Pa. DEP head lobbies for gas drilling
www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20111123%2FNEWS%2F111230310%2F-1%2FNews
By Christina Tatu
Pocono Record Writer
November 23, 2011
Natural gas drilling would provide jobs, money and, contrary to naysayers, does not harm the environment, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer said at East Stroudsburg University Tuesday.
Krancer’s visit was just days after the Delaware River Basin Commission postponed a vote to allowing drilling in the Delaware River watershed.
Krancer had few comments on the delayed vote, but said it was “politically motivated” and that opponents are basing their opinions on misguided ideology, instead of facts.
The commission, which has board members representing the governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and the White House, abruptly postponed the vote last week after Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said he would vote against the rules, making the outcome uncertain.
Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Corbett is a supporter of natural gas drilling and was expected to vote in favor of the regulations.
Krancer, who was at ESU for a forum on sustainability, said Pennsylvanians are sitting on a huge natural resource, one so abundant, it would give the state a powerful edge in the energy market. Pennsylvania could sell energy to its large urban neighbors, like Boston and New York City, he said.
“If we are able to gather this resource and use it, we’ll clean the air, we’ll be more healthy and economically healthy,” he said.
Opponents say the method of extracting the gas, known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, endangers drinking water. The method involves pumping large amounts of water and chemicals thousands of feet underground to break up the Marcellus shale and release the natural gas.
Krancer dismissed those concerns Tuesday.
“The chemicals make up half a percent of what’s in fracking material, and many of those chemicals found in the water are food grade,” he said.
He also said it’s untrue the chemicals from fracking could end up in drinking water since they are pumped so far underground.
In Monroe County, there aren’t any private properties within the Delaware River basin that are large enough to allow for fracking, said DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly. However, property owners could band together if they were interested in permitting drilling on their land. There are properties in Pike County that are large enough to allow drilling, she said.
Marcellus natural-gas presentation focuses on municipal experiences
live.psu.edu/story/56458#nw69
Friday, November 18, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A presentation detailing how municipal governments are dealing with the
The program will be offered at 12 locations across the state via video teleconference.
Marcellus Shale natural-gas boom will be offered by Penn State Extension from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 6.
“Marcellus Shale Development: The Pa. Municipal Experience to Date and Possibilities for the Future” will provide a venue for officials to share their breadth of experiences and knowledge. The registration fee for this program is $25. Preregistration is required to participate. The registration deadline is Dec. 3. To register or for more information, visit the Web at http://psu.ag/s1Nnjb or call toll-free 877-489-1398.
“By hearing about the lessons learned and actions taken by local officials, participants will be able to draw upon the experience of others when facing issues and considering decisions,” said program coordinator Neal Fogle, extension educator based in Snyder County specializing in economic and community development.
“Utilizing video teleconferencing and panels of local officials representing northcentral and southwest Pennsylvania, this program will provide insight into how select municipalities have reacted to and are planning for items such as land use, roads, budget and finance, communication needs, community cohesion and the stresses of public office.”
Program panelists include Raymond J. Stolinas Jr., Bradford County planning director; Ron Reagan, chairman, Athens Township supervisors (Bradford County); Joseph Reighard, president, Lycoming County Supervisors Association; Jim Morrison, chief administrator, municipality of Murrysville (Westmoreland County); Thomas Stull Jr., 1st vice president, Westmoreland County Supervisors Association; and Rich Ward, manager/zoning officer, Robinson Township (Washington County).
Jointly funded by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania counties, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program — which has been submitted to the American Planning Association for 2.5 AICP CM credits by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association — will feature a question-and-answer session following the facilitated discussion.
“Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania has resulted in local municipalities having to make decisions and take actions on issues such as infrastructure, municipal services, regulatory controls and community planning,” Fogle said. “Municipalities throughout Pennsylvania have experienced various levels and stages of development as well as the community issues that result.
“These experiences have provided municipal officials with a unique perspective on how to more effectively address municipal and community needs and concerns related to natural-gas issues.”
The program will be offered at the following locations via video teleconference (contact the locations for directions):
–Beaver County: Penn State Extension, 2020 Beaver Ave., Suite 200, Monaca, 724-774-3003, http://beaver.extension.psu.edu/;
–Bradford County: Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission, 312 Main Street, Towanda 888-868-8800, http:www.northerntier.org;
–Centre County: 217 Forest Resources Building, Penn State University Park campus, 814-223-9028, http://www.campusmaps.psu.edu/print/;
–Clearfield County: Penn State DuBois, College Place, DEF 202 & 204, DuBois, 800-346-7627, http://www.ds.psu.edu/Information/directions.htm?cn716;
–Lackawanna County: Penn State Worthington Scranton, Dawson 10, 120 Ridge View Drive, Dunmore, 570-963-2500, http://www.sn.psu.edu/Information/directions.htm?cn7;
–Lycoming County: Pennsylvania College of Technology, 1127 W. 4th St., Room 133, Williamsport, 570-327-4775, http://www.pct.edu/campuses/main_routes.htm;
–Potter County: Penn State Extension, 24 Maple View Lane, Suite 1, Coudersport, 814-274-8540, http://potter.extension.psu.edu;
–Somerset County: Penn State Extension, 6024 Glades Pike, Suite 101 , Somerset, 814-445-8911, Ext. 7, http://somerset.extension.psu.edu/;
–Susquehanna County: Penn State Extension, County Office Building, 81 Public Avenue, Montrose, 570-278-1158, http://susquehanna.extension.psu.edu;
–Tioga County: Penn State Extension, Courthouse Annex, 118 Main Street, Wellsboro, 570-724-9120, http://tioga.extension.psu.edu/;
–Washington County: Penn State Extension, 100 West Beau Street, Suite 601, Washington, 724-228-6881, http://washington.extension.psu.edu/;
–Westmoreland County: Penn State Extension, Donohoe Center, 214 Donohoe Road, Suite E, Greensburg, 724-837-1402, http://westmoreland.extension.psu.edu/.
For more information on Penn State Extension Marcellus Shale programs, visit Extension’s natural gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas.
Federal environmental and health agencies collect data from Dimock families
citizensvoice.com/news/federal-environmental-and-health-agencies-collect-data-from-dimock-families-1.1232108#axzz1e4UZpkud
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: November 14, 2011
Officials from federal environmental and public health agencies met with residents of Dimock Township late last week to discuss the impacts of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling and to gather water-test results from families affected by methane migration.
Three representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry visited Thursday with families around Carter Road, an area of Susquehanna County where state regulators have linked increased methane in water supplies to faulty natural gas wells.
“They wanted information; they wanted documentation,” Dimock resident Scott Ely said. “They are looking to see if there is any environmental impact that would threaten life or health.”
Efforts to reach an EPA spokeswoman were unsuccessful Friday, when government offices were closed for Veterans Day.
Natural gas drilling is largely regulated in Pennsylvania by the state Department of Environmental Protection, but the EPA is conducting a multiyear study to determine if there is a link between hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and contaminated water supplies.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that works to prevent harmful exposures to toxic substances.
Dimock resident Victoria Switzer said the agencies were interested in copies of water sample results from her well, including data gathered by scientists not affiliated with the state or natural gas drilling contractors.
She also outlined her concerns that the state Department of Environmental Protection weakened enforcement actions against Cabot Oil and Gas Corp., the operator that DEP deemed responsible for increased methane in water supplies. Cabot denies it impacted the water and says the elevated methane pre-existed its operations.
“The watchdog is licking the hand of the thief that is giving it a steak,” she said. “We want to get this issue to a high place.”
Efforts to reach a DEP spokeswoman were unsuccessful Friday.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
Gas impact fee bill wins in House
www.timesleader.com/news/Gas_impact_fee_bill_wins_in_House_11-18-2011.html
By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
November 18, 2011
Most area legislators oppose the measure as favoring drillers. Next stop is Senate.
HARRISBURG – The state House of Representatives on Thursday passed GOP-backed House Bill 1950, which imposes an impact fee on gas drillers.
The bill passed 107-76 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.
State Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township, was the only legislator from Luzerne County to vote in favor of the bill, which would levy a $40,000-per-well fee in the first year of production that would decline $10,000 each year in the second through fourth years and remain at $10,000 through the 10th year. About 75 percent of the revenue would go to local governments, and 25 percent to statewide initiatives.
“This legislation is a fair compromise for the people of Pennsylvania and the natural gas industry,” Toohil said. “I believe it protects both our citizens and the environment and, at the same time, allows for continued job growth in an industry that holds such great economic promise for our state.”
State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, said she prided herself “on voting with my constituents on this issue” when she cast a no vote. “Of the hundreds of comments I have received, not one person suggested I should vote for this legislation.”
Boback said the bill does not go far enough to protect the water and air, and “usurps the rights of local governments. While I did support amendments to increase local control in comparison to the original language, these revisions did not go far enough.”
Boback said the bill fails to address gas pipelines laid in non-drilling counties. Luzerne County, in which pipelines and compressor stations are planned, “deserves an opportunity to collect an impact fee and rectify any problems caused by the industry,” she said.
State Reps. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston, and Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, respectively called the bill “an early Christmas present for big oil and gas” and “a bad bill for the taxpayers.”
Mundy said the bill “raises little revenue from corporations that are making huge profits from the Commonwealth’s natural resources, erodes local control over drillers and gives the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources nearly unfettered power to take land for this industry” through eminent domain.
Pashinski said the bill’s effective maximum tax rate of 1 percent per well was “extremely low” compared to other natural gas producing states, such as Texas’ 5.5 percent and West Virginia’s 6 percent rates.
“Polls show the public overwhelmingly supports a fair tax on drillers, but this bill is nothing more than political cover for many Republicans,” he said.
The Senate on Tuesday separately passed a companion bill that removed more authority over drilling from local government. The two bills must now be reconciled.
Key Delaware River gas drilling vote postponed
www.timesleader.com/news/ap?Key-Delaware-River-gas-drilling-vote-postponed&a=2209283&e=30097
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — With two of five members opposed, a multistate agency that has spent years developing regulations for natural gas drilling in the Delaware River watershed has delayed a key vote scheduled for Monday.
The Delaware River Basin Commission announced Friday it was postponing a vote on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to give the agency’s five commissioners more time to review the draft regulations. No new meeting date has been set.
The rules need three votes to pass, though the commission had been hoping for unanimous support.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell told the commission Thursday that he would not support the regulations because of concerns over drinking water protections. Earlier, New York had announced it would vote no. New Jersey and Pennsylvania had not announced how they would vote, but it was believed both would vote yes. It’s not known how the fifth member, the federal Army Corps of Engineers, was planning to vote.
Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemicals underground to break up shale and rock, releasing natural gas.
The commission manages water use for the Delaware River Basin, and environmentalists say the drilling would threaten drinking water for 15 million people.
The proposed rules would allow 300 natural gas wells in the Delaware River Basin, followed by a commission review before more are phased in. The eventual total could reach many thousands of wells.
Pennsylvania already allows drilling outside the watershed area. New Jersey has no Marcellus shale, so its interest in the issue revolves around water quality.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency is studying the effects of fracking, with a draft report due next year.
Environmental groups have gathered more than 73,000 signatures on a petition opposing drilling in the watershed.
Gas industry looking to generate more cash with exports
www.timesleader.com/news/Gas_industry_looking_to_generate_more_cash_with_exports_11-14-2011.html
November 14, 2011
ANDREW MAYKUTH The Philadelphia Inquirer
Department of Energy has received five applications from companies.
The shale-gas bonanza is fueling a hot competition among businesses that want to claim a share of what is promoted as an abundant long-term energy source.
T. Boone Pickens is pitching compressed natural gas as a cheap motor fuel. Electricity suppliers want gas to fire up new power plants.
And the chemical industry, which buys natural gas as a raw material for plastics, says fuel from resources like Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale could inspire a resurgence of U.S. manufacturing.
Now, another potentially large rival market for natural gas is emerging: Exports.
