Posts Tagged ‘Wendy Wiedenbeck’

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: August 4, 2010

WILKES-BARRE – The Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board on Tuesday night approved new natural gas wells and a facility for processing the gas, but added safety conditions.

Zoning hearing board members William Harris, Anthony Palischak and Chairman Lawrence Newman unanimously granted Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. conditional use to drill five natural gas wells in an agricultural zone on the 4-P Realty property on Loyalville Road in Lake Township, as well as a natural gas processing facility that would include a compressor station and a radio tower.

Among the conditions the board imposed, Encana will have to determine whether the county’s emergency responders will be able to handle problems at the site, and to draw up a contingency plan to share with all concerned.

Encana will have to mitigate noise, light and dust at the site, as well as provide a traffic control plan, bond all county and municipal roads, and consider safety measures for school buses, such as having flagmen at bus stops.

The board also granted conditional approval on Encana’s request to drill three wells on the Kent North site at 208 State Route 118 in Fairmount Township, and two wells on the Kent South site at 27 State Route 487 in Fairmount Township.

The commissioners’ meeting room at the courthouse was jammed with people, many of whom expressed opposition to natural gas drilling.

Zoning hearing board Solicitor Stephen A. Menn repeatedly stressed that the state Oil and Gas Act does not allow local officials to regulate most aspects of natural gas well drilling, including how it is done and water use and protection.

“In what ways has the Oil and Gas Act tied your hands?” Factoryville resident Patrick Walker asked.

“Health, safety and welfare issues,” Menn said.

Like with methadone clinics and adult entertainment, zoning cannot exclude natural gas drilling, according to Menn.

“Drilling is a legal use. You have to put it somewhere,” Menn said.

The place people should seek change is Harrisburg, in laws passed by the General Assembly.

“I think it is an absolute horror, I think this is a version of fascism, that this power has been taken away from you,” Walker said.

Several residents questioned safety issues, such as the 6,800 additional trucks on the road throughout the well drilling process.

Lake-Lehman Transportation Coordinator Sandy Dobrowolski, speaking on her own behalf, expressed concern about the school buses being on the roads at the same time as the heavy traffic at the site.

Paul Ungvarsky, who lives on Loyalville Road about a mile from the 4-P property, asked if something could be done to ensure trucks don’t speed on the road. Encana Community Relations Adviser Wendy Wiedenbeck said it seemed like a reasonable request.

Ungvarsky also wanted to know what would happen if a property isn’t leased. He said his isn’t.

“If it’s unleased, we cannot drill under it,” Encana Operations Engineer Joel Fox said.

Linster added that Encana has “quite a bit of room to work with” on the 4-P site.

Mike Patrician of Clarks Summit, one of the 4-P property owners, spoke on Encana’s behalf, saying he had talked to five different companies at length about leasing.

“People are not all the same, gas companies are not all the same,” he said. “Encana has a stellar reputation in the industry.”

Gary Ide, who has leased his Lehman Township property, also defended Encana, stating that leaseholders were “extraordinarily impressed” with the company.

But Gene Stilp of Dauphin County, in referencing Patrician’s comment, said: “People are different, companies are different – frack water is pretty much the same.”

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

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Copyright:  The Citizens Voice 

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

Those against Encana Oil & Gas plans ponder appeals for permits already granted.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

As Encana Oil & Gas officials await a hearing next month on zoning permits for 10 new natural gas wells in Luzerne County, gas-drilling opponents are contemplating a second appeal for permits that already have been issued to the company.

Encana recently filed applications with the Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board seeking temporary-use permits and special exceptions for drilling five natural gas wells and height variances for building a gas processing facility at a site nestled between Loyalville, Hickory Tree and Meeker roads in Lake Township.

The company also applied for the same types of permits for drilling wells on two properties in Fairmount Township – two wells on a site northeast of the intersection of state routes 487 and 118, and three wells on adjoining land to the northeast.

