that people have been sickened."
The DEP has not yet identified the source of the water pollutants, which are classified as "secondary contaminants" because they have an unpleasant odor and taste and are not considered a major public health risk. Pollutants that cause illness are classified as "primary contaminants" and include things like arsenic, mercury, benzene, asbestos and cadmium.
Mr. Hanger said the DEP first received reports of unusually high levels of Total Dissolved Solids, or TDS, from industrial water users along the Monongahela River on Oct. 10. The DEP has received no complaints from customers of the public water suppliers.
Sources of TDS can include abandoned mine drainage, agricultural runoff, wastewater from gas well drilling and discharges from industrial facilities or sewage plants.
The Monongahela River serves as the main source of water supply for some 850,000 residents in the Pittsburgh metropolitan region.
Mr. Hanger decided to issue the water advisory yesterday evening after receiving laboratory reports confirming the pollutants.
"We have no information about any primary contaminants in the water. If anything shows up we'll immediately let the public know," he said. "We're continuing to test the river water and are working with the public water suppliers and the water treatment facilities."
Mr. Hanger said that approximately 40 percent of the problem appears to be due to high volumes of water from deep gas well drilling that have been released by sewage treatment facilities along the river. He has ordered the treatment facilities to reduce their intake of the "brine water" from gas well drilling by up to 95 percent, limiting those intakes to 1 percent of a treatment plant's total volume. Some treatment facilities have been taking in up to 20 percent of their total volume from the gas well industry.
Exacerbating the effect of those high treatment plant discharges is the low flow level of the river this fall. Mr. Hanger has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to release additional water from its flood control reservoirs to help dilute the pollutants.
In addition, possibly because of the low river flow, the levels of TDS measured at the Pennsylvania-West Virginia line are twice as high as they are historically in the fall.
The elevated levels significantly exceeding the state standard are occurring from the Pennsylvania-West Virginia line north to where the Youghiogheny River flows into the Monongahela River at McKeesport, adding water volume and diluting the flow.
The public water suppliers affected are Pennsylvania-American Water Co., Aldrich Station and Brownsville Plant; Charleroi Municipal Authority; Belle Vernon Municipal Authority; Washington Township Municipal Authority; Newell Municipal Authority; Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority; Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority; Carmichaels Municipal Authority; Masontown Water Works; East Dunkard Water Association; and the Dunkard Valley Joint Municipal Authority.
Don Hopey can be reached at <mailto:dhopey@post-gazette.com>dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.
First published on October 23, 2008 at 12:00 am

[SoccerMom]

Shine more light on eminent domain

BY MIKE BENARD
Pennsylvania has more underground natural gas storage sites than any of the 48 states in the continental U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration, an agency of the federal Department of Energy.

Despite this, Texas-based Spectra Energy Corp., a natural gas storage company, is expanding operations in many parts of Pennsylvania, including Bedford, Bucks, Clinton and York counties.

Backed by the power of eminent domain from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Spectra Energy has gone to federal court in Johnstown to seize property rights from landowners in Bedford County. This is likely only the first such eminent domain action filed by Spectra Energy in Pennsylvania as it seeks to expand storage and pipeline operations here.

Yet, Pennsylvania already has 49 underground natural gas storage sites in depleted gas/oil fields, with a combined working capacity of 406 billion cubic feet, according to the EIA. In fact, Pennsylvania has 47 percent of all the gas storage sites among 13 states that comprise the Northeast Region. In addition, these Pennsylvania storage fields comprise 51 percent of the “working gas capacity” for the entire Northeast Region, as EIA statistics reveal.

It would appear there is no shortage of storage sites or capacity in Pennsylvania.

But Spectra Energy apparently believes that adding another storage site is more critical than recovering new gas for the nation’s energy needs.

In its first move, Spectra Energy is intent on seizing property rights from landowners in Bedford County – property that sits on top of the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation. Many of these property owners, however, have letters and proposed leases from companies that want to explore for new gas in the Marcellus and other formations in this area.

Spectra Energy’s eminent domain action, coupled with its proposed underground storage field, effectively blocks any potential discovery of new gas resources in the area.

Judge Kim Gibson of the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania in Johnstown on Sept. 19 granted Spectra Energy the right to seize “immediate possession of and entry onto the (five) properties owned by the Defendants” in Clearville, Bedford County, in order to begin constructing pipeline and other facilities.

There is more to come, as this is merely the beginning of a larger eminent domain battle with the Texas-based company and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

We property owners are being asked why we are fighting so hard against the condemnation of our property.

The answer is that what began as a business negotiation has now become a fight for principles: It is about property rights, value and making smart decisions about this nation’s energy independence.

Increasingly, it has become a fight for transparency to shine more light on eminent domain and government-corporate cronyism, and how the energy industry and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission operate to the detriment of citizens who own the fundamental asset: Our property.

The Bedford County eminent domain case is being watched by legal experts and energy industry companies including competitors of Spectra Energy. It has attracted the attention of media and legal bloggers in Pennsylvania and as far away as Michigan.

It is also being watched by property owners in Pennsylvania and other states who are waging similar battles.



Mike Benard and his wife are among the Bedford County property owners who are fighting the eminent domain action.