The Department of Energy has received five applications from companies that want to create terminals to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas. One application has been approved.
The natural gas industry, which is eager to sell more fuel, says overseas markets could generate billions of dollars in export earnings, improve the nation’s balance of trade and boost the economy in shale-gas areas such as Pennsylvania.
“Exports represent a good opportunity for the United States,” said James J. Balaschak, a principal of Deloitte Services L.P., based in Philadelphia.
The five export facilities could ship up to 6.6 billion cubic feet of gas a day to foreign countries, about 10 percent of total current domestic U.S. consumption.
But some gas customers say exports will drive up domestic prices, mostly benefit gas producers and undermine a chief virtue of natural gas — energy independence.
Jim Collins, a representative of the American Public Gas Association, said at a Senate committee hearing last week that allowing natural gas exports would produce “predictable and disastrous” results for household consumers.
Collins, a utility official in Hamilton, Ohio, said “U.S. policymakers must carefully consider and prioritize the use of domestic resources according to the national interest over both the short and long terms.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, appeared to be sympathetic.
“How can we ensure that our export policy is consistent with our continued ability to reap the benefits of our newfound abundance of natural gas?” Bingaman said.
Just six years ago, the natural gas industry was scrambling to import LNG to meet America’s increasing demand.
But then came shale-gas production. The industry says the country is sitting on a 100-year supply.
Pennsylvania’s more than 4,000 Marcellus wells now produce more gas than the state consumes. With production expected to multiply, the industry is contemplating reversing the flow of pipelines that now carry natural gas from the Gulf coast to the Northeast.
Some senators expressed no fear that exports would harm the domestic market.
“We would perhaps sleep better at night, I’d hope, if we knew that our nation was again an energy exporter, and with a sufficient supply to comfortably remain an exporter while still doing productive things with plenty of our own supply here at home,” said Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the committee’s ranking Republican.
Alaska is reconsidering plans to construct a pipeline that would carry its Northern Slope natural gas to the lower 48 states and is exploring the idea of exporting the gas instead to Asian markets.
But some are worried that a free market would too closely link domestic gas prices to international markets.
And others do not share the faith that U.S. shale-gas supplies are so robust.
“The history of the fossil-fuels industry is replete with miscalculations regarding supplies,” said Collins.
Webinar to look at natural gas development’s effect on agriculture
live.psu.edu/story/56136#nw69
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Web-based seminar sponsored by Penn State Extension will examine how Marcellus Shale natural-gas development is affecting agriculture in Pennsylvania.
The 75-minute webinar will be held at 1 p.m. on Nov. 10. Presenters will be Gary Sheppard and Mark Madden, extension educators based in Westmoreland and Sullivan counties, respectively, who have extensive experience dealing with Marcellus Shale natural-gas drilling impacts on agriculture in their regions.
Sheppard will explore the impact natural gas wells have on farms from four perspectives. “Those include financial, family, farmstead and social,” he said. “I will discuss some planning considerations for the business plan of the farm and highlight the assistance available from organizations such as USDA’s Farm Service Agency and from resources such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement and Farmland Preservation programs.”
Sheppard noted that he also will touch on how some farmers who are embracing holistic concepts of sustainability are struggling to decide how Marcellus drilling fits into their values.
Madden intends to review several case studies of farmers and farms near Marcellus gas-drilling operations.
“I want to capture some of the personal considerations and choices farmers are dealing with,” he said.
The webinar is part of a series of online workshops addressing opportunities and challenges related to the state’s Marcellus Shale gas boom. Information about how to register for the session is available on the webinar page of Penn State Extension’s natural-gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars.
Titles of upcoming monthly webinars include “Natural Gas Development’s Impact on Forestlands,” “Seismic Testing: What’s It All About?” “Transportation Patterns and Impacts from Marcellus Development,” and “Municipalities’ Roles, Water Use, and Protections.”
Previous webinars, publications and information on topics such as air pollution from gas development; the gas boom’s effect on landfills; water use and quality; zoning; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; implications for local communities; gas pipelines and right-of-way issues; and legal issues surrounding gas development also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website (http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas).
For more information about the webinar, contact John Turack, extension educator based in Westmoreland County, at 724-837-1402 or by email at jdt15@psu.edu.
New Waterless Fracking Method Avoids Pollution Problems
insideclimatenews.org/news/20111104/gasfrac-propane-natural-gas-drilling-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking-drinking-water-marcellus-shale-new-york
By Anthony Brino, InsideClimate News and Brian Nearing, Albany Times-Union
Nov 6, 2011
Little-noticed drilling technique uses propane gel, not water, to release natural gas. Higher cost, lack of data and industry habit stand in the way.
Tanks labeled as "Brine Water" on a property in Dimock, Pa. In conventional fracking, wastewater can be several times saltier than sea water and tainted with chemicals and mild radioactivity.
ALBANY, N.Y.—In the debate over hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, two facts are beyond dispute: Huge amounts of water are used to break up gas-bearing rock deep underground and huge amounts of polluted water are returned to the surface after the process is complete.
Tainted with chemicals, salts and even mild radioactivity, such water, when mishandled, has damaged the environment and threatened drinking water, helping fuel a heated debate in New York and other states over whether gas drilling is worth its risk to clean drinking water, rivers and streams.
Now, an emerging technology developed in Canada and just making its way to the U.S. does away with the need for water. Instead, it relies on a thick gel made from propane, a widely-available gas used by anyone who has fired up a backyard barbecue grill.
Called liquefied propane gas (LPG) fracturing, or simply “gas fracking,” the waterless method was developed by a small energy company, GasFrac, based in Calgary, Alberta.
Still awaiting a patent in the U.S., the technique has been used about 1,000 times since 2008, mainly in gas wells in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and New Brunswick and a smaller handful of test wells in states that include Texas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico, said GasFrac Chief Technology Officer Robert Lestz.
Like water, propane gel is pumped into deep shale formations a mile or more underground, creating immense pressure that cracks rocks to free trapped natural gas bubbles. Like water, the gel also carries small particles of sand or man-made material—known as proppant—that are forced into cracks to hold them open so the gas can flow out.
Unlike water, the gel does a kind of disappearing act underground. It reverts to vapor due to pressure and heat, then returns to the surface—along with the natural gas—for collection, possible reuse and ultimate resale.
And also unlike water, propane does not carry back to the surface drilling chemicals, ancient seabed salts and underground radioactivity.
“We leave the nasties in the ground, where they belong,” said Lestz.
Read Full Article
New Waterless Fracking Method Avoids Pollution Problems, But Drillers Slow to Embrace It
Lawyer: Dimock water unsafe; deliveries should go on
thetimes-tribune.com/news/gas-drilling/lawyer-dimock-water-unsafe-deliveries-should-go-on-1.1227996#axzz1cqCyvXh1
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: November 5, 2011
Attorneys for Dimock Twp. families suing a natural gas driller over contamination claims are asking the state’s chief oil and gas regulator to reverse his decision allowing fresh water deliveries to the families to end.
Tate Kunkle, a lawyer representing the 11 families in a suit against Cabot Oil and Gas Corp., wrote to the head of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Oil and Gas Management on Thursday to rebut Cabot’s claim that the families’ well water is safe and that proposed treatment systems work.
He cited tests over the past 22 months showing elevated levels of lead, aluminum, iron, toluene, methane and manganese in some of the water supplies, as well as detection of chemicals found in synthetic sands, hydraulic fluid and antifreeze that “are not naturally occurring and that are associated with natural gas drilling.”
“The fact is that the water in the Dimock/Carter Road Area remains unsafe for drinking, even with Cabot’s proposed ‘whole house treatment system,’ ” Mr. Kunkle wrote.
The DEP determined that faulty Cabot Marcellus Shale wells allowed methane to seep into aquifers in the Susquehanna County township, a finding the company disputes. Families have been relying on deliveries of fresh bottled and bulk water for drinking, bathing and cooking for nearly three years.
