Posts Tagged ‘Kingston Township’

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: August 2, 2010

JACKSON TWP. – Just as individual property owners are testing their drinking water wells before natural gas drilling starts, Pennsylvania American Water Co. has established a baseline to ensure nothing affects the quality of water the company provides to its thousands of customers.

After giving The Citizens’ Voice a tour of the Ceasetown Reservoir’s filtration plant last week, Pennsylvania American Water representatives explained what the company is doing to augment its water quality monitoring to prevent contamination from natural gas drilling.

Although no gas wells are planned near the Huntsville or Ceasetown reservoirs in Jackson and Lehman townships, Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. has leased mineral rights to land close to both reservoirs and is preparing to drill an exploratory well in Lake Township, not far from the Lehman Township border.

Pennsylvania American Water Production Manager Mark Cross said the company has met with Encana and showed the gas company maps to indicate where the reservoirs’ watershed is and where future drilling activity could affect them.

“We had a lot of conversations with them to say this is a concern to us, and we need ongoing communication, and we need to know what your plans are,” he said.

Pennsylvania American Water also shared its watershed maps with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Cross said. Although there is no legal requirement to notify water companies when drilling permits are issued, DEP will take the watershed maps into consideration, and Pennsylvania American Water is also keeping up “ongoing dialogue” with the state agency, he said.

“Our focus is we want to know what’s going on out there, we want constant communication, we want to know what is in place out there, what their mitigation measures are, what spill control and response plans they have,” Cross said. “And it’s worked very well. They’ve been very cooperative, both DEP and Encana.”

‘Constantly monitored’

When people in Ashley, Conyngham Township, Courtdale, Edwardsville, Hanover Township, Hunlock Township, Larksville, Nanticoke, Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Pringle, Salem Township, Shickshinny and Wilkes-Barre City turn on their taps, the water probably comes from the Ceasetown Reservoir, which is fed by Pikes Creek.

Pennsylvania American Water’s 70,000 customers served by the Ceasetown Reservoir have their water treated at a facility in Jackson Township. A similar facility treats the water from the nearby Huntsville Reservoir, which serves about 29,000 customers. Huntsville serves Dallas, Kingston Township, Swoyersville, West Wyoming and Wyoming.

The “raw water” from the reservoir is piped into the facility in a 42-inch main, where chemicals are added to coagulate the small particles and make them easier to remove, Cross said.

The water then goes through a series of filters, which include irregularly shaped plastic beads that gather impurities, and layers of sand and gravel. The water is treated with chlorine to disinfect it and lime to adjust the pH level, then it is sent to a series of storage tanks and pump stations for distribution to customers.

Ceasetown’s facility handles a normal flow of 9 million gallons a day, Plant Supervisor Sean Sorber said. During droughts, Harveys Creek is used as an emergency source, but that hasn’t been necessary for about 10 years, Cross said.

“Ceasetown Reservoir is a very good source, very good quality,” he said.

Cross said the water is “constantly monitored” at the plant, and physical tests are done in its lab. A sink in the lab has a series of specialized faucets, each pouring water in a different stage of treatment. Every shift at the plant runs a minimum of two series of 15 tests – about 100 a day – Sorber said.

Because of impending natural gas drilling, Pennsylvania American Water instituted an additional set of parameters, Cross said.

Several months ago full baseline testing started at Pikes Creek, Harveys Creek, the Huntsville Reservoir in several locations, and the raw and treated water at the Huntsville and Ceasetown plants, he said. The water is tested at the plant and in the watershed for substances including volatile organic compounds, methane and total dissolved solids – extremely tiny particles of minerals or organic matter.

“We ran a full series of baseline tests – VOCs, metals, methane – on all of the sources in this Luzerne, Lackawanna and Susquehanna county area that are subject to any possible drilling,” Sorber said. “So we have a good baseline of what we currently have, and those tests will be run periodically also, as activity increases.”

Conductivity tests are one way to measure the amount of total dissolved solids, or TDSs. Changing levels of TDSs could signify a lot of things, including the water is being affected by natural gas drilling. Sorber took a sample of untreated water from one of the faucets and placed a probe in the plastic cup, then checked the meter. It was normal.

“If we see something jumping up, that will be an indication for us there’s something going on. It’s a very straightforward test,” he said.