The zoning hearing board has scheduled a hearing for 7 p.m. Aug. 3 to hear testimony on those applications.

The Lake Township site, owned by 4P Realty of Blakely, is about 600 acres. The two Fairmount Township sites consist of 13 parcels – some owned by William Kent of Benton and others owned by Jeffrey Hynich of Lake Township – spanning nearly 480 acres. They are referred to as the Red Rock/Benton Gas Consortium Lands in a lease with Encana.

Encana would move forward with drilling wells on those properties if two exploratory wells in Lake and Fairmount townships prove successful.

Drilling on the Fairmount Township property of Edward Buda is expected to begin within five to 10 days, Encana spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said.

Encana won zoning approval for drilling on a Lehman Township property owned by Russell W. Lansberry and Larry Lansberry in April but withdrew the application last week – less than a month after township residents Dr. Tom Jiunta, Brian and Jennifer Doran and Joseph Rutchauskas filed an appeal of the zoning approval in county court.

Rutchauskas said on Tuesday that attorneys for the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition are checking into the possibility of appealing the issuance of zoning permits about two weeks ago for Lake Township property owned by Amy and Paul Salansky on which Encana plans to begin drilling later this summer.

The county zoning hearing board approved the permit applications for the Salansky property in May.

Rutchauskas said he was told by a zoning official that it was too late to file an appeal on the Salansky permits because one must be filed within 30 days of the zoning hearing board’s decision.

“We’re having lawyers check into the timeframe of when the permits were approved and when they were issued. Our stance is that the 30-day timeframe is from the day the permits were issued, not from the day they were approved,” Rutchauskas said.

He said the permits could not be issued until the board received several response plans from Encana, such as a traffic management plan and an emergency response plan.

Eight permits for the Salansky property were issued on June 25 – the same day Encana submitted the plans – and two more were issued on June 28, according to zoning office records.

Rutchauskas said there’s no way zoning officials could have reviewed all the plans the same day, and the permits should not have been issued until the plans were thoroughly reviewed.

“How can you issue a permit without reading the required plans? You can put a Superman comic book in there and they wouldn’t know the difference. Do it slow, take your time, at least open them. I’ve been going through those books almost eight hours,” Rutchauskas said.

Luzerne County Planner Pat Dooley said officials are checking into how an appeal can be filed on the issuance of a zoning permit.

Dooley said he’s not aware of anyone ever appealing the issuance of a zoning permit, only the approval of a permit.

Copyright: Times Leader

Those against Encana Oil & Gas plans ponder appeals for permits already granted.

By Steve Mocarsky
Staff Writer

As Encana Oil & Gas officials await a hearing next month on zoning permits for 10 new natural gas wells in Luzerne County, gas-drilling opponents are contemplating a second appeal for permits that already have been issued to the company.

Encana recently filed applications with the Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board seeking temporary-use permits and special exceptions for drilling five natural gas wells and height variances for building a gas processing facility at a site nestled between Loyalville, Hickory Tree and Meeker roads in Lake Township.

The company also applied for the same types of permits for drilling wells on two properties in Fairmount Township – two wells on a site northeast of the intersection of state routes 487 and 118, and three wells on adjoining land to the northeast.

The zoning hearing board has scheduled a hearing for 7 p.m. Aug. 3 to hear testimony on those applications.

The Lake Township site, owned by 4P Realty of Blakely, is about 600 acres. The two Fairmount Township sites consist of 13 parcels – some owned by William Kent of Benton and others owned by Jeffrey Hynich of Lake Township – spanning nearly 480 acres. They are referred to as the Red Rock/Benton Gas Consortium Lands in a lease with Encana.

Encana would move forward with drilling wells on those properties if two exploratory wells in Lake and Fairmount townships prove successful.

Drilling on the Fairmount Township property of Edward Buda is expected to begin within five to 10 days, Encana spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said.

