DEP suggests stronger drilling rules are needed
http://online.wsj.com/article/APda6b059295ad44818b60955e3e981cef.html
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration is recommending tougher laws to protect drinking water from pollution caused by booming natural gas exploration in Pennsylvania and to allow the state to wield harsher penalties against drilling companies that violate the law.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer made the recommendations in a letter sent Friday to Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, who chairs the governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.
One recommendation would restrict well drilling within 1,000 feet of a public water supply. Currently, the law requires as little as 100 feet in many cases. Another would clarify the DEP’s authority to revoke or refuse to issue a drilling permit under certain conditions, and allow it to require comprehensive tracking of drilling wastewater that would help the agency more accurately determine wastewater recycling rates.
Krancer also recommended expanding buffer requirements between gas wells and private drinking water wells from 200 feet to 500 feet; boosting per-day penalties for violating the law and well-plugging insurance requirements; and extending a driller’s presumptive liability for pollution or water loss from 1,000 feet to 2,500 feet from a gas well.
Many of those recommendations, if not all, have been under consideration in the Legislature since last year, with little action. Some of the bills would provide for stronger protections than the Corbett administration advocates.
The Marcellus Shale formation, which is considered the nation’s largest-known natural gas reservoir, lies primarily beneath Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Ohio. Pennsylvania is the center of activity, with more than 3,000 wells drilled in the past three years and thousands more planned in the coming years as thick shale emerges as an affordable, plentiful and profitable source of natural gas.
When drilling companies began flocking to Pennsylvania several years ago to exploit the Marcellus Shale formation, they were largely working under laws from the 1980s that never envisioned deep-drilling activity that is combined with high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the recent innovation of horizontal drilling underground.
So far, the Legislature has done little to change that, other than pass a bill to require faster public disclosure of well-by-well gas production data from Marcellus Shale wells and debate the merits of a tax on gas extraction.
Pennsylvania remains the largest gas-drilling state without such a tax and Corbett opposes the imposition of one.
For decades, energy companies have drilled shallow oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania. But high-volume fracking involves the use of chemicals and produces millions of gallons of often-toxic wastewater, sparking fresh environmental concerns about the protection of public waterways and wells that provide drinking water to millions of people.
Last year, the Department of Environmental Protection won approval of tougher regulations on drilling safety, chemical disclosure and wastewater disposal and, before that, regulatory approval to increase permit fees so that it could pay the salaries of more inspectors and permitting staff.
But Pennsylvania has left a number of protections undone, some lawmakers say.
For instance, Pennsylvania’s $1,000 per day penalty on drillers for violating state regulations lag many other states. The $25,000 per-company insurance bond that the state requires to plug abandoned wells is out of date, as well, since plugging a single well can cost as much as $100,000.
In April, the DEP asked drilling companies to voluntarily stop taking the wastewater to riverside treatment plants that were ill-equipped to remove all the pollutants from it. The agency has not said whether the companies are complying with the May 19 deadline.
___
Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/
New firm takes over mining at sites in Carbon and Schuylkill
http://republicanherald.com/news/new-firm-takes-over-mining-at-sites-in-carbon-and-schuylkill-1.1154547
By TOM RAGAN (Staff Writer tragan@standardspeaker.com)
Published: May 30, 2011
A new company is taking over a surface mining operation in two counties.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has transferred a 7,500-acre surface mining permit to BET Associates to mine, re-mine and reclaim numerous abandoned mine land in Schuylkill and Carbon counties.
The site spans Tamaqua and Coaldale in Schuylkill County and Lansford, Summit Hill and Nesquehoning in Carbon County.
Doug Topkis, managing owner of BET Associates, said the company is in partnership with Robindale Energy Services and is doing business as Lehigh Anthracite. The company has an office in the former Jamesway Shopping Center near Tamaqua.
“We are interested in revitalizing the local economy and we have plans to have the site mined properly and safely,” Topkis said.