Besides monitoring and testing, Pennsylvania American Water is active in trying to get Pennsylvania legislation changed, according to PAWC Communications Director Terry Maenza.

Two things the company would like to see changed are adding a requirement for drinking water utilities to be notified of any nearby natural gas drilling permit applications, and to have the buffer zone outside which drilling is allowed increased from 100 feet to 2,500 feet.

“We’re being as vigilant as we possibly can be, just to keep an eye on what’s proposed and before activity takes place, what safeguards are going to be in place,” Maenza said.

Contact the writer:  eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

View article here.

Copyright:  Citizens Voice 

Land in the Back Mountain complex will not be disturbed, since the approach is horizontal.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

LEHMAN TWP. – Board members who oversee the Back Mountain Recreation Complex will certainly appreciate any revenue derived from a natural gas lease if local Marcellus Shale development is successful, but that’s not why they approved the lease, according to the board president.

“All of the adjacent landowners to our property I believe did sign leases with Marcellus Shale companies,” said board President Richard Coslett, a dentist practicing in Shavertown, Kingston Township.

Because it was expected that natural gas drilling would be going on all around the organization’s 130-acre property, there was no reason not to sign a lease with Chief Oil & Gas, Coslett said. “But there will be no well drilling on the property &hellip absolutely not.”

“Our land is there for one purpose – for the recreational enjoyment of residents of the Back Mountain,” he said.

Back Mountain Recreation will receive a bonus payment of $12.50 per acre and, if natural gas is extracted from the land beneath the complex, the organization will receive 20 percent royalty payments.

Coslett said that money would go right back into developing the complex.

Coslett said the lease gives permission to Chief Oil & Gas to drill horizontally deep underneath the organization’s property without disturbing the surface. “Now, on the other properties, I can’t speak for that,” he said.

EnCana Oil & Gas is proposing to drill just over a mile from the complex on property owned by Lake Township Supervisor Amy Salansky and her husband, Paul.

There was “very concerned discussion” among the board members about the safety of children and adults who use the complex if natural gas wells were drilled on nearby property, Coslett said.

“We see what happened to the roads in the Northern Tier counties; we heard the stories of water being contaminated in the Northern Tier. Myself and the board are very concerned about those things happening here also,” Coslett said.

And, of course, the thought of an explosion on property near the complex similar to the natural gas well blowout in Clearfield County on June 3 would be enough to make any Back Mountain recreational enthusiast shudder.

But Coslett is hopeful state officials will make sure adequate regulatory safeguards are in place before drilling begins anywhere near the complex.

“I really think there is a lot of emotional information out there right now,” Coslett said. “I can understand both sides of the issue. Hopefully, the facts will come out.”

The organization is in the process of a multiphase development. A lacrosse field and two soccer fields opened in summer 2007. They were dedicated in May 2008 as Edward Darling Field, Flack Field and Pride Field.

Two more full-size soccer fields and two mid-size soccer fields were completed in fall 2008 and opened for use last fall. The fields are currently used by Back Mountain Youth Soccer and Back Mountain Lacrosse. A football field, used by the Back Mountain Youth Football and Cheerleading League, is the most recent addition.

The fields lie on about 40 acres of the complex dedicated to organized recreational activities, Coslett said. But the board wants to develop part of the remaining 90 acres for passive recreational activities such as hiking and biking trails and other activities.

Copyright: Times Leader

An organization funded by the natural gas industry disputes the HBO film’s conclusions.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

After Josh Fox was offered nearly $100,000 to lease his 20 acres in Wayne County to a gas company, he heard two different accounts – one, a story of easy money, the other a tale of horror.

The 37-year-old independent filmmaker set out to find the truth about natural gas drilling, and his conclusions can be seen in his documentary film “Gasland,” to air on HBO at 9 p.m. on Monday.

And while representatives of the gas industry call the film a piece of propaganda filled with exaggerations and inaccuracies, Fox stands by his work and says it’s the industry’s response that is propaganda.

In a phone interview Thursday afternoon, as he was getting ready for a special screening of the documentary at the HBO Theater in New York City that night, Fox said a land man with a gas company told him in 2008 that the company probably wouldn’t even drill on the land. But he heard from others that environmentally, gas drilling was “very polluting.”

