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Penn State to Monitor 50 Water Wells to Measure Marcellus Drilling Affects on Water Supplies

Penn State will monitor water wells in Pennsylvania to see if they are affected by drilling activity. MDN applauds this effort:

Penn State’s School of Forest Resources along with several Penn State Cooperative Extension county offices have received funding from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center to conduct a research study on the potential impacts of Marcellus gas drilling on rural drinking water supplies.

The data collected from the study is for research purposes, Penn State officials said.

About 50 private water wells will be selected for free water testing of 15 water quality parameters. Water samples will be collected by trained Penn State researchers both before and after nearby Marcellus gas well drilling has occurred.

Interested residents of the southwest region of Pennsylvania can take the eligibility survey here, call Dana Rizzo at 724-837-1402 or e-mail.*

*Fayette Daily Courier (Apr 12) – Ongoing Penn State study planned on impact of gas drilling

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Radiation Testing Shows Marcellus Shale Drill Cuttings are Safe for Chemung County, NY Landfill

Chemung County, NY officials have released a report they commissioned from an independent certified health physicist that show levels of radiation in the Marcellus Shale drill cuttings coming from Pennsylvania Marcellus drilling operations to the Chemung County landfill are “well below” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for radiation.

The gist of the report is that the soil that the county landfill would accept from Marcellus Shale drilling poses no health threat from radiation, said County Executive Tom Santulli.

“These people are experts. They made it very clear that this material is less radioactive than the countertops in our houses and soil in our gardens,” Santulli said. “My message is simple—this stuff is not toxic. It’s no more radioactive than the soil in your garden and bricks on your house. All this testing verifies that. This is way below any EPA levels.

“This would be equivalent to taking dirt from your backyard and using it in landfill,” he said. “It can be used for cover. It’s that safe.”*

However, the debate still rages. Those opposed to drilling claim there is a significant threat to human health from the drill cuttings. County Executive Santulli says those opposed “have zero credibility” on the matter with no facts to back up their claims.

For more information on both positions, see the full article in the Star-Gazette.

*Elmira Star-Gazette (Apr 11) – County study says soil from gas drilling is safe

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PA Town Proactively Protecting Area Roads from Marcellus Drilling Truck Traffic

The elected supervisors of Ross Township (Luzerne County, PA) are being proactive about protecting the roads in the township:

In August, Municipal Solutions of Linden, Pa., visited the township and inspected the construction of the roads to determine weight limits. Supervisors started the process as a proactive measure to protect them from damage that might be caused by heavy trucks carrying Marcellus Shale gas drilling equipment through the township.

Once weight limits are posted, it would require the gas exploration company to pay for any damages caused by trucks exceeding the weight limit.*

Seems to MDN this is a common sense precaution that other communities may also want to adopt.

*Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Apr 7) – Ross Twp. addressing road protection

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PA Secretary of Environmental Protection Says Marcellus Wastewater Discharge is Affecting Waterways

The Pennsylvania Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), John Hanger, released a press statement yesterday expressing concerns over Marcellus drilling wastewater being released into PA waterways.

From the DEP website:

HARRISBURG — High levels of total dissolved solids pollution from natural gas drilling and other sources pose a real threat to Pennsylvania’s streams and rivers, including aquatic life, warned Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger today.

“The treating and disposing of gas drilling brine and fracturing wastewater is a significant challenge for the natural gas industry because of its exceptionally high TDS concentrations,” said Hanger. “Marcellus drilling is growing rapidly and our rules must be strengthened now to prevent our waterways from being seriously harmed in the future.”

Hanger pointed to recent examples where TDS impaired streams and affected major sources of drinking water.

In 2008 and 2009, TDS levels exceeded drinking water standards along the Monongahela River, which is a major source of drinking water. Drinking water treatment plants do not have the equipment available to remove TDS, so any water polluted with TDS goes into Pennsylvania’s homes and businesses.

Similarly, in early September 2009, excessive TDS levels led to an environmental disaster that wiped out 26 miles of Dunkard Creek in Greene County, as well as many miles of the creek in West Virginia. These high TDS concentrations, coupled with other factors such as temperature and nutrient concentrations, enabled golden algae to bloom and created an inhospitable environment for aquatic life. The algae released toxins to the water column that literally wiped out aquatic life, including at least 16 species of freshwater mussels and 18 species of fish.

Dunkard Creek is an example of what can happen if TDS is not controlled, said Hanger, and the loss of this important public resource was an environmental and economic tragedy.

TDS is a measure of all elements dissolved in water that can include carbonates, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. In addition to natural gas drilling, other sources of TDS include, abandoned mine drainage, agricultural runoff, and discharges from industrial or sewage treatment plants.*

*DEP Press Release (Apr 6) – PA Must Take Action to Protect Water Resources from Drilling Wastewater, Other Sources of TDS Pollution

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Watertown, NY Votes to Accept Shale Wastewater in City’s Water Treatment Plant

The City of Watertown, NY has voted to continue accepting wastewater (flowback) from hydraulic fracturing—but it’s not wastewater from the Marcellus Shale. This wastewater comes from a driller in Central New York—Gastem—who is drilling Utica Shale gas wells using hydraulic fracturing. Utica Shale is much deeper than Marcellus Shale and uses much less water to frack the well because it is vertical and not horizontal as it would be with a Marcellus well.

The city’s water treatment plant accepted 35,000 gallons of wastewater from Gastem last summer and discharged the treated water into the Black River. Gastem wants the city to treat an additional 80,000 gallons this summer.*

The volume of wastewater being treated in Watertown is miniscule compared to what is generated from a Marcellus well. But it is interesting that the city council has decided there is no hazard for the citizens of Watertown from treated frack fluids.

*CNYcentral.com (Apr 7) – Watertown to dispose of gas well fracking fluid

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Cornell Hydraulic Fracturing Expert Headlines First Meeting of New York Residents Against Drilling (NYRAD) in Vestal, NY

Ingraffea_Anthony Nearly one week ago, on March 31, MDN attended the kickoff meeting of New York Residents Against Drilling (NYRAD) at the Vestal Public Library in Broome County, NY. No, MDN is not anti-drilling! We attend to listen and learn. The drilling debate is increasingly political in tone. Those of us who support drilling need to listen to those in our communities who oppose it—as a courtesy, to be sure we have not missed important information that informs our own opinions, and so we understand our opponents’ arguments in this debate—to be able to intelligently respond to their (often inaccurate and overhyped) accusations.

The meeting room at the Vestal Public Library was filled to capacity for the meeting with about 120 people attending. Local news media was there, as well as cameras from (presumably) NYRAD themselves. MDN observation: As was the case when DISH, TX Mayor Calvin Tillman recently visited, there were a number of balding men with gray-haired ponytails in the audience. MDN continues to posit the theory that many 60s hippies have found a new cause célèbre that now energizes them—gas drilling.

The meeting was opened by a NYRAD official who introduced the evening’s main speaker, Professor Anthony Ingraffea. Dr. Ingraffea is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University. His Ph.D. is in rock fracturing mechanics. He has done twenty years of research on hydraulic fracturing for companies like Schlumberger, Exxon and the Gas Research Institute. If anyone knows how rock fracturing works, it is Dr. Ingraffea. I eagerly anticipated what he would say about hydraulic fracturing and whether or not the process contaminates water supplies, a commonly leveled charge by drilling opponents.

Dr. Ingraffea is an accomplished speaker. He is equal parts comedian and expert, and he knows how to “work a crowd.” I can easily imagine that he’s a favorite professor at Cornell, one whose classes fill quickly. In his opening remarks he admitted he feels passionately about the issue of drilling in New York State, and that he is opposed to it. He opened his talk with a technique often employed by those who are anti-drilling. He mentioned he loves fishing for trout in New York’s streams and he asked the audience a question: “Would you like to keep fishing in New York State?” The implication is that if drilling begins, trout fishing is finished. It’s a non sequitur—a statement that does not follow from the premise. In the course of his presentation he never once connected any dots that drilling activity would lead to poisoning of streams and the end of trout fishing. This was a tip-off that the evening might disappointingly hold more emotional statements rather than factual statements. Unfortunately, that’s exactly how it turned out.

Read More “Cornell Hydraulic Fracturing Expert Headlines First Meeting of New York Residents Against Drilling (NYRAD) in Vestal, NY”

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Will Soil be the New “Water” in the Fight to Stop Marcellus Gas Drilling in NY State?

MDN finds it necessary to periodically post disclaimers such as the following: We think drilling can be done safely, but we must remain vigilant. The more we know about drilling, the more we are convinced it is a good thing for the economy and the nation’s energy future. We are not anti-science, we’re not blind, we do care about our neighbors and we welcome opposing opinions. No one wants water supplies to be poisoned, and no one wants enjoyment of the great outdoors to be spoiled by drilling activity. And it doesn’t have to be that way if drilling is done right.