Encana won zoning approval for drilling on a Lehman Township property owned by Russell W. Lansberry and Larry Lansberry in April but withdrew the application last week – less than a month after township residents Dr. Tom Jiunta, Brian and Jennifer Doran and Joseph Rutchauskas filed an appeal of the zoning approval in county court.

Rutchauskas said on Tuesday that attorneys for the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition are checking into the possibility of appealing the issuance of zoning permits about two weeks ago for Lake Township property owned by Amy and Paul Salansky on which Encana plans to begin drilling later this summer.

The county zoning hearing board approved the permit applications for the Salansky property in May.

Rutchauskas said he was told by a zoning official that it was too late to file an appeal on the Salansky permits because one must be filed within 30 days of the zoning hearing board’s decision.

“We’re having lawyers check into the timeframe of when the permits were approved and when they were issued. Our stance is that the 30-day timeframe is from the day the permits were issued, not from the day they were approved,” Rutchauskas said.

He said the permits could not be issued until the board received several response plans from Encana, such as a traffic management plan and an emergency response plan.

Eight permits for the Salansky property were issued on June 25 – the same day Encana submitted the plans – and two more were issued on June 28, according to zoning office records.

Rutchauskas said there’s no way zoning officials could have reviewed all the plans the same day, and the permits should not have been issued until the plans were thoroughly reviewed.

“How can you issue a permit without reading the required plans? You can put a Superman comic book in there and they wouldn’t know the difference. Do it slow, take your time, at least open them. I’ve been going through those books almost eight hours,” Rutchauskas said.

Luzerne County Planner Pat Dooley said officials are checking into how an appeal can be filed on the issuance of a zoning permit.

Dooley said he’s not aware of anyone ever appealing the issuance of a zoning permit, only the approval of a permit.

Contact the writer smocarsky@timesleader.com

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Copyright:  The Times Leader

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 5, 2010

Luzerne test wells’ results awaited

Depending on how its first natural gas wells turn out, Luzerne County could attract a lot of attention from potential drillers.

“I suspect everybody’s interest levels will be piqued if Encana gets successful,” said Steve Myers, director of Land and Legal Affairs for Citrus Energy Corp.

Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. is poised to start drilling two exploratory natural gas wells this summer, one in Fairmount Twp., on the property of Edward Buda off Route 118, and the second in Lake Twp. on the property of Paul and Amy Salansky on Sholtis Road.

Drilling for natural gas in an area once known for anthracite coal mining is a daring move, by industry standards.

“Everyone’s nervous about going that far south,” Mr. Myers said.

Maps of the Marcellus Shale show the formation running throughout Luzerne County. However, its shale may not be very rich in gas due to the proximity of the anthracite coal-producing areas and high temperatures, which can turn the gas into carbon dioxide, Mr. Myers said.

“There’s some concerns that the Marcellus Shale was subjected to some high temperatures, high pressures that would have converted the shale to graphite and cooked off whatever gas was in place,” he said.

There’s a line that exists, but nobody knows exactly where it is, Mr. Myers said.

“One side, it’s going to be productive; you throw a rock and it’s not,” he said. “Kind of like a summer shower. It can rain across the street, but it doesn’t rain in your yard.”

Encana officials are willing to take the risk.

“We’ve said all along that it’s exploratory, and we have to prove we can develop commercial quantities of natural gas,” Encana spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said.

“We’re not focused on what other operators are doing; we’re just focused on acting responsibly and getting the wells drilled. And the well results will speak for themselves.”

Although the drill rig is expected to arrive in Fairmount Twp. at some point after today, and the drilling and completion process will take an estimated 65 to 75 days total, production results won’t be in until the end of the year or even 2011, Ms. Wiedenbeck said.

Gas production for the Fairmount Twp. and Lake Twp. wells will have to be reviewed before Encana makes further plans, she said.

