Wading through water-test results subject of webinar
http://live.psu.edu/story/48230/nw69
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wading through water-test results subject of webinar
Well owners may wish to have drinking water tested before and after nearby gas wells are drilled.
When it comes to water-test results, one of the murkiest problems facing homeowners is how to interpret the results, according to an expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. And with the flood of Marcellus shale gas-drilling activity in Pennsylvania, there has been a steadily rising tide of information about water availability, water quality, water-testing procedures and what those tests indicate.
“We’re finding that in a lot of these counties, there is a lot of water testing being done by gas companies or by households — before and after drilling — and these water test reports can be very hard to understand,” said Bryan Swistock, a water resources extension specialist in the college’s School of Forest Resources. “For some, it’s like trying to decipher foreign language.”
To help owners of private water supplies navigate the water-testing maze, Swistock will conduct a free Web-based seminar titled, “How to Interpret Pre- and Post-Gas Drilling Water Test Reports.” Part of a series of online water-related workshops produced by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the webinar will air at noon and again at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15.
Participants must pre-register for the webinars, but only one registration is required for the entire series. To register, visit http://extension.psu.edu/water/webinar-series. Once participants have pre-registered, they may visit the webinar site (https://breeze.psu.edu/water1) on the day of the presentation to view the live presentation.
Water-quality experts, gas-company officials and attorneys all agree that if gas-drilling activity is scheduled to take place nearby, homeowners should get pre-drill water testing done, Swistock said. Because gas companies have a presumed responsibility for water quality within 1,000 feet of a gas well, they frequently provide free water testing to homeowners within that radius. Some gas companies may pay to test private water systems even beyond 1,000 feet from a gas well, he added.
Homeowners who live outside that range — or ones who don’t trust free testing — may opt to pay for their own testing. For these consumers, Swistock advises hiring a state-accredited lab to come out to the home. The water sample then becomes a “legally valid” sample, the chain of custody of which is assured, should a case go to court, he said.
Swistock explained that water testing for all possible pollutants associated with gas-well drilling can by very expensive. Homeowners should discuss the costs of the testing with the laboratory or consultant to select a testing package that addresses their concerns while still being affordable.
Some homeowners are distressed to discover pre-existing problems that have nothing to do with gas exploration. It is common to uncover problems such as bacteria, traces of nitrate, or lead, which sometimes can come from the home’s own plumbing system. “Some problems don’t have symptoms, so if the well was never tested previously, and people didn’t experience any symptoms, they’ll think the test result was doctored,” Swistock said.
He noted that more than 1 million Pennsylvania homes and farms have drilled water wells, and about 45 percent of them have never been tested. He said bacteria occurs in about one-third of water wells in the state and is likely to go undetected unless someone had reason to investigate.
Changes in other water conditions may prompt more immediate investigation. Nearby construction or drilling may create changes in water’s appearance, taste or availability. The sudden onset of spurting faucets, foaming or cloudy water, metallic or salty tastes, previously undetected odors, or reduced flow volume may each indicate manmade problems caused by localized disturbances.
In addition to water sources, information also should be carefully evaluated. With the recent deluge of sources disseminating information related to protecting water supplies near gas drilling, Swistock suggests that homeowners with private water systems in the Marcellus region be vigilant and carefully weigh comments and recommendations they receive. He recommends seeking out credible sources of information, trustworthy third-party testing services and state-accredited water labs to conduct the testing.
“It’s our mission to provide unbiased information grounded in research to help people manage and protect the water resources of Pennsylvania,” Swistock said. “None of my current or past research funding has come from the Marcellus gas industry. My only goal is to provide facts that will help homeowners and others make the best decision possible.”
The webinar also will provide viewers with links to useful websites, including a description of various water tests, a list of state-accredited labs and an online Drinking Water Interpretation Tool to help homeowners interpret complex water test reports.
This presentation is part of an overall series targeting the most common water questions and concerns people have about water resources on their own property, whether those are water wells, septic systems or ponds. Other topics in the series include managing septic systems, ponds and lakes, drilling wells and safe drinking water. Recordings of previous webinars can be found at http://extension.psu.edu/water/webinar-series.
Penn State launches new education, research center on Marcellus Shale
http://live.psu.edu/story/47867/nw69
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
University Park, Pa.— Penn State announced today (Aug. 18) the formation of an education and research initiative on the Marcellus Shale to work with state agencies, elected officials, communities, landowners, industry and environmental groups to protect the Commonwealth’s water resources, forests and transportation infrastructure while advocating for a science-based and responsible approach to handling the state’s natural gas deposits.
“With the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research we are bringing together the University’s considerable expertise in a number of areas to provide fact-based information on the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest gas fields in the world,” said Penn State President Graham Spanier. “It has become apparent that much more research and education is needed on the Marcellus.”
