PA DEP says wastewater from gas drilling ruined drinking water

State determines wastewater from gas drilling contaminated drinking water in Westmoreland County

August 27, 2014 12:00 AM

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By Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

The state Department of Environmental Protection has officially determined that drinking water at a third residence is contaminated by WPX Appalachia LLC’s leaky Marcellus Shale gas drilling wastewater impoundment near Stahlstown, Westmoreland County.

Whether that gets any of the three families living along rural Route 711 south of Ligonier any closer to a permanent replacement water supply is another matter.

 

The DEP last week ordered WPX to restore or replace the water supply at the home of Ken and Mildred Geary, both in their 80s, who first complained that their water had a foul, chemical smell and taste a year ago. The order came down two years after the DEP first received a complaint about possible ground water contamination from the  impoundment at WPX’s Kelp shale gas drilling pad.

The DEP made the contamination determination based on tests done in June, that showed the well water contained higher concentrations of chloride, barium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, strontium and total dissolved solids than it did prior to November 2011 when WPX drilled the Kelp well.

“In February, I believe the data was already there to show contamination,” said Nick Kennedy, an attorney with the Mountain Watershed Association, a local environmental advocacy group that has worked with the families. “This determination and order should have been made months ago.”

That’s when the DEP issued a determination that the water well used by Joseph and Sonja Latin, who live next door to the Gearys, had been contaminated by WPX and ordered the company to start the process of permanently replacing their water.

WPX appealed that order to the state Environmental Hearing Board. It has 30 days to appeal the Geary's order.

The third family, the Browns, filed a water quality complaint with the DEP in September 2012 and in July of last year the department ordered the company to permanently replace their water supply. A year later, the Browns are still drawing water from a 2,500-gallon plastic water tank, and have filed a lawsuit against the company and its subcontractors alleging damages to their property value.

Susan Oliver, A WPX spokeswoman, said she doesn’t know if the company plans to appeal the DEP order to replace the Geary’s water, but added that water tests are continuing and “until that’s done and finalized a determination on replacing the supplies can’t be made.”

John Poister, a DEP spokesman, said the process of permanently restoring water supplies for the families, though delayed by legal appeals and complications, is moving forward.

“DEP has determined that WPX’s activity has impacted these water supplies and have issued a unilateral order to permanently replace the three water supplies,” he said in a written response to questions. “We realize that this is a serious issue for these homeowners. If WPX fails to comply with this order it will result in enforcement actions, which could include an immediate permitting freeze until the issue is addressed.”

Mr. Poister said that while WPX has provided the affected families with bottled water and other temporary water sources, “it’s not a replacement for clean running water in the home.”

Don Hopey: dho...@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.

 

http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/08/26/MarkWest-to-further-expand-Butler-County-natural-gas-processing-complex/stories/201408260240

  

 

PA Resident Speaks To New Yorkers About the Natural Gas Industry

Vera Scroggins of Susquehanna County, PA, tells her personal story about how she got involved in the fight for public health and saving the beautiful land where she and her family settled years ago.  She speaks from the heart and knows her stuff.  She knows what she is talking about because she is living it every day.  She wants New York to be saved from the hell PA is experiencing. In this video, she is speaking to New Yorkers who live in Schoharie County.

 

Listen to Vera!  She speaks the truth!

 

 

DEP= Don't Expect Protection

A Trip To Dimock, PA, Part Two

A video by Scott Cannon On January 10, 2012.  I drove to Dimock Pennsylvania to find out what's going on with the DEP and the EPA's investigation on the water well contamination alleged by Cabot Oil & Gas.

Methane in three private water wells in Lenox Twp. seeped there from a flawed natural gas well drilled by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., state environmental regulators have found.

An investigation by the Department of Environmental Protection determined that the gas migrated from at least one of three Marcellus Shale wells on the Stalter well pad about a half-mile west of Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County.

The gas was found seeping into three water supplies in August. A fourth water well for a hunting cabin is still being evaluated, DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said.

Video from inside one of Cabot's gas wells showed that a string of steel casing meant to seal off the aquifer from contaminants was improperly constructed, according to a notice of violation sent by DEP in September.

Methane was also found between the cemented strings of casing in all three gas wells on the Stalter pad, a sign state regulators view as evidence of flaws in a well's construction.

The dissolved methane in one nearby water supply jumped from 0.3 milligrams per liter before drilling began to 49 milligrams per liter on Aug. 16 and 57 milligrams per liter on Aug. 18, according to the violation notice.