At one time Citrus had considered drilling in Luzerne County, leasing hundreds of acres in Lake and Fairmount townships in partnership with Tulsa, Okla.-based Unit Corp. But the partnership broke up and Citrus ended up selling off almost all its leases to Williams Production Appalachia.

Williams Inc., also based in Tulsa, does natural gas drilling and processing, and owns thousands of miles of pipelines, including the Transco, which runs through northern Luzerne County – conveniently close to Encana’s planned drilling sites.

Williams has received permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection to drill three wells in Columbia County: two in Benton and one in Sugarloaf Twp.

Another natural gas company, Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy, also has dozens of leases in Luzerne County but hasn’t made a move yet.

“Chesapeake is still evaluating the area. However, as we drill each new well, we learn more about the potential and the productivity of particular geologic areas, and this information guides our decisions about where to focus future activity,” Brian Grove, Chesapeake director of corporate development, stated in an e-mail.

For the time being, Citrus is focusing its efforts in Wyoming County, according to Mr. Myers. The company has drilled four wells so far in a successful partnership with Procter & Gamble, and has more in the works.

Citrus also plans to drill its own wells in Wyoming County, where it has leased large chunks of land – as have Chesapeake, Carrizo Marcellus LLC, Chief Oil & Gas, and others drawn by the prospects of production in Luzerne County’s neighbor to the north.

“It’s very much a hotbed of activity,” Mr. Myers said. “Any time you get good production, people are going to come. … We expect to have plenty of company here in the future.”

Contact the writer: eskrapits@citizensvoice.com

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Copyright:  The Scranton Times

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

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

 LEHMAN TWP. – Back Mountain residents and local legislators knew parcels of land leased to natural gas companies for exploration were close to two major water sources – the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs, but some had no idea just how close.

There is at least one parcel of leased land on the shoreline of the Huntsville Reservoir, and another parcel just a few hundred feet from the shoreline, The Times Leader learned on Monday.

The discovery was made by title searcher Eric Gustitus, of Exeter, and verified by the newspaper through a Luzerne County property records check.

“I was doing a title search on property next to Penn State Lehman and I came across a gas lease on land close to the reservoir. I was shocked,” Gustitus said, explaining that he heard local activists expressing concerns about potential gas well sites being within a mile or two of water sources.

Gustitus located a 3.72-acre property on the shoreline of the reservoir owned by Paul and Janet Siegel, and an adjacent 10.88-acre property to the west owned by their son, Christopher Siegel, and his wife, Maureen.

“Oh my God, am I concerned,” said state Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston, when told of the proximity of the leased land to the reservoir.

“I’m very concerned about the potential for drilling so close to the reservoir. If you’ve been following the news about Clearfield County and how frack water spewed from the well for 16 hours, you can see why potential for contamination of our water supply is of grave concern to me. And I know my constituents are concerned,” Mundy said.

A blowout at a natural-gas well in Penfield shot explosive gas and polluted water as high as 75 feet into the air last week before crews were able to tame it more than half a day later.

EnCana Oil & Gas plans to drill two exploratory wells this summer – one next month in Fairmount Township and another in Lake Township. After drilling an initial vertical well on a site, the company will drill horizontally, using a process called hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to release natural gas from the thick layer of shale about a mile beneath the earth’s surface.

Mundy is a co-sponsor of legislation that would create a 2,500-foot buffer around water sources such as the reservoirs to protect them from possible contamination from gas drilling-related activities.

The Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs serve as a water supply for Pennsylvania American Water Co., which serves many of Mundy’s constituents.

Mundy said Pennsylvania American President Kathy Pape had expressed concerns to her about water contamination.

Pape said on Monday she is working with Mundy to prepare testimony for the state Public Utility Commission on Marcellus Shale drilling.

Harveys Lake resident Michelle Boice, a member of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition and a commentator on environmental issues related to gas drilling at local meetings, said allowing any kind of gas drilling operations so close to the reservoir is “beyond any kind of reasoning., and it goes to show there are no rules or protections in place for the people.”

