Oriskany & Marcellus

DRBC backs away, critics cry foul

By FRITZ MAYER

OREGON TOWNSHIP, PA — The Marcellus Shale has been much in the news lately, but another formation called the Oriskany Sandstone is now getting attention in the river valley. Getting gas out of this formation is reportedly somewhat easier than the Marcellus formation, and wells in the Oriskany do not require nearly as much water for fracking.

Just as important from an environmental viewpoint, drillers targeting the Oriskany are not required to complete a Marcellus Addendum when applying to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for permits to drill. That means that matters such as the use of fracking fluid and the disposal of waste water will receive much less scrutiny than would be the case with a Marcellus well. Moreover, because the well targets the Oriskany, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has determined that it will not review the application.

The location of the Robson Well in Oregon Township, about four miles north of Honesdale, sits above both the Marcellus and the Oriskany. The drilling company, Chesapeake Appalachia, has received a permit from the DEP to create the drilling pad, but the permit to drill has not yet been issued. Some environmental organizations accuse the DRBC of shirking its responsibility by pulling out of the permit-approval process in this case.

In a lengthy letter to the DRBC, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) said that the organization is very concerned about this development for numerous reasons.

The letter explains that although the Marecllus is not the target at this time, the drilling will go through the Marcellus and the well might later be adapted to exploit Marcellus gas. Even if the company re-applies to the DEP for a new permit, much of the infrastructure regarding the well, such as “the well pad, access roads, feeder pipelines and holding pits,” will already be in place, and will not have been constructed to DRBC standards and may contribute to pollution of the watershed.

Also, the letter says that fracking fluids will be used in the Oriskany well, though in much less quantity than with a Marcellus well. However, with the Oriskany, there is no mechanism in place for tracking the fluids nor the identification of the chemicals in them as there would be with a Marcellus well. The letter reads, “DEP’s Marcellus shale addendum and the DRBC require the disclosure of all hydraulic fracturing chemicals. This information is not available for the Robson well.”

Then, too, there is the matter of the wastewater that will be produced from the well. If it were a Marcellus well, the disposal of the wastewater would be carefully tracked. Though the Oriskany well will also likely produce contaminated wastewater, its disposal will not be tracked.

The letter presents evidence that natural gas companies are working the two types of wells together in Pennsylvania using fracking techniques.

The DRN asked the DRBC to “adopt a policy to require submittal to and approval by the commission for all natural gas wells in the Delaware River Basin.”

The DRN is not the only group concerned about the DRBC’s stand. The advocacy group Damascus Citizens for Sustainability is going so far as to promise legal action against the DRBC to compel the commission to, in the view of the group, fulfill its mission.

Pat Carullo, a founder of the group, said, “It is the responsibility of the commission to address issues of water quality and quantity anywhere in the watershed.” He said the group will take action in federal and state courts to force DRBC to act, and may even engage in “peaceful civil disobedience” in attempting to prevent the well from going forward.

Clark Rupert, communications manager for the DRBC, said that the agency is not seeking to review applications for the Oriskany because the amount of water involved is much less than in a Marcellus well, and the operation is considered a traditional well by the DEP.

He quoted DEP information saying that some 350,000 gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania in the last 150 years, and the DRBC became involved in reviewing wells only in the past year because of the concern over the vast amounts of water involved in the Marcellus wells.

He added that the commission continues to hold talks with the various member states and partners and is working through the issues involved.

Chesapeake did not respond to questions regarding this story.