“There was such a disparity between what was being said and what was being offered, I needed to see with my own eyes,” Fox said.

So, Fox set out for the village of Dimock in Susquehanna County to talk with folks whose well water was polluted by natural gas migration from leaking gas wells.

“It was completely a disaster area. There were Halliburton trucks swarming everywhere. Water was bubbling and fizzing; some you could light on fire. There was a feeling of regret and betrayal in the air,” Fox said.

Residents were unaware of the contamination until Norma Fiorentino’s water well exploded on Jan. 1, 2009, Fox said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection fined the drilling company and ordered the wells capped.

Fox visited 23 other states where natural gas drilling was taking place. He interviewed people whose health and quality of life were negatively impacted; scientists, one of whom warns of the dangers of drinking water infused with chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (commonly called fracking), which releases the gas from the underground shale formations; and government officials on both sides of the issue.

One of the officials Fox interviewed was DEP Secretary John Hanger, who minimized the negative effects of fracking but refused to drink a glass of water from an affected well, according to a synopsis of the film on the HBO website.

On the same day as a special screening of the film in Montrose earlier this month, Energy in Depth – a gas-industry-funded organization, released an alert on its website entitled “Debunking Gasland,” pulling out numerous quotes from the movie and disputing them.

Energy In Depth claimed that Fox was “misstating the law” when he said that a 2005 energy bill exempted the oil and gas industry from the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Superfund law and other regulations. The industry is regulated under every single one of those laws, said Energy In Depth spokesman Chris Tucker.

The organization states that Fox was “flat-out making stuff up” when he said the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah gas fields of Wyoming are directly in the path of a 1,000-year-old migration corridor of pronghorn antelope, mule deer and sage grouse, each species of which is endangered.

Energy in Depth countered that three species of the pronghorn are endangered and none are found near the Pinedale Anticline, citing the Great Plains Nature Center; that only mule deer from New Mexico, noting that mule deer are so plentiful in Wyoming, there is a mule deer hunting season; and citing a U.S. Fish and Wildlife report stating that the sage grouse is not on the endangered list and there are “robust populations” of the bird in Wyoming.

Fox also blamed an algae bloom that killed fish and other aquatic life in Dunkard Creek in Washington County on natural gas development, Tucker said. But DEP reports show the bloom was caused by coal mine drainage.

The organization also cites a reference in the documentary to Colorado resident Lisa Bracken, who reported to environmental regulators occurrences of natural gas in the West Divide Creek, which she believed was related to natural gas drilling. “Fox blames methane occurrence in West Divide Creek, Colo., on natural gas development,” the release states.

Energy In Depth published links to reports on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission website that showed the methane was naturally occurring. Tucker said those reports were available long before “Gasland” was released.

Theo Stein, communications director for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said a commission investigation revealed that the methane Bracken reported bubbling in her beaver ponds near the creek was naturally occurring swamp gas from rotting vegetation.

Stein confirmed, however, that about a quarter-mile upstream, some methane gas was still present from a gas migration into the creek from a leak in a well drilled in 2004 by EnCana Oil & Gas, the company that will begin drilling in Luzerne County next month. EnCana received the largest fine in Colorado’s history for allowing that leak to occur.

Tucker, who is a native of Kingston Township and has been closely following the development of the Marcellus Shale in Northeastern Pennsylvania, said the press release was addressing only Bracken’s claims in the documentary. He was unfamiliar with the incident involving EnCana and said the issue alert was not meant to be misleading.

Copyright: Times Leader

Chief to offer “substantial” cash, says solicitor, who wants to see land involved, right-of-way agreement.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

and Rebecca Briarbria@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

DALLAS TWP. – An oil and natural gas company has asked township officials if it can lay pipeline underneath township property in return for money.

Two officials from Chief Oil and Gas attended the supervisors meeting Tuesday evening in search of an answer as to whether they can lay pipeline under a parcel of township-owned land.

Supervisor Glenn Howell said the land is along a gravel road off the Old Tunkhannock Highway. The gravel road leads to a Little League field and some other things, he said.

Township solicitor Thomas Brennan confirmed the company is offering “a substantial amount” of money to the township to lay the pipeline, though Brennan would not disclose the amount.

Brennan said there is no question about the legality of allowing the company to lay the pipe underneath township land. However, he said he first wants to take a look at the land to know what is involved.

