PA Marcellus News Digest 7/25/12

PA Marcellus News Digest

July 25, 2012

Articles

Campers learn about the gas industry first-hand
Daily Review
C.R. Wagner
July 24
The "Marcellus Institute" at Mansfield University is something that was developed by Lindsey Sikorski, director of community relations, in response to the natural gas industry because it is an area its graduates can be employed in locally and will also allow them to earn family sustainable income. It gives graduates a choice to stay local or go global with the gas industry.
Link: http://thedailyreview.com/news/campers-learn-about-the-gas-industry-first-hand-1.1347489

During Kayak Tour, Corbett Ties Marcellus Boom To First Oil Wells
State Impact
Scott Detrow
July 25
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/25/during-kayak-tour-corbett-ties-marcellus-boom-to-first-oil-wells/

Judge to Rule on Whether New York Can Sue Over Fracking Regulations
State Impact
Susan Phillips
July 24
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/24/judge-to-rule-on-whether-new-york-can-sue-over-fracking-regulations/

Corbett orders firm time limits for rulings by DEP
Times Leader
Matt Hughes
July 25
In a move to speed the regulatory approval process for businesses, Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday signed an executive order demanding the Department of Environmental Protection establish firm time limits for reviewing environmental permitting applications.
Link: http://www.timesleader.com/stories/Corbett-orders-firm-time-limits-for-rulings-by-DEP,180816

Range Resources focuses on Marcellus as profit rises 6%
Pitt Trib
July 25
Range Resources Corp. said on Tuesday that it plans to continue consolidating drilling in the Marcellus shale, and it reported a 6 percent increase in quarterly profit compared to a year ago.
Link: http://triblive.com/business/2264276-74/million-percent-inc-per-quarter-share-ago-billion-cents-net

Driller agrees to penalty in settlement with EPA
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
July 25
One of Pennsylvania’s gas drillers has agreed to pay a $62,457 federal penalty to settle allegations of failing to meet hazardous chemical reporting requirements, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/2271029-74/epa-agency-hazardous-pennsylvania-problems-talisman-penalty-62457-admit-agencies

Speedier environmental reviews to be required
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
July 25
State environmental regulators soon will have new deadlines to review permit applications because Gov. Tom Corbett signed an order on Tuesday to guarantee timely decisions.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/2264798-74/permit-department-order-environmental-corbett-deadlines-review-reviews-state-applicants

Protesters hold mock funeral criticizing Shell subsidies
Post-Gazette
Carl Romanos
July 24
The “Sons and Daughters of Liberty” (SDL) held a mock funeral for what they claim is the “death of the Pennsylvania commonwealth” on Tuesday afternoon in Market Square, and it didn't take long to see Gov. Tom Corbett's shale policy was a target for criticism.
Link: http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24708-protesters-hold-mock-funeral-criticizing-shell-subsidy

DEP to monitor for shale-related air impacts in northeast counties
Times-Tribune
Laura Legere
July 25
State environmental regulators plan to install a long-term air-monitoring device in Susquehanna and Wyoming counties to screen for impacts from natural gas operations in the region.
Link: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/dep-to-monitor-for-shale-related-air-impacts-in-northeast-counties-1.1348187

Residents in Marcellus Shale want voice in the process
Patriot-News
Ann Whitner Pinca, Op-Ed
July 25
On June 28, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for his contributions toward the state’s environmental preservation. It was a decision met with disappointment by many environmental groups.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/07/residents_in_marcellus_shale_w.html

Pa. plans to keep close tabs on air in Marcellus
E&E News
Gayathri Vaidyanathan
Energy Wire
July 25
(full text below)
Pennsylvania will be closely monitoring air pollution over the next year near compressor stations and gas processing facilities in the heart of the Marcellus Shale, the Department of Environmental Protection announced yesterday.

The monitoring will look for ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide and methane. It will also include 60 volatile organic compounds, including hazardous air pollutants. The measurements will be made in Washington County, in the southwestern part of the state.

The monitoring will include emissions only from when natural gas is moved through pipelines and processing plants, and not during the drilling or production process. Since Washington County has "wet" gas, which contains both volatile organic compounds and methane in the gas stream, it is a good county to monitor, said Kevin Sunday, spokesman for the DEP.

Sunday said the DEP will not monitor emissions during hydraulic fracturing and production because new EPA air rules will likely cut down those leaks (EnergyWire, April 19).

The long-term measure follows three short-term studies in 2010 in which the DEP collected air samples near well sites and compressor stations in the southwest, north-central and northeast parts of the state. The studies found trace amounts of methane, ethane, propane and benzene in the air near drilling sites, as well as natural gas constituents near compressor stations. At least some of the oil and gas equipment was seen to leak.

The measured levels were below federal safe limits for short-term exposure in the southwest part of the state, the studies found. But they could not draw clear conclusions about overall health effects.

"The PA DEP was unable to determine whether the potential cumulative emissions of criteria pollutants from natural gas exploration activities will result in violations of the health and welfare-based federal standards," those studies concluded.

The new study will track longer-term impacts by monitoring the levels of pollutants for one year and comparing results with national ambient air quality standards to calculate risk to health. The monitoring will expand to other parts of the state if there is cause for concern.

DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said in a statement that air pollution in Pennsylvania overall has been falling in the last decade, and air quality will further improve if natural gas, which is a cleaner-burning fuel than coal, is used in the transportation and energy generation sectors.
###

How many wells per inspector? In some states, answer is elusive
E&E News
Ellen M. Gilmer
Energy Wire
July 25
(full text below)
Figuring out the number of wells each oil and gas inspector must handle in North Dakota is pretty simple. In Pennsylvania, easy. In Oklahoma? Not so much.

A recent overview of state shale gas regulations showcases major gaps in data available to compare, state by state, the force of oil and gas agencies. Oklahoma, for one, doesn't know how many producing wells it has.

The analysis, released earlier this month by environmental think tank Resources for the Future (RFF), uses maps to illustrate states' regulatory force, broken into categories such as site development and wastewater storage. But jumping out from one map that depicts the number of gas wells per inspector are the many states shaded solid brown, meaning no data are available.

This lack of data comes at a time when understanding the workload of state inspectors has become crucial as states grapple with booming shale development and often shriveling budgets.

"If it's not caught and it's not recorded, it can't be remediated and measures can't be taken to keep it from happening again," said Nadia Steinzor, an organizer for Earthworks who recently studied the frequency of well inspection in New York.

