Posts Tagged ‘fracturing’

BY DENISE ALLABAUGH (STAFF WRITER)
Published: August 26, 2010

WILKES-BARRE – Encana Oil & Gas continues its quest for natural gas.

The company remains in an exploratory mode as it drills two natural gas wells in Fairmount and Lake townships, said company Vice President Don McClure.

“It’s very dependent on what we find in those two wells as to what our next steps are going to be,” Mr. McClure said.

Mr. McClure and Brian Grove, senior director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Eastern Division, spoke about the impacts of drilling natural gas wells to more than 100 business leaders who attended the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce’s CEO-to-CEO networking breakfast Wednesday at the Westmoreland Club.

Earlier this month, the Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board granted Encana Oil & Gas conditional use to drill 10 more wells in Fairmount and Lake townships. Mr. McClure says the company is “being very conservative” with the drilling process.

“We’re only going to drill a couple wells and we’ll evaluate what they’re going to produce,” Mr. McClure said.

The company drills wells simultaneously to be efficient and reduce community impact, Mr. McClure said. The potential for water pollution are among the concerns arising from the increased drilling. Yet, Mr. McClure said he sees natural-gas drilling as a “tremendous opportunity” that could reduce dependence on Middle East oil from about 44 percent to 10 percent by increasing natural gas production.

“That’s substantial,” Mr. McClure said. “That’s the kind of impact that Marcellus Shale can have.”

Showing the company’s track record in the United States and Canada on a slide presentation, Mr. McClure said the company takes safety of people and the environment very seriously. As the second largest natural gas producer in North America, he said Encana’s goal is not to be the biggest but the “best we can possibly be.”

“We’re always pursuing a higher safety standard,” he said.

Both Mr. McClure and Mr. Grove touted benefits of natural gas drilling, which they said will be an economic development engine for job growth.

When asked how many jobs could be created as a result of Marcellus Shale, Mr. McClure said studies show for every one percent increase in natural gas production across North America, that correlates to 20,000 to 30,000 jobs.

More than 350,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since the first commercial oil well was developed in 1859, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

When asked what the biggest misconception of drilling is, Mr. Grove was quick to respond, “Hydraulic fracturing.” Fears about hydraulic fracturing, or the process used in wells that results in fractures in rocks, have been driven by a “lack of knowledge,” he said.

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com

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Copyright:  The Scranton Times

Experts say area should prepare because drilling is not far off

SCRANTON — Drilling for natural gas in Marcellus Shale in Monroe and Pike counties? It’s not a question of if, but when.

That was the word from around the state Thursday at a forum at Marywood University, where experts said the region is rich in the valuable fossil fuel.

The bulk of the drilling now in northeast Pennsylvania is along the northern tier but could eventually extend into the Poconos.

Kathryn Zuberbuhler Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said areas more conducive to the entire operation — including roads and pipeline — are the first areas that will be drilled. Once more companies get involved and more money is available, drilling could expand to other parts of the state that haven’t seen it yet.

“There’s only so much capital right now,” she said. “By its nature, you’re going to see that concentrated development.”

Currently, there are no Marcellus Shale drilling operations in Monroe or Pike counties. There is only one in Wayne County.

One roadblock from local drilling right now is the Delaware River Basin Commission, which stopped issuing drilling permits in 2009 until it can formulate a list of regulations gas companies must meet.

Clarke Rupert, spokesman for the DRBC, said the commission hopes to have those regulations finalized by the end of the summer and adopted by the end of the year, admitting that’s an “optimistic” schedule.

Marcellus Shale is found in most of Pennsylvania and parts of New York and West Virginia, about 5,000 to 8,000 feet below the surface. It had been considered too expensive to drill, but advances in technology and the rising cost of natural gas made it more attractive, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The new method of drilling — hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking” — uses large amounts of water mixed with sand and other items to fracture the shale and allow the gas to flow, according to the DEP. The water used is then treated before it is released back into the water system.

However, residents near some drilling operations have complained that local water supplies have been damaged. That’s led to some in the state to wonder if this is another coal industry, which ravaged the land of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area before it was gone.