BET Associates purchased the site from the former permit holder, Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co. through a bankruptcy sale last May, shortly after DEP suspended LCN’s mining operations.
DEP issued 24 compliance orders to LCN between 2008 and 2010 for numerous water quality violations and for failing to reclaim the site. LCN had filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
As a condition of the permit, BET Associates will post bonds to cover the full cost of reclaiming the site and to treat the acid mine drainage.
The previous bonds LCN posted would have been insufficient to reclaim the site and the state would have been responsible for millions of dollars in remediation projects. The permit transfer relieves the state of the potential responsibility of reclaiming the site.
“The plan is to mine the coal, since there is plenty of anthracite coal, and at the same time fill up a lot of the holes for positive drainage. Right now it’s porous land. Filling the holes will benefit the mine by having the water drain properly,” Topkis said.
The new company will commit $24.5 million in reclamation bonds and funds to use for treating the site’s acid mine drainage problem.
“We’ve been working to take care of the environmental problems that existed to make it safer for our working employees,” Topkis said.
He said that Robindale, of Indiana County, will be operating the heavy equipment and be in charge of operations of the newly formed company, Lehigh Anthracite. He said he believes, depending on the coal market, that new jobs will be created from it.
The company should have 50 employees working at the site this week and could have as many as 80 employees by the end of the year, he said.
The market is strong for coal due to recent economic upswings in China and India, according to Topkis.
“Anthracite coke is used in the steel-making process and the price is lower, making it an attractive export,” Topkis said. “I think it’s a win-win for everyone. We’ve got a good plan and good people running it.”
Topkis said Tamaqua officials appear to be pleased the company will be mining coal again.
“We’re very excited about working in the communities of all five boroughs. Tamaqua council has already offered support and it’s encouraging,” he said.
Tamaqua council members met with Topkis and came away feeling this is going to be a healthy coal-mining operation, according to council President Micah Gursky.
“We are thrilled it will be a boost to the local economy and yes, we are very supportive and glad that a healthy, strong company is taking over the operation to mine coal here again and new jobs will be created for the area, ” Gursky said.
Tamaqua has always been tied to coal mining operations in the past, he said.
The site has been mined for a couple hundred years and is one of the oldest surface mining sites in the state and the largest landowner in the Tamaqua area. However, in recent years, LCN company had some problems that drew the attention of DEP.
Those problems stemmed from not paying taxes to local municipalities, at times being unable to pay employees, equipment breakdowns, non-compliance with environmental issues, unsafe working conditions and lack of funds for bonds to re-claim scarred land. In the most recent problem, about 7,000 gallons per minute of water contaminated by acid mine drainage flows through the site, which includes more than 800 acres of surface mine pits, according to DEP.
Many worry about water
http://citizensvoice.com/news/many-worry-about-water-1.1150470#axzz1MzQ9BcoU
By Laura Legere (staff writer)
Published: May 22, 2011
An agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and Chesapeake Energy to address methane seeping into water wells in Bradford County has left some affected residents wondering how and if the deal will help fix their tainted water.
The consent order issued May 16 accompanied a $700,000 fine and $200,000 voluntary payment by Chesapeake for allowing methane trapped in shallow rock formations to leak into drinking water aquifers as it drilled at least six sets of wells into the Marcellus Shale last year.
Sixteen families were identified in the order as having water wells directly impacted by the disturbed methane. Although the order outlines steps the driller must take to monitor and address the contamination, the residents said they have not been told what to expect.
“We don’t know if it is fixable,” said Michael Phillips, one of a cluster of affected residents on Paradise Road in Terry Township. Chesapeake tried unsuccessfully to drill the family a new well and then installed a temporary water-treatment system in a shed in the backyard. Private water tests showed contaminants remained despite the system, he said, so the family is relying on a large plastic water tank, or buffalo, for drinking and cooking.
Read more
Cancer cases raise worry in Pittston neighborhood
http://citizensvoice.com/news/cancer-cases-raise-worry-in-pittston-neighborhood-1.1149970#axzz1MzQ9BcoU
By Andrew Staub (Staff Writer)
Published: May 21, 2011
It seems everybody who lives near Chuck Meninchini is sick.