Reports on the development of the natural gas deposits of the Marcellus Shale predict a boost to both Pennsylvania’s economy and the energy reserves of the state and nation. At the same time, there are potential environmental and social impacts that must be researched and considered, Spanier said.
“Penn State has the capabilities and resources to examine all sides of this complex issue—and to do that well,” he said.
Leadership of Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR) < http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/ > reflects the need for energy research and public outreach with Michael A. Arthur, professor of geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Thomas B. Murphy, extension educator, Penn State Cooperative Extension, serving as co-directors.
In establishing the Marcellus Center, the University aims to coordinate ongoing outreach and research initiatives as well as develop additional resources for stakeholders on Marcellus geology, legal issues, environmentally appropriate technologies, and impacts on infrastructure such as roadways and bridges.
Because water availability and protection are key issues, MCOR has hired a hydrogeologist to lead these related outreach and research efforts. This position will complement ongoing research into water supply and quality issues funded by state and federal agencies.
The University has been a key player in Marcellus development since its beginning. It was Penn State research that first called attention to the potential for tapping this vast energy reserve using horizontal drilling technology. In addition, for the past five years, Penn State extension staff has provided Marcellus-focused programming to landowners, local governments and state legislators, reaching more than 50,000 people in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Cooperative Extension staff also has collaborated with environmental and business organizations as well as state agencies on issues from gas rights to water impacts.
Workforce development programs to train Pennsylvania residents for jobs within the natural gas industry also are being initiated by the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center (MSETC) < http://www.msetc.org/ > a separate collaboration between Cooperative Extension and Penn College of Technology.
“This center (MCOR) enables Penn State to further our outreach efforts to counter misinformation and provide reliable knowledge to the residents of Pennsylvania and surrounding states about the opportunities and challenges of natural gas development,” Murphy said.
While the expertise of faculty across the University will be tapped through the center, faculty in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences are already engaged in research projects to investigate geologic aspects of the Marcellus Shale and to determine more efficient methods for “fracing” the formation to enhance natural gas recovery and minimize the number of wells to be drilled. Fracing is short for hydraulic fracturing, a process that fractures rock formations to extract the gas below. These projects are being funded by the Department of Energy and industry affiliate groups.
“Other key research examines impacts of increased truck traffic on Pennsylvania’s extensive dirt and gravel road network, the effects of well siting and pipeline construction on forest ecology and the spread of invasive species,” Arthur said.
Penn State researchers also are examining the economic and social consequences of rapid development of the communities with significant Marcellus Shale drilling.
Penn State has committed major resources to establish and staff the Marcellus Center (MCOR) with support from the colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Penn State Institutes for Energy and the Environment (PSIEE) and Penn State Outreach, Spanier said.
Additional funding from PSIEE and the Social Sciences Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State is underwriting investigation of human/social impacts and environmental issues related to Marcellus development by teams of cross-disciplinary collaborators. The goal of these research seed grants is to develop proposals for external funding agencies.
Webinars address issues with Marcellus gas in two upcoming offerings
http://live.psu.edu/story/47887/nw69
Monday, August 16, 2010
Three county commissioners — Mark Smith of Bradford County, Pamela Tokar-Ickes of Somerset County and Paul Heimel of Potter County — will be the featured speakers during a free, Web-based seminar titled, “Local Natural Gas Task Force Initiatives,” which will air at 1 p.m. on Aug. 19. Sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the webinar will provide an overview of how county task forces are responding to the ramp-up of shale-gas exploration in their respective counties.
Information about how to register for the webinar is available at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars. Online participants will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions during the session.
The “Local Natural Gas Task Force Initiatives” webinar is part of an ongoing series of workshops addressing issues related to the state’s Marcellus shale gas boom. Another one-hour webinar will be held at 1 p.m. on Sept. 16, titled “Natural Gas Experiences of Marcellus Residents: Preliminary Results from the Community Satisfaction Survey”; Presenter: Kathy Brasier, Penn State.
Previous webinars, which covered topics such as water use and quality, zoning, and gas-leasing considerations for landowners and implications for local communities, can be viewed at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars.
For more information, contact Joann Kowalski, extension educator in Susquehanna County, at 570-278-1158 or by e-mail at jmk20@psu.edu.
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.
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.
Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
With Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale-gas epoch still in its infancy, some experts doubt we have seen one-tenth of what is yet to come and recommend that municipalities brace themselves for rapid change. “People who are not in the Marcellus areas have no clue how big this is going to be,” said Kurt Hausammann Jr., planning director for Lycoming County. “This has the possibility to change our whole way of life.”
Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/47431/nw69
Download This Story Here
Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
Marcellus Shale Regulations Regarding Drinking Water in PA
Bryan Swistock, Penn State Water Quality Extension Specialist, discusses the Marcellus shale regulations regarding drinking water in PA.
