Gas wells and drinking water

Seventy percent of meeting attendees are “nervous”

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - Bryan Swistock, water resource associate from Penn State University, said that contamination of wells on properties where drilling occurs is minimal.

Despite his optimistic presentation called Natural Gas Wells and Drinking Water, 70 percent of the 25 attendees selected “nervous” out of a list of four choices.

The question was asked: “How do you feel about the gas drilling that is happening in Pennsylvania?” The four choices were: enthusiastic, pleased, nervous and angry.

Swistock was using a new technology to get immediate feedback, giving each member of the audience a small key pad with numbers from 1 to 10. His computer had a receiving device that registered the responses and tabulated them in seconds, projecting the results on the screen as bar codes that indicated which choice got what results.

The purpose of the meeting was to instruct property owners who have signed a lease how they should educate themselves about protecting their private wells from contamination. Over 95 percent of the attendees said that they had signed a lease, again using the unique response card.

Swistock warned property owners to be sure their wells were tested before drilling started. He handed out a kit for taking samples of their well water and told attendees that they could return the kit with a sample of their wells and have it analyzed at a reduced cost. They were to return the kits the next morning at the site of the presentation, which was at the Wayne County Complex on Route 6 in Honesdale on June 3.

When asked to comment on the contamination of wells that has occurred in Dimock, PA and Hickory, PA, Swistock remarked that, since the drilling was carried out by flawed humans, there would be mistakes, but these were minimal.

“The Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources have a very strict permit and inspection process that drilling companies must follow,” he said.

Swistock’s address was very thorough, stepping through the drilling process from seismic testing at the beginning, through all the drilling processes and ended with the recovery of the drilling site to its original state.

He said that the companies had to reveal the contents of their drilling fluids, what chemicals were being used, but did not have to reveal the “mixture of chemicals” used since this information was proprietary.

“The Coca Company can tell you what’s in their drink but they don’t have to tell you what mixture they use,” he said.

When he was told of the works of Dr. Theo Colborn, a renowned endocrinologist, highlighting the health hazards caused by the chemicals in the drilling process, he remarked that these too were minimal.

Multiple handouts at the meeting listed vital information and resources that property owners could use to keep themselves informed about gas drilling.

For more information visit www.

naturalgas.psu.edu or contact the Wayne County Cooperative Extension at 570/253-5970, or the Pike County Extension at 570/296-3400.