On Oct. 19, the agency found that Cabot had met the obligations necessary to end delivery of the water supplies outlined in a December settlement between Cabot and DEP. The settlement was reached after the Rendell Administration abandoned plans to build a public waterline to the homes and sue Cabot for the costs.
Those obligations included funding escrow accounts for 19 affected families with twice the tax-assessed value of their properties and offering to install methane-removal systems in the homes. The obligations did not include restoring the residents’ well water to its original quality or reducing levels of dissolved methane in the aquifer.
A DEP spokeswoman referred to a recent letter to the editor published by DEP Secretary Michael Krancer in the (Chambersburg) Public Opinion for his comments on the issue.
Mr. Krancer wrote that Cabot met the requirements outlined in the December agreement “and the law, in turn, requires DEP to follow its obligations – which we have done.
“The real issue here is not safety,” he continued. “It’s about a very vocal minority of Dimock residents who continue to demand that taxpayers should foot the bill for a nearly $12 million public waterline along Route 29 to serve about a dozen homes.”
Cabot argues that the methane in Dimock water supplies occurs naturally and is not a result of its gas-drilling activities. It has produced data showing naturally occurring methane is detectable in 80 percent of Susquehanna County water supplies.
The company plans to stop the fresh water deliveries on or before Nov. 30.
Cabot spokesman George Stark said Friday that the company is reviewing Mr. Kunkle’s letter. “Cabot continues to fully cooperate with the DEP regarding our operations,” he said.
In his letter, Mr. Kunkle quoted email messages from a Dimock resident who accepted a Cabot treatment system and found it failed to treat turbidity and metals in her water.
Mr. Kunkle accused Cabot of misrepresenting or selectively reporting water-quality test results and charged DEP with colluding with and “coddling” Cabot while abandoning the regulatory requirement for drillers to restore or replace tainted water supplies.
“To be sure, PADEP has taken a stance: profits of a private corporation from Texas are more important than the constitutional right to pure water of the Commonwealth’s residents,” he wrote.
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com
Pa DEP to Issue Technical Guidance on Wastewater Treatment Permitting
www.sacbee.com/2011/11/03/4028012/pennsylvania-dep-to-issue-technical.html
By Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Published: Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011 – 8:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 3, 2011 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Department of Environmental Protection will soon offer new technical guidance designed to ensure compliance with updated wastewater-treatment regulations.
The guidance explains revisions to Title 25 Chapter 95 of the Pennsylvania Code that require new or expanded sources of natural gas wastewater to treat the wastewater to the federal drinking water standard of less than 500 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids prior to discharge.
“This technical guidance is another step in this administration’s continuing efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s water resources,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “This document clearly communicates to any facility seeking to increase its discharge of treated wastewater or to any facility seeking to start accepting wastewater that they must meet certain obligations.”
Krancer also said the guidance will ensure consistency in the department’s decision-making process in issuing these permits.
In April 2011, Krancer called on the natural gas industry to stop sending unconventional gas production wastewater to facilities that were permitted prior to revisions to the Chapter 95 regulations, which took effect in August 2010. The industry quickly complied. To ensure the continued protection of state waterways, the department is now issuing this guidance to explain the regulations governing new and expanded sources of discharged wastewater.
The technical guidance document, to be published in the Nov. 12 Pennsylvania Bulletin, will assist DEP’s permitting staff in implementing the new total dissolved solids effluent standard for discharges of treated natural gas wastewater. The revised Chapter 95 regulations ensure that drinking water, waterways, and watersheds in the state are not impacted by high levels of total dissolved solids. The most common total dissolved solids in Pennsylvania are chlorides and sulfates.
The guidance also clarifies that all facilities that accept shale gas extraction wastewater that has not been fully pre-treated to meet the discharge requirements must develop and implement a radiation protection plan. Such facilities must also monitor for radium-226, radium-228, uranium and gross alpha radiation in their effluent.
The department will host web-based trainings in the coming weeks to explain the implementation of the guidance document to treatment plants and their customers.
DEP regulates the treatment and discharge of industrial wastewater in the state as part of its administration of the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 717-783-4693.
Media contact: Kevin Sunday, 717-787-1323
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection