Chesapeake Ordered to Stop Work on Drilling Pad in Potter County, PA Because of Erosion
Chesapeake Energy has been ordered to stop work on preparing a drilling site in north central PA because the work they’re doing at the site is causing dirt to runoff into a local stream which in turn is the water source for a local township.
Pennsylvania environmental regulators have halted work on a natural gas well pad in Potter County because of erosion that affected the water supply for hundreds of households.
The Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday that it issued the order against Chesapeake Energy on Tuesday after it did not respond to notice of violations of the Clean Streams Law and Oil and Gas Act.
The DEP says the violations involved site-preparation work that occurs before any drilling.
It says a significant amount of sediment and silt was discharged into a stream that feeds a water source for Galeton Borough, forcing the water authority to switch to another source.
DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh says more than 1,000 households were affected.
No response yet from Chesapeake.
*Elmira Star-Gazette/AP (Mar 23, 2011) – Pa. DEP halts work on drilling pad, cites erosion