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-11, called the shale movement “our second chance” to correct the mistakes of the coal industry.

“Don’t exploit us, and we’ll work with you,” he said our message should be to gas companies. “Exploit us, and you don’t know the (bother) we can be to you.”

John Quigley, secretary of the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said about half of Pennsylvania’s state parks are in areas where Marcellus Shale is thought to be present, and about 700,000 of the 2.1 million acres of state forest land already is leased by gas companies.

He called for the state to stop issuing permits to gas companies until there is more known about the industry.

“Frankly, I think we need to take more than a timeout, we need to take a stop,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., encouraged local government leaders who may not have many avenues of protecting themselves to write and even pressure their state and federal representatives to make sure the Marcellus Shale industry is regulated.

“There is almost no area that can look and say, ‘That’s someone else’s problem,’” he said. “We all have to do what we can to make sure this is done the right way.”

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Copyright:  Pocono Record

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: August 19, 2010

Drilling is close to wrapping up at Luzerne County’s first natural gas well, paving the way for Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. to start on the second.

In a recent release, Encana reported drilling operations at the Buda natural gas well site on Route 118 behind the Ricketts Glen Hotel in Fairmount Township are expected to be finished within the next two weeks. Construction of the drilling pad at the Salansky site on Zosh Road in Lake Township is also “nearing completion and preparation for active drilling operations will start soon,” the company stated.

However, Encana stated that the completion process, which includes hydraulic fracturing, has not yet been scheduled for either site.

The wells will take approximately 6 millions of gallons of water for hydraulic fracturing.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which regulates large water withdrawals, has granted Encana permits to take water from three sources shared with other natural gas drilling companies and three municipal sources.

The municipal sources are Dushore Water Authority in Sullivan County, Towanda Municipal Authority in Bradford County and Tunkhannock Borough Municipal Authority, Wyoming County.

Encana has SRBC permission to take up to 499,000 gallons per day from a Citrus Energy source at the North Branch Susquehanna River in Washington Township, Wyoming County; up to 999,000 gallons per day from the Mountain Energy Services Inc. source at Tunkhannock Creek in Tunkhannock Township; and up to 240,000 gallons per day from the Bowmans Creek withdrawal site of Randy Wiernusz in Eaton Township.

Withdrawals from the Citrus Energy site are currently on hold due to low stream levels, triggering what the commission calls “pass-by restrictions,” according to Susquehanna River Basin Commission Spokeswoman Susan Obleski.

Citrus Energy and Mountain Energy were also under the restrictions, but Obleski said those have been lifted.

“The other two are available, but I understand the stream flows are dropping quickly there again, so it could be only a matter of time that they’re put on hold again,” she said.

Encana also announced that in the event of a natural gas well emergency, the company is partnering with Cudd Well Control as a first responder.

Cudd, which is based in Houston, Texas, has opened a branch on Route 414 in Canton, Bradford County – the first well-control specialists to start operating in Pennsylvania. Previously, specialists from Texas had to be flown in to handle natural gas well emergencies.

“We’ve worked with Encana for a long time in Texas and look forward to partnering here in Pennsylvania,” Troy White, Cudd’s director of business development, said in a prepared statement. “Our specialized team is already familiar with Encana’s safety practices, so we expect a smooth transition to first response planning with Encana in the Marcellus.”

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

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Copyright:  Citizens Voice

• Marcellus production “will enable us all to keep our farms”
  
• “Farmers are making investments in their farms that were just dreams before the Marcellus Shale”
• Marcellus development pumping “hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s  economy”

Family farmers say Marcellus development “will enable us all to keep our farms”: “Some see it as a way to keep their farms, which have been in their families for generations. … Nor do they have concerns over the hydraulic fracturing process, which some environmentalists claim can contaminate water wells and pollute rivers and streams. “We’ve been stewards of the farms for years,” said Ward, a fourth-generation farm owner. McMurray’s family has owned its land since 1811, and Bird’s since 1821. “It will enable us all to keep our farms,” said Wright-Croft. Ward believes that farmers have the most to lose from gas drilling since they rely on private wells to water livestock as well as drink it themselves. “You’re not going to find anyone with more concerns about the water than us,” he said. (Observer-Reporter, 8/3/10)

