Wayne County

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    Delaware River Basic Commission to Hold Public Hearing on Requests from Stone Energy

    On Wednesday, Feb. 24, the Delaware River Basin Commission will hold a public hearing in Matamoras, PA on two applications from Stone Energy Company. The first application is a request to withdraw 700,000 gallons of water a day from the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township, Wayne County, PA. The water would be used by Stone Energy in Marcellus drilling activities.

    The second application is for Stone Energy to use hydraulic fracturing in a gas well already drilled (in 2008). The gas well is located in Clinton Township, Wayne County. If approved, this is the would be the first Marcellus drilling activity in the Delaware River Basin.

    Environmental group Delaware Riverkeeper Network is planning to take 50 of its members to the hearing to speak against the applications. Although Stone Energy only plans to draw water from the Lackawaxen, and the resulting wastewater would be treated at approved facilities, the Riverkeepers believe any drilling activity in the region would be dangerous.

    For more information, see:

    Pike County Courier (Feb 22)
    UPDATE: Basin commission hearing for gas drilling water withdrawal permit

    PhillyBurbs.com (Feb 22)
    Get on the bus, says Delaware Riverkeeper

    Delaware River Basin Commission – Notice of Public Hearing
    Stone Energy Corporation Proposed Surface Water Withdrawal and Natural Gas Well Site

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    Six Regulators Police Drilling in Eastern Half of PA

    Wayne Independent (Nov 2):
    Few regulators in place for natural-gas drilling

    At a recent meeting in Preston Township (Pennsylvania), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials talked about their role in inspecting gas drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale. The article attempts to make the case there are far too few inspectors for the growing number of drilling locations. In the eastern half of Pennslvania there are only six DEP officers whose job it is to monitor drilling activity and water supplies. The DEP is requesting three more, but with the recent state budget cuts, the additional positions are not assured.

    There was one bit of interesting information for landowners in Wayne and surrounding counties in the article:

    Although Wayne County has had only two natural gas wells drilled in the past two years, other areas in the region have experienced a rapid proliferation of production sites including in Susquehanna, Bradford, and Tioga counties. Hundreds of drill sites are expected to come online by the end of next year in the eastern office’s jurisdiction.

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    Chesapeake Files Application to Drill in Oregon Twp, PA

    Wayne County, PA may see the first Chesapeake-drilled well as soon as late March:

    Chesapeake Appalachia, a West Virginia subsidiary of the natural gas development giant Chesapeake Energy, filed a permit application last week for permission to drill a natural gas well on a Oregon Township property located near Fox Hill Road, according to state and county records obtained by the Wayne Independent.

    As for the timing:

    DEP spokesperson Mark Carmon said the agency has recently expedited the permit review process, creating a 45-day timetable to approve or deny.

    Also from the article, StatoilHydro, a Norweigen-based energy company, has taken over some 590 leases from Chesapeake in Wayne County as part of a larger deal:

    StatoilHydro, which is the second largest natural gas supplier to Europe, entered a joint venture with Chesapeake Energy in November. As part of the deal announced then, Chesapeake would relinquish 32 percent of its leases – 600,000 acres – in the Marcellus Shale area to StatoilHydro for $3.3 billion.

    Wayne Independent: Oregon Twp may see natural gas drilled