Safe Drinking Water workshop
http://www.americantowns.com/pa/hawley/events/safe-drinking-water-workshop
Safe Drinking Water workshop
Penn State Cooperative Extension will present a Safe Drinking Water workshop on July 13, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Pike County Conservation District office, 556 Route 402, Blooming Grove. The cost is $7.00 per person or couple. Pre-registration, including payment, is required by July 9.
If you depend on your own well or spring for your drinking water, it is your responsibility to have your water tested periodically at a certified water testing lab. Water testing will be available for participants at a discounted fee through Prosser Labs.
For a printable flyer go to http://tinyurl.com/yycbns3
For more information contact Penn State Cooperative Extension in Pike County by phone at 570-296-3400, by fax at 570-296-3406, or send an e-mail message to PikeExt@psu.edu. Please be sure to include your full name and surface mail address.
Marcellus shale well accident reinforces need to guard water quality
http://live.psu.edu/story/47244/nw69
Monday, June 21, 2010
University Park, Pa. — The recent eruption of a Marcellus shale gas well in Clearfield County, Pa., has triggered investigations by state agencies. A Penn State Cooperative Extension water specialist said it also should remind Pennsylvanians that drilling can impact surrounding water resources, and well owners near any drill sites should take steps to monitor their drinking water.
The contaminated water spewed by the natural-gas well for more than 15 hours may have entered a local aquifer. Bryan Swistock, senior extension associate in the School of Forest Resources, said the state Department of Environmental Protection will probably check local streams for contamination, but it may be prudent for water-well owners living near the spill to have an independent laboratory test their well water. He said the tests for various contaminants have a range of costs and implications.
“Things like methane, chloride, total dissolved solids and barium are very good indicators and are relatively inexpensive to test for — most labs can do them,” Swistock explained. “When you move down into the organic chemicals that might be used in fracturing, the cost to test for them goes way up. The risk is much less for those, typically, so it’s not quite as important, but again, if you can afford to do that testing, that’s great.”
The Department of Environmental Protection ordered a contractor hired by the gas-well owner to stop some of its work in the state, hand over equipment records and provide access to employees as DEP investigates the equipment used by the company.
“They haven’t determined how the blow-out happened, but it appears that it allowed a lot of gas and hydrofracturing fluid to escape on the ground into nearby streams,” Swistock said. “That reinforces how important it is for people who live near natural-gas drilling to document their water quality before the drilling, so that if any incidents do occur, you can prove they happened. And that includes testing of wells, streams, ponds and any water resources that you’re concerned about before the drilling occurs.
“It’s hard to document anything if you don’t have any pre-existing data,” he added. “It’s important that homeowners have an unbiased expert from a state-certified lab conduct the tests, in case the sample results are needed for legal action.”
Water forced into subterranean pockets as part of the drilling process dissolves many chemicals out of the rock, Swistock said, and may gather large amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium, and small amounts of arsenic and lead. There also are enormous amounts of sodium and chloride as water dissolves chemicals left behind by ancient sea water.
Swistock said balancing frequency of testing with the proximity of the drilling activity is an individual decision for each well owner.
“Fracking is a very intensive industrial activity, and these kinds of incidents are going to happen,” he said. “They don’t happen very often if we look at the history of the industry, but people have to decide on their own how concerned they are and how much testing they want to go through. Certainly, water supplies within 1,000 feet of the drilling are considered at higher risk. Beyond that, it’s up to the homeowner to decide. If some people 5,000 feet away are concerned and want to get testing done, that’s really their choice.”
About 3.5 million Pennsylvanians get their water from private wells and springs, according to Swistock. He said residents who want more information on Marcellus shale gas exploration can find it online at Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Natural Gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/.
Webinar to discuss shale-gas drilling in urban areas
Friday, May 14, 2010
The acronym NIMBY — “Not in My Back Yard” — is a battle cry commonly hurled by neighbors at any nearby controversy. But when the controversy murmurs simultaneously across multiple neighborhoods in the same city, the expanding chorus of affected neighbors can create an industrial-strength din.
Such was the case in Fort Worth, Texas, where prior to 2000, there were no gas wells in town. Ten years later, there are 1,675 shale-gas wells within city limits, according to Sarah Fullenwider, senior assistant city attorney for the City of Fort Worth.
She said some Fort Worth citizens who have signed gas leases are frustrated with the local process and controls.
“Many have signed leases and want the financial benefits of extracting the minerals, so they want drilling to take place,” she said. “But they don’t want the impacts of a well near their homes. They are frustrated with the ability of cities to implement local controls considering Texas laws regarding the dominant mineral estate.”
Fullenwider will be the featured speaker during a free Web-based seminar titled, “Lessons from Gas Drilling in an Urban Environment,” which will air Thursday, May 20, at 1 p.m. Sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the “webinar” will provide an overview of Fort Worth’s experience as shale-gas companies in Texas began setting up drilling operations within city limits. Read more