Murphy: EPA Must Work With DEP

U.S. Congressman Tim Murphy says the federal Environmental Protection Agency should do a better job of communicating with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

At a Natural Gas Caucus hearing, DEP Secretary Michael Krancer said contact from the EPA has been limited to press releases, where the agency expresses its concerns about the enforcement of Marcellus Shale drilling regulations.

Murphy says the EPA has not responded to his communications in months and did not show up at the hearing.

“The EPA feels the need to continue to state that they’re going to do something, and yet we’re not sure what their concerns are,” says Murphy. “So, we did not hear from the EPA. I’m still waiting to hear, from my March question, what concerns they have about any of Pennsylvania’s regulations or enforcement thereof.”

The Republican lawmaker says the DEP is better suited to deal with drilling issues unique to Pennsylvania, and the EPA should bring any concerns straight to the state department.

Flow of Fracking Water to Treatment Plants Stopped?

Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection believe that companies drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation have just about stopped shipping chemically-treated waste water to treatment plants. The DEP had said a May 19th deadline for companies to voluntarily stop taking the waste water to the treatment plants that discharge into rivers. The agency says the plants are ill-equipped to remove all the pollutants. Department spokeswoman Katy Gresh says they've confirmed the transport of the fracking water is down to possibly a handful of trucks in the past 2 weeks, and they are trying to determine if those trucks did indeed carry the waste water.

Sierra Club: DEP "Trying to Rewrite History" Over Policy Hubbub

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says a controversial policy change regarding the authority of on-site environmental inspectors to issue citations for violations was never in place. This denial comes after a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the DEP rescinded the directive. The denial does not square with what the department initially said about the policy.

In March, several outlets, including WDUQ-FM, obtained a DEP email telling field inspectors to forward possible Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling violations to Harrisburg, for final approval from Secretary Michael Krancer. The note, written by Executive Deputy Secretary John Hines, read, “Effective immediately, any actions, NOVs and such must get approval of Dana and I with final clearance from Mike [Krancer]. Alisa and Dave are to be cc' on all correspondence related to these actions.
I need to repeat no final actions are to be taken unless approval comes from Dana and I with clearance from Mike [Krancer].”

Department spokeswoman Katy Gresh now says inspectors have maintained their power to issue permits, and the department just wants to keep tabs on what’s being issued where. “Inspectors are going into the field, writing notices of violation, as they have always done. And the regions are offering central office notification of what notices of violation are being issued,” she said Tuesday.

Jeff Schmidt, the director of Pennsylvania’s Sierra Club, doesn’t buy it. He insisted DEP is trying to “re-write history, and goes back to the initial leaked email. “To me, the fact that the executive deputy secretary of DEP referred to his message as a directive makes it clear that they had a policy of requiring NOV approval by Secretary Krancer,” he said.

On March 30th, Gresh had this to say about the new policy: “This effort to bring about consistency will ensure that enforcement actions levied against companies in one region for one activity will be levied against companies in every other region for the same activity.” A few days later, DEP announced the shift would be tested during a three-month trial period.

Schmidt kicked the latest back-and-forth off by releasing a letter Governor Corbett wrote to him, which read, “Inspectors in the field will continue to maintain the same ability to issue notice of violations as they have in the past. DEP remains poised to respond quickly and efficiently to any potential environmental hazard. DEP's goal is to act as one DEP and not as seven DEP's. For this reason, it has been necessary to make minor adjustments to several internal processes to enhance effectiveness. However, none of these adjustments will prevent inspectors from making "in the field" decisions and taking appropriate actions.”

Schmidt believes the department and Corbett Administration shifted course, after facing negative public reaction. Why is keeping final violation approval in inspectors’ hands so important for Schmidt? “By going up the chain and waiting, perhaps for days or weeks, for approval, environmental problems could go unaddressed,” he explained. “Beyond that, there’s also the matter of public record. If a notice of violation is not approved, it never becomes a public document,” he explained.