Dr. Tom Jiunta, a founding member of the coalition, said it’s “insane how close they are with these leases” to water sources.

Paul Siegel said he’s just as concerned as his neighbors about the potential for reservoir contamination, and that’s why there’s a protective clause in his lease with EnCana. “We have the right not to let them on our land, and we wouldn’t do that because we want to live here,” he said.

Siegel said he agreed to lease the land because he got the impression that everyone around him was signing gas leases.

“When everyone around you is signing, it gets kind of like a mad rush. So, if they’re going to be drilling next to us, and they’re going to be down there anyway, we said we don’t mind if they go under us,” Siegel said.

Christopher and Maureen Siegel could not be reached for comment. Neither could EnCana spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck.

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Copyright: The Times Leader

A company drilling for natural gas says it is already working with local officials.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

Although the community at large hasn’t been privy to it, some local emergency management officials have been working closely with an energy company to draft emergency response plans to address any local natural gas drilling-related catastrophe that might occur.

EnCana Oil & Gas USA is slated to begin drilling a well at a site in Fairmount Township in about a month, and many local residents, officials and emergency responders have become anxious, feeling left-in-the-dark about whether local emergency responders have the equipment, knowledge and protocols in place to handle a drilling-related catastrophe.

But Wendy Wiedenbeck, public and community relations advisor for EnCana, said local firefighters would not be responsible for containing or fighting a gas well fire or gas release at a well site.

“In the event of an incident, local emergency responders will be asked to provide support to our operations personnel who are specially trained to deal with incidents at oil and gas locations,” Wiedenbeck said.

“Should a serious well-control incident occur, such as release of gas or fire, EnCana will look to local emergency responders to provide support while EnCana calls upon well-control experts to assist in addressing such an incident,” she said.

The well-control company EnCana has identified in an Emergency Response Plan submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection is Wild Well Control in Houston, Texas. A second call would be placed to Cudd Well Control, also in Houston.

“Depending on the severity of the well-control issue, they would respond as soon as possible. In the meantime, the area around the well – the exact area again depends on the well-control issue – would be secured and/or evacuated. This is another example of how Encana and local emergency responders will work together,” Wiedenbeck said.

Wiedenbeck said Encana has experienced well-control incidents in the past, and the risks are inherent in the oil and natural gas industry.

“Our training, systems, and protocols are designed to fit the level risk associated with the activity. Our goal is to minimize the risk and to operate in a safe manner. Safety is our number one priority,” she said.

County office works on plan

Steve Bekanich, coordinator of the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency, said last week that he has had several conversations with EnCana officials, but a volunteer with the county EMA “has taken the lead for my office. … We are close to completing an emergency response plan.”

Bekanich said Barney Dobinick, who is also the EMA coordinator for Lake Township, is “handling all direct talks with EnCana for ease of operations. He’s briefing me almost on a daily basis. … I’m very comfortable with what Barney has been doing. He’s been a trusted staff member for 20 years.”

Dobinick said a 230-page set of response guidelines is near completion. After meeting with EnCana representatives in mid-June, the plan will be shared with area municipal officials for their approval and made available to the public. Sometime in the next few, a public meeting also will be scheduled to gather input and answer questions.

Until the plan is complete, Dobinick said it would be counter-productive to release any aspects of it until EnCana has reviewed it and possible changes are made.

“If we determine there’s a better way, we’ll amend it. We’re not hiding anything. We just want to have a complete plan in place (before it’s released),” he said.

Bekanich said adjustments can be made even after the plan is disseminated to municipal officials and input is gathered from the public.

Dobinick did say, however, that local emergency responders would handle some emergencies at well sites, for example, a brush fire, an office trailer or vehicle fire or a hazardous materials spill.

