Riverkeeper, township challenge DRBC

Exploratory wells issue may be re-examined

By FRITZ MAYER

NOCKAMIXON TOWNSHIP, PA — Should exploratory gas wells be treated the same as other gas wells when it comes to protecting the Delaware River? It’s a question being asked on the upper and middle parts of the river as gas companies seek to drill in the basin.

The position of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has been that exploratory wells do not require review. But with regard to a well in Nockamixon Township in Buck County, that position is now being challenged.

On May 21, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN), together with the township, submitted a hearing request concerning the decision by the DRBC to allow a gas well in Nockamixon to move forward without DRBC review. The well is identified as Cabot #2.

There are several reasons sited for the challenge, which might also pertain to the 14 exploratory wells being drilled in Wayne County. The first is that this particular well is not intended to remain an exploratory well if recoverable amounts of gas are discovered. DRN and the township say the well should have review because it is intended for eventual production. Some of the exploratory wells in Wayne County may also ultimately be used for production.

Another reason cited for the challenge is that the DRBC is ignoring the terms of its compact if it does not review the well. Among other things, the compact says, “No project having a substantial effect on the water resources of the basin shall hereafter be undertaken by any person, corporation or governmental authority unless it shall have been first submitted to and approved by the commission….” The DRN and the township say the well pad in question could result in various forms of runoff and pollution. The same could also be said of the pads in Wayne County.

DRN and the township say that the DRBC should review all gas-drilling projects, including exploratory wells, because of the potential for “adverse impacts and degradation to the water resources of the Delaware River Basin and the water quality of Special Protection Waters.”

Clarke Rupert, communications director of the DRBC, said in an email, “The commissioners and staff have been receiving numerous comments on the subject of exploratory wells.”

Rupert said the commision is examining various options regarding exploratory wells including the option that the May 2009 executive director determination be supplemented to include exploratory wells. Another option is to possibly address both production and exploratory wells in new regulations for natural gas well pads being developed by the commission.