Yesterday the U.S. Geological Survey released two studies of groundwater–one for Pike County, PA and the other for Wayne County, PA (both studies embedded below). The studies looked at well water samples in 2012 and 2013. In Wayne County 65% of the wells tested had detectable methane (i.e. natural gas) in the water. In Pike County, 80% of the wells had detectable methane in the water. Five alarms! Shale wells are polluting the water!! Oh wait…neither county has any shale drilling because both are in the Delaware River Basin and the DRBC (Delaware River Basin Commission) has so far not allowed shale drilling in the watershed. Methane can be either thermogenic (deep down methane found in shale) or biogenic (closer to the surface methane). Evidence of BOTH types were found in the survey. You can’t blame shale drilling, so what’s an anti-driller to do to when pesky scientific evidence rears its ugly head?…