The officials from the company also are wondering what they would have to do if they wanted to lay pipe under or along the township’s right-of-way. They said more than 20 miles of pipeline is planned coming from the north and terminating east of Dallas High School.

Brennan asked if the officials could provide a copy of the agreement they have with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding their right-of-way usage. Brennan told the officials that he would have more information for them at the next supervisors meeting on July 6.

Earlier on Tuesday, township Zoning Officer Len Kozick said he’s heard from property owners in the township that they are being offered right-of-way agreements as well. And at least one agreement has already been signed.

According to Luzerne County property records, Leonard DeLeur, who owns Back to Basics – a fireplace and stove shop in Dallas – leased a 50-foot right-of-way along the edge of his 24-acre property in the township.

DeLeur said Chief offered him $20 per foot of pipeline laid on his property.

Kristi Gittins, vice president, Chief Oil & Gas, said a definite path has not been chosen for a pipeline, and one won’t be chosen until wells are drilled. She said no imminent drilling is planned for Luzerne County; the company’s next two wells will be drilled in Sullivan and Wyoming counties.

Josh Longmore, director of the Luzerne Conservation District, confirmed that drilling is slated to begin on his father’s land in Monroe Township, Wyoming County, in mid-July. His father, Robert Longmore, has a lease allowing Chief to drill on his 97-acre farm near Noxen Township.

Chief, which has 75 wells drilled in 10 counties, has wells in Lycoming, Bradford and Susquehanna counties that are producing gas, but there’s currently no way to get it to market. Gittins said gas is going to market from only about half of Chief’s wells in the Northeast because it takes a while to build a pipeline infrastructure where none previously existed.

Gittins said it costs about $1 million a mile to lay pipeline. And lease holders don’t see any royalty money until the gas gets to market.

Gittins said that Chief is selectively seeking leases in Luzerne County, but only in the area of currently leased land, she said. The company has leased a few properties in Fairmount Township. The Dallas, Texas-based company has 650,000 acres leased in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, she said.

In other business, supervisors awarded a bid for a paving and drainage project on Main and Campground roads to Popple Construction, the lowest bidder, at $147,530 for Main Road and $56,642.33 for Campground Road.

Supervisors Vice Chairman Frank Wagner previously said the project will consist of paving Main Road from the Kingston Township line to Route 309, as well as all of Campground Road.

Also, George Stolarick, who said he has lived on Ridge Street for the past 45 years, asked the supervisors to consider paving his road. Stolarick said that although there are only three houses on his road, eight families use the road to access their homes.

But, Supervisors Chairman Phil Walter said “it’s not in the cards right now.”

Rebecca Bria, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7436. Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

Pa. American Water Co. wants state government to offer water supply protection.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Officials with the water company that owns two Back Mountain reservoirs want to see state action to better protect those drinking water sources from contamination related to natural gas drilling.

They also want the opportunity to have input into the permitting process for natural gas wells located near those reservoirs.

Terry Maenza, spokesman for Pennsylvania American Water Co., said there is no requirement that natural gas companies or any state agency notify water suppliers when well-drilling permit applications for land near water supplies are submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

“We would like to see those laws and regulations revised so we can be notified and have a chance to express any comments or concerns while a permit is under review,” Maenza said.

Maenza’s comments follow the revelation on Monday that at least one property on the shore of the Huntsville Reservoir in Lehman Township, and an adjacent property, have been leased to EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., which will begin exploratory drilling operations at a well in Fairmount Township in July and at a second in Lake Township in late summer or early fall.

Paul Siegel, who owns the three acres on the Huntsville shore, said on Monday there is language in his lease that allows him and his wife, Janet, to restrict any surface drilling on his land but would allow EnCana to drill horizontally underneath his property.

The couple’s son and daughter-in-law, Christopher and Maureen, own 10.88 acres bordered by Christopher’s parents’ land on the east and by Huntsville-Idetown Road on the west that is also leased to EnCana.

Maenza said there is a 500-foot buffer between other properties and the high-water point of the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs in most areas, but some parcels of land were “grandfathered in” without buffers when Pennsylvania American bought the water system from PGW in 1996.

As far as allowing a gas company to drill underneath the reservoirs, Maenza said it “would depend on what the driller was proposing and who owns the land. I’m not sure how far (down) our rights extend under the reservoirs,” he said.