EPA Still Waiting for Info on Marcellus Well Leak

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had wanted Chesapeake Energy to supply information by Tuesday, April 26 on the discharge of thousands of gallons of fracking fluid from a Marcellus Shale natural gas well in Bradford County. The chemically-treated wastewater spilled for more than 20 hours before it was contained but not before some flowed across farm fields and into a creek.
E.P.A. spokesman David Sternberg said as of 4 p.m. yesterday, the company had not provided the EPA with the requested information about the fracking fluids used in the drilling process; the water, land and air affected by the release; and, any private well, surface water and soil sampling data collected before and after the April 19 incident.
Sternberg said the company indicated it would provide the data...."We will evaluate this information promptly in consultation with the PA-DEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) and take whatever action is needed to protect public health and the environment."

Sternberg says the agency has directed Chesapeake to provide more extensive information by May 9th regarding the timeline of the incident, source of the discharge, substances placed into or returned from the wells at the site; whether radiological compounds were present in the fracking water or sediment; effects on drinking water supplies; any other leaks, spills or releases at the site; each chemical brought to the site; and, any wastewater storage at the site.

And if the company doesn't comply by May 9th? "It would be premature to comment on potential violations and the potential of future enforcement actions. As a matter of policy, we don't comment on potential enforcement matters until they're filed or initiated."

Chesapeake Stops Fracking During Investigation

Crews are still trying to stop a major fracking fluid leak at a Bradford County natural gas well.
Meantime, Chesapeake Energy is shutting down “completion operations” at its Pennsylvania sites until the company figures out what caused Tuesday’s accident. That includes all hydraulic fracturing or fracking.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Dan Spadoni says a Texas company called “Boots and Coots” is leading the cleanup effort.

"They have set up a mechanical system so that they can pump what’s called lost circulation material into the well to plug the leak. They would then pump heavy mud into the well, and they are hopeful the combination will effectively seal the well."

Spadoni says test results on impact of the spill are not complete, but a field check did not show any negative effect on the Susquehanna...
"We have not seen evidence of a fish kill. Obviously the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission was notified, and they have been on the scene as well."

Emergency officials initially thought they had capped the leak Wednesday evening, but Spadoni says about a gallon of fracking fluid is still leaking every minute.
Chesapeake Energy says a “limited” amount of natural gas has escaped, as well.
At least two families have been displaced by the spill.

DEP Head Says Radioactivity Tests in Streams Will Continue

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s pick for Department of Environmental Protection Secretary says budget language giving the Department of Community and Economic Development the power to expedite permits is nothing more than a call for cross-department cooperation.

The initial ProPublica article on the DCED language frames it as “unprecedented authority” for the department to speed up permits, as long as “the creation of jobs” is involved. Speaking during a House budget hearing, Acting DEP Secretary Michael Krancer said DCED won’t have the ability to override other departments, or speed up drilling permits. Instead, he says the language is a policy statement urging state departments to work together. “If we want to or they want to communicate with me on a particular matter, that’s fine. My door’s always open. I’ve said that. It works the other way around, too. If I want to communicate with them, then I’m always empowered to pick up the phone and communicate with them. And that’s very important,” he said.

Krancer also addressed recent concerns about radioactive elements making their way from hydraulic fracturing fluid into drinking water. “Our stream monitoring network showed nothing. To take it further, we have directed, asked – actually directed – the public water supplies to test at their source,” he said. “We did that. We’re also going to ask the public treatment works to do the same thing.” The tests will continue going forward.

Krancer said DEP expects more than $15 million dollars in revenue from natural gas drilling permits during the next fiscal year. That’s up from the more than $12 million expected by the end of June. He also told lawmakers DEP is on track to carry out more than 7,000 drilling site inspections this year, and has already completed more than 1,400.