Marcellus development pumping “hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s economy”: “With lease payments ranging from $750 per acre to $3,600 per acre – and royalties set from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent – the Marcellus Shale contracts Chesapeake has signed with local property owners has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s economy. … The natural gas company presently employs 636 Mountain State residents, with plans to hire more local workers in the future once those potential employees receive proper training. Chesapeake has spent $46 million with West Virginia-based vendors so far this year, including $1 million in shops based in Marshall and Wetzel counties and several million dollars more with a company in St. Marys, W.Va. The company also donated more than $400,000 to community organizations within Marshall and Wetzel counties during the past two years, Chesapeake leaders note. (Wheeling News-Register, 8/1/10)

Marcellus bringing hope to family farmers: “As an accountant who works for many farmers in the northern tier, I have witnessed first-hand the financial stress this important industry has experienced for the past 30 years. In the past two years, I also see the hope that Marcellus Shale brings to these farm families. … Today, these farmers are making investments in their farms that were just dreams before the Marcellus Shale. Also because of these new investments by farmers, I see a rebuilding of the northern tier agriculture infrastructure that was at risk. (Daily Item, 7/28/10)

Marcellus production “good for everybody”; Helping counties “meet their bottom line”: “Marcellus Shale drilling is boosting local water sales and helping to push the Quemahoning pipeline close to its permitted capacity. Bruce Hottle, president of the Lincoln Township Municipal Authority, said the nonprofit has been selling close to 3 million gallons per month to Dallas-based Chief Oil & Gas. Drillers use several million gallons of water to “frack” each Marcellus Shale gas well. “It’s given us some decent cash flow we wouldn’t normally have,” Hottle said. “It’s probably doubled our water sales for the months of June and July.” … “This helps us get out of the hole sooner. It’s been good for everybody,” Hottle said. … As for the county, Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes said the increased usage is helping them meet their bottom line. “The more water we sell the better for the Que pipeline project,” Tokar-Ickes said. “We hope it continues.” (Daily America, 7/30/10)

More new jobs on the way thanks to the Marcellus: “A partnership between Medico Industries Inc. and a South American company looks to tap into the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling boom with the opening of a manufacturing facility in Hanover Township. … Medico Industries received a $500,000 low-interest loan through the Luzerne County Business Development Loan program to install and purchase machinery. The company is investing nearly $960,000 in the project. It’s estimated 20 jobs will be created. (Times-Leader, 7/31/10)

Marcellus-related jobs “another strong performer”: “The Pittsburgh region’s growth in all four of those sectors ranked between third and seventh best among the 40 largest regions in the country. Another strong performer was the natural resources and mining sector; although it only added 500 jobs, that was more than any region other than Houston, likely reflecting the impact of Marcellus Shale drilling. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/1/10)

BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (STAFF WRITER)
Published: July 29, 2010

A provision to require disclosure of all chemicals used in fracturing Marcellus Shale to extract natural gas could wind up as part of the scaled-down national energy bill the U.S. Senate might consider soon.

Sen. Bob Casey said he convinced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to fold disclosure provisions of his Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act into the energy bill.

“It’s a great breakthrough,” he said. “It’s a substantial step forward. … It gives people information they wouldn’t have otherwise about what’s happening underneath their property.”

Senate leaders are hoping to pass the bill before the summer recess Aug. 6, after realizing they did not have the votes to pass a more comprehensive energy bill. Even if the smaller energy bill gets through the Senate, the House would have to pass it before President Barack Obama can sign it. Neither is assured.

Industry groups said the fracturing chemicals are already well known to the public and state regulators, and further disclosure would harm the development of natural gas.

“We fundamentally believe that regulation of hydraulic fracturing is best addressed at the state level, and we have been unable to reach a consensus with congressional advocates on how this program would be overseen by the federal government,” America’s Natural Gas Alliance said in a statement.

Congress and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are studying whether the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of shale contaminate drinking water.

