PA DEP Releases List of Water Wells Impacted by Shale Drilling
Here comes the next media smear campaign. This time the meme is “You know that lie we’ve been telling about how shale drilling contaminates water wells? Well it was true all along. Here’s the proof!” Case in point: The Associate Press has a single, breathless story of a new list just released by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) of 243 water wells “contaminated” by Marcellus Shale drilling. We’ve included the list below. These 243 are wells DEP officials believe have been affected by shale drilling after conducting an investigation. Some of the cases are still under investigation but included on the list because the DEP thinks they were likely contaminated by drilling. Is this the smoking gun? Is Marcellus drilling a threat to water after all? As always, MDN is here to provide some much needed perspective…
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In the summer of 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a groundwater survey in Pike County, PA. Pike, located in northeastern PA, is one of the counties with the dubious distinction of being under the regulatory purview of the Delaware River Basin Commission which has, so far, refused to allow any Marcellus Shale drilling. The survey’s purpose is to provide baseline numbers prior to any Marcellus drilling activity. So, just to be clear, there has been NO drilling thus far in Pike nor anywhere near Pike. And yet, what did the USGS survey, published in July 2014 (full copy below) show? Some 80% of the water wells tested in Pike have “detectable concentrations of methane” and 10% of the wells (2 of the 20 tested) have high levels of methane. Not only that, 85% (!) of the wells tested have (gasp) really high radon levels–over the proposed safe limit of 300 picocuries per liter. One well was as high as 4,500 picocuries! But it gets worse–there’s also measurable quantities of nasty stuff like barium, strontium, and the dreaded chloride (salt). And yet, not a Marcellus Shale well in sight. Now how can that be?…
Earlier this month Antero Resources, a large and growing driller in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, provided their second quarter financial and operations update. At the time, MDN observed they are getting close to a very exclusive milestone–the 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas production–or the “1 Bcf/d Club”. So far only Cabot Oil & Gas, Range Resources and EQT are in the club. Earlier this week Antero issued a guidance update declaring they will hit the 1 Bcf/d level in the second half of this year. Antero has revised UP their “guidance” by another 5%–saying they expect to be at 990 – 1,010 MMcfe/d for the entire year, and well beyond the 1 Bcf/d level (1,160 MMcfe/d) during the second half of the year. So, MDN officially says to Antero: Welcome to the club! Here’s Antero’s extensive guidance update issued Tuesday: