Trans Energy (Nov 18):
Press Release: Trans Energy Begins Drilling Third Horizontal Marcellus Well in Marshall County, WV
From the press release:
Trans Energy, Inc. announced today that it has begun drilling the Whipkey #1H well in Marshall County, West Virginia. The Whipkey #1H will be drilled and completed horizontally in the Marcellus shale.
The Company plans to drill the vertical portion of the Whipkey #1H well to a depth above the kick-off point of approximately 6,500 feet. A second, larger rig will follow-on immediately to drill the horizontal portion.
James K. Abcouwer, President and CEO of Trans Energy, said, “We have to-date successfully drilled four vertical Marcellus wells. We have also successfully drilled and completed one horizontal Marcellus well, the Hart #28H, and partially drilled a second horizontal Marcellus well, the Anderson #7H, both of which are in Wetzel County, West Virginia. Continuing our horizontal program in another county is another significant step forward for Trans Energy to properly develop its acreage position in northern West Virginia.”
The Company continues to expand its acreage position centered on Wetzel, Marion, and Marshall Counties in West Virginia, which it believes to be the heart of the most prolific natural gas resource in Appalachia, and one of the greatest in the United States.
Towanda Daily Review (Nov 18):
Treatment plant for gas drilling waste water subject of Athens Twp. hearing tonight
An informative article about the waste water treatment plants proposed for northeastern Pennsylvania. Some tidbits from the article:
The North Central Regional Office of the DEP, which serves Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union counties, has received 10 applications for NPDES permits, according to spokesman Dan Spadoni. Of those 10 applications, four are for plants proposed on the west branch of the Susquehanna River, one is for the Somerset plant on the Chemung River, one is proposed on the Tioga River, and the remainder are for various creeks and streams, he said.
Somerset Regional Water Resources is requesting a discharge permit for around a million gallons a day, which makes it the largest in the North Central Region, Spadoni said. The other proposed plants are requesting permits for between 50,000 to 500,000 gallons per day, he said.
The article discusses naturally occuring radioactive substances that might be concentrated in waste water, and how the plants would deal with it. The article also points out the plan is for the plants to recycle and re-use most of the water for other shale drilling instead of discharging it all into the environment. However, there will necessarily be some water discharged into tributaries and streams.
I found this article very enlightening and balanced in its coverage–a good read for landowners and other interested parties.
Wellsboro Gazette (Nov 18):
Marcellus Shale, climate change, money, politics and the environment
Pennsylvania is offering state-owned land for lease to energy companies interested in drilling in the Marcellus Shale. According to the article:
Monday, the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), John Quigley, announced that six tracts of land are being offered for lease. The lease offering amounts to 31,967 acres.
Nearly 22,000 of the acres for lease lie in Tioga and Potter counties.
The 31,967 acres represents 1.5% of the total amount of state-owned forest land, a very small fraction.
Harrisburg Patriot-News (Nov 18):
Twelve Marcellus Shale gas drilling wastewater treatment plants proposed in northern Pennsylvania
Water treatment plants are the next battleground in the drilling debate. There is increasing opposition to the licensing of treatment plants, not only because of the chemicals used, but the truck traffic involved. From this article out of Harrisburg:
The state Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing permit applications associated with at least 12 different proposals to build treatment plants for chemical-tainted wastewater from natural gas drilling operations in northern Pennsylvania.
Ten of the plants are proposed in DEP’s 14-county north-central region, which is centered on Lycoming and Clinton counties.
Also from this article, a few stats of interest:
Through October, 120 of the 1,592 Marcellus Shale well drilling permits issued by DEP this year were for sites in Susquehanna County.
And this:
DEP issued 1,592 Marcellus Shale gas well drilling permits in the first 10 months of 2009. More than one-third of them were in the 14-county north-central region.
Ithaca Journal (Nov 18):
Sustainable Tompkins awards mini-grants
People in the Ithaca, NY area should know that a local organization calling itself Sustainable Tompkins (www.sustainabletompkins.org) is helping to fund anti-drilling causes. They recently made a small grant of $370 to Shaleshock Citizens Action Alliance (www.shaleshock.org) to “produce newsletters reporting on industrial gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale and its effects on the Finger Lakes region.” That is, to fund the false and misleading propaganda that Shaleshock excretes. Unfortunately, New York State taxpayer money is one of the funding sources for Sustainable Tompkins. As a taxpayer in New York, I OBJECT. When will our politicians wise up and quit wasting money on these leftist organizations? Shame on Assemblywoman Lifton for securing funding for Sustainable Tompkins as a “member item” in the (soon to be bankrupt) New York State budget.
PA Department of Environmental Protection (Nov 4):
Press Release: DEP Reaches Agreement with Cabot to Prevent Gas Migration, Restore Water Supplies in Dimock Township
Below is the unaltered press release from the PA DEP:
Meadville – The Department of Environmental Protection and Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. have executed a consent order and agreement that will provide a long-term solution for migrating gas that has affected 13 water supplies in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County.
The affected area covers nine square miles around Carter Road.
The consent order and agreement outlines a process that will give DEP more oversight of Cabot’s new well construction work in the affected area. Prior to drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or hydro fracking, the company will submit well casing and cementing plans to DEP. Once DEP provides written approval, Cabot may proceed.
“The goal of the consent order and agreement is to ensure a long-term resolution to issues that have emerged in Dimock,” said DEP Northwest Regional Director Kelly Burch. “The company will focus on the integrity of the wells in the affected area in an attempt to determine the source of the migrating gas.”
This past week, Cabot has provided an interim solution for all of the homes where water supplies have been affected. Cabot must develop a plan by March 31 to restore or replace the affected water supplies permanently.
Under the consent order and agreement, Cabot must additionally submit to DEP:
- Information on all parties who have contacted the company about water quantity or quality issues; and
- 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 by March 31.
If Cabot fails to fix the defective casing and cementing by the March deadline, the company must plug defective wells or implement another alternative as approved by DEP.
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.
The consent order and agreement caps a DEP investigation that began early this year when numerous Dimock area residents reported evidence of natural gas in their water supplies. 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.
On Sept. 25, following a series of wastewater spills, DEP ordered Cabot to cease hydro fracking natural gas wells throughout Susquehanna County. The prohibition was removed after the company completed a number of important engineering and safety tasks.
Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. is a Delaware-based company with a mailing address in Pittsburgh.
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (Nov 4):
Debate on drilling rules extended by DEC
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has caved to the anti-drillers who are screaming for more time to read the 800-page draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS)–the proposed new drilling regulations all drillers in New York would have to follow when drilling in the Marcellus Shale. So the DEC has added another 30 days to the “comment period” which is really nothing more than an extra 30 days for the anti-drillers to try and prevent drilling in New York. No worries, drilling is coming and they can’t stop it.
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