With that said, the other side of the drilling debate seems to stop at nothing to instill irrational fears into the general population under the guise of science. Put the name of a prominent educational institution next to a committee or group, invoke the name of someone with a Ph.D., and viola, instant credibility. And if you dare say, “but the Emperor has no clothes” out loud, you’re shouted down as an industry shill or accused of being greedy at others’ expense. Such loving and caring people those who disagree with us.

Since “your water will be poisoned” doesn’t seem to be getting sufficient traction these days as a scare tactic, we now find out that soil is “sensitive” (bet you didn’t know that!) to drilling activity:

Researchers have developed the Cornell Soil Health Test to evaluate soil response to management on different types of land. It’s intended to assess changes due to gas drilling work.

The construction necessary to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in southern New York could affect the soil around drilling sites and pipeline right-of-ways, says a Cornell soil expert who has helped develop a new soil health test to assess such impacts.

“Soil is sensitive to heavy construction, and while there are a lot of construction standards and practices, there isn’t really a standardized way to measure construction impacts on soil behavior,” said Robert Schindelbeck, a Cornell extension associate in crop and soil sciences and member of the Cornell Soil Health Team.

To fill in that information gap, Schindelbeck and his team have developed the Cornell Soil Health Test (CSHT), a set of tests designed to evaluate soil response to management on different types of land.*

*PhysOrg.com (Apr 1) – New test assesses gas drilling effects on soils

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T. Boone Pickens Talks About the Marcellus, Natural Gas, and America’s Energy Future

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently interviewed T. Boone Pickens, the famous Texas oil billionaire and now “energy evangelist,” out to help chart a new course for energy in America. One of the main points in his Picken’s Plan is to use natural gas as a transition fuel to replace the country’s dependence on foreign oil. Mr. Pickens is less than impressed with President Obama’s recent decision to lift a drilling ban in certain areas of the North Atlantic. The problem, according to Pickens, is there are no appreciable oil reserves in the locations where the ban has been lifted.

In the interview, Mr. Pickens had some interesting comments about drilling in the Marcellus Shale, including:

Pickens told New York listeners he was mystified by the uproar gas drilling had caused in the Marcellus Shale region, where environmentalists oppose hydraulic fracturing (fracking), an extraction technology involving high-pressure injections of sand and drilling fluids into a well. The EPA recently announced it would study fracking.

“You’ve been fracking wells in Texas and Oklahoma for 50 years,” Pickens said. “I’ve never heard anybody complain about your damaging the water. We’re just amused that people in Pennsylvania and New York are crying about messing up their water.”

On the topic of electric vehicles:

Pickens said he had nothing against electric vehicles and hybrids – he just thinks it will take too much time for them to penetrate the market of 220 million vehicles in America to have much effect on petroleum consumption.

And electric vehicles don’t enter into the equation when it comes to heavy trucks, the biggest consumers of motor fuel; there is currently no commercial battery-driven vehicle capable of powering a tractor-trailer rig.

“If you replace eight million 18-wheelers with natural gas, you have cut OPEC in half,” Pickens said.

Don’t you just love a plain talking, truth-telling Texan! Finally, one of his favorite and now oft-repeated phrases:

“Natural gas. It’s cleaner, cheaper, and it’s ours.”

*Philadelphia Inquirer (Apr 4) – Pickens: Drilling isn’t the answer

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Are the Shale Cuttings Being Dumped at the Chemung County Landfill Radioactive?

Part of the process of drilling a well includes disposing of the material that comes out of the well, including “cuttings” and mud—i.e., leftover dirt and rock. A “controversy” is brewing in Chemung County, NY where the county landfill is accepting cuttings from drillers over the border in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale. The problem? Sometimes shale cuttings have elevated levels of radioactivity. Those opposed to drilling are playing on people’s fear of the word “radioactive” hoping it will shut down the shipments of shale cuttings to the landfill. (Those shipments, by the way, are generating a nice revenue stream for Chemung County.)

Anyone living in New York’s Southern Tier or Northeast Pennsylvania knows when buying a house you have the basement tested for radon—a naturally occurring radioactive gas that exists in high concentrations in some (not all) locations. Radon comes from the ground. Far below the ground radon gas exists, but also radium and even uranium. Radon and radium are both isotopes of decaying uranium. When you drill one to two miles under the earth, the cuttings that come out may have high concentrations of radioactivity (mostly radium). It’s not a good idea to dump highly radioactive material, naturally occurring or not, in a landfill. No argument on that count. But! What is a “high concentration?” Can it be treated if it is high? And, do cuttings usually have high radioactivity as a general rule?

