Wastewater

Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

PA Marcellus Sludge with Low Radiation Heading to Michigan
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

In May MDN told you about a tank at a Range Resources’ Carter wastewater impoundment in Mt. Pleasant Township (Washington County), PA that was found to have low levels of radiation. Although the level of radiation in the tank is barley above “background levels,” it’s high enough that it must be properly disposed of (see Low Levels of Radiation Found in Range PA Wastewater Impoundment). Apparently the tank, used to separate wastewater from sludge, is a really big tank. So big (heavy) it can’t be easily or safely moved along highways. So Range transferred the material in the big tank into two smaller tanks. Those tanks will soon be on their way for permanent disposal in…Michigan?
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County | Wastewater

More Problems for Range Resources with SWPA Impoundments
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

Range Resources has had ongoing problems with the neighbors and townships where they’ve built and maintained several frack wastewater impoundments (large ponds) in Washington County, PA for the past several years. MDN has chronicled the push back, threats, lawsuits and shenanigans (see our list of Range impoundment stories here). The saga continues. Late last week residents living near the Cecil 23 impoundment–formerly known as the Worstell impoundment, located in Cecil Township–were informed by the town that the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be testing the ground (and water supplies?) following an alert from Range that the impoundment may have leaked in the past. Then, on Tuesday of this week, Range received a Notice of Violation from the DEP for leaks found at the Yeager impoundment in Amwell Township…
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Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

Final Chapter for Youngstown Illegal Wastewater Dumper: Prison & Fine
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

The long, sad and maddening saga of Ben Lupo is now just about complete. Lupo, previous owner of D&L Energy and its associated company Hardrock Excavating, directed employees to dump frack wastwater hauled by Hardrock into a drain that emptied into a stream that emptied into the Mahoning River near Youngstown, OH (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). It was later discovered that from September 2012 to end of January 2013, Lupo was responsible for dumping at least 30 loads of frack wastewater literally down the drain and into the river. It was a breathtaking environmental crime, of that there is no doubt. After a long investigation and criminal charges, Lupo finally plead guilty and earlier this week he was sentenced–to 23 months in prison and a $25,000 fine (although it cost over $3 million to clean it all up)…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Sand/Proppant | Trucking | Wastewater

New Ormet Aluminum Plant Owner Shops Barge Facility to Shalers
August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

Three weeks ago MDN highlighted news from NGI’s Shale Daily that Magnum Hunter Resources had purchased the mineral rights for two former Ormet properties in Ohio and West Virginia (see Magnum Hunter Buys Ormet Property in OH/WV, More Wells Coming?). Ormet, you may recall, had a big aluminum plant in Hannibal (Monroe County), OH that sits on the Ohio River (complete with a big barge facility) that was bankrupted because they couldn’t get Ohio to lower the electricity bills long enough for them to convert their own coal-burning electric generation plant into using natural gas mined from under the property (see Final Chapter of Ormet Plant Closing – Utica Could have Saved It). It was a big fail on the part of Gov. John “foreigner hunter” Kasich’s administration and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Magnum now owns the mineral rights, and Niagara Worldwide LLC now owns the real estate and plant itself in OH. Niagara issued a press release today advertising that they’re looking to re-open the Hannibal site for business. The announcement has a big tie-in with the shale drilling industry…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Research | Wastewater

Partisan GAO Report Says EPA Falling Down with Injection Wells
July 29, 2014July 29, 2014

The partisan and biased so-called Government Accountability Office (GAO), populated with liberal activists, issued a 103-page report yesterday telling the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to get off it’s rear and get more aggressive about regulating shale wastewater injection wells. The GAO was asked by Congressional Democrats to “review” EPA’s stewardship and oversight of injection wells related to shale drilling and this “report” is the result…
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Industrywide Issues | Keystone Pure Water Tech | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Supply Chain | Wastewater

Exclusive: Breakthrough Tech Cleans Frack Wastewater <30 Minutes
July 28, 2014July 28, 2014

What if you were convinced an invention IS the greatest thing since sliced bread–at least as it applies to the world of shale drilling? And what if that invention could clean thousands of gallons of frack wastewater right on site and turn it into DRINKABLE water–in less than 30 minutes? And what if this process uses no chemicals, and even eliminates radioactivity, producing inert minerals (like iron) that can be sold for profit? Oh, and what if your cost, as the driller, was only $3 per barrel to work this magic? Would you believe such a tall tale? You would if you were me…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

Range Resources to Close Wastewater Pond in Washington County, PA
July 22, 2014July 22, 2014

So-called “investigative journalist” Amanda Gillooly maintains a “bash Range Resources all the time” blog site called Marcellus Monitor, on which she is reporting that Range Resources has filed a plan with the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection to close the Yeager wastewater impoundment in Amwell Township (Washington County), PA. Gillooly laughably says the impoundment is “the subject of myriad lawsuits and a federal probe.” Apparently two lawsuits is considered a myriad these days…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA | Wastewater

Delaware Riverkeeper Wins Right to Get Half-Baked Radiation Data
July 18, 2014July 18, 2014