Energy In Depth, an industry group, argues regulation should be left to states, which “have effectively regulated hydraulic fracturing for over 40 years with no confirmed incidents of groundwater contamination associated with (fracturing) activities.”

At public meetings on gas drilling, local residents regularly dispute the claim.

Though the industry argues the chemicals it uses are well known, a Times-Tribune investigation determined that DEP scientists who analyzed spilled fracturing chemicals at a Susquehanna County well site in September found 10 compounds never disclosed on the drilling contractor’s material safety data sheet.

None of the 10 was included in a state Department of Environmental Protection list of chemicals used in fracturing, a list developed by the industry. When DEP posted a new list earlier this month, none of the 10 was on it.

Mr. Casey dismissed the industry criticism.

“That’s why I called it a substantial step forward, if they’re attacking it,” he said. “If they’re feeling that this is giving information to people that they are reluctant to disclose, that’s why I think it’s an important change, and it’s progress on an issue that some would have thought would have taken years to get done.”

Mr. Casey’s legislation would amend the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which requires employers to disclose what hazardous chemicals they use.

The amendments would require:

– Well-drilling operators to disclose to state regulators and the public a list of chemicals used in fracturing, commonly known as fracking. The requirement would cover chemical constituents but not chemical formulas whose manufacturers are allowed by law to keep the formulas secret, according to Mr. Casey’s office.

– Disclosure to be specific to each well.

– Disclosure of secret formulas or chemical constituents to doctors or nurses treating a contamination victim in an emergency.

– An end to thresholds for reporting chemicals normally required by law so all amounts of chemicals are reported.

In an analysis of the legislation, Energy In Depth said it would “chill” investment in innovations in fracturing and place “unrealistic burdens” on natural gas producers by requiring them to disclose secret chemical compounds whose composition they legally can know nothing about.

In an interview, DEP Secretary John Hanger said he welcomed the federal legislation, argued Pennsylvania already requires more disclosure than his bill and believes companies should disclose the volume and mix of chemicals they use in fracking.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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Copyright:  The Scranton Times

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 26, 2010

HARVEYS LAKE – The natural gas company planning two exploratory natural gas wells in Noxen is steering clear of nearby Harveys Lake.

“Carrizo has no intention of drilling under Harveys Lake or anywhere near Harveys Lake,” Carrizo Marcellus LLC spokesman Phillip Corey said. “Our first well, the closest point to the lake as the crow flies, is almost 3 miles away.”

The company leased more than 3,000 acres of Sterling Farms, property belonging to the Sordoni family. While most of the property is in Noxen Township, some is in Harveys Lake Borough, he said. However, the company does not have rights to drill under Harveys Lake and doesn’t want to, anyway, Corey said.

“You can’t just go out there to drop a hole wherever you please,” he said.

Harveys Lake resident Guy Giordano, who is vocal about keeping contaminants out of the lake, said it’s good news that Carrizo is not drilling in the borough – but it’s still a little too close for him.

“That still doesn’t give me a lot of comfort. Thirty miles, yeah, but 3 miles, I’m not so sure,” he said.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking,” involves blasting millions of gallons of chemical-treated water thousands of feet underground to break up the shale and release the natural gas.

The fact that some of these chemicals are not disclosed bothers Giordano.

“Why can’t they use something non-toxic?” he asked. “I can’t believe the government would let anyone put anything in the ground that’s secret.”

State law allows natural gas companies to drill up to 100 feet away from a water source. State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, wants to expand the buffer to 2,500 feet away from drinking water sources, as well as lakes and other bodies of water that are governed by boroughs or second-class townships. She also wants to prohibit drilling beneath them.

Boback has also signed on as a co-sponsor to state Rep. Phyllis Mundy’s bill calling for a one-year moratorium on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

Corey said Carrizo will test the drinking water of residents around the drilling site, as required in the lease, which also calls for staying at least 500 feet away from any structure or water source.

He said Carrizo has not decided which direction, if at all, to drill horizontally. The company might just stick with a vertical well to see what’s there, he said.

“We’re going to play this very conservatively,” Corey said.

Giordano stressed that he does not oppose natural gas drilling.