There is an easy answer here. Determine what levels are safe, and then test incoming loads of cuttings to be sure they don’t violate that standard. That’s just what Chemung County is in the process of doing. The system works—no one wants a health hazard for current and future generations.

Read about the cuttings “controversy” here: Elmira Star Gazette (Mar 31) – Questions raised as landfill seeks to increase intake of Marcellus drilling waste

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Will Gov. Paterson’s Political Troubles Delay Drilling in New York State Until 2011?

Bloomberg, a left-leaning (anti-drilling) news organization published a story about the seemingly eternal question of “When will drilling begin in New York?” with reasoning that goes like this:

(A) New York Gov. Paterson is more or less pro-drilling and wants to see it start soon.

(B) Gov. Paterson has run into political troubles, “probes” of his conduct are ongoing, so he’s decided not to run for re-election. He’s damaged goods.

(C) The Department of Environmental Conservation, fearing political turmoil and upheaval, and perhaps reprisals, will not go forward with drilling until after the election in November (at the earliest).

The Bloomberg article gives some background details about drilling in New York State for those who are new to the debate—all of it with an anti-drilling flavor. But some good background details nonetheless. May be worth a read if you’re so inclined:

Bloomberg (Mar 31) – Gas Drillers’ New York Hopes Fade on Paterson Woes

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Six Short-Line Railroads in Central PA Report Business is Up 40 Percent Because of Marcellus Drilling

MDN previously reported on two short-line railroads that have seen their prospects dramatically improve with Marcellus drilling activity in Pennsylvania—the Wellsboro & Corning Railroad and the Reading & Northern Railroad. You can now add six more short-lines to the list—all of them owned by the North Shore Railroad Company.

A system of six railroads in northcentral Pennsylvania, including the Lycoming Valley Railroad Co., is enjoying a 40 percent increase in business over last year’s first quarter, said chairman and CEO Richard Robey.

“We have seen a substantial increase in business related to the Marcellus Shale gas well drilling,” Robey said Wednesday.

Before that, the recession had sliced the railroads’ business by nearly 20 percent, as it hauled fewer loads of iron and steel products and scrap, food stuffs and plastics to manufacturers, he said.*

Once again the main product being hauled is sand, which is mixed with water and chemicals and injected into well bores as part of the process to free trapped natural gas from the shale.

*Charleston Daily Mail (Mar 31) – Railroads booming with Marcellus Shale business

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Delaware River Basin Commission May Become Roadblock for Drilling in Wayne County, PA and Other Watershed Counties

The City of Philadelphia is voicing their concerns to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) about Stone Energy’s request to hydraulically fracture two previously drilled wells in Wayne County, PA. Stone has also made a request to the Commission to withdraw up to 700,000 gallons of water from the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township for drilling. Philly’s 17-member City Council voted unanimously to ask the DRBC to not approve the drilling permits until an environmental impact study can be done first.

An environmental impact study, an intensive and time-consuming endeavor, would determine whether natural gas drilling poses a legitimate threat to the Delaware River watershed, a 13,539-square-mile area that encompasses nearly all of Wayne County and is known for its pristine water quality and world-class trout waters.

Commission spokesman Clarke Rupert said Monday the regulator is considering conducting such a study. A decision on a $250,000 appropriation request by the commission is not expected until late 2010.*

In addition to permission from the State Department of Environmental Protection, drillers in the Delaware River Basin watershed area also need permission from the DRBC before they can drill. If the DRBC is not going to make a decision about whether or not to spend $250K on a study “until late 2010,” and if that study is a “time-consuming endeavor,” that means Stone’s request to drill will not be approved until sometime in 2011 at the earliest.

If you’re a landowner (or driller) in Wayne County, or in other counties located in the Delaware River Basin, you may be in for major delays before drilling begins. Let’s hope the DRBC speeds the process along.

*Water World (Mar 30) – Philadelphia dives in to gas drilling issue in Wayne County

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Citizens Committee in Mt. Pleasant, PA Draft Drilling Ordinances for Their Community

A citizens committee in Mt. Pleasant Township, PA (Washington County) has developed a draft zoning ordinance that will dictate what drillers in their township can, and cannot, do. From a news article:

The citizens advisory committee presented a final draft on its proposal for a zoning amendment governing oil and gas activities.

The committee, headed by Dencil Backus, is made up of about a dozen residents who have studied other zoning ordinances to find suitable regulations that would address the activity in Mt. Pleasant. They have looked at ways to address noise, light, odors and buffers in addition to where certain activity can take place.