Maenza said Pennsylvania American started water sampling and visual creek inspections about two weeks ago “so we can get some baseline data before the drilling begins.”

Huntsville Reservoir provides water for about 30,000 people living in Dallas, Kingston Township., Swoyersville, Wyoming and West Wyoming. Ceasetown Reservoir provides water to about 70,000 people in Ashley, Courtdale, Edwardsville, Larksville, Nanticoke, Plymouth, Pringle, Shickshinny, the townships of Conyngham, Hanover, Hunlock, Newport and Plymouth, and portions of the city of Wilkes-Barre.

Wyoming Mayor Robert Boyer said he’d like to learn more about the drilling process, given that his town receives water from the Huntsville Reservoir.

“There is a potential for environmental concerns. If we drill for oil a mile under the ocean floor and we don’t have a plan in place to deal with a catastrophic event like we had off the Gulf Coast, it makes sense that we want to have environmental protections in place before we start drilling here. Don’t put the cart before the horse,” Boyd said.

Maenza noted that state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, is working on legislation to protect water sources.

In order to protect aquifers and determine any adverse consequences attributable to drilling, one bill would require testing at three times – before drilling, at the completion of drilling and six months afterward – at three different depths.

A second bill would rule out drilling at sites too close to drinking water sources such as reservoirs.

A third bill would require DEP to ensure that the operators of wastewater treatment facilities are properly trained and sufficiently monitored to lessen the chances of human error creating a major problem.

Jennifer Wilson, Baker’s chief of staff, said specifics on the proposed bills, such as minimum distances from aquifers, are still being worked out.

Although EnCana has obtained a drilling permit for a site in Lehman Township about midway between Harveys Lake and Huntsville Reservoir, Wendy Wiedenbeck, public and community relations adviser for EnCana, said the company has not yet put together a full development program for drilling in Luzerne County should production at wells in Fairmount and Lake townships prove successful.

She did say the company is starting to look at additional potential drilling locations in the county.

As for company policies on proximity of drilling to water resources, she said the company naturally abides by the minimum setbacks set by states. But in considering additional setback distances, she said each potential drill location is unique and is assessed individually.

“We would take the same thoughtful, measured approach to any future operations as we have with our first two wells,” Wiedenbeck said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

A lawyer offers sample laws to Back Mountain towns concerned about drilling.

By Rebecca Briarbria@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

DALLAS TWP. – The Back Mountain Community Partnership was advised Thursday afternoon to separately pass ordinances that may help protect against gas drilling issues.

The partnership is an intermunicipal group composed of Dallas, Franklin, Jackson, Kingston and Lehman townships and Dallas borough.

Attorney Jeffrey Malak, who is solicitor of the group, explained it would be better for each municipality to enact its own ordinances rather than to pass joint partnership ordinances because each municipality has its own unique needs.

Malak provided an example of an ordinance, created by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors and the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Solicitors, which addresses height regulations of equipment, setbacks, access roads, wells, tanks and storage.

He also furnished sample dust, noise and light pollution ordinances and a sample road bond agreement. In addition, he provided a copy of Dallas’ zoning ordinance, which restricts drilling to certain areas of the borough and deals with screening and buffering and outdoor lighting issues.

Malak said such ordinances would take in all types of businesses but cannot be specific to natural gas drilling because the Oil and Gas Act of 1984 specifies the state oversees drilling. He stressed a lot of ordinances can be incorporated to help and that the municipalities are not limited to revising their zoning laws.

“We don’t know what’s allowed, what’s not, until we try some different things&hellip.” Malak said. “It’s a very, very complicated issue and like I said, it’s not a one size fits all.”

In other news, Tom Yoniski, a representative for state Sen. Lisa Baker, announced the senator’s office has arranged a meeting regarding gas drilling to be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on May 13 at Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School.

Yoniski said Penn State University officials will give a presentation on gas drilling. He said that officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission will also attend.

Also, Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition members Karen Belli and Leeanne Mazurick, both of Dallas Township, gave a brief presentation on gas drilling and its impacts on the environment and the community.

Coalition member Audrey Simpson, of Kingston Township, showed a video she created of Dimock Township residents who were negatively affected by gas drilling.

Copyright: Times Leader