In January 2013 the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced they would study the issue of radiation levels in shale oil and gas waste (see PA DEP Announces New Study of Radiation in Shale Drilling). The study would take an estimated 12-14 months. That time has come and gone. The DEP is finished with its data collection–but not quite done with analyzing, verifying and (eventually) publishing the results. Not good enough for the Delaware Riverkeeper (the eccentric Maya van Rossum, see Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) Gets a French Kiss from Phila. Inquirer). The litigious van Rossum via her DRN filed an appeal to get her hands on the preliminary/unsubstantiated/unvetted data collected by the DEP–and she won…
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Pipelines | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter’s Unidentified Barge Facility Pipeline Destination
July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

John Jack, VP of business operations for GreenHunter Water, is being a bit cagey. Two weeks ago GreenHunter announced they will build three new, short pipelines for different purposes: one for frack wastewater/brine, one for fresh water, and one for condensate (see 3 New (Short) Pipelines from GreenHunter in Tri-state Area). Two of the pipelines will originate in southwestern PA and one in WV. All of them will connect with one of GreenHunter’s barge terminals on the Ohio River. That’s what Jack is being cagey about: where will the three pipelines connect? Which barge terminal?…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | XTO

XTO Seeks Documents to Prove PA AG Kane Targeted Company
July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

It was obvious from the beginning when Kathleen Kane was elected as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General in 2012 that she had a huge Marcellus Shale chip on her shoulder and that she would go after the drilling industry (see Will New PA AG Go After the Marcellus Drilling Industry?). She’s done just that–targeting the shale drilling industry in several high profile cases. One of those cases–a three-year old accidental spill by XTO in Lycoming County, PA–she reopened after it had been closed. Why? To make an example of XTO (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). That case is back in the news with a new twist…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Meigs County | Ohio | Regulation | Wastewater

Athens County, OH Anti-Drillers Try to Delay GreenHunter Dock
July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

The anti-drilling nutters of Athens, OH are at it again. They’ve just discovered what MDN told you on Tuesday–that GreenHunter Water has filed an application with the U.S. Coast Guard to get permission to build a barge facility in Meigs County (see GreenHunter Seeks Approval for Barge Facility in Meigs County, OH). The Athens nutters (see Break the Law in OH, Get an Award – Anti-Drilling Nuttery on Display) are now accusing the Coast Guard of undue secrecy because they didn’t beat the drums and sound the gongs that a private company had filed an application with them…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | Westmoreland County | WPX Energy

Important Update on WPX Energy Leaking Impoundment in SWPA
July 10, 2014July 10, 2014

On Monday MDN told you about three families near a WPX Energy wastewater impoundment near Ligonier (Westmoreland County), PA who say their well water has been contamined by frack wastewater leaking from the impoundment (see WPX Wastewater Impoundment Source of Water Contamination in W PA?). We have an important update on that story. WPX spokesperson Susan Oliver contacted MDN and provided details of their strong response to the situation, and new information that we don’t believe anyone else has bothered to publish…
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Meigs County | Ohio | Regulation | Wastewater

GreenHunter Seeks Approval for Barge Facility in Meigs County, OH
July 8, 2014July 8, 2014

Over the past few years GreenHunter Water, a subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources, has purchased seven barge facilities along the Ohio River with the stated intent to transport frack wastewater from up the river in places in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and even Ohio, to further down the river in Ohio–where it would be offloaded and disposed by injection well. We wrote in May 2013 of the long road to receiving federal approval for such a plan (see The Long (Federal) Road to Approve GreenHunter’s Barge Terminals). Then in October it seemed like an approval from the U.S. Coast Guard was imminent (see Coast Guard Green Lights Barge Transport of Frack Wastewater). Here we are in July 2014–and still no Coast Guard approval in sight, which is disappointing…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | Westmoreland County | WPX Energy

WPX Wastewater Impoundment Source of Water Contamination in W PA?
July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

Three families near a WPX Energy wastewater impoundment near Ligonier (Westmoreland County), PA say their well water has been contamined by wastewater leaking from the impoundment. The case is just coming to light (at least for MDN) although the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has known and has investigated the “leaky impoundment” for going on two years now…
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Portage County | Regulation | Wastewater

Anti-Drillers Try to Close Portage County, OH Injection Well
July 1, 2014July 1, 2014

Two anti-drilling groups–Concerned Citizens of Ohio and the the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment and Justice–have filed a reckless complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging an injection well in Portage County, OH has been illegally accepting millions of gallons of frack wastewater. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) disagrees. Here’s a breakdown of the situation and the claims and counter claims…
Read More “Anti-Drillers Try to Close Portage County, OH Injection Well”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Wastewater

Athens, OH Anti-Drillers Lose Appeal to Stop Injection Well
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

In January of this year, the anti-drilling Athens County Fracking Action Network (ACFAN) filed a legal challenge to the permit issued by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) that approved a new injection well in Athens County (see Athens County, OH Anti-Drillers Sue to Stop New Injection Well). Earlier this month the Ohio Oil & Gas Commission, the organization that hears such appeals, dismissed the appeal by ACFAN…
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