Sen. Baker Introduces Measures To Protect Drinking Water From Gas Drilling
http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=16419&SubjectID=
Sen. Baker Introduces Measures To Protect Drinking Water From Gas Drilling
Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) this week introduced two bills to provide additional protection to drinking water from the impacts from Marcellus Shale natural gas well drilling.
Senate Bill 1451 (Baker-R-Luzerne) would require gas well wastewater treatment facility operators to be certified by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Senate Bill 1452 (Baker-R-Luzerne) would require each oil and gas well permit to be accompanied by information regarding the zone of influence of the well site on groundwater and an analysis of the time a potential release of drilling fluids would reach the nearest waterways; a preparedness, prevention and contingency plan; and a plan for notifying all downstream water users in the event of a spill.
The bill requires the notification of all public drinking water system operators within the water within 10 days of receiving a permit; a requirement that wells not be drilled within 1,000 feet of a building or water well without the consent of the owner; not within 1,000 feet of any stream, spring or body of water; or 1,000 feet of any wetlands or within 3,000 feet of a drinking water reservoir. The permit application must also contain a groundwater monitoring and sampling plan before, during and after drilling.
“As more drilling takes place in our region, it increases the chances of something going wrong. Prevention and protection are preferable to crisis management and emergency response. Individuals and groups are taking a hard look at state laws and regulations, finding restrictions that seem too slight in contrast to the consequences of human error or technological failure, and offering constructive suggestions on steps that should be taken,” Sen. Baker said.
“While there are proposed water protection regulations moving through the process, people understand that law has more force. As drilling proceeds on a larger scale, area residents want answers that show responsibility being assured, rather than risks being assumed,” she emphasized.
“The economic benefits of gas extraction will be realized statewide, while the environmental drawbacks will be experienced locally. We have to be properly prepared and protected. Reasonable environmental protections will not discourage the development of this industry; they will help to make sure that unreasonable costs are not imposed on local communities and homeowners,” Sen. Baker stated.
Sen. Baker said that some of the costs would be borne by the gas companies. Oversight costs could be paid for through a severance tax, which is expected to be debated in the coming weeks. She reiterated her opposition to any severance tax plan that would devote the revenue generated to filling a hole in the state budget, rather than providing for community protection in drilling areas.
“The environmental and economic catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the crucial nature of taking all reasonable precautions and for being prepared for dealing with extreme situations when things go horribly wrong,” Sen. Baker concluded.
Hazle Twp. residents attempt to curtail shale exploration
http://citizensvoice.com/news/hazle-twp-residents-attempt-to-curtail-shale-exploration-1.939777
Hazle Twp. residents attempt to curtail shale exploration
BY SAM GALSKI (STAFF WRITER)
Published: August 11, 2010
Hazle Township has become the second Hazleton area community to receive a petition opposing Marcellus Shale gas drilling in residential neighborhoods.
Township Solicitor Charles Pedri announced Monday the township received a petition signed by a handful of residents who oppose Marcellus Shale drilling in or under residential sections of the community. Pedri also announced plans for potentially changing the zoning ordinance and placing certain restrictions on drilling operations.
“We want to do it as sort of a preventative measure,” he said.
To date, the township has not received a formal request from gas companies and Pedri said he isn’t sure if any areas of the township have conditions suitable for drilling.
A copy of the petition available at the Commons Building on Monday contained eight signatures, with most from residents on Garrison Road and Palance Avenue in Scotch Hill Estates.
Although the petitioners say they do not oppose drilling operations in other parts of Pennsylvania, they oppose drilling in residential areas of Hazle Township where residents receive water from on-site wells.
“We respectfully ask the supervisors to immediately begin to draft changes to the township zoning ordinance that will prevent a BP-type cataclysm from occurring in our township,” the petition reads. “There are areas of the township that can be utilized for drilling, but small lot size landowners should not have to risk losing everything to a contamination or spill from Marcellus Shale gas drilling.”
The three-page petition cites various reports about drilling violations, water quality and property concerns resulting from gas drilling operations – and calls on township officials to protect wells and aquifers.
“Again, it is not the intent of this petition to stop Marcellus Shale gas drilling or to prevent residents from signing gas leases, but simply to do what Harrisburg can’t or won’t do, which is protect the wells and aquifers that provide drinking water to our homes,” the petition says.
Officials in nearby Butler Township received a similar petition in July.
