Posts Tagged ‘Wyoming County’

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

View article here.

Copyright:  Citizens Voice

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

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

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Doug Ayers has never been one to take the easy way out, and his fellow directors on the board of the Lands at Hillside Farms are following his lead.

While much of the land surrounding the Lands at Hillside Farms has been leased for natural gas drilling into the Marcellus Shale a mile below, the board is refusing to lease any part of the nonprofit organization’s 412 acres in Kingston and Jackson townships.

“The easy route would have been to take millions of dollars to fix those greenhouses and the barn roofs and pay off our debt,” Ayers said last week while sitting under some shade trees outside the farm’s dairy store.

“The more honorable route is to work hard and go to the public because the public owns this place, and we expect them to step up to the plate,” he said.

A veterinarian and chairman of the board of the Lands at Hillside Farms, Ayers said the board agreed “to not engage the gas companies for drilling in the foreseeable future because we don’t consider it safe for the land that we’ve been entrusted with, or safe for our neighbors.”

Chet Mozloom, executive director of the farm, said he “got blitzed over a two- or three-week period with calls from people who must have thought we signed (a lease) for some reason – I don’t know why – and they expressed their disappointment.”

“They were terrified of the impact, and this was before the Clearfield well explosion. They were afraid of Huntsville or Ceasetown (reservoirs) getting destroyed because that’s where their water is coming from,” Mozloom said.

Ayers said the potential for catastrophe is too great to agree to sign a lease.

“The proof is in your newspaper – the reporting that you’re doing on the (oil leak in the) Gulf, on the (gas well) explosion in Clearfield County, the spills in Dimock, the contamination of the well water in Dimock (caused by methane gas migration), the woman in Dimock who flushed her toilet and it blew the back of her house off,” Ayers said.

“And we’re trying to give people food here,” Mozloom added, “so it’s a whole different game if this soil gets ruined. I mean, just imagine Clearfield happening right next to the Huntsville Reservoir. If that happens, it’s over.”

Hillside keeps to mission

It was January 2005 when Ayers met with the Conyngham family, who owned the farm since 1891, to pitch the idea of selling it to the public with a mission to promote organic, sustainable agriculture, resource conservation and historical preservation.

An agreement was struck and the new organization raised about $2 million in private donations and public grants, secured a roughly $2 million loan from Luzerne Bank and bought the farm for $4.058 million last fall.

The plan is to use revenue from self-sustaining micro-enterprises, such as the dairy store, a restaurant serving locally grown fare, a bed and breakfast that would double as a rentable site for private functions, a colonial living-history museum and educational facilities pay off the loan and produce enough revenue to keep the farm operating.

Ayers said the property is one contiguous block of 412 acres including farmland, pasture, more than 36 buildings and 200 acres of forest. “We’re desirable (to the gas companies) because we’re (one) large chunk,” he said.

And while the board of the Lands at Hillside Farms wouldn’t even listen to a proposal from a gas company, the board of another local nonprofit that Ayers helped found 17 years ago did.

Ayers said the board of the North Branch Land Trust, of which he is still a member, was most recently offered a $4,000-per-acre bonus payment and a 20-percent royalty for a non-surface disturbance lease.

“That means no well drilling on the property. The Land Trust will not allow well drilling on the property for sure, and we’re not entertaining any leases now because we’re not comfortable,” Ayers said.

More information needed

Ayers believes the boards of both nonprofits would support more stringent legislation for the gas and oil industry, but he doesn’t believe a proposed 2,500-foot buffer zone between well sites and water sources is adequate because “we’re in an experimental phase. &hellip We don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s all new to the geology of this area.”

In fact, Ayers said, he’d like to see a moratorium on drilling in the Marcellus Shale “until it’s proven to be much, much safer than it is right now.”

Some Land Trust board members are more comfortable with the gas industry than others, Ayers said. So it’s possible that in the future, “if the industry proved itself to be very, very safe and didn’t harm the people downstream and the environment, I think the board may go for that,” he said of allowing horizontal drilling far below the land’s surface. “But not now.”

The Land Trust owns about 700 acres, the majority of which is an approximately 667-acre tract north of Tunkhannock in Wyoming County. The remainder lies in seven other counties, including Luzerne, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Bradford, Wayne, Lackawanna and Columbia.

Ayers said the trust has been offered large amounts of money to lease the large tract because it’s near the Trans-Continental pipeline, “which makes it very desirable to the (gas) companies. They call us regularly,” he said.

Ayers said it would be “tempting” for the board to sign a lease because “all nonprofits need to survive, and &hellip it would allow us to perform our mission better.” He said the board recommends that people considering a gas lease should call the trust “because they’re very educated about it, they know all about this and they would guide them.

“They would prefer that people not drill on their property and do only subsurface drilling if anything. And frankly, they would prefer that the people wait to learn more and allow the industry to mature and prove itself. And they’re exemplifying that by their own decisions regarding the land they own themselves. It’s pretty hard to turn down the amount of money they’re talking about – it’s millions and millions of dollars,” Ayers said.

Ayers – man on mission

Ayers stressed that the trust and the Lands at Hillside Farms are two separate and unrelated entities. “The mission of the Land Trust is to conserve open space. It’s more of a land-related, conservation-related mission. The purpose of this facility – the Lands at Hillside farms – is to teach sustainable ways of life, or, in other words, to help people make decisions that are healthy for them, their community and the world.”

If Ayers could say one thing to area land owners, “love thy neighbor I think is what I would say, and consider them in your decisions, because they won’t be able to leave as easily if a catastrophe were to happen.

“The principles upon which this country was created rely upon giving more than taking. I mean, Aristotle, when he and his gang created democracy 2,500 years ago, said democracy is the best form of government, but it can only exist in the face of virtue. I’m not sure how long democracy can last when people are willing to risk their neighbors’ safety and welfare for money,” Ayers said.

Ayers said he thinks many people in the area are disappointed, and not just because of the ongoing corruption scandal in Luzerne County in which 30 people – including three county judges – have been charged by federal agents over the past 18 months.

Seeing neighbors signing gas leases, Ayers said, “is just another example of how people might get discouraged because they see people being selfish, they see people not caring for one another. How could the government possibly have allowed this to have occurred here without better regulation? It makes no sense,” Ayers said.

“But again, everything that goes wrong is the people’s issue. I mean it’s the people who run this place. It’s easy to say it’s the politicians and the oil companies and everybody else, but the reality is that it’s us. We are the ones responsible for all of this going on. And if we stand around and watch it, then maybe we deserve what we get.”

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

Copyright: Times Leader

By Tom Veneskytvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

The talk inside Giles Evans’ sporting goods shop has changed recently.

For years hunters and anglers have come into Brady and Cavany Sporting Goods, in the heart of Tunkhannock, to swap stories about where the fish are biting and the big bucks are roaming. And every day, Evans leans on the counter and takes it all in.

But recently, in addition to hunting and fishing, a new topic has sprung to the forefront: gas drilling.

Evans said he hears more and more hunters and anglers expressing concerns about how the drilling boom will affect the streams they fish and the woods they hunt. It’s a concern that continues to grow as quickly as the well pads dotting the ground in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“This is a big event up here,” Evans said. “A lot of people are making money, but a lot of people are concerned about the land and the water.”

Anglers, Evans said, are worried about the pristine trout streams in the area – Tunkhannock, Meshoppen, Mehoopany and Bowman’s creeks to name a few. They wonder if the streams can withstand the water withdrawals needed for the drilling process or, worse yet, what happens if they become contaminated.

“Anglers consider these places as pristine and they’re really concerned for the creeks,” Evans said. “The gas drillers are putting a lot of pads in around Meshoppen, near Whites Creek. That is a fantastic little trout stream. God forbid something happens there.”

Or anywhere else for that matter, according to Joe Ackourey, an avid fly fisherman and member of the Stanley Cooper Sr. Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Ackourey said the area of Wyoming County and northern Luzerne County that is targeted for drilling is home to numerous high-quality wild trout streams. The majority of those streams, he said, flow through remote mountainous areas and could be easily damaged.

The disturbance created by gas drilling – clear-cutting for pads, erosion, increased water temperatures and water withdrawals – can be fatal to the wild trout and other aquatic life that inhabits the streams.

“I just don’t like the major changes that are going to take place to these ecosystems all for the sake of the mighty dollar,” Ackourey said. “I fear for those streams and the wild trout that inhabit them.”

Lease helps hunting club

Dallas resident Russ Bigus has hunted the mountains and farmlands of Sullivan and Wyoming counties for decades. He enjoys the abundant wildlife in the area and the pristine landscape.

Bigus also supports the gas drilling boom and the economic benefit that comes with it.

If done properly, Bigus feels, gas drilling can actually enhance the region’s natural areas.

The money paid to farmers and landowners who enter into leases with gas companies will make it easier for them to keep their land as open space, Bigus said.

While he admits there is reason to be concerned about environmental degradation, the revenue generated from drilling could prevent open space from becoming something else.

It has happened in other parts of the state, Bigus said.

“In Juniata County it used to be all farms with great habitat for wild pheasants,” he said. “That’s all gone now. Those farms have been sold for development.

“That doesn’t have to happen any more with the income generated from natural gas drilling. Hunting opportunities will remain the same or get better with our open space here remaining open.”

Bigus said his hunting club, the White Ash Landowners Association located in Cherry Township, Sullivan County, currently has a gas lease agreement for its 5,000 acres.

Much of the club’s land has been degraded by strip mining in the past, he said, and the impact from gas drilling is minimal in comparison.

“It’s a very short-lived impact from what I’ve seen,” he said. “And our land is even more financially stable now.”

Still, Bigus cautioned that drilling can be an environmental disaster if not regulated properly.

According to Luzerne County property records, private hunting and fishing clubs that have leased land for drilling include North Mountain Club in Fairmount Township, Mayflower Rod & Gun Club in Ross Township and Rattlesnake Gulch Hunting Club in Ross Township.

“Scary what could happen”

Dr. Tom Jiunta, who resides in Lehman Township, hikes and fishes around the Ricketts Glen area and near his cabin in Laporte, Sullivan County.

Both areas are potential hotspots for gas drilling activity, and Jiunta fears what could happen to the streams and trails, such as the Loyalsock Trail, that he and countless others enjoy.

Aside from the major disruption of clearing land and the potential for pollution, Jiunta said other effects could be devastating, such as noise from drilling, air pollution and the introduction of invasive species as equipment from other states is moved into the remote locations of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“There’s a lot of subtle impacts that may not be noticed until a few years from now,” Jiunta said.

Despite his concerns, Jiunta said he isn’t totally opposed to drilling if it’s done properly “in the right places with the right regulations in place.” Pennsylvania is lacking as far with the latter, he said. “You can’t depend on the industry to police itself and we don’t have enough DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) staff to keep on top of this.

“It’s really scary what could happen.”

As far as hunters go, some already have been affected by gas drilling. Evans, the sporting goods store owner, said hunters have told him that they lost their traditional hunting spots in Susquehanna County last deer season when the areas were deemed off limits due to gas drilling activity.

Even in areas where gas companies halted operations for the first week of deer season, Evans said, hunters were affected.

“Customers told me that in the Hop Bottom and Springville areas, the gas companies were out before the season with helicopters laying cables for seismic testing,” Evans said. “It was a noisy process and that scared a lot of deer out of the area and changed their patterns.”

Compromise needed

Bigus agreed that some hunting area will be lost while drilling commences, but believes conflicts can be reduced by an open line of communication between landowners and gas companies.

“For example, make sure they agree that there will be no activity for the first week of deer season, and have them do most of the work in the summer,” he said. “It’s important to establish a good relationship.”

And for all the concerns expressed daily by his customers, Evans said there is at least one example of how drilling can be done with little impact.

A well drilled near Nicholson, he said, was located next to a road and didn’t venture into the woods, lessening the impact on hunters and the environment, according to Evans.

But for that one positive, a looming negative experience continues to leave a sour taste with hunters and anglers.

In 2009, the Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. was fined $120,000 by DEP after methane gas infiltrated into private water wells in Dimock Township. In addition, between 6,000 and 8,000 gallons of fracking fluid leaked from a pipe at a drill site in the area and contaminated a nearby wetland.

This year Cabot was fined an additional $240,000 and ordered to shut down three wells because of methane contamination of water wells.

While DEP has prohibited Cabot from drilling in the area for one year, the damage was already done when it came to the views of hunters and anglers.

“That business in Dimock really has hunters and anglers concerned,” Evans said. “Everybody’s worried about it because there’s so much unknown, and the Cabot incident didn’t help.

“A lot of people that talk about it in the store just hope that they get done, get out and nothing gets harmed. In the meantime, they’re scared to death about what could happen.”

Copyright: Times Leader

By ANDREW MAYKUTH The Philadelphia Inquirer

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources signed a $6.15 million agreement Monday with Chesapeake Energy Corp., giving the company the right to drill the Marcellus Shale under a seven-mile stretch of the Susquehanna River in Bradford County.

Under the lease, which applies to 1,500 acres of river between Towanda and the Wyoming County line, Chesapeake is permitted to access the shale with wells drilled on either side of the river. No well bores will penetrate the river itself.

Horizontal-drilling technology makes drilling for gas beneath the waterway feasible. With wells that reach laterally for thousands of feet, operators can capture gas under a large area from a remote location.

The state Department of Environmental Protection says that under-river gas exploration poses no more risk than any of the 1,400 other wells drilled into the Marcellus formation, which is a mile below the surface. The lease is separate from the state’s offering in January of 32,000 acres of state forests, which generated $128.5 million to help close the state budget gap.

The $6.15 million raised by the Susquehanna River lease will help keep open 24 state parks that had been threatened with closure because of the budget crisis, said Christina Novak, DCNR spokeswoman.

DCNR’s Susquehanna River lease may conjure memories of the 1959 Knox Mine disaster in the Port Griffith section of Jenkins Township, when the Susquehanna broke through a coal mine that was dug just below the river bottom. A dozen miners died in the flood.

Geologists say subsidence is not an issue with gas exploration. The well bores are only a few inches in diameter.

Copyright: Times Leader

PA American Water Co. to sample water from Huntsville Creek near natural gas well.

By Jerry Lynottjlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer

A water company has begun inspecting a creek flowing from the Huntsville Reservoir as a result of a permit issued for a natural gas well in Lehman Township.

PA American Water Co. also will soon begin sampling water from Huntsville Creek, company spokesman Terry Maenza said Thursday.

The testing is to check whether drilling has affected the 1.9-billion- gallon reservoir that supplies drinking water to the utility’s customers. The reservoir is in the Back Mountain area of Luzerne County where more than 25,000 acres have been leased by companies planning to tap into the natural gas rich Marcellus Shale formation underground.

Technicians will go out once a week to take water samples, said Maenza, “so we have baseline data.”

Last month township officials approved a drilling permit for EnCana Gas & Oil USA Inc. It has partnered with Whitmar Exploration Co. to locate possible drilling sites within nine townships and Harveys Lake in the Back Mountain.

PA American has two reservoirs bordered by lease holdings. The 2.9 billion gallon Ceasetown Reservoir also is located in Lehman Township. In conjunction with Huntsville, Ceasetown supplies water to 100,000 people in the Wyoming Valley, Maenza said.

The reservoirs have 500-foot buffer zones around them where drilling is not permitted, he explained.

Maenza added that the water company relies on regulators and inspectors to enforce laws related to drilling and disposal and treatment of waste water used in the hydraulic fracturing or fracking, the high pressure injection of a mixture of water, chemicals and other materials to break up the rock containing the natural gas.

The utility frequently is in contact with the state Department of Environmental Protection on a number of issues, including permits issued for drilling. “They’re letting us know about it,” Maenza said.

Two other water companies that serve customers in the Back Mountain are leaving oversight up to DEP, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the state Fish and Boat Commission.

Donna Alston, a spokeswoman for Aqua Pennsylvania, said existing DEP regulations provide protection for the company that draws its water from wells. The company provides service to customers in Luzerne County through its White Haven Division. Statewide it serves 1.4 million people in 30 counties.