The radius of disease circles Mill Street and Carroll Street in Pittston, Meninchini’s hometown.
In a one-block radius on the streets five people have brain cancer, Meninchini said. And there’s more. Fifteen people in the area, Meninchini said, suffer from esophageal cancer.
“How rare is that?” he said.
All told, more than 80 families include somebody who is battling cancer, Meninchini said. He’s one of them, diagnosed with lymphoma in February.
Meninchini believes there’s a connection. Namely, the Butler Mine Tunnel. It was built before the 1930s to provide mine drainage for the maze of underground coal mines that run under the small city, but eventually became an illegal dumping ground for millions of gallons of oil waste collected by a nearby service station.
The Butler Mine Tunnel runs near Meninchini’s homes on 200 Carroll St., eventually discharging into the Susquehanna River. Meninchini believes whole-heartedly the sludge that has built up below caused his cancer and the diseases of those around him.
“You’re talking two streets. It doesn’t make sense to me,” Meninchini said. “If something wasn’t going on, prove me different. Show me where it’s coming from.”
Meninchini’s doctor, he said, told him exposure to benzene caused his cancer.
According to records from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the Pittston Mine Tunnel spewed an oily discharge into the Susquehanna River on July 30, 1979. Contaminants from the oil slick stretched from shoreline to shoreline, the records indicate, and drifted 60 miles downstream to Danville.
Responding to the emergency, the EPA installed booms on the river and collected 160,000 gallons of oil waste. The booms also collected 13,000 pounds of dichlorobenzene, a chemical used to make herbicides, insecticides, medicine and dyes, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry.
The particular type of dichlorobenzene found in the river has not been tested to see if it can cause cancer, according to the agency. Another type of the chemical, though, “could play a role in the development of cancer in humans, but we do not definitely know this,” the agency concluded in its public health statement about dichlorobenzene.
In 1985, after heavy rains associated with Hurricane Gloria, the Butler Mine Tunnel spewed another 100,000 gallons of oily waste into the river and prompted another boom cleanup.
While the EPA has not connected the rash of cancer to the Butler Mine Tunnel, Meninchini wonders if chemicals eventually worked their way into the soil and into the vegetables people ate, he said. He wonders if he was exposed to any chemicals while working as a plumber in the city.
Answers – which Meninchini said have been tough to extract from government officials – might come next week.
State and federal officials have scheduled an open house for Tuesday to discuss the Butler Mine Tunnel. Representatives from the EPA, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, among others, will attend the event at the Martin L. Mattei Middle School on New Street in Pittston.
The open house runs from 4 to 6 p.m. with a presentation and follow-up session afterwards. Postcards detailing the event were mailed to about 1,500 homes in the vicinity of the tunnel, and Meninchini expects plenty of residents to show up. A woman from Connecticut, he said, even called him about it.
Until then, Meninchini continues to fight his cancer. The lymphoma, which originally riddled his stomach, pancreas, liver and spleen, has been beaten back in some places, but Meninchini said he was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and faces surgery.
Meninchini can’t work anymore, and he’s blown through his savings and cashed in his 401(k) to fund the thousands of dollars of medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Meninchini doesn’t want to get rich by publicizing the cancer outbreak – he just wants people’s health expenses financed, he said.
This week, friends and family have organized a “night-at-the-races” fundraiser to offset some of Meninchini’s health care costs – it runs from 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Italian Citizens Club in Pittston and includes food, drink and a wager.
An EPA official who oversees the Butler Mine Tunnel did not return a phone call seeking comment.
astaub@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052
Tamaqua properties illegally discharging into Wabash Creek
http://www.tnonline.com/node/197237
Reported on Friday, May 20, 2011
By LIZ PINKEY tneditor@tnonline.com
Fifty six properties in the borough of Tamaqua have been identified as having active or once active illegal sewer connections to the Wabash Creek.