To read more on the rights of communities with regard to gas drilling, see:
Local officials retain some power over drilling
http://citizensvoice.com/news/local-officials-retain-some-power-over-drilling-1.934118
Local officials retain some power over drilling
BY ELIZABETH SKRAPITS (STAFF WRITER)
Published: August 9, 2010
When it comes to regulating natural gas drilling, the state Oil and Gas Act trumps local ordinances – mostly.
As is the case with methadone clinics and adult entertainment venues, municipalities and counties can’t keep natural gas wells out altogether. But local officials do have some power, such as the ability to limit wells to agricultural, manufacturing or industrial zones and bar them in residential districts.
“We – local land use authorities – can regulate the ‘where;’ we cannot regulate the ‘how.’ That power, to regulate the ‘how’ of natural gas drilling, rests entirely with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Larry Newman said after last week’s hearing on granting Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. conditional use to drill 10 natural gas wells in Lake and Fairmount townships.
Municipal and county planning and zoning authorities do have some say in the matter of natural gas drilling in their communities, state officials say.
“They’re not completely pre-empted by any means under state law,” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said. “They do have a role.”
Drilling processes, techniques and materials are beyond the power of local zoning authorities, Hanger said. For example, a zoning hearing board cannot tell a natural gas company what kind of cement can be used in a well casing, he said. Instead, the Oil and Gas Act gives DEP the authority to set drilling standards.
Denny Puko of the state Department of Community and Economic Development said the Oil and Gas Act generally not only pre-empts local regulations of any type except for the Municipalities Planning Code and the Flood Plain Act, but goes a step further: although municipalities and counties can do things under those two statutes, they can’t regulate what the Oil and Gas Act regulates.
“They’re limited,” he said. “You can see there’s not a whole lot of room.”
But legal precedents are being set which can change that.
Puko cited three state court cases that clarified what counties and municipalities can and can’t do when it comes to natural gas drilling: Huntley & Huntley vs. Oakmont Borough; Penneco Oil Co. and Range Resources vs. the County of Fayette; and Range Resources vs. Salem Township (Westmoreland County).
In the often-cited 2007 Huntley vs. Oakmont case, Huntley & Huntley sought to drill a natural gas well in a residential subdivision in Oakmont Borough. Borough council denied the company.
The upshot of the case was the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that while the conditional use permit had been improperly denied, companies cannot drill in areas where zoning ordinances do not allow them. The more recent Penneco case is similar in nature.
In the Range Resources vs. Salem Township decision, the court ruled that the township’s ordinance overlapped and in some cases was more stringent than the Oil and Gas Act, making it “an attempt by the Township to enact a comprehensive regulatory scheme relative to oil and gas development within the municipality.”
Unlike in Huntley vs. Oakmont, which was about the “where” of natural gas drilling, Salem Township was trying to regulate the “how.” The court ruled against the township.
“It’s kind of narrow what a municipality can do, according to the court precedent,” Puko said. “I guess at this point, municipalities are left to interpret the law with their municipal solicitors, and act accordingly.”
The court cases are leading zoning officials and solicitors through what Attorney Jeffrey Malak calls “new, uncharted waters.”
Malak, who not only works with property on natural gas leases but also serves as the solicitor for several entities including the Back Mountain Community Partnership, has been researching the subject on behalf of the six member municipalities.
According to Malak, there are numerous provisions municipalities can try to get into their zoning ordinances, including:
- Locating wells in certain zoning districts with permission (conditional use).
- Keeping wells certain distances from occupied structures, public streets, roadways or lot lines.
- Screening, buffering and fencing requirements.
- Bonding the natural gas company to ensure responsibility for road maintenance and repair.
Ordinances to regulate dust, noise and light pollution are also possibilities.
However, Malak noted, “Just because we put it in the zoning ordinance doesn’t mean that it’s valid.”
In one of the municipalities where Malak serves as solicitor, Dallas Borough, the zoning ordinance – which is available at www.dallasborough.org – restricts natural gas well drilling to industrial zones and highway business districts. It has requirements including that drilling cannot take place within 200 feet of any occupied structure or 100 feet of any stream, spring or wetland.
The 100-foot setback from water is a DEP regulation, but municipalities can include that and other state requirements in their zoning ordinances, Malak said.
“It’s a lot of referencing state laws: ‘Hey, the state has this, we’re going to put this in too,'” he said.
As more cases and appeals make it through the state courts, they will give further guidance to municipalities, landowners and gas companies on what is permissible and what isn’t, Malak said.
“It’s an evolving field of law,” he said.
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072
Drinking water from Monongahela deemed safe despite pollutants
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_693882.html#
Drinking water from Mon deemed safe
“but scientists monitoring the water are noting early evidence that chemicals from Marcellus shale gas drilling are contributing to the recent problems”
By Tim Puko
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Drinking water from the Monongahela River could taste acidic, smell funny and stain dishware during at least the next week.
According to state and federal data, the Mon — which 750,000 Pennsylvanians rely on for drinking water — has a high quantity of a secondary pollutant that makes it a mild saltwater. Though less pleasant to taste, it is not a health hazard to drink.
Only rain — an influx of fresh water — can fully dilute the pollutants in the river, said Werner Loehlein, chief of water management at the Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District.
No significant rain, however, is forecast before Thursday — at the earliest. And the river level is nearly 50 percent lower now than its average low, said Daniel Jones, a corps spokesman.
“Without any precipitation, that is a reasonable assumption that the levels would increase. We’re going to remain vigilant in our sampling,” said Katherine Gresh, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection’s local office. “We’re in the very beginning stages of any kind of trend.”
The department began taking more samples along the river and its tributaries when high contamination levels were first reported near Clairton about three weeks ago, Gresh said. Indicators of pollution have climbed about 30 percent since July 24 at the U.S. Geological Survey’s river monitor in Elizabeth.
This marks the third consecutive year that pollution has climbed during the late summer, when river levels are lowest. Acid-mine drainage has always been a problem in the Monongahela, but scientists monitoring the water are noting early evidence that chemicals from Marcellus shale gas drilling are contributing to the recent problems.
Because of the expanding gas industry, Washington-based American Rivers ranked the Monongahela as the ninth-most endangered river in the country this year.
DEP hires emergency response agency
http://citizensvoice.com/news/dep-hires-emergency-response-agency-1.931353
Published: August 8, 2010
DEP hires emergency response agency
By Elizabeth Skrapits
Staff Writer
When a natural gas well blew out in Clearfield County on June 3, it spewed gas and chemical-laden wastewater for 16 hours until experts could be brought in from Texas to cap it.
In an attempt to prevent a repeat of that scenario as drilling in the Marcellus Shale expands, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said DEP has made arrangements with a Houston, Texas-based well control company that is opening an emergency response and natural gas support services facility in Bradford County.
“Hopefully that will help people be assured there is expertise and equipment here,” Hanger said. “These are not local fire units. These are expert individuals with expert equipment, who are trained in the oil and gas business.”
Cudd Energy Services, the parent company of Cudd Well Control, is starting a branch in a 55,000-square-foot building at 2897 Route 414 in Canton. Hanger said 16 specially-trained well control responders will be employed there.
“There will always be one senior well control specialist in the state at any given time, and there will be a number of what we call first responders,” said Troy White, Director of Business Development for Cudd Well Control. “It’s a very small fraternity of specialists, and that’s why it’s difficult to be everywhere.”
Cudd will also be hiring local people. According to the Towanda Daily Review, the company is bringing around 100 jobs to the area, including safety personnel, mechanics, field engineers, lab technicians and warehouse and administrative employees.
Hanger said DEP’s decision to make arrangements with Cudd was prompted by the incident in Clearfield County and the July 23 accident in Allegheny County, when a traditional natural gas well exploded while undergoing maintenance, killing two workers.
Local fire response was excellent in both cases, but dealing with an out-of-control natural gas well requires specialized training, Hanger said. He said it is not reasonable to expect volunteer fire companies to have the experience or equipment to shut the wells down.
“The whole point is not to be relying on just calling Texas. We agree that can’t continue,” Hanger said. “The resources and expertise would supplement any local fire units.”
Cudd, which has been around since 1978, specializes in well blowouts, firefighting and deep wells. The company fought oil well fires in Kuwait in 1991, White said. The firm plans to work with local emergency personnel, as well as the gas companies and their contractors.
“We would prefer, rather than having to respond to emergencies ⦠an equal and even more important part of our business is the prevention side,” White said.
Cudd Energy Services can help natural gas drilling companies with preventing accidents, drilling inspections and blowout contingency planning, White said. Another service Cudd can provide is minimizing the chances of methane migration into drinking water supplies by helping gas companies get a good casing program and a drilling plan in place, White said.
