Gas, well-water discussed

Most attendees support FRAC Act

By TOM KANE

FOREST CITY, PA — A high official of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told a public forum that there was little contamination of water occurring in Pennsylvania as a result of gas drilling activity in the Marcellus Shale field.

Craig Lobin, DEP Northwest Regional Manager for the Oil and Gas Program, also said that the few chemicals that were contained in the gas drilling fluids were not a danger to anyone and quickly disintegrated because they had a very short life span.

About 120 residents attended the public forum on the topic of gas exploration and drinking water, which was organized by a group called R.E.S.C.U.E., a non-profit environmental organization.

Of 120 attendees, 77 signed a petition asking Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter, as well as Congressman Chris Carney, to support the proposed Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act), which would repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act. This would mean that gas drilling companies would have to, among other things, reveal the chemicals they add to the fluids used to frack a gas well.

At the forum, R.E.S.C.U.E., which encompasses environmental groups in Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Wyoming counties, also presented Jennifer Means, DEP regional manager of the Northeast Office of Oil and Gas Management and Bryan Swistock, Water Resources Extension Specialist at Penn State Cooperative Extension.

Swistock presented information on the need for residents to get their well water tested, even if they have not signed a lease. Anyone who did not have their well tested was not being very smart, he said. He admitted that over recent years, there were large contamination rates in some areas of the state and lower rates in other areas. This included both gas and oil drilling activity, he said.

“Marcellus shale drilling is a recent thing, and we need more time to research what the effects will be,” he said. He stated that there were 400 Marcellus drilling sites begun last year and that the number has risen to about 1,200 so far this year. By year’s end, the number should be around 1,600.

A woman from Dimock, PA, where numerous contaminations of wells and homes have occurred recently, said, “You are doing too much too soon. The area is not really ready for all this.” She mentioned that with all the truck traffic, accidents were bound to happen.

Commenting on the occurrences at Dimock, Lobin admitted that the migration of methane gas under the ground was a serious concern. “What happened at Dimock is an anomaly. These things don’t happen much. We are still investigation the incidents,” he said.

Lobin admitted that the agency was understaffed and found it hard to handle all the instances of drilling that were occurring. “We are in the act of hiring more staff but this takes time to complete.”

One questioner asked if it was not known what chemicals were in the drilling fluid, how could a treatment plant operator be sure that the chemicals were safely removed. None of the three presenters chose to comment on the question.

DRBC hearing postponed

The public hearing of the Delaware River Basin Commission regarding the permit for water withdrawal permit for Chesapeake Appalachia has been postponed. The permit would allow Chesapeake to withdraw up to one million gallons of water per day from the river. The company said it required additional time to review the amended docket. The hearing, which had been scheduled for September 23, has not yet been rescheduled.