In studying the matter, the committee has taken the approach that gas drilling into the Marcellus Shale should take place but not at the expense of the landowners, township or residents’ quality of life.

The rough draft still has to be reviewed by the supervisors and solicitor. From there, [Township Supervisor Larry] Grimm said, it will be passed on to the township and Washington County’s planning commissions for their approval.*

*Pittsburgh Observer-Reporter (Mar 24) – Meeting recap

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Another Cool Idea from Kane, PA – Turn Old Schools into Marcellus Shale Training Centers

Must be something in the water in Kane, Pennsylvania. They just keep having great ideas! Not long ago we learned that the Kane Borough Sewer Authority is going sell (for money!) sewer water to drillers in the Marcellus, which will create a nice, new revenue stream for the township. Now they’re talking about possibly converting empty school buildings into training centers for those who will need job training to work in the Marcellus Shale.

With Kane located in the middle of a key Marcellus Shale gas location, could its vacant schools provide sites for training or other services for the well-drilling bonanza?

This question was explored Thursday by the Ad Hoc Committee that is looking at options for utilizing the vacant Mt. Jewett Elementary School and the soon-to-be vacant Chestnut Street Elementary School in Kane.

Dr. Maryann Anderson, superintendent of the Kane Area School District, said the companies involved in drilling Marcellus Shale gas wells “need to have a ready workforce.”

It was suggested that perhaps the vacant schools in Kane and Mt. Jewett could house training centers for the companies that need workers for various jobs associated with the Marcellus wells.*

The great ideas just keep coming—from Kane!

*The Kane Republican (Mar 26) – Could schools provide services for area drilling boom?

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Another Short-Line Railroad Revived by Marcellus Shale Drilling

Chalk up the resurrection of another short-line railroad to drilling in the Marcellus Shale. As MDN previously reported, the Wellsboro & Corning Railroad tripled its cargo traffic in just a few short years from drillers who need carloads of sand. We now have word of a rail line brought back from the dead in Luzerne County, PA due to Marcellus drilling activity:

DURYEA – Investment spurred by Marcellus Shale natural gas exploration has transformed an antiquated, weed-ridden rail yard just north of Pittston into a state-of-the-art transloading terminal teeming with rail and trucking activity on an almost daily basis.

Over the last year, Reading & Northern Railroad Co. sunk $100,000 into Pittston Yard, laying new track to accommodate 100 new rail cars and constructing a facility to store and hold up to 800 cars of sand to be used in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” operations at Marcellus Shale drill sites throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, said Reading & Northern President Warren A. Michel.

“The reason for our success is that we are the largest facility in the region capable of handling hundreds of rail cars of sand. We now have 130 (sand) rail cars at the yard and we’ll be expanding substantially over the next six months,” Michel said.*

*Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Mar 26) – Old Duryea railroad yard taking on new life

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Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin Runs Wall-to-Wall Coverage of Marcellus Drilling Debate

The Sunday, March 28 Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (Broome County, NY) devoted a number of pages to the issue of drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The chief writer for the P&SB on these matters, Tom Wilbur, is anti-drilling, and it shows in his articles. As people on the anti-drilling side of the debate often do, they resort to unsubstantiated “facts” and vague nightmare scenarios. Today’s articles were no exception.

On the front page we have the following articles:

Marcellus Shale: Is it safe to drill?
An abridged (and mostly one-sided) history of the shale gas drilling debate in the Southern Tier region of New York and Northeastern PA. Wilbur identifies some of the issues being debated, with the obligatory mention of Dimock, PA and the the isolated (only?) case of a driller who didn’t follow procedure and methane (not chemicals, but natural gas) migrated into drinking water supplies for 12 families. Dimock is the rallying cry for many who oppose drilling. He ends the article with the vague threat that anti-drillers will tie up the right to drill with legal harassment for as long as they possibly can. I believe him on that one.

Landowners face fight over NYC watershed
Politicians in New York City are making political hay out of the prospect of drilling with statements that drilling anywhere in the Catskill watershed area must be prevented at all costs because if the water supply for NYC is contaminated, they would have to install filters costing into the billions. The politicians from NYC want horizontal drilling banned in New York State as a preventative measure. And they’re threatening to tie up drilling with lawsuits. No one wants to pollute the City’s water supply! And no one will. What’s conveniently left out of the story by Wilbur is the fact that there is only one company, Chesapeake Energy, with any leases signed in the watershed, and that’s for 5,000 acres. Oh, and Chesapeake voluntarily said they would not drill in the watershed.

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