Assumption Parish, LA Disappearing down a Giant Sinkhole

At the end of June, some folks in Assumption Parish, LA,noticed bubbles coming up in the water in the Bayou Corne area. This is an area near where a blow-out occurred during earlier gas drilling, so people thought the bubbles might be methane.

Sure enough, testing showed that the bubbles were methane – but no one could figure out where they’re coming from: the gas well? The pipeline? Nearby salt caverns owned by a gas company?

Then yesterday a big sinkhole began to form. People complained of smelling diesel earlier, but no official action was taken. However, on Friday a the sinkhole began swallowing up several acres of trees, so Governor Bobby Jindal declared an emergency and ordered 150 homes evacuated.

The sinkhole is located about half a mile from the road but only 600 feet from the nearest pipeline. The nearest water well is 1300 feet away, the nearest home about 2500 feet. Photos here.

 

Is it related to the bubbling methane? Possibly – the sinkhole is only 1900 feet from the nearest bubbles. At the rate it’s growing, it might get there before too long; already it’s threatening storage wells of flammable hydrocarbons.

Texas Sharon is keeping an eye on things as they progress - the amazing thing is that there is little about this in the news.

Fracking can Pollute Water .... Or Maybe Not

photo by Frank Finan

According to one media report, the newest study by Duke scientists (published on Monday) shows that gas drilling in northeastern Pennsylvania did not contaminate nearby drinking water wells with salty water.

But flip to a different paper and you learn that same study concludes that fracking does indeed put drinking water at risk from fluid migration.

The "truth" is more complex, and the study more nuanced. Introducing their paper, the Duke researchers mention that the drilling debate raises concerns about the potential for  methane, metal-containing brines and hydraulic fracturing fluids to migrate into drinking water aquifers. A critical question, they say, is whether there is any "hydraulic connectivity" between the deep shale gas formations and the overlying drinking water aquifers - and if so, to what extent.

Introducing their study the scientists say, "We present geochemical evidence from northeastern Pennsylvania showing that pathways, unrelated to recent drilling activities, exist in some locations between deep underlying formations and shallow drinking water aquifers." They show that salty water (brine) does indeed migrate, but is not correlated to the location of shale-gas wells.

"However," they add, "the presence of these fluids suggest conductive pathways and specific geostructural and/or hydrodynamic regimes in northeastern PA that are at increased risk for contamination, particularly by fugitive gases" because of the natural connections to deeper formations.So, yeah, the possibility of migration is there because the geology surrounding the Marcellus Shale is already fractured with pathways that could allow contaminants to move more freely than expected. You can read the study here.

Fortunately, the Department of Energy is conducting research that may provide some answers to the question of whether drilling fluids migrate and how far they travel. DOE researchers are working with a drilling company at a commercial well site in southwestern PA. The are adding tracing elements to hydro-fracking fluids and will conduct follow-up monitoring. They hope to see whether drilling fluids move upwards and/or sideways through the shale.



Using tracers isn't new - they're routinely used in hydrologic studies. Like the Duke study, the DOE tracer study will help researchers learn more about the geology surrounding the Marcellus shale. And like the Duke scientists, the DOE researchers caution that Marcellus geology is variable, changing from place to place.

DEP Bails on Pipeline; Cabot offers $4.1 Million to Dimock Residents

Dimock water or bottled water? asks Craig Sautner.

Today the PA Department of Environmental Protection announced that Cabot Oil and Gas Co. has agreed to pay $4.1 million to residents of Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, who have had their drinking water supplies contaminated by the drilling.

The settlement negotiated between Cabot and DEP will “enable the affected families to address their individual circumstances as they see fit,” says DEP officials. It also binds Cabot to offer and pay to install whole-house gas mitigation devices in each of the 19 affected homes.

In addition, Cabot will pay DEP $500,000 to offset the state’s expense of investigating the problems in Dimock.

DEP Secretary John Hanger explained that the amount paid to each family will equal two-times the value of their home, with a minimum payment of $50,000. “In addition to the significant monetary component of this settlement, there is a requirement that Cabot continue to work with us to ensure that none of their wells allow gas to migrate,” Hanger noted.

According to a press release from Cabot, upon compliance with the terms of this agreement the company will be allowed to resume well completion operations in the Dimock/Carter Road area. They hope to begin those operations in the first three months of 2011, with new drilling commencing before June.

