Radiation-fracking link sparks swift reactions
Reports this week of high radiation levels in Marcellus Shale waste fracking fluids and weak regulation of the industry have turned on a spigot of action by federal and state officials.
U.S. Environmental Protection Administrator Lisa Jackson visited the agency’s Region III office in Philadelphia Friday to ascertain the radiation issue will be addressed in an ongoing national study on the drinking water impacts of hydraulic fracturing, an industrial process used in shale gas development.
The EPA will seek data from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the drilling industry on radioactivity in the fracking fluid “flowback” water.
In a statement released following Ms. Jackson’s meeting, the EPA said that while the national study progresses, it “will not hesitate to take any steps under the law to protect Americans whose health may be at risk,” including enforcement actions to ensure that drinking water supplies are protected.
After a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and chemical additives are pumped deep underground under high pressure to crack the shale formation and release the gas it contains. As much as 20 percent of that fracking fluid waste returns to the surface with the gas and contains a variety of radioactive minerals from the shale.
The New York Times reported that hydraulic fracturing wastewater at 116 of 179 deep gas wells in the state contained high levels of radiation and its effect on public drinking water supplies is unknown because water suppliers are required to conduct tests of radiation only sporadically.
A number of public water suppliers, including the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American Water Co. said this week that they would voluntarily test for radiation.
State Rep. Camille Bud George, D-Clearfield, announced he will introduce legislation calling for mandatory and independent radiation testing of all public water supplies that could potentially be affected by Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater discharges, and requiring the drilling and gas companies to pay for the testing.
State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, renewed his call for a moratorium on drilling and said he will introduce legislation to toughen state Oil and Gas Act regulations on well siting around residences and streams, and impose a severance tax on Marcellus Shale gas production. Gov. Tom Corbett opposes such a tax.
“A moratorium is the most reasonable approach, especially in light of recent revelations about serious threats to our drinking water supply,” Mr. Ferlo said. “This bill provides a framework for updating and improving regulations, as well as retaining the economic benefits of Marcellus Shale development.”
In a statement issued Thursday, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, one of the most mainstream of the state’s environmental organizations, called on Mr. Corbett to drop plans to open more of the state’s forests and parks to Marcellus gas drilling.
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11064/1129908-113.stm
DRBC adds 30 days to drilling comment period
The Delaware River Basin Commission approved a 30-day extension of the public comment period for its proposed natural gas drilling regulations on Wednesday.
The extension had been requested by lawmakers and dozens of environmental organizations but opposed by a coalition of Marcellus Shale drillers, who said that an extension would “undermine dialogue on these proposed regulations by granting those with the least involvement and direct affiliation with the river basin disproportionate impact.”
Commissioners from Delaware, New Jersey, New York and the federal government voted for the extension during a meeting in New Jersey on Wednesday. The commissioner from Pennsylvania opposed it.
Written comments on the draft rules will now be accepted until April 15.
The commissioners did not schedule additional public hearings on the draft regulations as the environmental groups requested.
Three hearings were held last week in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but the groups asked for more hearings in more regions of the basin, including New York City and Philadelphia, “the two largest population centers that rely on the Delaware River for water supplies.”
The Marcellus Shale Coalition sent a letter to each of the commission members last Friday saying an extension of the comment period would “detract from the voices of the key stakeholders heard throughout the process.”
“Those with the greatest stake – including landowners, residents of the basin, and our member companies who are investing capital and creating jobs in the region – have been actively reviewing and responding to the proposals since late last year, without the need for an extended comment period,” coalition president Kathryn Klaber wrote.
The text of the proposed regulations and a link to submit comments electronically are at www.drbc.net. About 2,500 comments have been submitted to the commission so far.
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: March 3, 2011
llegere@timesshamrock.com
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/drbc-adds-30-days-to-drilling-comment-period-1.1113198#axzz1FY5MNqYe
Dozens attend hearing on drilling in Hampton
At a public hearing on Marcellus Shale drilling last week in Hampton, some speakers questioned the safety of drilling in an area that’s honeycombed with old coal mines, while others voiced fears of polluted water and the wear and tear on infrastructure.