Cabot installed methane detection alarms in three homes and vented the three affected water wells to keep the methane from accumulating and creating an explosion risk. The company is also delivering replacement drinking water to two of the homes, Mr. Spadoni said. The methane in the third water well has decreased so the home does not require an alternate water supply, he said.

Cabot spokesman George Stark said Friday that the company submitted a detailed response to the DEP and is working with regulators on the issue.

"Cabot is committed to safe and responsible operations and takes matters like this very seriously," he said. "We believe in fact-based, scientific research to guide any necessary corrective actions."

Department regulators sent Cabot a violation notice on Sept. 19, but neither the department's public eFACTS compliance database nor its monthly oil and gas violations report noted the inspection or violations until last week, when a Times-Tribune reporter asked about the investigation.

DEP policy requires the oil and gas program to update the eFACTS database within 10 working days of completing an inspection or mailing a notice of violations.

Mr. Spadoni said the missing information was "an oversight."

Part One here.

Water Buffalo Water Freezes at Bradford County, PA, Home

So your water goes bad.  The gas company provides you with a 1100 gallon plastic container called a buffalo tank.  It sits attractively in your front yard.  But strangely it turns cold in the winter!  Water freezes.  You have no water for 15 days.  This was the recent experience of Jason and Janet Otis who live near Terrytown, PA.  Last August their water was ruined when a gas well was drilled about 500 feet from their home.  The problem, which doesn't really ever go away, is still making a shambles of their daily life.  The Otis family was initially enthusiastic about gas drilling in their neighborhood.  Now with no good water, they are in a quandry about the next step.  Should they sell their home to Chesapeake Energy Corporation?  Should they accept the offer of a filtration system?  They say that is the last thing they want.

Read more: LINK

Here is a response from Chesapeake Energy which refutes just about everything the Otis family is claiming:
LINK

Drilling Pollutes Home and Groundwater in Bradford County, PA

A young family in Terry Township in Bradford County (PA) is now faced with the possibility of an explosion from methane gas.  They cannot drink their water or cook with it.  They have an ugly water buffalo tank in their front yard which has to be filled every 2 days.  They say their home was once worth $250,000, but now is worth perhaps $35,000.  No one wants a home with bad water. 

Chesapeake Energy is responsible for this serious problem, but have they accepted that?  And aren't there some public officials and gas industry representatives that will tell you there has NEVER been an instance of water contamination due to gas drilling?  How can they get away with that?

Chesapeake Energy Cited by DEP For Methane Contamination in Bradford County, PA

 

[Footage from WNEP-TV, Scranton, PA] 

A few residents in Bradford County are dealing with methane gas in their water wells. Now, state investigators are looking into whether drilling for natural gas caused the problems near Towanda. Chesapeake Energy officials said this all started almost two weeks ago so much methane gas built up in a drinking water well that the lid blew off. The gas company is now investigating, along with state environmental crews, after the same gas was found in other wells at neighboring homes.

According to its website, Chesapeake Energy is one of the largest natural gas producers and the largest active driller of new gas wells in the country.

On Monday, Newswatch 16 found workers monitoring gas levels at a home along Brocktown Road in Monroe Township, near Towanda. It is one of three homes officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection believe has been affected by methane gas problems in drinking water wells. While Chesapeake Energy has not taken responsibility for the issues, the company has hired the inspectors to find the source of methane gas. Chesapeake has even provided the homeowners with drinking water and vents for their wells.

"Concerns me, my renters, they're safe," said property owner Paul Sites. "The people Chesapeake hired are doing a good job, but they're not telling us anything." Sites owns two of the rental properties affected. He points out that Chesapeake has merely drilled three natural gas wells nearby and has not started hydraulic fracturing. If that's the source of the methane gas, Sites is worried what could happen next. "They didn't frack it yet, so that's my major concern," he says. "Now they're drilling a methane bubble down. What happens when they frack it?"

Even though the problem is confined to three properties, people who live in this area want to be assured the gas in the water well issues are not a sign of things to come. "Just waiting for Chesapeake," says Sites. "Guess they're trying to take care of the problem, but they ain't telling us nothing. That's what's scary about it. As long as they take care of the problem, we're happy about it."

A spokesperson for the DEP says Chesapeake Energy has been sent a notice of violation. That means even though the source of the methane gas in Bradford County has not been officially determined, DEP is asking the company how it plans to fix any problems at its natural gas wells.
 
Credit: Jim Hamill, WNEP-TV, Scranton, PA
 

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

WE CAN'T DRINK NATURAL GAS