Jack Dodson, emergency management coordinator for Dallas Township and Kunkle fire chief, has said his major concern was having emergency personnel who might have to extract disaster victims from a well-related catastrophe prepared to do so.

Dobinick said there are response guidelines for mass-casualty incidents, getting basic and advanced life support on-scene and implementing a disaster plan for hospitals and medical air transport.

“And depending on the seriousness of an event, it would determine how much, if any, of an area would be evacuated,” Dobinick said.

Off-site also part of concern

Dobinick said he’s more concerned about local responses to off-site incidents, such as the crash of a truck carrying “residual backflow” material, or “frack water” used in the hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale formation.

He said fire departments would handle the initial stabilization of such an incident and work to prevent contamination of any nearby waterway. A state-certified hazardous material clean-up team would come in if needed to remove the material and any contaminated soil.

Dobinick said he feels “very comfortable” with the guidelines and hopes to have the majority of the document complete by the end of the week. He’s still waiting on some information from the county 911 office and the American Red Cross.

Plus, Bekanich noted that Luzerne County is a member of and has access to the resources of the East Central Pennsylvania Regional Task Force – a seven-county all-hazards task force formed in 1998 along with eight other such task forces in the state in response to terrorist threats.

Bekanich said 48 professionals from Luzerne, Wyoming, Schuylkill, Colombia, Northumberland, Montour and Berks counties attended a training event/exercise last week at the county EMA headquarters and worked on a scenario to determine “how we would bring logistics and resources together for an event such as a catastrophic well failure.”

If a catastrophe did occur, Bekanich said, “it’s not like we would be in this on our own. We have resources and technical expertise from seven other counties to rely on for support.”

Dobinick also said EnCana has commissioned a transportation study and will be sitting down with officials from the Lake-Lehman School District to address any concerns about incidents that could affect school bus routes.

Several area residents have voiced concerns about emergency response and traffic at public meetings over the last few months and have been dissatisfied with information supplied by EnCana.

Company schedules meetings

Wiedenbeck said meetings with stakeholders are scheduled for this week.

“Our goal is to understand how these agencies work together, how our operations impact them and how we can work together to make sure we collectively work together so local emergency responders continue to do the great job they’re already doing,” Widenebeck said.

The purpose of sitting down with Dobinick and others is to determine the capabilities of local responders and “if there are gaps, how do we fill them.”

In some instances, Wiedenbeck said, there might be grants available to purchase emergency response equipment that might be needed – for example, a new radio system.

“Our job is to work together with emergency responders, the recreation district, township supervisors and the school district to understand existing protocols and how those protocols might be impacted if there is an incident. We also need to understand existing resources, identify potential gaps and solutions for addressing the gaps, if any,” Wiedenbeck said.

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

Copyright: Times Leader

People are wondering just what EnCana will bring to Marcellus Shale drilling.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Edward Buda had been dealing with representatives of Whitmar Exploration Co. for about two years since he, his late brother and sister-in-law negotiated a lease with the company for natural gas drilling on their Fairmount Township property.

Now, there’s a new player in the mix, since Whitmar announced a partnership with EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. in November for a joint venture in drilling and development of the Marcellus Shale in Luzerne and Columbia counties.

Like others in the Back Mountain, Sweet Valley and Red Rock areas, Buda is a bit wary of the Denver-based energy company.

“We did business with Whitmar. How (Encana is) going to be, I don’t know. How they honor the contract, that’s to be seen. I still don’t know much about them,” said Buda, 75, who lives in Ross Township.

Buda’s brother Walter and Walter’s wife Eleanor signed a fairly simple three-page lease with Whitmar in February 2009, a month before Walter died. Eleanor passed away in November, Edward said, and he became the new lease holder just as EnCana came into the picture.

Now, EnCana wants to lease Edward’s property in Ross Township, but he isn’t too impressed with the $1,000-per-acre offer. And the 16-page lease proposal that has undergone many revisions is written in legalese, he said.