Dan Dinges, chairman and chief executive officer for Cabot told the press that this settlement “provides the right balance of regulations, financial payments, timely execution and operational safeguards that in the end will protect the resources of Pennsylvania, promote economic development of clean-burning natural gas and continue to create good paying jobs in the natural gas industry.”

Of course, this settlement is only the latest in a series. In November 2009 DEP issued a consent order and agreement requiring Cabot to install whole-house treatment systems in 14 of the Dimock homes. Residents complained that Cabot’s actions did not solve the problem.

Five months later, in April 2010 DEP ordered Cabot to cap three wells and put a halt to drilling.

Five months after that, in September, DEP promised to construct a 5.5-mile water main from the Lake Montrose water treatment plant to Dimock because Cabot wasn’t fulfilling any of the agreements for solving Dimock water woes. The water pipeline would cost the taxpayers close to $12 million – a cost DRP said it would recover from Cabot.

Faced with the prospect of paying higher taxes to provide fresh drinking water to their neighbors, several Montrose businesses fomented an “Enough Already” campaign to rally citizens against the pipeline project (The Inn at Montrose, Warner Quarries, Guy Parrish's, Lockharts, Brunges Commercial Supply, Taylor Rentals, PJ's Cafe and the Rock Mountain Sporting Clays - flip to page 2).

Given the opposition to the planned water line and the uncertain future the project faces, Hanger said the department would abandon its pursuit of the project.

“Our primary goal at the department has always been to ensure that the wells Cabot drilled in Dimock were safe and that they were not contaminating local private water supplies,” said Hanger.

You can read Cabot's Consent Order and Agreement at http://ia700309.us.archive.org/27/items/CabotPADEPagreement/FinalCoa121510.pdf
Tax appraisal for escrow determination is at http://ia700309.us.archive.org/27/items/CabotPADEPagreement/ExDTaxAppraisalEscrowFundValues.pdf

DEP Counters Misinformation Campaign about Providing Water to Dimock

Last week some "concerned citizens" took out a full page ad in the Mulligans Shopping Guide (click to page 2/3). "Enough Already" screamed the red letters above a graphic of a waterline stamped with the red circle-and-slash. No waterline to Dimock, these people say. Why should the taxpayers of PA pay so a dozen people, whose wells have been rendered useless from gas drilling, can have safe drinking water? It would be cheaper just to drill another well, right?

And so, these good people have invited one and all to a Public Meeting tomorrow night, October 21, at 7 pm in the Elk Lake High School Auditorium. And they have invited people to sign petitions available at these places of business: The Inn at Montrose, Warner Quarries, Guy Parrish's, Lockharts, Brunges Commercial Supply, Taylor Rentals, PJ's Cafe and the Rock Mountain Sporting Clays. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that even people who don't have drinking water might have been inclined to drop by the Inn at Montrose for a bit of food and grog.... at least till now.

Not so fast, says the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Yesterday DEP Secretary John Hanger issued an Open Letter to the Citizens of Susquehanna County who are impacted by the gas migration issues. Here is what he wrote:

To Whom It May Concern:
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced a permanent solution to the drinking water problems in Dimock caused by gas migration from Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation wells. DEP was forced to take action since Cabot continues to deny responsibility for the contamination, despite overwhelming evidence of its responsibility. Since that announcement was made, Cabot has launched a public relations campaign and much misinformation has been brought forth concerning who will be party to that solution and who will end up paying for it.

Cabot is responsible for the gas migration that has caused families to be without a permanent water supply for nearly 2 years and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will seek court orders to make Cabot pay for all costs. But we cannot wait for Cabot to fix the problems it caused and to do the right thing. In the interim, PENNVEST, an agency that finances water and sewer infrastructure projects, will be asked to provide funds to pay the estimated $11.8 million cost for Pennsylvania American Water Company to construct a new, 5.5-mile water main from its Lake Montrose treatment plant to provide water service to the residents of Dimock. Again, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will then aggressively seek to recover the cost of the project from Cabot.

No one in Dimock or Susquehanna County will pay for it and local taxes will not be increased as the result of it. Residents along Route 29 will have the option to tap into the line if they so choose. No one will be forced to hook up to the new public water supply. The new water line will also boost the value of homes and businesses near it.

This action is being taken based on overwhelming evidence that proves the Cabot wells are the source of the contamination. DEP has collected ample evidence tying methane found in private water supplies to Cabot’s wells. We have witnessed and chronicled bubbling gas and high pressure readings from a number of wells that prove poor well construction, and taken readings that show excessive gas levels that could only exist in wells that are leaking. Sophisticated testing has “fingerprinted” gas samples and matched the gas found in five homes to the gas leaking from the nearby Cabot wells. Additionally, the gas wells in many cases are less than a thousand feet from the homes where, by law, it is presumed gas drilling caused any pollution of water wells that may result.

The residents of Dimock have already paid a high price for Cabot’s unwillingness to accept responsibility and provide a satisfactory solution. Cabot will be the one paying the final bill. Perhaps next time Cabot will do the job right the first time and avoid expensive repairs.
Sincerely,
John Hanger, Secretary

read official press release here.

PA Environmental Quality Board Adopts tough Regulations to Protect Water from Drilling Waste

Today, the PA Environ-mental Quality Board (EQB) approved regulations that will protect waterways from the effects of natural gas drilling wastewater. Their goal is to enable companies to develop Marcellus Shale reserves without sacrificing the health and quality of Pennsylvania’s vital water resources.

Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger told the press that the new regulations are an appropriate and necessary measure to ensure that drilling wastewater containing high concentrations of Total Dissolved Solids, or TDS, does not pollute drinking water supplies, damage industrial equipment, or endanger delicate aquatic life.

"Drilling wastewater contains TDS levels that are thousands of times more harmful to aquatic life than discharges from other industries," Hanger said. "Without imposing limits on this pollution, treatment costs for this wastewater are passed downstream." Hanger pointed out that other industries in PA are responsible for the waste they generate. "The drilling industry should be no exception," he said. 

The new regulations for TDS would require wastewater discharges from new and expanded facilities to meet a concentration threshold of 2,000 milligrams per liter; wastewater discharges from drilling operations cannot exceed 500 mg/l. The lower standard was set for the drilling industry because drilling wastewater is so heavily polluted. Also, drillers have options other than returning water to rivers and streams, such as reusing and recycling wastefluids or injecting them deep into caverns or EPA-approved underground injection wells. 

New York and several other states, among them Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee, prohibit returning any drilling wastewater to streams. That's because drinking water treatment facilities and industrial water users are not equipped to process water with high levels of chlorides and sulfates.

The new PA ruled place limits on the amount of total dissolved solids that can be discharged into surface waters. In the past two years,  TDS levels have exceeded the EPA’s secondary drinking water standards of 500 mg/l in western Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River. The elevated levels led to complaints about foul-smelling water and damage to laundry and dishes. Industrial users complained of equipment damage caused by polluted river water.

In addition, high TDS levels contributed to a toxic algae bloom that killed all fish and aquatic life in a 30-mile section of Dunkard Creek in Greene County last year.

EQB members also approved  rules that will strengthen Pennsylvania’s well construction standards and define a drilling company’s responsibility for responding to gas migration issues, such as when gas escapes a well or rock formation and seeps into homes or water wells. Once finalized, the new rules will require well operators to conduct quarterly inspections of all wells and report the results to DEP. Read more here.

DEP to Plug Abandoned Well in Moon Township, PA

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection alerted the press that they have hired a contractor to plug an abandoned well in the residential area of Moon Township, Allegheny County. This action is being taken to prevent "potential gas migration" from an abandoned well that is currently releasing natural gas into the air.

 

The well is to be plugged by today (weather permitting maybe?). According to the DEP press release:

"The work, which is being performed under an emergency contract with Hydrocarbon Well Services of Buckhannon, WV, will protect the public by preventing gas from migrating through the soils and away from the well. There is no indication that the well poses a risk to area residents or to children attending the nearby J.A. Allard Elementary School, but until the work is completed, DEP advises the public to keep a safe distance from the well."

 

A property owner discovered the well last fall when he was clearing brush from the area. At that time DEP inspected the area and put the well on a list of abandoned wells to be plugged. But since February 6, residents have been calling DEP with numerous odor complaints. DEP inpsectors revisited the well and discovered that a hole had been eroded into the casing, allowing the release of pressurized gas. 

 

DPE spokesperson Helen Humphreys noted that because abandoned wells can cause many problems, the Oil and Gas Act of 1984 requires well operators to plug non-producing wells. "However," she told the press, "many wells were abandoned prior to when state regulations took effect." So the state legislature amended the Oil and Gas Act in 1992 to allow wells abandoned before April 1985 to be classified as “orphan” wells. That gives DEP the authority - and the financial means -  to plug them.

For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us or call 412-442-4000.