Still, Aqua is stepping up its own efforts.

The utility “will be monitoring water quality more frequently and extensively than required by regulation whenever drilling activity is occurring anywhere near one of its well supplies to detect and respond to any water quality changes that might occur,” Alston said.

What steps United Water takes depends upon how close a natural gas well is drilled to one of its water wells, said spokesman Bob Manbeck.

“If a permit for extraction was under consideration within a one mile radius of a United Water-owned well, we would intervene in the permitting process and attempt to ensure that the extraction points are an appropriate distance from our wells,” said Manbeck.

United Water has six wells in Dallas, two each in Dallas Township and Harveys Lake and one in Noxen Township in Wyoming County. It serves 10,000 customers in the Back Mountain.

Copyright: Times Leader

By Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

The yearlong wait was worth it for Wyoming County landowners who didn’t get a chance to sign a gas lease last year.

In a deal with Chesapeake Energy announced on Tuesday, they’ll receive almost double the bonus offered previously and an additional bump in the royalties they keep. The five-year deal offers $5,750 per acre immediately as a sign-up bonus, 20 percent royalties and a multiyear extension option.

The Wyoming County landowners group represents about 37,000 acres that haven’t been leased yet, and if all property owners sign up, the deal, in bonus money alone, is worth about $212.75 million.

Chesapeake officials were hoping to have a lease signing this week, but the landowners don’t think that will be possible logistically, group secretary Chip Lines-Burgess said. “The one question that comes up is, ‘What happens if we’re on vacation next week when this comes about?’ ”

After months of relative silence on leasing in the Marcellus Shale, a layer of gas-laden rock about mile underground that centers on northern Pennsylvania, interest is again heating up.

The agreement is somewhat bittersweet for members of the group who leased last year before the financial crash with Colorado-based Citrus Energy.

Lines-Burgess’s 42 acres in Meshoppen were among those roughly 35,000 acres. They received a $2,850-per-acre bonus, minus consultant payments, for a five-year lease with 17-percent royalties. If the lands aren’t drilled within five years, there are two one-year extensions each for $1,000 per acre.

“Yes, sure, it’s a tough pill to swallow … but who knew?” she said. “If it goes a year down the road, it might go to God only knows what, or it may not. … You just have to make a decision that when you sign on the dotted line, (you’re) happy.”

She said her family was able to pay off their farm. She remained on as secretary, as did other members of the group’s core committee, because “we just felt it was our … duty to make sure this happened.”

“Our county consists of a lot of people in their golden years. … We have a lot of people who have a lot of acreage and needed something. If this wonderful lease brings those people more comfort in their golden years … that’s the ultimate,” she said. “Their grandchildren, with this, won’t have to worry about what’s in this lease.”

The deal comes as groups in Susquehanna County are signing similar leases and about a month after the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance signed perhaps the first lease in the state with 20-percent royalties.

The South West Ross Township Property Group held a members-only meeting on Tuesday night, and member Ken Long acknowledged that the group is “in negotiations with a major gas company” and that “the monetary offers are in the ballpark of what” the Wyoming County landowners received.

He declined to confirm or deny that the company is Chesapeake.

It’s unclear what caused offers to rise so much so fast, but there are theories. “There’s been a lot of discussion about that,” said Lines-Burgess, who speculated that it might be a reaction to potential legislation that would affect leasing rights.

“We just don’t know what they (gas companies) are seeing. … Obviously, they have a plan, and we’re part of it,” she said.

Long said he believed the education efforts of land groups helped. “I would say that a lot of the efforts of the groups that have formed … are kind of paying dividends now. I think we’ve raised the standards of the leases, and we’re starting to see the increases in the bonus payment and royalties,” he said, adding that companies might be scrambling to get a foothold in the shale as more and more of the land is leased.

Copyright: Times Leader

Environmental Resources and Energy hearing Wednesday at Kingston Township building.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

KINGSTON TWP. – Several people with concerns about natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania – and especially in the Back Mountain – are scheduled to testify Wednesday at a public hearing before a state House of Representatives committee.

State Rep. Phyllis Mundy requested and is hosting a hearing of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee at the Kingston Township Municipal Building from 1 to 3 p.m.