Those that were once active may need further investigation to determine if they will need to be addressed. Council president Micah Gursky announced the findings of a recent study at this week’s borough council meeting, stating that property owners have already been notified by certified mail.
“As sad as it is that we have illegal discharge, it’s nice to see a list finally verifying who is illegally connected,” said Gursky. “There have always been rumors.”
The list is now available to the general public and can be viewed at the borough building.
“This is just the beginning,” said Gursky. “There are a lot of folks who have to connect and a lot of work to be done over the next several months to connect them.”
The majority of the properties are located along S. Lehigh, W. Broad, Rowe, S. Railroad and Nescopec streets. Gursky added that
The borough has until August to address the problems to avoid further issues with DEP, which has already cited the borough for the illegal discharge. Property owners have 60 days to connect to the sewage system.
Borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt asked borough residents for their continued cooperation in the matter.
“So far, the people have have contacted us with questions have been very cooperative. We appreciate that,” he said.
The borough does have a revolving loan program that could be available to property owners who need financial assistance to have the work completed. More information on that program is available from the borough.
Pa. DEP issues $1M in fines to major gas driller
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9N9D7T01.htm
By MARC LEVY
HARRISBURG, Pa.
One of the most active companies in Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling boom was fined more than $1 million on Tuesday, including a penalty that state officials called the single largest fine for an oil or gas operator in the state.
The state Department of Environmental Protection said the action stems from Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s contamination of private water supplies with methane in northern Pennsylvania’s Bradford County and a February tank fire at a drilling site in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Washington County.
“It is important to me and to this administration that natural gas drillers are stewards of the environment, take very seriously their responsibilities to comply with our regulations, and that their actions do not risk public health and safety or the environment,” DEP Secretary Michael Krancer said in a statement.
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake said it had voluntarily entered into two separate agreements with the DEP and improved its well construction practices, although it did not assume blame for methane gas migrating into wells.
“Even though the results of our joint review remain inconclusive at this time, we believe proceeding with an agreement and taking prompt steps to enhance our casing and cementing practices and procedures was the right thing to do,” Chesapeake official Brian Grove said in a statement.
Chesapeake will pay $900,000 in the gas migration case and $188,000 for the tank fire.
The fines come as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking closely at how Pennsylvania is regulating the rush to explore the lucrative Marcellus Shale formation, considered the nation’s largest natural gas reservoir, and putting pressure on state regulators to toughen enforcement. For instance, the EPA has asked for a full accounting of operations at the site of a Chesapeake well blowout in April.
Any potential violations from that well blowout, also in Bradford County, are not included in the fines announced Tuesday. The accident spilled thousands of gallons of chemical-laced water and prompted officials to ask seven families to temporarily evacuate.
The Chesapeake action might be the largest fine, but it is not the biggest Marcellus Shale-related payout: In December, the agency announced a settlement with Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. to pay $4.1 million to residents in the northern Pennsylvania town of Dimock where private water wells were also contaminated with methane gas. Cabot agreed to pay the state $500,000 in the case.
The Marcellus Shale formation lies primarily beneath Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Ohio. Pennsylvania, however, is the center of activity, with more than 3,000 wells drilled in the past three years and many thousands more planned in the coming years as thick shale emerges as an affordable, plentiful and profitable source of natural gas.
Drillers’ use of chemicals and high-volume hydraulic fracturing, which produces millions of barrels of often-toxic briny wastewater annually, has raised fears of river and groundwater pollution.
Chesapeake is perhaps the most active company in the Marcellus Shale, with more than 360 wells drilled. It has received more than 1,200 well-drilling permits — the most of any operator — or about one in six issued on the Marcellus Shale in the last three years, according to state records. In 2010, it was also one of Pennsylvania’s most-penalized Marcellus Shale drillers, with 134 violations and 25 enforcements, state records say.