Each natural gas driller contracts with well control companies to be called in case of an emergency. Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc., which is drilling Luzerne County’s first exploratory wells in Fairmount and Lake townships, has Wild Well Control Inc. and Boots & Coots Well Control listed in their DEP-required emergency response plan, along with Cudd.
In fact, Encana has just moved Cudd to first responder, White said, noting, “We work for Encana all over.”
He called the company “very safe and sensitive to the environment.”
White said that, generally speaking, the chances of something catastrophic happening are lower with shale than with porous rock like limestone or sandstone.
He said when well problems do occur, they are usually during the completion process, when the shale has been hydraulically fractured and its pores are opened and connected, leaving a clear path for the gas to come into the well bore.
“If something should come up, we’ll be there ready to respond,” White said.
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072
Have your drinking well water tested prior to gas drilling
http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/news/2010/august/new-program-to-help-interpret-drinking-water-test-reports
New Program to Help Interpret Drinking Water Test Reports
Posted: August 01, 2010
Testing drinking water wells is important, but it is also necessary to understand the results.
As the natural gas industry ramps up, it is important to have drinking well water tested prior to gas drilling near one’s property. Testing of the wells can be done by one of the many labs accredited by the PA Department of Environmental Protection and offer to do third party or chain-of-custody water testing. In many cases, water supplies may be tested by labs working with the gas drilling company as part of pre-drilling surveys. Testing may also be done after drilling to determine if any impacts occurred on the water supply. Interpreting the results from these water tests may not be so easy for the layperson.
A new program on “How to Interpret Pre and Post-Gas Drilling Water Test Reports” is being offered by Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Master Well Owner Network (MWON). Workshops will be on August 5 at the Towanda Gun Club in Towanda PA, and on August 11 at Elk Lake High School in Dimock PA.
The purpose of these workshops is to help landowners understand the very complicated water test reports that are being supplied as part of most pre-drill water testing and some post drilling. Participants will learn about drinking water standards, chain-of-custody, the various water test parameters, and how to compare their results with standards. In many cases, these tests identify pre-existing problems that homeowners may not have been aware of. Basic water system management and how to treat pre-existing water quality problems will also be covered.
Both programs will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and are free of charge. The programs are funded and supported by Penn State Cooperative Extension, The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association. To register for the Towanda program, please call the Extension office at (570) 265-2896; for the Dimock program please call (570) 278-1158.
Cabot Oil & Gas sells rights to drill in Pike, Wayne
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100804/NEWS/8040342
August 04, 2010 12:00 AM
Gas company sells rights to drill in Pike, Wayne
SCRANTON (AP) — A newspaper says a natural gas exploration company is giving up on drilling in a portion of northeastern Pennsylvania where a multistate water regulatory body isn’t granting permits.
The Times-Tribune of Scranton reported Tuesday that Cabot Oil & Gas is selling the rights to its acreage in Wayne and Pike counties.
It has about 9,200 acres there.
The Houston-based company says it’ll focus on Susquehanna County, where it has drilled more than 100 wells and been repeatedly penalized by state regulators for polluting residential water wells and spilling chemicals.
Last year, the Delaware River Basin Commission declared a moratorium on drilling in the Delaware River basin while it works on regulations. Without a permit to withdraw water, drilling companies can’t operate. Drilling is in full swing elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Marcellus Shale drillers record 1,500 violations since start of 2008
http://republicanherald.com/news/report-marcellus-shale-drillers-record-1-500-violations-since-start-of-2008-1.918141
Report: Marcellus Shale drillers record 1,500 violations since start of 2008
BY LAURA LEGERE (STAFF WRITER LLEGERE@TIMESSHAMROCK.COM)
Published: August 3, 2010
Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers have been cited nearly 1,500 times in the last two-and-a-half years for violating the state’s oil and gas laws, according to a report released Monday by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association.
Two-thirds of the 1,435 violations were identified by the report’s authors as likely to harm or pose a threat to the environment, while the other third were identified as administrative or safety violations.
The violations were issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the agency that regulates gas drilling in Pennsylvania, which released the records to the association in response to a Right to Know Law request.
Elana Richman, projects coordinator for the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, said the organization sought the records to measure the gas extraction industry’s environmental record as Marcellus Shale drilling expands in the state.
“We had the feeling that there was a lot out there that we weren’t seeing,” she said.
The association found that of the 952 violations with environmental implications, 277 were for improper erosion and sedimentation plans or controls, 268 were for faulty wastewater pits, 100 were violations of the state’s Clean Streams Law, and 154 were spills of brine, oil, drill cuttings or other waste to the ground or streams.
DEP released the details of one such spill Monday, when it announced that it had fined Talisman Energy USA $15,506 for a spill of gas drilling wastewater at a Bradford County well site in November.
The spill of between 4,200 to 6,300 gallons polluted a small, unnamed tributary to Webier Creek, DEP said. The company has since completed the state’s cleanup requirements.
Violations associated with recent high-profile environmental accidents, like well blowouts and gas contamination of water supplies, occurred in smaller numbers during the report’s study period, between January 1, 2008, and June 25, 2010.
There were 10 violations for improper construction of the cement and steel casings used to isolate drinking water aquifers from Marcellus Shale wells, a problem that DEP found was to blame for gas contamination of 14 drinking water supplies in Dimock Township. DEP issued 16 violations for improper blowout-prevention measures, lapses like those that led to the blowout of an EOG Resources well in Clearfield County on June 3, when wastewater and gas erupted uncontrollably for 17 hours.
The report also lists the 25 Marcellus Shale drillers with the most violations, beginning with East Resources Inc., a Warrendale, Pa.-based company that was recently bought by Royal Dutch Shell, which recorded 138 violations. Chesapeake Appalachia, Chief Oil and Gas, Cabot Oil and Gas, and Talisman Energy USA were also in the top five.
Stephen Rhoads, director of external affairs for East Resources, said the company is “painfully aware” of the violations and has changed its practices to address and avoid them, including no longer using earthen pits to handle well wastes.
“Obviously we need to do some work, and we are,” he said, noting that the company is close to the bottom of the report’s list of 25 drillers with the highest average number of violations per well drilled.
Proponents and critics of Marcellus Shale drilling interpreted the report differently on Monday as evidence of either strict or insufficient regulatory oversight.
“Clearly our industry is tightly regulated, and arguably under more scrutiny than any other operating in the commonwealth,” said Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a cooperative of the state’s Marcellus drillers.
Environmental groups used the report to call for more drilling regulations and enforcement.
“DEP inspectors do not visit these sites frequently enough,” said Jeff Schmidt, director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. “With the thousands of permits issued, DEP does not make necessary inspections to protect the public from environmental harm.”
DEP released a fact sheet about its oversight of Marcellus Shale drilling on Monday that countered Mr. Schmidt’s criticism.
“No other state has added more staff, done a more comprehensive strengthening of its rules or more aggressively enforced its rules than Pennsylvania has,” it said.
DEP Secretary John Hanger said the report proves the industry is actively regulated, that companies “can do a better job of operating their drill sites,” and that the drillers should pay a severance tax on the gas they produce.
“Even with strong oversight there are going to be impacts,” he said. “This industry must pay a tax in order to compensate the state, the local community and the environment for some of the costs associated with drilling.”
Drinking water seminar set in Towanda, Dimock PA
http://www.stargazette.com/article/20100802/NEWS01/8020320/Drinking+water+seminar+set+in+Towanda++Dimock
August 2, 2010, 12:15 pm
Drinking water seminar set in Towanda, Dimock
Penn State Cooperative Extension is holding seminars in Towanda and Dimock to help residents understand drinking water quality reports.
Participants will learn how to understand pre- and post-test water reports, as well as drinking water standards, chain-of-custody, various water test parameters, and comparing test results with standards. Bryan Swistock, Penn State water resource extension associate, and Mark Madden, Penn State Extension agent, will discuss the management of private water supplies and interpretation of test reports.
The program is sponsored by the Penn State Master Well Owner Network with funding and support from Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association.
The two-hour seminars will be held for residents of Bradford and Susquehanna counties on the following dates:
* Thursday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Towanda Gun Club, Route 187 South, Towanda. Residents attending this seminar should call (570) 265-2896 to pre-register.
* Aug. 11, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Elk Lake High School, 100 School House Rd., Dimock. Residents attending this seminar should pre-register by calling (570) 278-1158.
These seminars are for informational purposes only; no part of the presentation is to be considered legal advice.
Chemicals Used by Hydraulic Fracturing Companies in Pennsylvania
Chemicals Used by Hydraulic Fracturing Companies in Pennsylvania
For Surface and Hydraulic Fracturing Activities
Prepared by the Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Oil and Gas Management
Compiled from Material Safety Data Sheets obtained from Industry