“They wanted to put a drill pad on my property (in Ross Township). I said I want to wait and see what happens in Red Rock (section of Fairmount Township). Everybody’s waiting to see whether it’s going to be a gusher or a fiasco in Red Rock,” Edward said.

Wendy Wiedenbeck, a public and community relations adviser for EnCana, said the well on Buda’s property and a second well planned for a Lake Township property owned by township Supervisor Amy Salansky and her husband, Paul, are exploratory ventures.

If those wells produce an acceptable amount of natural gas, EnCana will develop a plan for expanded drilling operations in the area, Wiedenbeck said. Drilling is expected to begin in July on Buda’s property and gas production should start by October. Clearing of an access road to the site began last week.

Company has won honors

For the past few months, Wiedenbeck has been the face of EnCana locally, arranging and attending meetings with people who live or own property within a mile of the planned drilling sites as well as attending meetings with local groups concerned about drilling activity in their communities.

A self-described “Army wife” with two sons – one in first grade, the other a senior in college, Wiedenbeck has lived in Colorado since 1989 and has been working in community/public relations since the early 1990s. She’s been with EnCana for five years.

“They’re a cultural fit for me. I believe they truly believe in responsible development,” Wiedenbeck said of her employer.

To prove her point, Wiedenbeck provided a long list of awards EnCana has received over the past few years. Just a few include:

• The 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Natural Gas STAR award, recognizing outstanding efforts to measure, report and reduce methane emissions;

• Interstate Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Chairman’s Stewardship Awards, recognizing exemplary efforts in environmental stewardship by the oil and natural gas industry;

• The 2009 Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Award for Courtesy Matters program in the Denver-Julesburg Basin surrounding Erie, Colo.

“Courtesy Matters” is EnCana’s community engagement program that brings EnCana staff and third-party contractors together with the community to discuss the nuisance issues associated with company operations,” Wiedenbeck said.

“Courtesy Matters creates a working environment where open and ongoing dialog are paramount. Discussions generally include concerns with traffic, noise and dust associated with our operations,” she said.

Community investment vital

Marty Ostholthoff, community development director for Erie, Colo., said in a teleconference that EnCana is one of four major energy companies drilling in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, the others being Noble Energy Inc., Kerr-McGee Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Fred Diehl, assistant town administrator in Erie, said he would be remiss if he didn’t point out “how far ahead of the other operators EnCana is” when it comes to community investment.

Diehl said he mentioned to Wiedenbeck that officials wanted to install solar panels on a new community center being built, and EnCana donated $250,000 to make that happen. A month ago, the company donated $175,000 for eco-friendly lighting at community ball fields.

“It’s not a requirement that they make notifications to our residents (about drilling activities or problems), but they do. It’s not a requirement that they make financial investments into our community, but they do,” Ostholthoff said.

Of course, there’s a downside to the presence of the drilling companies in the suburban area, which lies in one of the largest natural gas fields in the country, Diehl said.

“These things are still loud,” he said of the drilling rigs. “People come into our offices complaining, ‘We can’t sleep.’ But we worked with the operators to put up hay bales and cargo trailers to minimize the noise. The only good thing is, (the drilling is) temporary.”

As far as addressing concerns of residents, Diehl said all of the companies seem willing and responsive. “If they’re not, one of them can give the whole industry a black eye,” Diehl said.

Wiedenbeck said EnCana will have a toll-free number posted at its drilling sites that people can call to report concerns. Callers who choose the Pennsylvania prompt will be automatically directed to her office or cell phone. An operations phone number also will be established, she said.

And while EnCana will hire someone locally to help with community relations efforts, Wiedenbeck said she will continue to be “that face” for the community. She has spent about half her time in Pennsylvania since EnCana partnered with Whitmar, sometimes bringing her youngest son, Sammy, on trips here.

“He loves Pennsylvania,” she said.

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

Copyright: Times Leader