But one resident had a different view.
Paul Dudenas, who told council that he works in the petroleum and natural gas drilling industry, gave this description of drilling in the shale to release natural gas:
“Well drilling is short-term chaos and then the chaos goes away, and you’re burning safe, reliable, American, clean-burning natural gas.”
According to Mr. Dudenas, fears of water contamination are unfounded because Marcellus Shale lies about 7,000 feet below ground. “There are 380 million years of rock in between. The physics of it just don’t allow for water contamination,” he said.
No cases of groundwater contamination have been reported due to hydraulic fracturing of the shale, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection, but the DEP has issued violations of the state Clean Stream Law in connection with the drilling of Marcellus wells, including accidental discharges of drilling wastewater onto the ground or into streams. In addition, new concerns were raised recently that wastewater from the drilling may contain high levels of radiation.
Dozens attended the Feb. 23 hearing in Hampton Community Center, which was the township’s second public hearing on a proposed zoning ordinance to address oil and gas drilling regulations. It was held at the community center instead of the municipal offices to accommodate the crowd.
Action on the ordinance will be taken in April, at the earliest.
Hampton council President Victor Son said the township’s planning commission and land use staff have been working for more than a year on crafting and revising the local ordinance.
“Our focus is on allowing a conditional use [for drilling operations],” he said. “Otherwise, we would be in violation of the municipal planning code, and then [drilling] could be allowed anywhere in the township.”
Using South Fayette’s drilling ordinance as a template, Hampton officials designated three zoning areas — light industrial, heavy industry and research and development — as the only places in Hampton where drilling activities would be allowed as a conditional use.
Mr. Son told residents that the ordinance is a pre-emptive measure the township is taking to protect residential land.
“We don’t want to be reactionary to someone wanting to drill,” he explained. “We want to define areas and then force the drillers to come to us for conditional use [hearings]. To not have a plan would have been the worst thing.”
Some changes in the most recent draft of the township’s Ordinance 627 that were discussed during the hearing included adding 10 acres to total 20 acres as the required amount of land needed to support a drilling pad; mandating that any gas processing plant or compressor station be restricted to heavy industrial zones; and prohibiting drilling in a flood zone.
The ordinance also includes amendments to zoning regulations regarding farm animals, alcohol sales, handicapped parking requirements, outdoor lighting regulations, fencing and setback requirements, natural gas treatment systems and other items designed to preserve quality of life.
Mr. Son added that salt reclaimed from the hydraulic fracturing process, which forces a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into man-made fractures in the earth to break up the shale, can be used as road salt for municipalities.
He said that drilling technology is rapidly advancing and council will continue to make changes in response to whatever is happening in the industry. For example, he said, hydrogen may replace water in the fracking process. “Our concern is always for the residents and maintaining our quality of life,” he said.
The township’s environmental advisory council and zoning hearing board have been instrumental in rewriting Ordinance 627. The township is still seeking residents to serve on both of the boards.
Contact the township offices at 412- 486-0400.
Council also approved the appointment of Amar Mishra to fill a vacancy on the Hampton Community Association Board. Another vacancy exists on that board.
By Jill Cueni-Cohen
March 03, 2011
Jill Cueni-Cohen, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11062/1129203-54.stm
Northern Tier official defends hydrofracturing from New York Times portrayal
Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko said drilling through the Marcellus Shale with compressed water is a safe natural gas retrieval method, not the health hazard portrayed by a New York Times report.
McLinko’s defense of the hydrofracturing came in a Wednesday news report in which he responded to a New York Times article questioning the state of water management and gas regulation here.
“The New York Times blatant misrepresentation of Pennsylvania gas regulations glosses over the robust programs in place to protect the people and the environment in Pennsylvania,” McLinko said. “I have complete faith in the extensive oversight and enforcement efforts the state has put in place over the last two years.”
McLinko said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2004 declared hydraulic fracturing safe, and as recently as last year, the state Department of Environmental Protection conducted a study that found no evidence of groundwater contamination due to hydraulic fracturing.
“The greatest danger exposed by the New York Times coverage is the danger of misinformation and careless fact checking,” McLinko said.
March 3, 2011
http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/560986/Northern-Tier-official-defends-hydrofracturing-from-New-York-Times-portrayal.html?nav=5011
Is Pennsylvania doing a bad job of protecting drinking water?
The New York Times raised some eyebrows by saying Pennsylvania’s monitoring of water from gas well sites is lax. Is there any danger to our drinking water from a process known as hydraulic fracturing?
Engineering a producing gas well is not as simple as drilling a hole in the ground and adding some pipe. Underground rock structures have to be fractured to release natural gas. The process is known as hydraulic fracturing. Water, acid and other materials are pumped under extremely high pressure to fracture the underground rock structures. The process has been used for decades in Pennsylvania.
The New York Times articles suggest that naturally occurring, low level radioactivity picked up by underground water could be a health hazard if it reaches drinking water supplies.
It was the first thing that Governor Corbett’s choice for DEP Secretary was asked about in a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
“There are drinking water standards,” said Judge Michael Krancer, the Acting DEP Secretary. “As one of the commentators of the article says, we think it’s safe. There have been calls from various quarters to do some testing.”
Judge Krancer said if he’s confirmed as DEP Secretary, he’ll look into such testing.
But the man who just departed as DEP Secretary said experts on radioactivity and health within the agency assured him it is not a concern.
“Those are the experts in state government who looked at this thing and were very sure at the time that it did not pose a threat,” said former DEP Secretary John Hanger.
Hanger said drinking water operators are already required to check for radioactivity, although not that frequently. He said doing more testing is the smart thing to do.
A DEP spokesperson said about 70 percent of waste water at gas well sites is recycled on-site. Some of the waste water goes to treatment plants for processing before being released in streams and rivers.
Mar 02, 2011
http://www.abc27.com/Global/story.asp?S=14175319
2 Pa. water companies to test supplies over drilling
Two large Pennsylvania water providers said Wednesday they planned to immediately test public water supplies in response to outcry over a news report that radioactive gas-drilling wastewater may have been discharged into the state’s streams.
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American Water Co. said they hoped the tests in the next few weeks would address fears that public drinking water is imperiled by Marcellus Shale gas drilling.
“We want to know if there is a problem here,” said Stanley States, director of water quality and production for the Pittsburgh authority, which plans to take monthly radiological samples at its two treatment plants for the next year. “We need data.”
Pennsylvania American, which has five treatment plants in and around Pittsburgh that are near gas-drilling operations, will conduct “a battery of radiological tests during the next few weeks,” said Terry M. Maenza, a spokesman for the company headquartered in Hershey.
“We expect there will be no cause for concern,” he said.
Public officials, environmental advocates, and industry representatives have called on regulators to require more frequent testing of Pennsylvania water supplies after the New York Times reported Sunday that some radioactive wastewater is sent to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water.
The report focused on discharges in Western and north-central Pennsylvania, where drillers are active. No producing wells are active in the Delaware River basin, which provides the Philadelphia region with drinking water.
The Times reported that some wastewater from Marcellus Shale gas-drilling contained radioactivity at levels higher than previously known. Radioactive materials such as uranium and radium occur naturally in deep rock formations and are brought to the surface in wastewater associated with hydraulic fracturing, the controversial technique that drillers use to release natural gas locked up in the mile-deep formation.
Though the Times reported that some wastewater at well sites contained elevated radioactivity, the potential health effects are unclear because little testing has been conducted since the shale boom took off three years ago.
Prolonged ingestion of the low-level radioactive material is believed to increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Brief skin contact with the wastewater is not considered dangerous.