“I’m glad these people got the money for these drilling leases, God bless ‘em. They deserve it,” he said. “But I wish they didn’t have to drill. If it’s rural, it’s OK, the risk is not that great. But when you’re talking about a densely populated area, it’s not worth it. I don’t see how they can take the risk.”

Ceasetown connection

Giordano pulled his minivan to the side of the road to get a better look at the Ceasetown Dam, slightly misty in the summer rain and surrounded by lush green foliage.

This is one of the main reasons he worries about Harveys Lake becoming contaminated.

“A few years ago I had a sample of lake water tested at the Kirby Health Center,” Giordano confessed. “It passed as drinking water.”

Harveys Lake is the source of Harveys Creek. Pennsylvania American Water Co. spokesman Terry Maenza said the company uses Harveys Creek as a backup water supply for the Ceasetown Reservoir. It isn’t used often but it’s there for emergencies, he said.

The Ceasetown Reservoir in Lehman Township serves about 70,000 people in all or parts of Ashley, Courtdale, Conyngham Township, Edwardsville, Hanover Township, Hunlock Township, Larksville, Nanticoke, Newport Township, Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Pringle, Salem Township, Shickshinny, Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes-Barre Township.

“We have done some sampling from Harveys Creek to get some baseline data, so we have that information on file if and when any drilling does take place in the future,” Maenza said.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which regulates large water withdrawals from sources within the river basin, has not issued permits for any natural gas companies to take water from anywhere in Luzerne County, including the Ceasetown or Huntsville reservoirs.

Besides permits from the commission, “There are other permits they would have to get through us before they could start taking our water,” Maenza said.

Last week, there were water tankers at the Huntsville Reservoir, but they were removing sludge, Maenza said. When the filters at the water treatment centers are backwashed, the sludge goes into a lagoon, he explained. About 95 percent of it is recycled, including for agricultural use, he said.

When it comes to natural gas drilling, Maenza said Pennsylvania American Water officials are being vigilant, talking to the state Department of Environmental Protection about permits, keeping in constant touch with legislators including Boback, Mundy, and state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township.

Maenza said the company has also been in contact with Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc., which started site preparations for a second exploratory natural gas well on Zosh Road in Lake Township on Wednesday, the same day Encana began drilling its first well in Fairmount Township.

“Nobody’s more concerned than us,” Maenza said. “This is our business. Water quality is what we rely on. We don’t want anything to put our water supply in jeopardy.”

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

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Copyright:  The Citizens Voice

Canonsburg, Pa. – Tonight, Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) president and executive director Kathryn Klaber will deliver the following remarks at a public EPA forum on hydraulic fracturing. Excerpts and full text — as prepared for delivery — of her remarks are below:

• “Fracturing is considered a safe and essential part of the responsible development of natural gas, which studies have shown has the potential to create nearly 212,000 new jobs throughout Pennsylvania over the next decade.”
• “Our industry is working tirelessly to ensure that fracturing is done effectively, prudently and in a way that continues to create thousands of good-paying jobs and stable supplies of homegrown energy for U.S. consumers.”

My name is Kathryn Klaber, and I have the tremendous privilege of serving as the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s first president. And on behalf of the MSC – the organizational body that represents the vast majority of shale gas producers and midstream companies operating in the Commonwealth – I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the significant role hydraulic fracturing continues to play in the responsible development of clean-burning, job-creating natural gas.

As the MSC said at the outset of this study in March, our industry is confident that an objective, science-driven, and peer-reviewed evaluation of fracturing will reach the same conclusions produced by a host of other studies, including most notably one issued by your agency in 2004.

In that report — the product of an intensive, four-year course of study first initiated under the Clinton administration — EPA found “no evidence” suggesting the fracturing of shallow coalbed methane reserves posed a threat to underground drinking water supplies. Certainly you’re aware that coalbed methane strata reside thousands of feet closer to the water table than shale formations, and that the technology used today to access clean-burning natural gas from these formations is much more advanced and sophisticated than what was available in the past.

