"One morning the salamanders in their pond, where the water was 'pristine' according to tests done prior to drilling, began to die...."
The following article by Cheryl Clarke appeared in the Sun Chronicle on July 2, 2011:
A Charleston Township family's experience with natural gas drilling has become the latest story of contaminated well water associated with nearby drilling, in the ongoing Marcellus Shale saga, according to family member Jeremiah Gee. Gee and his parents, Denise and Jerry, live next door to land that has been leased to Shell Appalachia for drilling, and last winter, a gas drilling site appeared about 100 yards from a pond on their property. It now is known as the "Vandegrift 290" well site.
Gee, a doctorate candidate at Penn State University, said shortly thereafter the family noticed a change in its well water. "We noticed that early on our faucets were sputtering, and the water was milky looking," Gee said. The reason it looked like milk, he said, is "because there were a billion tiny gas bubbles in it, and if you set it on the counter, it clears up." The gas bubbles also can be heard and seen in the Gee's water well, he said. "If you open the casing you can see the gas bubbling in the well," he added. Though there are no other contaminates in the well water-yet "we are not drinking the well water at this time," Gee said. "If you took a match out and dropped it in the well casing right now you would get a boom."
Gee said six natural gas wells have been drilled from the one pad, and "we noticed this after the completion activities began. They call the whole process of completion activities a cycle," he said he was told by Shell officials. "They go to the end of a horizontal hole, perforate it, frack it, plug it and then move back and repeat the process a dozen or more times so," he added. Shell had just started perforating two of the bores when the Gees noticed a difference in their water. "Gas started bubbling in the 'cellars,' a deep culvert put around each well head to prevent gravel from collapsing the hole," Gee said. "It is not supposed to do that; the gas is supposed to be in the casing," he added.
DEP informed
Gee said Shell did not stop operations on the wells until the fact that his family could light their tapwater on fire was brought to the attention of the state Department of Environmental Protection. Shell began taking steps to "mitigate" the problem last week. Gee said the family has spoken to everyone involved with Shell from "the average Joe on up to the operations manager," with less than satisfactory results.
To read the remainder of the article in its entirety, please click HERE.
Showing posts with label fracking fluids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fracking fluids. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Top House Democrat outraged over admissions in today's NYTimes.
The front page story in today's New York Times caught the eye--and the ire--of Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey who promptly fired off a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson demanding immediate action. As referenced in our previous post, the NYTimes investigative report discloses information from internal reports and studies by not only the EPA, but the drilling industry itself. Read all about it--including portions of Markey's letter, by clicking HERE. To read the previous post from this blog--which includes the link to the New York Times article--click HERE.
NYT uncovers confidential gas industry, EPA reports.
The New York Times published a lengthy story online yesterday (appearing on the front page of today's newspaper) detailing just how inadequate the existing regulations are when it comes to fracking for natural gas. Of particular note: the revelation in a gas industry report that "treated" fracking water released back into our streams and rivers still contains amounts of radioactivity that cannot be diluted. Seems like a no-brainer to me but it's the first time I've heard an industry insider admit it. Of course the admission takes place in a confidential report that is only now seeing the light of day. Furthermore, EPA scientists express concern in their own study--also never made public--that water treatment plants are incapable of removing certain contaminants and are in all likelihood violating the law.
Here's an excerpt:
"...While the existence of the toxic wastes has been reported, thousands of internal documents obtained by The New York Times from the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drillers show that the dangers to the environment and health are greater than previously understood.
The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.
The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways...."
To read the entire article in full, click HERE.
Here's an excerpt:
"...While the existence of the toxic wastes has been reported, thousands of internal documents obtained by The New York Times from the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drillers show that the dangers to the environment and health are greater than previously understood.
The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.
The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways...."
To read the entire article in full, click HERE.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
3400 gallons of frack water spilled in Lock Haven
SWISSDALE - The state Department of Environmental Protection confirmed this morning that 3,400 gallons of treated frack flowback water were spilled during Friday's tri-axle truck crash on the Coudersport Pike, near the "horseshoe curve." "There were two things spilled ... 50 gallons of fuel and oil and 3,400 gallons of treated frack water," DEP spokesman Dan Spadoni said. "We have no information that any waterways were threatened by this. I don't think that's a concern."
The water truck is owned by A&A Construction of Clarence. The water was from a well drilled by Anadarko. A&A has hired an environmental consultant, GEF, at the direction of DEP, to conduct an investigation, Spadoni said. "That's part of it," he said. "We've already taken soil samples and have taken at least some private drinking water samples. We'll be following up today." Spadoni said someone from the agency's Environmental Cleanup Program will be collecting more samples from private drinking water wells. As far as any fines that may be instituted, Spadoni said that will be decided at a later date. "Right now, we're focused on the site remediation," he said.
To read the remainder of the article in full, please click HERE.
The water truck is owned by A&A Construction of Clarence. The water was from a well drilled by Anadarko. A&A has hired an environmental consultant, GEF, at the direction of DEP, to conduct an investigation, Spadoni said. "That's part of it," he said. "We've already taken soil samples and have taken at least some private drinking water samples. We'll be following up today." Spadoni said someone from the agency's Environmental Cleanup Program will be collecting more samples from private drinking water wells. As far as any fines that may be instituted, Spadoni said that will be decided at a later date. "Right now, we're focused on the site remediation," he said.
To read the remainder of the article in full, please click HERE.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
PA fracking blowout spews fluid onto state forest lands
The following article appeared in the Star Gazette on 1.25.2011.
Talisman Energy may face heavy penalties
By G. Jeffrey Aaron
Talisman Energy has resumed its Marcellus drilling operations in Pennsylvania, a week after one of the company's gas wells experienced a blowout that caused an uncontrolled discharge of sand and fracking fluids onto state forest lands in Tioga County.
As a result of the incident, Talisman shut down all of its hydraulic fracturing operations in North America while it conducted an internal investigation into the cause of the Jan. 17 blowout. Those operations have since resumed, with Talisman's Pennsylvania drilling program being the last to be brought back online.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has requested Talisman provide answers to nine questions related to the blowout as part of its investigation into the incident. The investigation could result in civil penalties levied against Talisman.
The well where the blowout occurred is on Pennsylvania State Forest lands in Ward Township, about nine miles southeast of Mansfield.
"There is certainly the possibility of a civil penalty that would be determined at a later time," DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said. "But we need to have the investigation concluded to our satisfaction before the civil penalties would be addressed."
Talisman, based in Calgary, Alberta has five days from receipt of letter, called a notice of violation, to submit the information requested by the DEP. The letter was dated Monday.
Among other items, the DEP wants Talisman to submit a sampling plan for the site, information on any fluids released during the blowout, an analysis of the incident's cause, changes in all of the company's Marcellus operations as a result of the incident and when those changes will be implemented.
DEP is also asking why it was notified shortly after 1:30 p.m. Jan. 17 when the incident began a little after noon.
"This was a serious incident that could have caused significant environmental harm had it not been brought under control," DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber said in a statement. "DEP is conducting a thorough investigation to determine why this incident occurred."
To read the remainder of the article, please click HERE.
Talisman Energy may face heavy penalties
By G. Jeffrey Aaron
Talisman Energy has resumed its Marcellus drilling operations in Pennsylvania, a week after one of the company's gas wells experienced a blowout that caused an uncontrolled discharge of sand and fracking fluids onto state forest lands in Tioga County.
As a result of the incident, Talisman shut down all of its hydraulic fracturing operations in North America while it conducted an internal investigation into the cause of the Jan. 17 blowout. Those operations have since resumed, with Talisman's Pennsylvania drilling program being the last to be brought back online.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has requested Talisman provide answers to nine questions related to the blowout as part of its investigation into the incident. The investigation could result in civil penalties levied against Talisman.
The well where the blowout occurred is on Pennsylvania State Forest lands in Ward Township, about nine miles southeast of Mansfield.
"There is certainly the possibility of a civil penalty that would be determined at a later time," DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said. "But we need to have the investigation concluded to our satisfaction before the civil penalties would be addressed."
Talisman, based in Calgary, Alberta has five days from receipt of letter, called a notice of violation, to submit the information requested by the DEP. The letter was dated Monday.
Among other items, the DEP wants Talisman to submit a sampling plan for the site, information on any fluids released during the blowout, an analysis of the incident's cause, changes in all of the company's Marcellus operations as a result of the incident and when those changes will be implemented.
DEP is also asking why it was notified shortly after 1:30 p.m. Jan. 17 when the incident began a little after noon.