Among the data-less states on RFF's maps are hydrocarbon heavyweights like Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota. Further review finds that some of those do have statistics handy -- but in others, it's a tricky task to nail down even a close approximation.

In Oklahoma, learning staffing numbers is easy enough: The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the agency charged with regulating oil and gas activity, employs 62 inspectors, a recent increase from 58. But the number of wells each inspector must handle is a statistic followed by seemingly endless asterisks.

In 2010, the state estimated it had 180,000 "active" wells -- 65,000 for natural gas and 115,000 for oil, according to an annual report. That number has since increased to as many as 190,000 active wells. But "active" is a loose term and doesn't indicate production. Spokesman Matt Skinner explains that the number of producing wells is tough to determine for a few reasons.

First, there are lease complexities: If an oil and gas company has one producing well on a lease, all other wells on that leased parcel are considered to be "held by production." That is a regulatory term that essentially means the state cannot order the company to plug the wells (unless there is a safety risk), and the company can choose to restimulate them at any point. So, many wells may be idled but still counted as active.

The second cause for obscurity in Oklahoma's well count is the state's long history in oil and gas production and its incomplete record keeping in the early 1900s. There are old, plugged wells that do not have their paperwork in order, so the state will continue listing them as "active" until plugging records are found. And that's a heavy lift for state regulators.

"We are in the process of searching out any documents for all wells in order to make sure our database is as up-to-date as possible," Skinner said in an email to EnergyWire.

"Bottom line -- we are working the paperwork and other data to come up with a producing well number," Skinner added in a follow-up, "but we won't be done anytime soon."

Many wells, fewer inspectors

It is a different story in North Dakota, where Department of Mineral Resources spokeswoman Alison Ritter says regulators know where every last well is. The oil-rich Bakken Shale has yielded a surge in development there over the past couple of years, prompting the state to hire more inspectors.

But Ritter explains that it is difficult for the state to recruit enough qualified hires. Professionals with expertise in oil and gas standards get scooped up quickly by energy companies offering hefty paychecks.

"There is a great need for workforce in our area right now," Ritter said.

Statewide regulation of hydraulic fracturing
States have selected markedly different policies in some cases for regulating fracking operations. Here are state actions on four key benchmark issues, compiled by Resources for the Future as of July.
State Requirement for pre-drilling water well testing Rule on cement barriers protecting water aquifers (depth below water table) Rule on fracking fluid disclosure Liners required for fluid storage pits
Ariz. No 100 feet Yes (CV) Yes
Calif. No No* No Pits prohibited
Colo. No* 50 feet Yes Yes
La. No No* Yes (CV) Yes
N.D. Yes No** Yes Pits prohibited
N.M. No No** Yes (V) Yes
N.Y. Yes 75 feet Yes* Yes
Ohio No* No** Yes (V) No
Okla. Yes 50 feet Yes (V) Yes
Pa. No 50 feet Yes (CV) Yes
Texas No No** Yes No
W.Va. Yes 30 feet Yes (C) Yes
Wyo. No 120 feet Yes** Yes*
*Zone- or well-specific requirements
*State sets minimum casing lengths but not levels below water tables

**Well-specific depths

*N.Y. regulations were being developed when RFF report was prepared.

**Specific chemicals subject to regulation

V: Volume only

C: Concentrations only

CV: Both

*Required only under certain conditions
North Dakota currently has 20 field inspectors for 7,188 producing oil and gas wells, or 359 wells per inspector. The department has funding for two more positions now, and when the number of wells reaches 9,300, another three inspectors can be hired, for a total of 25. That would be an average of 372 wells per inspector.

Pennsylvania, by comparison, has 83 inspectors for its 32,035 producing oil and gas wells. That is about 386 wells per inspector.

So, where does Oklahoma fall in line? With the many caveats to the Sooner State's well count, it is hard to say. But using the annual report figure of 190,000 active wells and 58 inspectors -- statistical shortcomings aside -- the state would have roughly 3,276 oil and gas wells per inspector.

That's not unheard of. New Mexico has 12 field compliance officers for 51,472 active oil and gas wells, or more than 4,000 wells per inspector, according to data provided by the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

But without more precise and updated numbers in Oklahoma, for example, the wells-per-inspector figure is no more than a rough guess. Skinner, the spokesman, says the comparison is flimsy anyway, because Oklahoma wells vary dramatically in frequency of inspection.

"Some wells are inspected every month because of issues," he said. "Others may go much longer between inspections, and whether they are in active production is only one variable in determining how often they are inspected."

Similar variances exist in Texas. The state has 245,893 producing oil and gas wells and 153 oil and gas inspectors. That would be 1,607 wells per inspector. But Gaye Greever McElwain, spokeswoman for the regulating agency, the Texas Railroad Commission, explains that inspections are scheduled for oil and gas leases, not individual wells. Gas leases hold one well each, but oil leases can hold many. In 2011, Texas inspectors conducted about 115,000 field inspections.

Fraught calculations?

Are wells-per-inspector ratios inherently fraught with inconsistencies, or is there a better way? That's part of a broader question regulators, industry and observers have struggled with for years.

"How do you measure the effectiveness of a state regulatory program on the ground where the rubber hits the road?" asked Ohio Oil and Gas Association President Tom Stewart, who is also vice chairman of the State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations, or STRONGER.

Another frequently used metric is the number of violations a state issues during a given year of oil and gas regulation. But that comes with its own share of problems, as some debate whether more citations is indicative of vigilant regulators or of a reckless industry. Plus, the states differ greatly in how they issue, track and classify violations, making state-to-state comparisons even further from reach (Greenwire, Dec. 14, 2011).

"So, the number of inspectors you have out there -- it depends on the characteristics of your state's oil and gas program," Stewart said.

It also depends on the characteristics of the well. Older wells and low-producing wells don't need as much attention from inspectors, Stewart argues. In Ohio, for example, there are a multitude of wells that generate just, say, 3,000 cubic feet of gas a day.

"Should you have someone go out and look at that every day? Is that worthwhile and in the public interest?" he asked. "I would say no.

"In Ohio, the regulatory agency's time is better spent looking at how a well's being drilled in the front year of a well's life," Stewart added.

But the stakes are different in other states, he said. In Alaska, for example, wells draw from massive reservoirs of gas and oil. There, a single well might be a higher priority.

Stewart summed it up: "It's been a very interesting debate over the years."

Strong litmus tests or not, inspection statistics will likely remain visible indicators of the strength of states' oil and gas regulation. Just last week in New York, environmentalists expressed outrage at Steinzor's Earthworks report showing that the state's inspectors examined a quarter of active, traditional wells in 2010. If a state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling is lifted, industry critics argue, the oversight will fall further behind.

"No matter how strong the statutory or regulatory standards for oil and gas development, inadequate enforcement of those standards guarantees irresponsible development," Earthworks wrote in the report.

Steinzor acknowledges that states have limited resources for the effort.

"A lot of these regulatory agencies are very strapped," she said last week. "But they're not keeping up with the expansion of the industry. Some states have just not made the investment to convert to databases and tracking."

And assessing enforcement depends on reliable data.

"No one's minding the store really anywhere," Steinzor said. "There's a lot happening on the ground, which either never gets inspected or recorded, or both."

PA Marcellus News Digest 7/26/12

PA Marcellus News Digest

July 26, 2012

Primarily coverage and reaction to PA Commonwealth Court ruling overturning parts of Act 13, and the EPA announcement on Dimock water tests

Releases

Sierra Club Hails Court Action to Strike Down Oil and Gas Law
July 26
(full text below)
Harrisburg, PA  - The Pennsylvania Sierra Club hailed Commonwealth Court’s decision striking down the Corbett Administration’s attempt to override municipal zoning powers.  The General Assembly adopted the Oil and Gas Law (Act 13) in February.  The law included unprecedented provisions to allow oil and gas operations in all districts in a municipality, regardless of current zoning.  A separate provision in the law that allowed state Department of Environmental Protection officials to waive setback requirements for gas wells also was overturned.  Today the court declared these provisions in the law null and void.

The majority opinion states that requiring municipalities to change their zoning rules in a way that would conflict with their development plans violates substantive due process.  The court found the law does not protect the interests of neighboring property owners from harm, alters the character of neighborhoods and makes irrational classifications.  Further, the court held that the law is irrational because it requires municipalities to allow drilling operations and impoundments, gas compressor stations, storage and use of explosives in all zoning districts.

Sierra Club chapter director Jeff Schmidt commented on the court’s action.  “We applaud the court’s willingness to protect local land use decisions.  The Corbett Administration tried to give the gas industry special privileges for land use that others do not have.  The law would have wiped out local zoning review.  We were dismayed that legislators, in enacting this law, were unwilling to take a stand to protect municipal rights and were unwilling to protect their constituents.”                                                       
###

Cabot Issues Statement On EPA Data And Decision
Wallaby
PR Newswire
July 25
HOUSTON--Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) today announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined, "that there are not levels of contaminants present that would require additional action by the Agency."  This statement, from their release, is the result of data from a second, confirmatory set of water samples from its testing in Dimock, PA.  At the same time, the EPA also announced that it would cease deliveries to residents currently receiving water from the EPA, because the agency, "determined that it is no longer necessary to provide residents with alternative water." 
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072697.HTM

Briggs lauds Commonwealth Court ruling on Marcellus shale law
Wallaby
July 26
HARRISBURG, July 26 – State Rep. Tim Briggs, D-Montgomery, today applauded a ruling by Commonwealth Court to throw out major portions of Pennsylvania's new Marcellus shale law, most significant the portion that stripped away the rights of local municipalities to establish their own local zoning ordinances to address natural gas drilling in their communities.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072680.HTM

MSC Statement on Pa. Commonwealth Court Ruling
Wallaby
July 26
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Marcellus Shale Coalition president Kathryn Z. Klaber issued the following statement on today’s Act 13 ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court:
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072681.HTM

PennEnvironment Statement on Commonwealth Court’s Act 13 Decision
Erika Staaf, PennEnvironment Clean Water Advocate
Wallaby
July 26
(Pittsburgh) – “PennEnvironment applauds today’s decision by a Commonwealth Court panel that overturned some of the most egregious sections of Act 13, Pennsylvania’s recent—and controversial—gas drilling law.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072672.HTM

Hanna applauds court decision to overturn Marcellus Shale zoning preemption
Commonwealth Court scores a win for Pennsylvanians, strikes down core components of Act 13
Wallaby
July 26
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Mike Hanna today applauded the Commonwealth Court for its decision, issued today, which struck down key pieces of Act 13 – the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling law signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in February.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072670.HTM

Lt. Governor Cawley says Marcellus Shale Creating Jobs in Blair County
Wallaby
July 26
Tipton – Marcellus Shale natural gas is helping to create family-sustaining jobs in Blair County and across Pennsylvania, Lt. Governor Jim Cawley said today during a tour of New Pig Corporation in Tipton.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072673.HTM

Dermody welcomes ruling that restores local authority
Wallaby
July 26
HARRISBURG, July 26 – House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody said today’s court decision to overturn significant portions of the state’s Marcellus Shale impact fee law is a resounding victory for all Pennsylvania residents.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012072671.HTM

Articles

EPA to stop Dimock Twp. water deliveries
Citizens Voice
Laura Legere
July 26
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will end water deliveries to four homes in Dimock Township after a repeat round of sampling found that elevated manganese in one water well could be treated to safe levels.
Link: http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/epa-to-stop-dimock-twp-water-deliveries-1.1348520

Commonwealth Court strikes some provisions of state’s new gas drilling law
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
July 26
A new state law violates the state constitution by limiting local governments’ right to decide where and when oil and gas drilling can take place in their communities, state judges ruled Thursday in striking down portions of that law.
Link: http://triblive.com/home/2279124-74/state-municipalities-rules-court-lawmakers-drilling-gas-able-appeal-areas

Court throws out state zoning for Marcellus Shale drilling
Post-Gazette
Laura Olson
July 26
HARRISBURG -- A Commonwealth Court panel this morning threw out Pennsylvania's attempt to establish statewide zoning for Marcellus Shale drilling, setting up a likely appeal to the state's top court.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/marcellusshale/court-throws-out-state-zoning-for-marcellus-shale-drilling-646340/

BREAKING NEWS: PA Commonwealth Court rules zoning provisions of Act 13 UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Rep. Jesse White homepage
July 26
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Those words ring very true today. In a 4-3 opinion, the PA Commonwealth Court sided with the people and local communities of Pennsylvania by striking down large portions of Act 13, a law passed in February which severely restricted the ability of local communities to deal with natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Link: http://www.supportjesse.com/2012/07/breaking-news-pa-commonwealth-court-rules-zoning-provisions-of-act-13-unconstitutional/

Insurance companies are slow to cover risks of drilling
Post-Gazette
Erich Schwartzel
July 25
As gas drilling expands across Pennsylvania and into neighboring states, the insurance industry is trading memos expressing trepidation and uncertainty over how to assess the risk involved in covering the controversial development.
Link: http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24711-insurance-companies-are-slow-to-cover-risks-of-drilling

EPA Ending Water Deliveries In Dimock: Delivers Final Test Results To Homes
John Hanger's Facts of The Day
Blog
July 25
The EPA and its water deliveries are leaving Dimock.  The EPA announced today that it had delivered final test results to all homes, including to the 4 for which it had been supplying replacement water.
Link: http://www.johnhanger.blogspot.com/2012/07/epa-ending-water-deliveries-in-dimock.html

EPA says Dimock water is safe to drink
Patriot-News
Donald Gilliland
July 25
The water in Dimock is safe to drink.
That’s the conclusion of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which declared on Wednesday that well water in the Susquehanna County town is safe and requires no further testing.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/epa_says_dimock_water_is_safe.html#incart_river_default

State Rep. Bud George unveils HB 2556
WJACTV
Brittany Boyer
July 25
[...]The new bill would require pre-drilling water quality surveys under the request by landowners living 5,500 feet from a proposed Marcellus well.
Link: http://www.wjactv.com/news/news/state-rep-bud-george-unveils-hb-2556/nP4B8/

Rep. White's open records appeal denied
Observer-Reporter
July 25
The state Office of Open Records has denied an appeal by state Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, for raw data gathered when the state Department of Environmental Protection tested the outside air quality at a Smith Township medical facility.
Link: http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/break11/072512whitedenied

EPA says Dimock water safe, but Cabot still can't drill there
E&E News
Mike Soraghan
July 26
(full text below)
U.S. EPA yesterday ended the latest chapter in the turbulent drilling dispute in Dimock, Pa., finding that contaminant levels in its water show no health threat and no connection to hydraulic fracturing chemicals.

Because of that, the agency said, it will stop delivering water to four households in the small northeastern Pennsylvania community that was featured in the anti-drilling documentary "Gasland."

"The sampling and an evaluation of the particular circumstances at each home did not indicate levels of contaminants that would give EPA reason to take further action," said Philadelphia-based EPA Regional Administrator Shawn Garvin.

The action, however, does not change state officials' case against Cabot Oil and Gas for contaminating water wells in the community with methane. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection still has not cleared Cabot to drill in areas of Dimock Township where it ordered wells shut down in 2009. That case focused on poor well construction, not problems with fracturing.

A Cabot spokesman said the company is "working closely with the state to restart our operations."

EPA had looked for hazardous substances such as arsenic, barium or manganese (E&ENews PM, May 11). At five homes, EPA sampling found those substances, which are naturally occurring, at levels that "could present a health concern." But all five of the homes have sufficient treatment systems, or will have them, to make the water quality acceptable coming out of the tap.

"The data released today once again confirms the EPA's and DEP's findings that levels of contaminants found do not possess a threat to human health and the environment," a statement issued by the company said.

The statement said the company will "continue to cooperate with federal, state and local officials" and stressed the economic growth that drilling has brought to the area.

Industry praised EPA's findings as "fact-based" and cast them as vindication of the safety of drilling.

"We are very pleased that EPA has arrived upon these fact-based findings and that we're now able to close this chapter once and for all," said Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group.

What's not closed is the action by Pennsylvania DEP, which shut down Cabot's drilling in portions of Dimock Township in 2009. State officials said shoddy well construction on Cabot wells allowed methane gas to leak (or "migrate") into the water wells of Dimock residents.

EPA testing has left many with the impression that the federal agency has exonerated and debunked all the allegations against Cabot in Dimock, said John Hanger, who headed Pennsylvania DEP during its Dimock investigation.

He says a drive by some environmental groups to shut down the industry in Pennsylvania has backfired. He said they pushed too far by trying to prove that hydraulic fracturing chemicals, not just methane, had contaminated the Dimock water.

"This is the problem with hyperbole, exaggeration and wild claims," Hanger said. "There are real impacts from gas drilling, and we should focus on those, such as methane migration and methane leaks."

DEP testing found "thermogenic" -- as opposed to naturally occurring -- gas at 18 properties. DEP fined the company and eventually negotiated a $4.1 million settlement in which all the affected homeowners got at least two times the value of their home and kept any mineral rights.

EPA tested for methane in its first round of sampling. Five wells had methane above the federal Office of Surface Mining's screening level of 28 parts per million. Two of the homes were receiving alternate sources of drinking water from Cabot. EPA officials said all of the people affected were already aware that their water contained levels of methane.

"EPA's investigation does not include an evaluation of the risk posed by elevated levels of methane -- which continue to exist in some homes in Dimock -- and which, at extreme levels and if unaddressed, can lead to explosions," said Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Kate Sinding.

test

PA Marcellus News Digest 7/23/12

PA Marcellus News Digest 

July 23, 2012

Release: AFL-CIO and Sierra Club Endorse Hays (see complete text following articles)

Articles

Local leaders sue for right to control location of gas wells
i Watch News
Center for Public Integrity
Alice Su
June 28
When Pennsylvania passed a state law that stripped local authority over where potentially hazardous natural gas wells could be drilled, cities and townships decided to take matters into their own hands.
Link: http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/06/28/9235/local-leaders-sue-right-control-location-gas-wells

Hempfield unlikely to take a side on Act 13’s shale well fees
Pitt Trib
Richard Gazarik
July 20
The Hempfield Township supervisors likely will not take a position on controversial Act 13, which imposes impact fees on Marcellus shale drillers, at least until the Commonwealth Court rules on the law’s constitutionality.
Link: http://triblive.com/state/marcellusshale/2235347-74/act-drilling-hempfield-township-fees-municipalities-state-supervisors-mlakar-advised

The Right to Know, the Responsibility to Protect: State Actions Are Inadequate to Ensure Effective Disclosure of the Chemicals Used in Natural Gas Fracking
OMB Watch
July 9
Do you know how many natural gas wells are operating in your state or near the watershed that supplies your drinking water? You should.
Link: http://www.ombwatch.org/naturalgasfrackingdisclosure

When It Comes To Energy, Corbett Is Willing To Spend Big
State Impact
Scott Detrow
July 20
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/20/when-it-comes-to-energy-corbett-is-willing-to-spend-big/

Proposed West Wyoming compressor station in remote area
Citizens Voice
Elizabeth Skrapits
July 19
WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne County Planning Director Adrian Merolli is not sure where to post notice of an upcoming zoning hearing for UGI Energy Services' proposed natural gas compressor station in West Wyoming so that neighbors would be able to see it.
Link: http://citizensvoice.com/news/proposed-west-wyoming-compressor-station-in-remote-area-1.1345429

Travel drops at airport; drilling slowdown blamed
Times-Tribune
Michael Iorfino
July 20
PITTSTON TWP. - [...]
Enplanements, the number of passengers boarding flights, dropped 8.2 percent, from 21,485 in June 2011 to 19,733 in June 2012, said airport director Barry Centini.
Link: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/travel-drops-at-airport-drilling-slowdown-blamed-1.1345827

US Chamber of Commerce touts benefits of Pennsylvania gas drilling
Patriot-News
AP
July 19
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania business and government leaders are teaming up to promote the economic benefits of natural-gas drilling in the state.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/us_chamber_touts_economic_bene.html

Shale still yields jobs, panel says
Pitt Trib
Joe Napsha
July 20
Despite the drop in natural gas prices that has slowed drilling in Pennsylvania, plenty of jobs remain available related to the gas production in the state’s vast Marcellus shale reserves, panels of government and business representatives said Thursday.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/2202200-74/gas-jobs-industry-natural-state-shale-job-drilling-prices-producers

First Marcellus Summer Camp Held
NorthCentral PA
July 19
MANSFIELD, PA—The first ever Marcellus Summer Camp was held at Mansfield University July 8-10.
Twenty one students in grades 10-12 from Tioga, Bradford, Clarion and Indiana Counties in Pennsylvania were joined by students from New York State for an introduction to the natural gas industry and possible career paths.
Link: http://www.northcentralpa.com/feeditem/2012-07-19_first-marcellus-summer-camp-held

AFL-CIO and Sierra Club Endorse Hays
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19
(full text below)

Contact: Mike Hays
Phone: 215.353.6142

AFL-CIO and Sierra Club Endorse Hays

Mike Hays, Democratic candidate for State Representative in the 26th District, is
pleased and proud to accept the endorsements of the PA AFL-CIO and Sierra Club of
Pennsylvania.

In response to the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, Hays said:

"The endorsement of the AFL-CIO demonstrates my commitment to the working
families of the 26th district and the Commonwealth. The hard-working men and
women of Pennsylvania are struggling. I stand firmly with these Pennsylvanians and
their families. Pennsylvania workers deserve jobs that pay a living wage capable of
supporting a family. I will fight for those jobs and the rights of those workers."

"The current leadership in Harrisburg has failed to make creating family-sustaining
jobs a priority. Their priority is multi-billion dollar giveaways to the gas industry, not
investing in Pennsylvania. We must invest in education funding, transportation
funding and strong economic development programs to create a brighter future for our
Commonwealth. This is the priority of the residents of the 26th, and it is my priority. I
look forward to going to Harrisburg to work with the AFL-CIO to fight for Pennsylvania's
workers."

The Sierra Club announced their endorsements this week. Mike Hays was one
of the State House candidates endorsed in Chester County. Regarding the Sierra Club's
endorsement, Hays made the following statement:

"Environmental protection is an issue that is becoming more important in Pennsylvania
everyday. I know that ensuring a safe, healthy environment is important to the voters
of the 26th, and I am pleased that the Sierra Club has recognized my dedication to our
common goal. As the natural gas industry continues to grow, we must make sure that
we focus as much on protecting our environment from the potential negative side effects
of fracking as we do maximizing the positive economic impacts of this new industry.

I recognize the huge economic potential of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.
There is no doubt that it is creating jobs that Pennsylvanians need. However, the
approach of the governor and legislative leadership fails to maximize the economic benefits of the gas industry,
and fails to adequately and appropriately deal with the
environmental problems that come along with it. I will work to make sure we handle the
growth of the gas industry responsibly in order to preserve our environment for current
and future generations of Pennsylvanians. I look forward to working with the Sierra
Club on these important issues."

“Furthermore, I will work as a legislator to reinstate local zoning control of natural gas drilling.
The preservation of open space – one of Chester County's ongoing legacies – should be supported.”

####
 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the PA-OIL-GAS-COMM list, send any message to: PA-OIL-GAS-COMM-signoff-request@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

PA Marcellus News Digest 7/19/12

PA Marcellus News Digest

July 19, 2012

Articles

Study: Few get input on drilling
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
July 19
[...]Nearly 90 percent of all land in the state’s heaviest drilling counties is owned by three groups: a small minority of locals who own big plots; people and groups from outside those counties; or the state, according to the study. Most locals in the Pittsburgh region have less control than the numbers suggest because the region’s mineral rights often were severed from their surface plots generations ago.
Link: http://triblive.com/business/2229506-74/drilling-state-gas-counties-locals-control-rights-marcellus-shale-community

Pennsylvanians need proper education to take advantage of Marcellus Shale boom
Patriot-News
Allan J. Golden, interim president of Mansfield University
July 19
All I have to do to see that gas drilling is providing a whole lot of jobs is to look out my office window and watch the activity. Tioga County is the center of the gas business right now. It’s boom time once more in the broad swatch of Pennsylvania counties from southwest to northeast that comprise the Marcellus Shale field.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/07/pennsylvanians_need_proper_edu.html

Destructive energy policy
Pitt Trib
C.E. Pfeifer
Letter to the Editor
n her letter “Common goals” (July 5 and TribLIVE.com), Kathryn Klaber suggests that President Obama and the Marcellus Shale Coalition share the objective of developing the natural gas industry as a major contributor to the U.S. energy supply.
Link: http://triblive.com/opinion/2176328-74/energy-president-administration-destructive-federal-policy-power-actions-agency-beyond

Natural gas industry speaks up with film
Documentaries fire up gas well drilling debate
Post-Gazette
Janice Crompton
July 19
A standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 turned out at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cecil Tuesday to view the natural gas industry's answer to the controversial film "Gasland," a 2010 documentary that became infamous for blaming gas well drilling for, among other things, flaming tap water.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/natural-gas-industry-speaks-up-with-film-645348/?p=0

Stunning Facts: Power Plants Use 53% Of Water Withdrawn In US and Gas Production Less Than 1% In PA
John Hanger's Facts of The Day
Blog
July 18
As droughts grip parts of the USA, and temperatures rise, water becomes more precious.  Conserving water is becoming the top priority in some parts of the nation, and communities across our land pay  growing attention to how water is used.
Link: http://www.johnhanger.blogspot.com/2012/07/stunning-facts-power-plants-use-53-of.html

Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon Sing An Anti-Fracking Song
State Impact
Scott Detrow
July 18
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/18/yoko-ono-and-sean-lennon-sing-an-anti-fracking-song/

Drought conditions strain driller's water use in major Pa. watershed
E&E News
Joel Kirkland
July 19
(full text below)
Blistering heat draped across much of the eastern United States has forced a regional planning authority in Pennsylvania to suspend water withdrawals by natural gas producers.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) earlier this week said it had suspended 64 permits to withdraw water from streams and other sources in the 27,000-square-mile watershedf Suspensions kick in when water levels hit a predetermined low point, and the requirement to stop withdrawing is written into permits for gas companies operating in the watershed. That includes heavy drilling areas in northeastern Pennsylvania's patch of the Marcellus Shale reservoir.

The number of suspensions could change day by day depending on real-time readings of water flows, but a spokeswoman for the commission said regulators are concerned that hot days and drought-like conditions in the Northeast could cause problems into the fall. Further, summer is the time of year when rivers, streams and groundwater decline naturally, adding to concerns that there isn't enough water to go around.

"Extreme temperatures are aggravating, but it's the lack of rainfall," said SRBC spokeswoman Susan Obleski. "This year, when you look at the 90-day period, which is what water managers look at, it doesn't look that bad. But it's been the last 30 days when conditions really declined."

Obleski warned about worsening circumstances. "If conditions don't improve, you're really going to decline quickly," she said. "If groundwater doesn't get any recovery, it will aggravate stream levels."

Large sections of the country are experiencing drought conditions and spans of record heat. According to a July 10 analysis by the National Drought Mitigation Center, based in Lincoln, Neb., recent rainfall provided little relief from hot weather covering much of the central and eastern United States. In the Midwest, northeastern Ohio Valley and southern Great Plains, there has been "widespread deterioration and expansion of dryness and drought."

In some areas of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, where the Marcellus and Utica natural gas basins reside, about half of normal rainfall has been recorded in the past 90 days, according to the center.

All of this has affected shale gas producers. In Pennsylvania, much of the drilling is occurring in the southwestern and northeastern corners of the state. The Susquehanna watershed runs through the state's midsection and northeastern counties, crossing into the southern tier of New York. Millions of gallons of water is taken from waterways to enable the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, during which high-pressure injections of water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground crack open shale-rock formations to release natural gas.

The SRBC issued suspensions of water withdrawal permits for Chesapeake Energy Corp., Southwestern Energy, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp.'s XTO Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., among others.

Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an umbrella group for drillers in Pennsylvania, said in an emailed statement that the industry is using less public water as operators reuse more of what they take from public waterways. She said the group has "full confidence in SRBC's ability to regulate and manage stream flows under their existing policies."

"Because of our industry's ability to reuse and recycle water, these often short-lived suspensions have no material impact on natural gas development activities for our members," she said.

There is a debate afoot about how the Susquehanna River Basin Commission should measure water levels and determine when to suspend withdrawals. The SRBC has proposed policy changes recommended by the Nature Conservancy that would gauge water levels based on monthly seasonal cycles, a more precise measurement. Under today's rule, the commission uses annual average flow rates to determine how much water should pass by a point that a company wants to withdraw from.

PA Marcellus News Digest 7/17/12

PA Marcellus News Digest

July 17, 2012

Release

Penn Virginia to sell Appalachian assets for $100M
Warket Watch
July 17
Penn Virginia Corp. PVA +0.29%  agreed to sell all of its Appalachian assets, excluding the Marcellus Shale, to an undisclosed buyer for $100 million in cash to help fund its 2012 capital expenditure plan.
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/penn-virginia-to-sell-appalachian-assets-for-100m-2012-07-17

Articles

Confused reaction to study on Marcellus Shale water quality
Inquirer
Daily News
Editorial
July 17
LAST WEEK, DUKE University released a study on water quality in the Marcellus Shale region. Many Pennsylvanians concerned about the state's new industry of gas drilling will be interested in the findings of this study.
Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/162659456.html

Shale support company acts as Romney stage
Pitt Trib
Salena Zito
July 16
[...]Then, the natural gas boom began here, bringing not only drillers eager to tap the bounty in the Marcellus shale but support companies such as Horizontal Wireline Services of North Huntingdon.
The Westmoreland County company, which Sites started in 2010, runs wires into gas and oil wells to help with extraction.
On Tuesday, it will serve as the backdrop for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s latest visit to Western Pennsylvania. Before a fundraiser Downtown, the former Massachusetts governor will speak about growing middle class jobs and the energy industry at a rally at Horizontal Wireline Services.
Link: http://triblive.com/politics/2214464-74/sites-company-romney-westmoreland-horizontal-pennsylvania-region-shale-western-wireline

Special treatment: How did two counties rate a ban on gas drilling?
Post-Gazette
Editorial
July 15
The more details that emerge, the more the whole thing stinks.
Republicans in charge of state government -- in the governor's office and the Legislature -- sold the notion early on that Pennsylvania must take a uniform approach to Marcellus Shale gas drilling.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/special-treatment-how-did-two-counties-rate-a-ban-on-gas-drilling-644774/

UPDATE 1-Natgas drillers' water use cut due to Pennsylvania drought
Reuters
Jeanine Prezioso
July 17
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania have had to stop withdrawing water from certain streams due to a severe drought, a water regulator said on Monday.
Link: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/16/drought-natgas-idINL2E8IGD7720120716

West Virginia Hangs On To Ethane Cracker Hopes
State Impact
Scott Detrow
July 17
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/17/west-virginia-hangs-on-to-ethane-cracker-hopes/

Consol Energy Issues 2Q Update
NASDAQ
Analyst Blog
July 17
Diversified fuel producer, Consol Energy Inc , ( CNX ) gave an insight into its operational results for the second quarter of 2012. Consol's Gas Division recorded production growth of roughly 10% to 37.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) from 34.0 Bcf produced in the year-ago period. The coal division produced 14.6 million tons during the quarter, which includes 1.1 million tons of low volatile metallurgical coal. The company, which functions primarily in Eastern United States made significant progress in safety measures across its various business units.
Link: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-07/consol-energy-issues-2q-update-analyst-blog.aspx?storyid=156407

Tour de Frack Bicyclists Coming to Maryland
Baltimore Magazine
Ron Cassie
July 17
The well-timed and well-acronymed Tour de Frack, a two-week bike tour launched from Butler, Pa. (45 miles north of Pittsburgh) passes through Maryland this week before arriving in Washington D.C.
Link: http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/bikeshorts/2012/07/tour-de-frack-bicyclists-coming-to-maryland

PA Marcellus News Digest 7/16/12

PA Marcellus News Digest

July 11 & 12, 2012

Releases

UGI Energy Services announces plans to supply LNG as a fuel for drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale region
Wallaby
BusinessWire
July 11
WYOMISSING, Pa.-UGI Energy Services, Inc. today announced that it will provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel drilling rigs active in the Marcellus Shale region. The LNG will displace diesel currently used to fuel power generation equipment at the rig site.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012071298.HTM

MSC Reinforces Local Hiring With Supply Chain Recommended Practice
Wallaby
July 12
Pittsburgh, Pa. – In line with its Guiding Principle “to attract and retain a talented and engaged local workforce,” the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) today released the second in a series of Recommended Practices aimed at bolstering the region’s supply chain. The document -- available online here -- builds upon and formalizes ongoing MSC efforts focused on expanding small- and medium-sized business opportunities related to safe American natural gas development.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012071273.HTM

Articles

Marcellus Tax Loopholes on WHYY’s Radio Times
State Impact
Susan Phillips
July 11
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/11/marcellus-tax-loopholes-on-whyys-radio-times/

Can fracking pollute water? Study tries to answer
Times Online
AP
July 11
We know that the Pirates’ surprising summer success and our recent hotter-than-average temperatures may not be the only reasons leaving you to scratch your head lately.
Link: http://www.timesonline.com/news/business/can-fracking-pollute-water-study-tries-to-answer/article_12bbf19c-9932-58d4-b372-462521580ad3.html

Displaced families at center of fracking protests
Times Online
Tara Zrinski
July 11
JERSEY SHORE, Pa. -- At 7 a.m. June 13, the day after police escorted 35 activists from the Riverdale Mobile Home Village, the demolition company Alan K. Meyers went to work clearing the colorful barricades, abandoned trailers and all traces of a two-week protest that brought national attention to the plight of dozens of families being displaced by an aggressive natural gas industry.
Link: http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/displaced-families-at-center-of-fracking-protests/article_6dc8f7da-8121-5873-a73f-3550cc1b4d9e.html

Compressor hearing set for September
Times Leader
Camille Fioti
July 11
WEST WYOMING – A public hearing regarding UGI’s permit application to the state Department of Environmental Protection for a proposed gas compressor station will be held sometime in September, council President Eileen Cipriani said during Monday’s council meeting.
Link: http://www.timesleader.com/stories/Compressor-hearing-set-for-September,174261?category_id=487&town_id=1&sub_type=stories

'Truthland' screening comes to central Pennsylvania
Post-Gazette
Laura Olson
July 11
HARRISBURG -- A new industry-sponsored documentary firing shots at Josh Fox and his controversial film brought its road show to central Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where a dozen residents and experts gathered for an evening screening.
Link: http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24682-truthland-screening-comes-to-central-pennsylvania

DOE study in Greene County focuses on rise of fluid through shale layers
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
July 12
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to chime in on the question of whether fluids from deep, underground shale formations can rise over time.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/2190046-74/marcellus-shale-gas-hammack-wells-drillers-drilling-energy-fluid-natural

Quality as well as quantity: Are water withdrawals damaging?
Post-Gazette
Halle Stockton, Publicsource
July 11
Three million gallons of water a day sounds like an enormous amount to take from the Susquehanna River -- or any natural waterway.
But the Susquehanna withdrawals planned by Aqua America and Penn Virginia Resource Partners are only a fraction of water removed from all Pennsylvania water sources.
Link: http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24686-quality-as-well-as-quantity-are-water-withdrawals-damaging

Delaware River Basin Commission approves water uses for natural-gas-pipeline firm
Inquirer
Sandy Bauers
July 12
[...]At its meeting Wednesday, the interstate agency that oversees water issues in the river basin unanimously approved water withdrawals totaling nearly six million gallons for a major interstate pipeline project that would involve tunneling under the Delaware River.
Link: http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-12/news/32649354_1_pipeline-project-water-issues-water-withdrawals

Can fracking pollute water? Department of Energy study tries to answer
Patriot-News
AP
July 12
PITTSBURGH — A new study being done by the Department of Energy may provide some of the first solid answers to a controversial question: Can gas drilling fluids migrate and pose a threat to drinking water?
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/can_fracking_pollute_water_dep.html

Preparations Ahead to Develop Utica Shale
State Impact
Susan Phillips
July 11
Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/jp/preparations-ahead-to-develop-utica-shale/

Fractured lives along the Susquehanna: Marcellus Shale operations lead to evictions
Post-Gazette
Halle Stockton, Publicsource
July 11
JERSEY SHORE, Pa. -- On hot days, twins Amanda and Chevelle Eck splashed in the Susquehanna River behind their trailer in the Riverdale Mobile Home Park.
Link: http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24685-fractured-lives-along-the-susquehanna-marcellus-shale-operations-lead-to-evictions

Campus drilling bill remains live issue
Times-Tribune
Robert Swift
July 12
HARRISBURG - A bill paving the way for natural gas drilling at the 14 state-owned universities and other unexplored state property just missed winning final passage in the marathon legislative session that produced a new state budget earlier this month.
Link: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/gas-drilling/campus-drilling-bill-remains-live-issue-1.1342236

Make utilities find lost gas
Times-Tribune
Opinion
July 11
Natural gas prices have declined steadily over the last few years because of the discovery of huge new domestic sources, including the Marcellus Shale.
Link: http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/make-utilities-find-lost-gas-1.1341686

Washington Township residents: Use drilling revenue to ease impact
Pitt Trib
Jodi Weigand
July 10
Westmoreland County residents want officials to use some of the money the county will receive from Marcellus shale impact fees to prepare for possible environmental damage caused by the drilling practice.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/2185297-74/county-township-impact-washington-westmoreland-drilling-money-residents-wells-drilled

