Gas at a Glance

REGIONAL GAS LEASES MAPPED

A new map depicting gas leases in counties adjoining Pike County, PA was recently presented to the Pike County Planning Commission by assistant county planning director Mike Mrozinski. The map is a collaborative effort by Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Sullivan counties in New York, Sussex County in New Jersey, Common Waters and the Upper Delaware River Roundtable. The map aims to offer a regional view of the Upper Delaware watershed by identifying locations of leased parcels, as well as rivers, lakes and streams, but is not yet ready for public release.

CABOT FINED $120,000; MUST PREVENT GAS MIGRATION AND RESTORE WATER OVER 9 SQUARE MILES

Capping a PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigation that began early this year when numerous residents of Dimock, PA reported evidence of natural gas in their water supplies, the DEP and Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation have executed a consent order and agreement to provide a solution for migrating gas that has affected 13 water supplies in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, PA. The affected area covers nine square miles around Carter Road.

DEP will gain more oversight of Cabot’s new well construction work in the affected area. Cabot has provided an interim solution for all of the homes where water supplies have been affected and must develop a plan by March 31, 2010 to restore or replace the affected water supplies permanently. Cabot must also submit information on all parties who have contacted the company about water quantity or quality issues, as well as a plan that specifically identifies how the company intends to prove the integrity of the casing and cementing on existing wells and fix defective casing and cementing.

In addition, Cabot paid a $120,000 civil penalty for violations of the Oil and Gas Act, the Solid Waste Management Act and the Clean Streams Law. DEP inspectors discovered that the well casings on some of Cabot’s natural gas wells were cemented improperly or insufficiently, allowing natural gas to migrate to groundwater. The company will drill up to 60 wells in 2009, and has plans to drill up to 70 more in 2010.

RADIOACTIVE WASTEWATER LATEST DRILLING DILEMMA

Radioactive wastewater generated by the process of gas drilling is raising renewed concerns as New York prepares for heavy development of the Marcellus Shale. As reported by ProPublica, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) analyzed 13 samples of drilling wastewater and found levels of radium-226, a derivative of uranium, as high as 267 times the limit safe for discharge into the environment and thousands of times the limit safe for people to drink. The DEC has not yet determined how to handle the contaminated water. If substantiated with further testing, disposal of the wastewater could lead to increased regulations and expenses, waste handler licensing, testing of workers for radioactive exposure and determining how current state laws for radioactive waste might apply to drilling. In a confidential letter to DEC oil and gas regulators obtained by ProPublica, New York Department of Health officials said, ““Handling and disposal of this wastewater could be a public health concern.” Radium is known to cause bone, liver and breast cancers. It releases radon gas and takes 1,600 years to decay. The EPA publishes exposure guidelines for it, but there is still disagreement over exactly how dangerous low-level doses can be. The state took its samples between October 2008 and April 2009. Most drilling wastewater is treated by municipal or industrial water treatment plants and discharged back into public waterways. The radium-laden wastewater would likely require treatment by plants capable of removing radioactive substances. According to the DEC, “there are currently no facilities specifically designated for treating them.” Read the full story at www.propublica.org/feature/is-the-marcellus-shale-too-hot-to-handle-1109 .