“Drinking water with elevated levels of radium and uranium – which are found in virtually all rock, soil, and water – may cause cancer after several years,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says on its website.
Elevated radiation levels can be reduced with treatment, according to some environmental agencies that tell homeowners with private wells that standard water softeners can reduce radium and that more expensive reverse-osmosis systems can remove uranium and radium.
The EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection require radiological testing infrequently in areas with no history of radioactive contamination. The Pittsburgh system last tested its water for radioactivity in 2005, States said.
“If we find something elevated, we’ll certainly bring it to the regulators’ attention right away,” he said.
The cost of the tests is not a factor. States said an Indiana laboratory would charge about $150 for each test.
U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D., Pa.) was among the officials who this week called on regulators to require more frequent testing.
But regulators have stopped short of ordering more tests.
Richard Yost, an EPA spokesman, said Monday the agency was examining radioactivity as part of a two-year national study of hydraulic fracturing.
“While we conduct this study, we will not hesitate to take any steps under the law to protect Americans whose health may be at risk,” he said in an e-mail.
Katherine Gresh, a Pennsylvania DEP spokeswoman, said the agency was awaiting results of radium tests on water samples collected in November and December from seven rivers: the Monongahela at Charleroi; the Tioga; the West Branch of the Susquehanna; the Conemaugh; the Allegheny; the Beaver; and the South Fork of Ten Mile Creek. “Requiring more frequent testing is definitely under consideration,” she said.
Wastewater has become a huge challenge for the Marcellus industry, which recycles about 70 percent of its wastewater.
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission has conducted some tests of radioactivity in Marcellus streams, said Andy Gavin, manager of restoration and protection. The tests indicated no contamination.
But commission officials caution that the samples were drawn from smaller tributaries upstream from sewage-treatment plants, so they would not detect radiation from wastewater legally disposed of at the plants, but only contamination from spills or illegal dumping.
“We’re still collecting baseline information,” Gavin said.
By Andrew Maykuth
Inquirer Staff Writer
Mar. 3, 2011
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/117300118.html
Records show wastewater with radium sent to Troy Twp.
Water from two gas wells in Tioga County, Pa. with radium at nearly 700 times the levels allowed in drinking water went to nine municipalities – including Troy Township – to suppress dust in 2009, according to state records.
A recent report by “The New York Times” noted that more than 155,000 gallons of the drilling wastewater was sent by Ultra Resources to the nine locations.
According to the Times report, Pennsylvania allows salty brine that is produced from the drilling wastewater to be spread on roads to suppress dust or de-ice.
Richmond Township in Tioga County got 101,640 gallons of this water from wells with “high radioactivity,” the Times reported. By comparison, Troy Township received 6,300 gallons, the state records show. It was the only municipality in Bradford County listed on the state records.
The Times quoted Deborah Kotulka, the secretary of Richmond Township, whose name is on the state record, as saying, “I was told nothing about frack water or any gas-well brines or anything else.”
For Troy Township, township secretary Lonna Bly is on the state record as the contact person. When asked for comment, she said never heard of Ultra Resources. “I don’t know anything,” she said regarding the matter. She said that she only knew of liquid calcium and AEP Oil being applied on the roads for dust control.
Troy Township Supervisor Vice-Chairman and Assistant Roadmaster Don Jenkins said the township had a road spreading permit from the DEP to receive salt brine water, and last had the permit in summer 2009.
He said it was put on the roads to control the dust.
According to Jenkins, the township obtained the water from a trucking outfit, but he couldn’t remember the name of the company. A DEP lab tested the water from the trucking company before a permit was issued to the township, he said.
However, Jenkins said, the brine water the township received was from New York State from oil well drilling operations there. He said the trucking outfit that provided the water told the supervisors this was the case. Also, Jenkins said he believed hydrofracking for natural gas wasn’t being done in New York at the time. “It still isn’t,” he said.
He said whether the water was radioactive is a question DEP is going to have to answer.
“If we knew it was radioactive, we wouldn’t have been using it. Nobody would have.”
He said the township filed for a road spreading permit in 2010, and was told by DEP that no more permits were being issued.
The Times website noted that the water that went to the nine municipalities came from the Marshlands Unit #1 and Marshlands Unit #2 wells.
The website noted, “Laboratory tests attached by the drilling company show levels of radioactivity (measured in picocuries per liter) as high as 10,356 pCi/L gross alpha, 892 pCi/L Radium-226 and 2589 pCi/L Radium-228. The drinking-water standard for combined radium 226 and 228 is 5 pCi/L, and for gross alpha this standard is 15 pCi/L. With rain or the melting of snow or ice, drilling waste spread on roads could potentially wash into rivers and streams.”
The Times website continued by noting that “studies in New York and Pennsylvania have studied the risks of spraying natural gas wastewater on roads by modeling the risks faced by people who walk along roads every day for many years. These studies found no health impact. In other words, there is limited, if any, exposure risk posed by this wastewater. The kind of radiation most commonly associated with drilling waste, called alpha radiation, loses energy very quickly and cannot get past thin barriers, including skin.”
It continued, “However, there is a different sort of risk with this type of radioactive drilling waste. If this alpha radiation comes into direct contact with live cells, it can cause harm. This can happen when people consume this kind of radioactive material, whether they eat it, drink it or breathe it in. So the threat from road-spreading brines is not the risk that someone walking down the road will get cancer, even if they walk along that road every day for years.”
“Instead, the problem is that if the radioactive material in the wastewater were to run off into freshwater supplies, people could end up drinking water that is contaminated. Dilution can certainly reduce the threat from this waste. But the question is whether the waste will be diluted enough to be made safe. This means that the health risk depends not only on how radioactive the wastewater is, but also the amount of the wastewater compared with the fresh water it mixes with.”
A DEP spokesperson said no details were available Wednesday afternoon, but questions regarding the Troy Township matter would be researched and an answer provided.
BY ERIC HRIN (STAFF WRITER)
Published: March 3, 2011
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; or e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.
http://thedailyreview.com/news/records-show-wastewater-with-radium-sent-to-troy-twp-1.1113361
Forum to Address Threats to Water Supplies in Delaware Basin
Forum to Address Threats to Water Supplies in Delaware Basin: Connecting Four States for Drinking Water Protection
Release date: 03/02/2011
Contact Information: David Sternberg 215-814-5548 sternberg.david@epa.gov
PHILADELPHIA (March 2, 2011) – Threats to sources of drinking water and public health for more than 15 million people in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York will be the focus of a high-level forum in Philadelphia and five satellite locations on March 10.
Government leaders and national water experts will highlight challenges to the quality and quantity of water fed from the Delaware River Basin, a 13,000-square-mile area that includes 838 municipalities in parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.
The Delaware River Basin Forum will feature a central session at the WHYY Hamilton Public Media Commons on 150 North 6th St., Philadelphia, where speakers will describe current and emerging impacts on water resources basin-wide. The forum will feature state-of the-art interactive technology to link live to five satellite locations, in four states outlining local drinking water concerns.
At the WHYY venue, Tufts University Professor Jeffrey K. Griffiths, one of the nation’s leading experts on waterborne disease and public health, will make the keynote presentation on “Drinking Water: Fact, Fears and the Future” at 12:15 p.m. Morning presentations will include the impacts to public health in the Delaware River Basin from water use, population growth and climate change, and will feature model water protection efforts in Philadelphia, New York City and Washington Township, NJ. EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin will provide opening remarks at 8:15 a.m.
The satellite locations are in Newark, DE; Reading and Stroudsburg, PA; Bordentown, NJ; and Loch Sheldrake, NY.
Information on the forum, including a full lineup of speakers at the Philadelphia location, agendas and directions for each satellite location and background on issues facing the Delaware River Basin is available at http://www.delawarebasindrinkingwater.org/
Nearly 1,000 community water systems depend on water resources in the Delaware Basin, and the water is used extensively for recreation, fisheries and wildlife, energy, industry and navigation.
The Delaware River Basin begins in the Catskill Mountains in New York State and courses through 13,500 square miles of rural and urban landscapes to the Atlantic Ocean.
The forum is sponsored by the Source Water Collaborative, a coalition of 23 national organizations and agencies united to protect sources of drinking water. Local hosts for the forum include the US EPA (Region II and Region III), state environmental and health agencies of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and the Delaware River Basin Commission.
Corbett’s DEP chief gets panel’s approval
Michael L. Krancer
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett’s pick to head the state Department of Environmental Protection breezed through his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, telling senators that he’s carefully reviewing recent reports raising questions about the safety of drinking water.
Michael L. Krancer, 53, of Bryn Mawr in Montgomery County was approved unanimously by the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. He’s a former judge on the Environmental Hearing Board, one-time trial lawyer, former attorney at Excelon Corp. and Civil War re-enactor. Like other Cabinet nominees, he’s on the job now as acting secretary.
The nomination goes to the full Senate, which Republicans control. Also yesterday, the Senate Law and Justice Committee endorsed the nomination of Frank Noonan as commissioner of the state police.
Senators asked Krancer several questions about stories by The New York Times raising concerns about the safety of Pennsylvania’s drinking water as a result of the “fracking” process used in natural gas drilling. The stories said no testing has occurred at more than 65 drinking water intake sites since 2008 and that most have not been tested since 2005.
The newspaper cited levels of radioactivity in wastewater far above federal standards for drinking water. Most of the public sewage treatment facilities cannot remove enough of the radioactive material to meet federal drinking water standards before it is dumped into rivers, The Times found.
Asked by Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, if the state is likely to see testing for radioactive materials in water, Krancer said, “It is one of the things like everything else we are considering, I am considering.”
He took issue with some points in the story. For example, he said, there are 78, not 31, inspectors for 2,615 Marcellus shale wells.
All inspections are “unannounced,” contrary to what The Times stated, Krancer added.
At least 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s wastewater is recycled, Krancer said.
Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery County, who represents Krancer’s district in the Senate, said he couldn’t be “happier” with Corbett’s nomination. He called Krancer a “man of integrity, honesty and intelligence.”
By Brad Bumsted
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 3, 2011
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_725421.html
Earth Day Poster Contest
Contact: Roy Seneca seneca.roy@epa.gov 215-814-5567
EPA wants students to participate in Earth Day Poster Contest
(PHILADELPHIA – March 1, 2011) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is co-sponsoring an Earth Day Poster Contest for students in kindergarten through grade 12 in EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Students are invited to submit hand-created drawings on plain letter-sized paper using markers, colored pencils, crayons, pens and/or paint. Computer-generated images will not be accepted. Students can choose one of the four themes:
1) Protect Habitats, Endangered Species
2) Help Protect the Earth from Climate Change
3) The Meaning of Earth Day
4) Bays, Estuaries, Oceans and Coasts
Entries will be divided into four categories: K-2nd grade; grades 3-5; grades 6-8; and grades 9-12. The top three winners in each category will receive prize packages. Winning entries and others will be displayed at various locations throughout the region including EPA’s Public Information Office. Posters will also be posted on EPA’s website. Entries must be postmarked no later than Earth Day, April 22 and mailed to:
Earth Day Poster Contest (3PA00)
U.S. EPA Region 3
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
The back of the poster should include the competition theme, name, age, school name, grade, parent/guardian’s name, address, telephone number and email.
The contest is co-sponsored by EPA, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Philadelphia Zoo and the National Aquarium at Baltimore. For more information, call (215) 814-5100 or email EarthDay@epa.gov .
Note: If a link above doesn’t work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.