Here in Pennsylvania, fracturing has been in use for more than 50 years, and has been tightly regulated by the state almost before we had a name for it. Today, as you know, fracturing is considered a safe and essential part of the responsible development of natural gas, which studies have shown has the potential to create nearly 212,000 new jobs throughout Pennsylvania over the next decade.

Because of tight regulations and laws in place, coupled with the commitment from industry to protect the environment, there’s never been a single case of groundwater contamination associated with fracturing, as noted by PA DEP, top EPA officials, other state regulators, and the Groundwater Protection Council.

As EPA’s study moves forward, it’s critical to consider what the top officials responsible for regulating fracturing in the Commonwealth have said. Scott Perry, director of DEP’s bureau of oil and gas management – with whom my members work closely with – said this in May:

• “We’ve never seen an impact to fresh groundwater directly from fracking.”
• “No one’s ever documented drinking water wells that have actually been shown to be impacted by fracking.”

Pittsburgh Congressman Mike Doyle has said that state officials have “done a great job in regulating” Marcellus Shale exploration.

Unfortunately, while perceptions remain that our industry continues to resist regulations, the truth is quite the opposite. In fact, my member companies met earlier today with top DEP officials about well-casing standards; the second of such productive meetings in just months.

Our industry is working tirelessly to ensure that fracturing is done effectively, prudently and in a way that continues to create thousands of good-paying jobs and stable supplies of homegrown energy for U.S. consumers.

Once again, thank for the opportunity to speak here tonight about the critical role that hydraulic fracturing continues to play in realizing the Marcellus’s promise.

NOTE: Click HERE to view these remarks on-line.

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 22, 2010

FAIRMOUNT TWP. – In one Luzerne County municipality, a natural gas drilling rig towers in the background as a guard keeps vigil against unauthorized personnel at the gate that is kept open to allow trucks to pass in and out of the site.

In another Luzerne County municipality a few miles away, new electrified fencing surrounds a meadow and engineers’ trucks kick up dust along the freshly re-graveled road.

On Wednesday, Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. started drilling the county’s first exploratory natural gas well in Fairmount Township, and also began site preparation for a second well in Lake Township.

Encana spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said the drilling components have arrived and operations are moving forward on the site owned by Edward Buda in Fairmount Township, on Route 118 behind the Ricketts Glen Hotel. The well will be drilled about 7,000 feet deep, then go out 2,500 to 5,000 feet horizontally.

Asked what motorists can anticipate near the site, Wiedenbeck said, “We would expect some additional truck traffic. There is signage on the road leading up to and away from the location.”

Noise and dust are side effects of the drilling process, which it is estimated will take about 30 days, Wiedenbeck said. Encana will monitor and mitigate both the dust and the noise at the site, and the company is working closely with Fairmount Township officials, she said.

About a quarter of a mile down Route 118 from the drilling site, Good’s Campground owner Frank Carroll was cutting firewood Wednesday afternoon. He noticed there has been a lot of truck traffic at the drill pad.

“Crazy thing is, all I can hear is the backup of the trucks – you know, beep-beep-beep,” Carroll said as he piled the cut wood in the bed of his pickup truck and pulled a blue tarp over it. “It doesn’t bother me, but I can hear it.”

Carroll says he wakes early and sleeps soundly, so he doesn’t expect the 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week drilling operation to disturb him.

“I’d sleep through the end of the world,” he joked.

One thing does bother Carroll: the speculation. Will the well pay off in royalties to landowners who leased mineral rights?

“Everybody’s been talking about it for two years, how they’re going to get rich or they’re going to get nothing,” Carroll said. “And they’re still talking about it. They all think they’re going to be rich – and they can’t all be rich.”

As soon as drilling is complete in Fairmount Township, the rig, from Horizontal Well Drillers of Purcell, Okla., will be taken to the Lake Township site.

“Efficient work operations is to go from one area to the other,” Wiedenbeck said.

In Lake Township, heavy truck traffic warning signs are in place on Meeker, Outlet and other roads to be traveled by the approximately 2,100 total trucks it will take to create the drilling pad, drill the well and bring in the roughly six million gallons of water needed for hydraulic fracturing.

Robert and Debra Anderson live so close to the Zosh Road site that will be transformed into a natural gas drilling pad they could throw a baseball from the front yard of their trailer home and easily have it land over the electrified wire fence surrounding the meadow belonging to Paul and Amy Salansky.

The Andersons love the area, which is full of wildlife: “I have turkeys, I have deer, I have foxes, I have bear … I even have ducks in my pond,” Debra Anderson said.

Things were quiet on Wednesday afternoon, but in the morning, there was a “big meeting” at the drill pad site, Robert Anderson said.

Just then a pair of engineers drove by in a Borton-Lawson truck, stirring dust from the road as they passed.

But not much dust. The Andersons are pleased with the work Lake Township’s three-man road crew has done on the dirt-and-gravel roads around the site: enlarging them, smoothing them, lining the drainage ditches with rock. Debra Anderson declared she hasn’t seen the roads look that good in the 15 years they’ve lived in the township. Encana’s paying for the road maintenance, Robert Anderson said.

Lake Township will provide dust control with calcium chloride applications on the roads, he said. But what about the noise and light when drilling starts?

“We’ll deal with it. You can’t stop progress,” Robert Anderson said.

He called Encana a “reputable company, not like the one that’s up in Dimock,” and said its representatives are good about telling residents what’s going on. He said he attended the last Lake Township meeting, at which dozens of natural gas drilling opponents showed up, and he said they should go to the company for information, not the supervisors.

“People that go to the Lake Township meetings should be Lake Township residents,” Robert Anderson said. “It’s no one else’s concern.”

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

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Copyright:  The Citizens Voice

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 21, 2010

HARVEYS LAKE – If the state Department of Environmental Protection can make borough officials do something about sewage pollution in the lake, why can’t it step in to prevent potential contamination from natural gas drilling?

That was the argument state Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, approached council with Tuesday. She asked borough officials to meet with DEP and the state fish commission to discuss a one-year moratorium on drilling near the lake.

Her suggestion was greeted with applause from the approximately 80 people who filled council chambers. Council members were open to the idea of contacting the state agencies.

“As far as I’m concerned, the precedent is set,” Boback said. “In my letter to (DEP Secretary John) Hanger, I put it was due to the infiltration problems during storm events. Our concern is the potential contamination with fracking fluids, and if that’s not a legitimate argument, I don’t know what is.”

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” involves blasting millions of gallons of chemical-treated water thousands of feet underground to break up the shale rock and release the natural gas.

Because of problems with raw sewage flowing into the lake during heavy rains, DEP cited the borough and ordered its officials to come up with a corrective action plan. As a result, the General Municipal Authority of Harveys Lake put a DEP-approved voluntary moratorium on new sewer connections in July 2003 until inflow and infiltration into the system was cut back. DEP allowed the authority to relax the moratorium in 2006.

“If they’re talking about infiltration, what about fracking water spewing all over the place?” Boback said, referring to a recent well blowout in Clearfield County.

Boback said she is writing legislation similar to what she introduced to protect drinking water sources, such as the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs. DEP allows natural gas drilling up to 100 feet away from bodies of water. Boback wants that changed to 2,500 feet.

She also wants to prohibit drilling beneath drinking water sources and lakes, such as Harveys Lake, that are governed by a borough or second-class township.

Resident Michelle Boice urged council to take a “strong, proactive stance” with DEP on the issue.

“My concern is that we should be working closely with DEP as a government, and ask the tough questions as to why, when they have been a strong presence in this borough for more than 40 years, they are not doing something about controlling where these drilling permits are being issued,” she said. “Right over the hill, a half mile at Alderson, a drilling permit has been issued.”

Boice was referring to the Sordoni family’s Sterling Farms, where Carrizo Marcellus LLC plans to drill one of two exploratory wells in the Noxen area. She also noted so far 300 acres in Harveys Lake Borough have been leased to gas companies.

Councilman Ryan Doughton said gas companies can lease anywhere. However, zoning restricts where they can drill.

The only place where mineral extraction is allowed in the borough is in the small manufacturing zone on the northern side of the Old Lake Road, Doughton said. Natural gas companies seeking to drill in other parts of the borough would need a zoning hearing for a conditional use permit, he said.