Fracking ban is about our water
Inquirer
Editorial
July 11
The eleventh-hour surprise decision by Pennsylvania lawmakers to ban natural-gas exploration across a swath of suburban Philadelphia is another sign that the region isn't ready for drilling rigs. It's possible that it never will be.
Link: http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-11/news/32633463_1_drilling-ban-gas-drilling-limit-drilling

Warning Lights: Rare synchronous fireflies are discovered in Allegheny National Forest — a hotbed of logging and gas-drilling.
"The Allegheny, they've just written it off as an extractive forest. It's being liquidated."
Pittsburgh City Paper
Bill O'Driscoll
July 11
[...]Cathy Pedler, of the Allegheny Defense Project, learned of the well last November, shortly after the U.S. Forest Service's Allegheny Resource Advisory Committee, on which she sits, approved funding for the firefly study. Concerned about the site and its timing, she says, she confronted PGE general counsel Craig Mayer. Mayer, who's secretary of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association, also sits on the committee.
Link: http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/warning-lights-rare-synchronous-fireflies-are-discovered-in-allegheny-national-forest-a-hotbed-of-logging-and-gas-drilling/Content?oid=1542185

Review of state fracking rules finds lots of gaps
E&E News
Peter Behr
EnergyWire
July 12
(full text below)
As shale gas and oil development has taken off, state officials and some prominent industry representatives have told Washington to keep its hands off an area they want left to state regulation.

A new study of state rules for hydraulic fracturing highlights a dilemma on this front, however. On a number of crucial safety issues, many state rules are applied well by well, hampering comprehensive assessments. In some cases, there is no state regulation at all.

The study, "A Review of Shale Gas Regulations by State," published this week by Resources for the Future, reports a survey of regulations in 31 states with large gas reserves or active gas drilling. State regulations were compared with the American Petroleum Institute's "best practice" guidelines for conducting safe drilling and fracturing operations.

RFF maps displaying fracking regulations include blanks for many states because its researchers could not find the data. "So far, we've limited our effort to look at the rules," said RFF senior fellow Alan Krupnick, director of the foundation's Center for Energy Economics and Policy, whose experts wrote the report.

If an issue is not written down in state regulations, RFF could not assess the state's standards. "It might be covered in the permitting process, or it might be not regulated at all. We just don't know," he said.

For example, RFF surveyed state requirements for pre-drilling testing of well water at drilling sites, which is needed to establish a baseline for water quality prior to development. Regulations in 22 states do not mention pre-drilling testing, including major producers such as Texas, Arkansas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, four of the five largest U.S. shale gas producers in 2009. API says best practice is to test water samples from any water sources near a well before drilling or fracturing.

Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of state-by-state differences in the RFF report concerned the number of inspectors each state deploys to inspect drilling and fracturing operations. The report compares the number of wells by state in 2010. The data on inspectors are more recent, RFF said.

Ohio and Indiana, for example, reported having one inspector for 30 to 140 producing wells. Pennsylvania and Arkansas had one inspector for 141 to 360 producing wells. Inspectors in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming were responsible for 501 to 1,630 wells, RFF said. Texas and Oklahoma were among states that did not publish data on inspectors or did not respond to RFF's requests for information before the study was published, RFF said. States that are struggling to balance budgets will be pressed to hire enough qualified inspectors to keep up with the growth in shale gas production.

Krupnick said the RFF report provides valuable comparisons of state practices but is not a scorecard of best and worst public safety regulation. "I would say that is definitely not an inference you want to make," he said.

Matt Watson, senior energy policy adviser for the Environmental Defense Fund, called the RFF report "a very exciting tool that can help state regulators quickly get a sense of what their peers are doing as they try to evolve their regulatory structures. It can be handy for citizens, advocacy groups and industry for the same purpose.

"What jumped out to me were the differences among the states," he said. That's not surprising, he added, but highlights the importance of efforts under way to develop best practice models.

Krupnick said, "A best practice, to me, is where the companies have an incentive to balance the benefits and costs of a particular course of action [to] maximize the benefit to society. You don't want to overcontrol something that isn't that great a risk, and you want to take into account the variability of geology" and other circumstances, such as whether drilling is occurring in isolated areas or near population.

"Flexibility is actually a good thing if the enforcing agency has the staff and expertise to evaluate how flexible they should be," Krupnick said. "You have to balance the appropriate flexibility with regulatory expertise and independence."

"The operators like flexibility," said Briana Mordick, oil and gas science fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "But it makes accountability difficult. We're for having performance-based requirements, but we think those should be written into law and regulation, and not just left up to the discretion of people writing or approving the permits."

It's the water

One area of considerable permitting discretion concerns the several million gallons of water that are pumped down each well to carry out the fracturing of shale formations.

According to RFF, no state currently sets statewide restrictions for water withdrawal. While 28 states require general permits, or registration for surface or groundwater withdrawal, nearly half of these don't specify a threshold amount. Among the latter are Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Louisiana and Kentucky exempt the oil and gas industry from water withdrawal requirements.

API guidelines specify the type of cement that should be pumped into the space between the well hole and the drilling pipe, a critical barrier to prevent gas or wastewater leaks from contaminating water aquifers. While 10 states -- including Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- specify a cement type, the rest do not, or they cover the issue when individual wells are granted permits, RFF said.

API recommends that the cement casing extend 100 feet below the low point of an underground drinking water source. Thirteen states prescribe that depth, varying from 30 feet in West Virginia to 120 feet in Wyoming. Ten states set depths for individual wells, with a general performance standard requiring drillers to protect freshwater aquifers, RFF said.

Fewer than half the states have regulations requiring disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids, which include toxic and nontoxic chemicals added to enhance gas production. Leading shale gas producers, including Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Ohio, require disclosure in different forms but allow drillers to claim trade secret protection for chemicals they consider proprietary.

"One of the biggest challenges in developing model standards for states is being able to do it in a way that accounts for variable conditions," Watson said. "That is a challenge, but it isn't insurmountable. There are aspects to regulating shale gas production that lend themselves more to uniformity than others."

In one shale area, a 100-foot barrier below an aquifer might be sufficient. It could be 150 feet in another area, he said. On other issues, differences aren't significant. "The methods for controlling methane emissions in Colorado aren't likely to be that different from the methods in Pennsylvania," he said.

"We would all default to wanting there to be clear, immutable rules," Watson said. "But the fact is, you need to build in an opportunity for professional judgment to come into play. To me, that demonstrates first and foremost the importance of having transparency not only in industry operations, but also in regulatory practices."