In the Bradford County problems that contributed to the million-dollar fines, the department said that improper well casing and cementing allowed natural gas to seep into groundwater and contaminate 16 families’ drinking water wells. The department began investigating the complaints last year. In November, it won approval of stronger well-casing and cementing rules that a top DEP official has said would have prevented the gas migration.
The agreement requires Chesapeake to create a corrective action plan for the contaminated wells and clean up the contaminated water supplies.
In Avella in southwestern Pennsylvania, three condensate separator tanks caught fire on Feb. 23, injuring three subcontractors working at the site, the DEP said. The agency blamed improper handling and management of condensate, a wet gas, and is requiring Chesapeake to submit condensate-management plans.
Chesapeake also is facing lawsuits over the tank fire and gas migration.
Peter Cambs, a lawyer who represents several plaintiffs in Bradford County who have sued Chesapeake over methane contamination, said the fine is the latest indication that gas drilling can be hazardous.
“I think it clearly shows there are problems and I don’t think the DEP would just willy-nilly assess a fine of that magnitude based on a whim or speculation,” Cambs said. “They wouldn’t have done so without careful investigation or analysis. I think you’re going to see more and more of these findings.”
DEP to review study linking shale drilling to methane contamination
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/dep-to-review-study-linking-shale-drilling-to-methane-contamination-1.1144998#axzz1LwpBiOFT
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: May 11, 2011
State environmental regulators are reviewing a study released Monday by Duke University researchers that found “systematic evidence” of a link between shale gas extraction and methane contamination of drinking water in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Katherine Gresh said in a statement that agency scientists are evaluating the study and “would like to see all of the authors’ backup data to review their methodology.”
The study found methane concentrations an average of 17 times higher in drinking water wells within a kilometer of active gas drilling than in water supplies farther away from the shale gas activity.
The study’s authors also published a white paper advocating regulatory changes, including tripling the radius from a proposed well site where natural gas drillers must perform pre-drill testing of water supplies.
Gresh said the Duke researchers’ recommendations cover the kinds of subjects Gov. Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Commission is evaluating. The commission is expected to present policy recommendations to the governor by mid-summer.
One of the study’s authors, Robert B. Jackson, said the data raise concerns about methane contamination that apply to shale drilling regions outside the study area in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Otsego County, N.Y.
The researchers found elevated methane in places residents suspected it, including in Dimock Township, where state regulators have documented nearly two dozen affected water supplies. But they also found elevated levels in unexpected places.
“We found other locations where, to my knowledge, the homeowners had no idea they had high methane concentrations,” Jackson said. “In fact our highest values weren’t in Dimock and they weren’t even in Susquehanna County. It is a hint that the problem is broader than people had thought.”
Former DEP Secretary John Hanger said it is clear that the geology in Susquehanna, Bradford and Tioga counties poses greater obstacles to drilling “safely and successfully” than the geology in other regions of the state.
State regulations enacted in February strengthened standards for casing and cementing gas wells to try to prevent cases of methane migrating up faulty well bores – the path the researchers said is the most likely cause for the elevated levels of methane they found in drinking water supplies in Susquehanna and Bradford counties. The rules also give the department “authority to require extra precautions where the geology is tricky,” which regulators used in Susquehanna County when he was secretary, he said.
“I would encourage the department to continue doing so,” Hanger said.
The commonwealth’s longtime stray gas inspector said he is “a little bit disappointed” with the study. Fred Baldassare, who now owns Echelon Applied Geoscience Consulting, said the authors fail to address the prevalence of naturally occurring thermogenic methane – gas that comes from deep underground, not from the breakdown of biological matter near the surface – in shallower geological layers between the surface and the Marcellus Shale.
“I’m not saying that gas well activity doesn’t cause gas migration, because of course it has,” said Baldassare, whose research is cited three times in the Duke paper. “We have documented cases of gas migration to private water supplies as a result of drilling activity.” But he added, “I think we have to take great care in trying to define what’s there naturally before we make judgements and conclusions about the origin of the gasses.”
In documented cases of stray gas caused by drilling in Susquehanna and Bradford counties, state regulators have found the gas migrating not from the Marcellus Shale but from shallower gas-bearing formations.
Baldassare said he is concerned the study might imply a migration straight from the Marcellus to aquifers, which he said he would “absolutely dispute.”
llegere@timesshamrock.com
DEP withholds driller’s blowout response, saying it is under review
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/dep-withholds-driller-s-blowout-response-saying-it-is-under-review-1.1143130#axzz1LlOmCfIh
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: May 7, 2011
The Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing a natural gas driller’s response to a violation notice that asked why and how a well failed in Bradford County in late April causing wastewater to flow into state waterways.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. submitted its response to the violation notice on the evening of April 29, the deadline set by state regulators. Both DEP and Chesapeake declined to release the response.
“We are not making this information publicly available at this time as we need to carefully examine it as part of our on-going review of the blowout,” DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said.
The Times-Tribune submitted a Right-To-Know request for a copy of the response on Friday.
Chesapeake lost control of the Atgas 2H well in LeRoy Township late on April 19 during a hydraulic fracturing operation. An apparent failure of a flange below an above-ground piece of equipment called a frack stack caused thousands of gallons of tainted wastewater to overwhelm the company’s containment systems and flow into Towanda Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River.
The company has said tests “indicate only minimal environmental impact as a result of this incident.” State regulators confirmed last week that the spill killed several frogs and tadpoles in a farmer’s pond.
In its violation notice, DEP directed Chesapeake to tell the agency what chemicals and other materials it used to fracture the well, what failed at the wellhead and caused the spill, what exactly spilled into the environment and why it took the company 12 hours to bring a well control specialist to the site from Texas when a similar firm is located in Pennsylvania.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
Environmental Protection Agency steps into probe of fracking spill
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/environmental_protection_agenc.html
Published: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 12:00 AM
By DONALD GILLILAND, The Patriot-News
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has thrown an elbow against Pennsylvania regulators in the job to regulate natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
The EPA announced Monday afternoon that it is investigating last week’s spill of drilling fluids at a Chesapeake Energy site in Bradford County.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection remains the lead investigating agency, but the EPA has asked Chesapeake officials for lists of fracking chemicals used, if any radioactive compounds were in the spill, and what affects there were to drinking-water sources.
“We want a complete accounting of operations at the site to determine our next steps in this incident and to help prevent future releases of this kind,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.
EPA’s action marks “a significant change in approach,” former DEP Secretary John Hanger said Monday.
“The EPA is asserting jurisdiction in a manner that it did not during my time as secretary or prior to this incident,” said Hanger. “It means that the gas-drilling industry in Pennsylvania will be regulated in practice by both DEP and EPA, at least in some cases and respects.”
An EPA spokesman said such information requests are “a common fact-finding tool which we use when necessary,” but they are apparently a first for the agency in regard to the Marcellus Shale.
Much of what EPA would do duplicates what DEP is already doing, and consistency in regulation — be it strict or otherwise — is what the business needs, those in the industry said Monday night. Having two monitors could foster confusion.
“Each and every one of EPA’s questions will be answered by DEP, as required under new state regulations,” said one. “This action is clearly more about politics and grabbing headlines.”
The New York Times recently reported an internal battle within the EPA over whether the agency should intercede in Pennsylvania to clamp down on drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
That coverage was less than flattering for the agency, which some see as hamstrung by powerful industry lobbying.
Nevertheless, the EPA fared better than Pennsylvania regulators, whom The New York Times story portrayed as bumbling and beholden to drilling interests.
The timing of the EPA’s move — last week’s spill involved no injuries, no damage and minimal environmental impact — had some in the industry questioning it.
There might also be personal politics involved. EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson recently said she had attempted to call Gov. Tom Corbett about regulation of Marcellus Shale, but Corbett never called her back.
Corbett’s news secretary, Kevin Harley, denied that the office received such a call.
Some environmentalists believe Pennsylvania has been too permissive and have been calling for the EPA to step in.
DEP did not address EPA’s entry into the matter directly.
“DEP has been on-site around the clock since the beginning of this incident, and as the regulatory agency, we continue to lead the way, “ DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh said late Monday.
“DEP issued Chesapeake a comprehensive notice of violation Friday morning, telling the operator to respond to important questions that we have,” she said.
Those questions are similar to those asked by the EPA.
Chesapeake Energy has said an equipment failure caused the drilling brine — also known as fracking fluid — to gush out of the well and overwhelm containment systems. Some of the fluids reached a tributary of the Susquehanna River, but by the following afternoon that was stopped. The well was brought under control Thursday.
David Sternberg, the media officer for EPA’s Region 3 in Philadelphia said: “The information requested includes data on the cause and environmental consequences of this accident. EPA will evaluate this information promptly, in consultation with DEP, and take whatever action is needed to protect public health and the environment.
A Chesapeake spokesman said, “We intend to comply with the EPA’s request for information and have already communicated with the agency about how best to prioritize its requests in relation to the overall and ongoing response efforts.”
Chesapeake voluntarily suspended operations in the Marcellus Shale last week as it investigates the spill.
Pa. ponders penalties over Bradford County drilling site mishap
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Pa__ponders_penalties_over_Bradford_County_drilling_site_mishap_04-24-2011.html
Posted: April 25, 2011
LAURA OLSON Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Once final seal is in place, Chesapeake can begin a probe of why the well blew out.
HARRISBURG — As workers on a Bradford County drilling site continued to prepare the now-stable well for a final protective seal, state environmental officials took a step toward assessing penalties for the accident.
Well-control specialists spent most of the day relieving pressure within the Chesapeake Energy well, a procedure that both company and Department of Environmental Protection officials said was not unusual. Those efforts were suspended late Friday afternoon, as rain began to fall, according to Chesapeake.
Company spokesman Rory Sweeney said they made “slow progress” toward completely plugging the well Friday, noting that no additional wastewater or gas had escaped since those leaks were stemmed Thursday evening.
Procedures to relieve well pressure are “something that is expected at this stage in the process” and raised no immediate concerns, DEP spokesman Dan Spadoni said.
Once the final seal is in place, Chesapeake can begin an investigation of why the well blew out during hydraulic fracturing late Tuesday night. That wellhead malfunction resulted in thousands of gallons of fracking wastewater spewing back to the surface, with some trickling into a tributary to Towanda Creek.
The well was continuing to leak wastewater Wednesday afternoon, when workers were able to put the briny fracking fluid in containers on the well pad. Neither the DEP nor company officials have estimated how much wastewater entered the tributary, though initial Chesapeake testing showed “minimal, if any” impacts on the waterway.
Incident reports posted on the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s website stated that “approximately 30,000 gallons of fresh water leaked out of a gas well and into a secondary containment area in Leroy Township.” A report issued Thursday also states that there are “no life safety or environmental concerns” from the accident.
A PEMA spokesman did not return a request Friday for additional information.
Chesapeake said it would account for the spilled wastewater as the investigation gets under way. “We’re not done here when the well is finally sealed,” Sweeney said.
For DEP officials, who have been involved in the accident response, the next investigatory steps are under way. The agency issued a notice of violation to Chesapeake on Friday, Spadoni said.
In the notice, the DEP asked the company to submit an analysis of what caused the equipment failure. The notice also stated that Chesapeake was expected to “be in a stand-down mode on hydraulic fracturing” as officials review what happened.
The company said it halted all post-drilling activities, which include hydraulic fracturing, “in order to conduct thorough inspections of wellheads used in completion operations throughout the Marcellus Shale.”
But environmental advocates from PennFuture called on DEP Acting Secretary Michael Krancer to shut down all Chesapeake sites until the agency conducts its review.
Two Bradford County lawyers representing local residents who say they have contamination-related ailments made a similar plea Friday.
Spadoni said the DEP would “evaluate the information that is provided to us by Chesapeake” and decide what additional steps may be necessary.