According to resident Guy Giordano, the underground-spring-fed Harveys Lake is a source of the Ceasetown Reservoir, where thousands of people in the Wyoming Valley get their drinking water.

“Council needs to take a stronger position on this and ask the state for help, because this not only affects our wells around Harveys Lake, it affects the drinking water for the entire Wyoming Valley,” he said.

Councilman Rich Williams III said he has been studying the state Oil & Gas Act, trying to find out what council as a local government can do – state law supersedes local government.

“Please don’t think what you say is falling on deaf ears, because I practically use this thing for a pillow,” he told residents.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

View article here.

Copyright:  The Citizen’s Voice

Agency convenes hearing in Canonsburg tomorrow to discuss scope of upcoming hydraulic fracturing study. But has EPA forgotten about its 2004 report?

Tomorrow night in Canonsburg, the EPA will convene its third public hearing on its upcoming study on hydraulic fracturing, a key technology that’s been used to produce energy in Pennsylvania for more than a half-century, but one that’s become especially important lately as efforts to convert the enormous potential of the Marcellus into jobs and revenues for Pennsylvanians move forward across the Commonwealth.

But for those keeping tally at home, this new study by EPA isn’t the first time the agency has looked into the safety and performance of fracturing technology. In a report released by EPA in June 2004, federal officials found the fracturing of coalbed methane formations “poses little or no threat” to underground sources of drinking water – despite that fact that coal seams generally reside close to formations carrying drinking water underground. In remarks set to be delivered at tomorrow’s hearing, MSC president and executive director Kathryn Klaber lays out some additional details (and context) associated with this landmark study:

In that report — the product of an intensive, four-year course of study first initiated under the Clinton administration — EPA found “no evidence” suggesting the fracturing of shallow coalbed methane reserves posed a threat to underground drinking water supplies. Certainly you’re aware that coalbed methane strata residethousands of feet closer to the water table than shale formations, and that the technology used today to access clean-burning natural gas from these formations is much more advanced and sophisticated than what was available in the past.

For their part, natural gas critics contend that EPA’s 2004 study on fracturing’s application to coalbed methane reserves somehow isn’t relevant to the current conversation about the Marcellus Shale. Come again? If the fracturing of shallow coalbeds near the water table was found to be safe by EPA, how is it that the fracturing of deep shale formations is any less so? After all, we’re talking about shale strata that reside thousands and thousands of feet below both the water table and the coal beds themselves.

Thursday’s forum in Canonsburg is expected to address some of these questions, and more generally lay out the direction that EPA will take in engaging in its second study on hydraulic fracturing in 70 months. And you know what? It’s an effort we support in full. With fracturing, we’re talking about a technology that’s been deployed more than 1.1 million times in the 60-plus years in which it’s been in commercial use. And in all that time, not a single government regulator – including the EPA – has made a single claim suggesting it’s a threat to groundwater. Assuming this new study is science-based and peer-reviewed, there’s no reason to believe its findings will diverge from what the agency has consistently found in the past.

So what will the latest installment of EPA’s hydraulic fracturing study series look like when it hits the shelves sometime in the next two or three years? Tough to say for sure, but if it ends up drawing on the testimony of regulators in the states, experts in the field, and everyday Americans whose lives are being made better and more prosperous thanks to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of shale gas in America – it should be quite a page-turner indeed.

In the meantime, folks interested in coming out to tell EPA what they think of responsible shale gas development in Pennsylvania have a few outstanding tasks to complete before they arrive tomorrow night. First order of business: Register for the meeting, which is easily accomplished by navigating to this page. Second: Make sure to stock up on all the facts. MSC fact sheets have been developed on a range of topics likely to be addressed in some form – from the full disclosure of materials involved in the fracturing process, to the many ways in which natural gas can be used as a workhorse in PA to deliver a clean, secure and affordable energy future. The full arsenal can be accessed here.

So that should just about do it. Pre-registration for the event starts at 5:00 p.m. sharp, and the address for the Hilton Garden Inn is 1000 Corporate Drive in Canonsburg. Hope to see you out there.

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org