Mundy, D-Kingston, said she has “grave concerns” that there are inadequate protections in place to protect the environment from drilling associated with the Marcellus Shale formation.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to stop Marcellus Shale drilling, but we need to make sure it doesn’t leave a legacy like that of coal. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Mundy said on Monday.

She said she believes a proposed drilling site in Lehman Township is “much too close” to the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs, which provide drinking water to many of her constituents.

Committee Majority Chairman Camille “Bud” George notes in a press release that the state Department of Environmental Protection issued more than 1,300 drilling permits in 2009 and more are expected in coming years, yet no study exists on the environmental or human health impacts of gas development in Pennsylvania.

Testimony will be presented about mitigating environmental risks and House Bill 2213 – the Land and Water protection Act introduced by George, D-Clearfield County.

The bill would:

• Require state inspections of wells during each drilling phase.

• Extend to 2,500 feet the presumed liability of a well polluting a water supply; the current radius is 1,000 feet.

• Require full disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing of the gas.

• Update bonding requirements to cover the costs of decommissioning a well. Current regulations call for a $2,500 bond, but the cost to cap a well could range from $12,000 to $150,000 for a deep well, according to George.

Scheduled to testify are Dr. Thomas Jiunta, a local podiatric physician active in environmental causes; Dr. Gere Reisinger, a physician whose 200-acre farm in Wyoming County has been affected by drilling; Victoria Switzer, whose water at her home in Dimock, Susquehanna County, was contaminated after nearby drilling; Brady Russell, eastern Pennsylvania director, Clean Water Action; and Jeff Schmidt, senior director, Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter.

Copyright: Times Leader

Coalition explores possible downside of gas exploration.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

DALLAS – A Back Mountain-dominated crowd that packed Dallas United Methodist Church on Wednesday night learned about the down side of natural gas drilling.

In a presentation titled, “A Look into the Future – the Landscape of Northeastern Luzerne County After Drilling Starts,” the Luzerne County-based Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition presented a documentary film with commentary from people living in gas-drilling areas of Colorado and local speakers who have familiarized themselves with health and environmental aspects associated with drilling.

The presentation is relevant locally because EnCana Gas & Oil has leased tens of thousands of acres of land in the northern part of the county and exploratory drilling is expected on one to three sites by June.

Coalition member Leanne Mazurick, of Dallas Township, introduced the film, in which Colorado residents shared experiences with drilling.

“They are just having no consideration for the people who live here. We are expendable,” one woman in the film said.

A man noted that every well drilled means 200 to 300 trucks traveling in and out of a community during the drilling process. “Air pollution, water pollution or the chance of water pollution, social issues, economic issues, the infrastructure is not keeping up.”

Another said the gas business “sucked up our labor pool,” and led to increased violence and drug problems.

One Colorado resident encouraged citizens to educate themselves and to attend meetings such as Wednesday night’s. “The gas and oil industry thrives on your ignorance,” he said.

Vera Scroggins, who lives near Dimock Township, told meeting attendees “whatever you saw in that film, we have it in Susquehanna County. … We have 30 families who can’t drink their water because their wells are contaminated (with benzene),” she said, adding that the gas company drilling nearby denies responsibility, even though the company eventually provided water buffaloes to the families.

Dr. Gere Reisinger, of Kingston, said he owns 200 acres in Wyoming County and compared an energy company that began drilling a mile away to a terrorist because of the noise involved. He fears the 100 artesian wells and trout stream on his land are now in jeopardy

Dr. Tom Jiunta, a founding coalition member, said a major concern is that wells planned in the Back Mountain are less than two miles from the Huntsville and Ceaseville reservoirs, and their pollution would be disastrous.

Several people said the state should impose a moratorium on drilling as New York did until an environmental impact study can be completed.

State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, and state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Dallas, encouraged residents to urge legislators to vote for legislation aimed at protecting communities from drilling accidents and exploitation.

Baker said any severance tax revenue should stay in communities to address safety and infrastructure issues rather than “be in a pipeline to Harrisburg.”

Copyright: Times Leader