"This was a serious incident that could have caused significant environmental harm had it not been brought under control," DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber said in a statement. "DEP is conducting a thorough investigation to determine why this incident occurred."
To read the remainder of the article, please click HERE.
Friday, November 26, 2010
30+ violations this year alone...and XTO keeps on drilling...
[Note: this story was written by Mark Levy for the Philadelphia Inquirer & originally appeared HERE on Nov. 24th.]
Pa. DEP studying leak at gas well
The XTO leak polluted a Lycoming County stream. It was not the company's first leak.
By Marc Levy, Associated Press
HARRISBURG - State officials were investigating a leak of drilling wastewater at a natural-gas well site in north-central Pennsylvania that polluted a stream and a spring, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said Tuesday.
A department inspector discovered the leak last week while visiting a producing well owned by XTO Energy Inc. in Lycoming County, where the company is tapping into the vast Marcellus Shale gas reserve.
The inspector noticed an open bottom valve on a 21,000-gallon tank containing fluids left over from the hydraulic fracturing process used to stimulate a newly drilled well. The inspector closed the valve, but tests on two nearby waterways show signs of pollution, the department said.
Investigators still do not know how the valve opened, and have not met with XTO officials yet, department spokesman Dan Spadoni said.
A spokeswoman for XTO's parent company, Houston-based Exxon Mobil Corp., said Tuesday that about 2,400 gallons leaked and that XTO was cleaning it up and taking steps to keep it from happening again. The company initially told state officials that, as a worst-case scenario, about 13,000 gallons could have leaked, but it settled on the lower figure after employees reviewed inventory records, Exxon spokeswoman Rachael Moore said.
Neither Moore nor Spadoni knew how long the fluid had been sitting in the tank.
This was not the first such leak for XTO.
Violation records posted online by the department from a May inspection of a Lycoming County well owned by XTO reported a wastewater spill of about five barrels, or 200 gallons, because of an open valve. Before the latest leak, XTO had racked up 31 violations in 2010, according to department records.
XTO has drilled more than 20 Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania since the beginning of 2009, department records show.
In the hydraulic fracturing process, millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals are blasted into the well to break apart the shale and release the gas.
The wastewater that comes back up the well is typically a toxic sludge of dissolved chlorides, sulfates, and metals accumulated in the shale, and must either be treated on site or be trucked away to a special treatment facility.
Pa. DEP studying leak at gas well
The XTO leak polluted a Lycoming County stream. It was not the company's first leak.
By Marc Levy, Associated Press
HARRISBURG - State officials were investigating a leak of drilling wastewater at a natural-gas well site in north-central Pennsylvania that polluted a stream and a spring, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said Tuesday.
A department inspector discovered the leak last week while visiting a producing well owned by XTO Energy Inc. in Lycoming County, where the company is tapping into the vast Marcellus Shale gas reserve.
The inspector noticed an open bottom valve on a 21,000-gallon tank containing fluids left over from the hydraulic fracturing process used to stimulate a newly drilled well. The inspector closed the valve, but tests on two nearby waterways show signs of pollution, the department said.
Investigators still do not know how the valve opened, and have not met with XTO officials yet, department spokesman Dan Spadoni said.
A spokeswoman for XTO's parent company, Houston-based Exxon Mobil Corp., said Tuesday that about 2,400 gallons leaked and that XTO was cleaning it up and taking steps to keep it from happening again. The company initially told state officials that, as a worst-case scenario, about 13,000 gallons could have leaked, but it settled on the lower figure after employees reviewed inventory records, Exxon spokeswoman Rachael Moore said.
Neither Moore nor Spadoni knew how long the fluid had been sitting in the tank.
This was not the first such leak for XTO.
Violation records posted online by the department from a May inspection of a Lycoming County well owned by XTO reported a wastewater spill of about five barrels, or 200 gallons, because of an open valve. Before the latest leak, XTO had racked up 31 violations in 2010, according to department records.
XTO has drilled more than 20 Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania since the beginning of 2009, department records show.
In the hydraulic fracturing process, millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals are blasted into the well to break apart the shale and release the gas.
The wastewater that comes back up the well is typically a toxic sludge of dissolved chlorides, sulfates, and metals accumulated in the shale, and must either be treated on site or be trucked away to a special treatment facility.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)