Some PA Drill Sites Release Gas Into Air, Not Dangerous Levels

A Department of Environmental Protection survey finds elevated gas levels at northeastern Pennsylvania drilling sites but are not at a point where they’d be a health concern.
The study monitored air at four natural gas drilling sites in Susquehanna County from August to October.
DEP Community Relations Coordinator Mark Carmon says the study found elevated levels of methane, propane, butane and other gasses in the air, but nothing surpassing the warning levels for “air-related health issues.”

"We really didn’t see anything in a short-term way that would be a health concern. But again, I think the best quote here is, the report notes the sampling effort was not meant to address potential cumulative impacts, which would be a more long-term situation."

Carmon says the department isn’t drawing any long-term conclusions from the study.

"The report takes some pains to note it is not a long-term, cumulative study. It really is a short-term snapshot of air quality in locations where there is Marcellus activity."

The report comes a few months after a similar survey of drilling sites in southwestern Pennsylvania, which also found higher-than-usual amounts of certain gasses, but nothing triggering alarm bells. Carmon says a third study is wrapping up in north-central Pennsylvania, and that further studies of long-term drilling impacts will begin soon.

Law Forces Electronics Manufacturers to Recycle

Recycling electronics will come under the responsibility of manufacturers this month. The law, signed by Pennsylvania Governor Rendell on November 23rd, requires electronics manufacturers to register with the Department of Environmental protection and pay a $5,000 fee. Manufacturers must also design plans to collect, transport and recycle electronics.

Todd Wallace, Director of the Bureau of Waste Management for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), says that the Department will be able to track where the electronics are sent, so that they are recycled properly. "Each manufacturer, whose responsible for developing a plan for recycling its electronics, would have to identify where their materials would be taken to. And that would have to be shared with the Department, so the Department would be aware of and sort of approving of the facilities to ensure they're legitimate recycling facilities."

Wallace says that manufacturers can team up to recycle as long as they recycle their market share, which is calculated by the DEP. He says that although manufacturers have not sent the DEP their plans yet, they are hoping to launch the new program this month.

End Of Year Shale Wrap-Up

The Department of Environmental Protection says there have been many achievements in regulating the natural gas industry this year.

In a year that saw a major blowout of a Marcellus Shale gas well in Clearfield County and opposition to drilling in Allegheny County, John Hanger, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection says there were a number of achievements in regulating the industry this year.

Among the acts – charging oil and gas companies more for drilling permits and using that revenue to hire additional inspectors to regulate the industry.

“We need to work hard at minimizing the environmental impacts from natural gas drilling. We can never get those impacts to zero but you can in fact reduce those impacts if the industry gets tightly regulated as it should be,” said Hanger.

There is also a mandatory 150 foot buffer from all development for streams that are considered high quality and a rewrite of drilling regulations governing the design of wells and the materials used in the wells. Hanger said despite those changes, there’s one major disappointment.

“It’s really a disgrace that we don’t have a tax on these drilling companies,“ Hanger said incoming Governor Tom Corbett could repeal the acts or choose to make them stronger.

State Water Plan

A new state water act requires the Department of Environmental Protection to look at petitions organizations file concerning watersheds and the use of water within a watershed. One example is Chestnut Ridge Trout Unlimited in Somerset County. They asked for the Laurel Hill Creek to be designated a critical water plan and it was in November. There have been three other watersheds designated recently as critical water planning areas in Fayette, Somerset and Montgomery counties. Back Creek in Fayette County and Marsh Creek and Rock Run, both in Montgomery County were the other designated waterways. Laurel Hill and Back creeks are in the Ohio River Basin and two are in the Potomac River Basin. The Laurel Hill Creek plan was approved in January of this year. Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection John Hanger says the purpose of a critical water planning area designation is to make sure that the withdrawal and uses of water in an area are sustainable and "so that some of the most important watersheds in the state don't see deterioration in quality because of unwise or unsustainable uses of local waters."

Tainted Water

An oil and gas company has settled with the DEP after contaminating wells in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Nineteen families whose water became tainted through Marcellus Shale gas drilling will receive a settlement totally $4.1 million dollars, the Department of Environmental Protection announced on Thursday.

The DEP has had an ongoing dispute with Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation over the wells, drilled in a rural area in Susquehanna County. The DEP says the water there became contaminated because of the manner in which the company dug the gas wells.

John Hanger, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection says this is not the first problem they’ve had with this company.

“This is another fine in a long series of fines that we’ve required Cabot to pay for the damage that they’ve caused. We’ve also previously required Cabot to plug some gas wells and also repair some other gas wells and we will also continue to oversee Cabot to see that this type of operation don’t cause this type of problem,” he said.

Each family will receive an amount equal to the twice the value of their home, with a minimum payment of $50,000. Hanger says the affected families have been using bottled water for 2 years. Cabot will also provide water treatment systems to the families.

Frac Water Remediation Okayed

A Harrisburg-based wastewater treatment company has received approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to operate mobile units to treat used frac water at natural gas drilling sites. Greg Lee of Integrated Water Technologies says their systems remove contaminants from the frac water and return 80% of the flowback for re-use at drilling sites or discharge into the environment...

"We did a test with DEP and the treatment we did exceeded their discharge standards....our thought process is to re-use all of the water."

Lee says the other 20% is a concentrated salt brine which will be treated at centralized plants which will soon be built...."these will yield salt products...both liquid and dried salts that can be used in water softening and deicing of roads and erosion control."

Lee says at the end of the flowback treatment process, the cleaned water has on average 100 parts per million of total dissolved solids...well below the state's drinking water standards of a maximum 500 parts per million.

He says the company believes their process is the most cost effective frac water solution because it reduces the need for new water sources by reusing the cleaned water; reduces trucking costs with the on-site treatment; and they can sell the salt products.

The first unit is to be deployed in the Pittsburgh region in January with several units on site within 5 to 6 months.

PA DEP Ups Home Heating Rebates

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection has increased the amount of money it gives to families who replace their old home furnaces or hot water heaters with energy-efficient models.

Before August 2, rebates ranged from $100-$500. Now, rebates run from $250-$1,000.

The DEP received $11 million of federal funding for the Home Heating Equipment Rebate Program. Since its April inception, the program has only used about $2 million of that money on about 3,900 residents.

However, DEP Secretary John Hanger says demand will probably increase soon.

“We expected that the rebates would be affected by seasonal issues. After all, people generally do not run out and fix their home heating equipment during the summer,” says Hanger. “But as the fall is not too far around the corner, people start thinking about replacing their furnaces or hot water heating systems.”

The DEP chief says these home heating systems can represent a large part of home energy bills, and making them more efficient will decrease monthly bills. Hanger says the rebates make replacing the equipment even more attractive.

Hanger says that local contractors are needed to install these heating systems, so taking part in the rebate program will also stimulate the state’s economy.

One can learn more at the program's website.

PA DEP Defends Drilling Oversight

Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger says New York could stop buying natural gas produced in the Commonwealth if its legislators are so concerned about the environmental consequences of drilling.
Hanger was responding to criticism from New York lawmakers over regulation of drilling the Marcellus Shale formation. New York legislators held Pennsylvania up as what not to do during debate over a bill that would impose a 9-month moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. Environmentalists say that "fracking" endangers water supplies.
Hanger says New York is riding a moral "high horse" while consuming Pennsylvania natural gas. He says Pennsylvania has strengthened its enforcement standards and hired more staff to monitor drilling activity.

Clearfield County Gas Well Operators At Fault

A report released today by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found untrained personnel and the failure to use proper well control procedures were the principal causes of a June 3 natural gas well blowout in Clearfield County. DEP Sec. John Hanger says, “This could have been a catastrophic incident. Had the gas blowing out of this well ignited, the human cost would have been tragic, and had an explosion allowed this well to discharge wastewater for days or weeks, the environmental damage would have been significant.” The blowout allowed natural gas and hydraulic fracturing fluid to escape from the well for 16 hours before it could be brought under control. Well operator EOG Resources and its contractor, C.C. Forbes LLC, lost control of the well while performing post-fracturing well cleanout activities. Hanger says, “This incident was preventable and should never have occurred.” EOG Resources was hit with a $353,400 fine and C.C Forbes must pay $46,000. Part of the fine was imposed to help cover the cost of the investigation. EOG was also ordered to take nine corrective actions and C.C. Forbes was ordered to take six corrective actions. Hanger says those orders were also sent out to all Marcellus Shale Drillers.
The letter stated in part:

* A snubbing unit, which prevents pipes from ejecting uncontrollably from a well, may be used to clean out the composite frack plugs and sand during post-fracturing (post-frack) if coil tubing is not an option.
* A minimum of two pressure barriers should be in place during all post-frack cleanout operations.
* Any blowout preventer equipment should be tested immediately after its installation and before its use. Records of these tests should be kept on file at the well site or with the well site supervisor.
* A sign with DEP’s 24-hour emergency telephone number and local emergency response numbers, including 911 and the county communications center, should be posted prominently at each well site.
* At least one well site supervisor who has a current well control certification from a recognized institution should be on location during post-frack cleanout operations. These certifications should be in possession at all times.
* A remote-controlled, independently powered blowout preventer unit, which allows workers to control what’s happening on the rig at a safe distance, must be located a minimum of 100 feet from the well and operational during all post-frack cleanout operations.

Hanger says most drillers are already complying with the mandates.

Following a 40-day suspension of operations in Pennsylvania, EOG Resources and C.C. Forbes were permitted to resume all well completion activities. The company operates approximately 297 active wells in Pennsylvania, 139 of which are in the Marcellus Shale formation.

Problems With DEP Chemical List

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection admits that it erred in trying to compile a list of the chemicals used by companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation. A DEP spokesman says a list of the chemicals that was given to the Associated Press included not only the chemicals in the water used to frack the shale and release the natural gas....but also other chemicals used at well sites. Spokesman Tom Rathbun says the non-fracking chemicals have other uses including cleaning equipment.
Environmental groups are concerned that the chemically-treated water that flows back and that which remains underground can taint water sources. But DEP officials say they are not aware that this has happened in Pennsylvania. Some of the chemicals are considered to be harmful to humans in large enough amounts.

Toxins in Frack Water To Be Listed

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says it plans to post on its website soon an updated list of compounds associated with health problems that are used in hydraulic fracturing fluids. Water and a mix of chemicals are pumped under high pressure into the Marcellus Shale gas wells to break the rock and release the gas. Some of the water returns to the surface. Many are concerned that the return water and the water that remains underground could pollute drinking water supplies above and below ground and kill wildlife in surface water systems. The DEP says it should have the revised list online later this week. It is believed to be their first comprehensive list to be published. The list includes chemicals that are linked to neurological and other serious health effects. The list was compiled using data provided to the DEP by gas exploration companies. Those companies say the chemicals pose no environmental threat because they are captured and treated safely.
To review the current DEP list

UPDATE: JULY 2, 2010: The Associated Press is reporting that state environmental officials erred in an attempt to list chemicals used by natural gas drillers.

EOG Gets Okay to Resume Fracking

Houston-based E.O.G. Resources, which had a blow out of one of its Marcellus Shale gas wells in Clearfield County three weeks ago, has been given the go ahead to resume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Pennsylvania. A Department of Environmental Protection spokesman says a review found no violations at the 70 other EOG well sites in the state. The company can resume fracking but it does not yet have the green light to do the finishing work that allows the gas to be extracting from the wells. The June 3rd accident allowed explosive gas and toxic wastewater to spew out for 16 hours before the well was capped.