Still Time to Comment on DRBC Proposed Drilling Rules

The Delaware River originates near Hancock, NY and travels 330 miles through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware before spilling into the Delaware Bay. The river basin drains 13,539 square-miles of watershed, some of it providing the drinking water for millions of people in New York City and along the east coast.

Like the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) regulates water withdrawals from the Delaware River and its tributaries. And just like its sister-commission, DRBC is made up of state governors and a federal representative from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

At the beginning of last month DRBC released draft regulations that, they say, are intended to protect minimum stream flows, provide a record of water transfers, and ensure that downstream water resources are not adversely affected.

The new rules also regulate how drilling waste fluids and other wastewater may be reused in gas development projects. Proposed regulations will permit the use of flowback and production fluids (brine), mine drainage wasters and treated wastewater for use in drilling gas wells. But, says DRBC, these “recycled” fluids will be monitored closely, using a system of manifests for each load shipped.

A quick review of DRBC’s proposed rules indicate they will restrict drilling in flood hazard areas, on steep slopes and in areas deemed critical habitats for threatened and endangered species. They will establish minimum setbacks from rivers, wetlands and lakes as well as domestic water supplies and homes – and they call for pre-and post-drilling monitoring of surface and groundwater near well pads.

Before trucking drilling waste fluids to a public wastewater treatment facility, drillers will have to demonstrate that acceptance of their waste will not interfere with the facility’s operation. They must also show that effluent discharged from these facilities will not exceed Safe Drinking Water Act standards.

Drillers will have to pay to play, too. Under the proposed rules, drillers in the Delaware River Basin will need to post a $125,000 bond for each well to cover the costs of plugging, abandonment and restoration and the remediation of any pollution from gas development activities. That’s a big drop from the $5 million initially proposed, but still a lot higher than the $2500 Pennsylvania drillers are required to post for a single well.

Good as they sound, these regs are a bit premature. Why didn’t DRBC wait until they complete their study on the cumulative impacts of drilling in the basin before offering a regulatory pathway to drilling permits? Why not wait for NY Department of Environmental Conservation to complete their review of high volume horizontal fracking before releasing the regs?

The public has until March 16, 2011 to comment on the proposed rules, and DRBC has promised to schedule three public hearings (dates still to be announced). Comments may be submitted using a web-based form on the DRBC web site here.

Mail written comments to Commission Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 7360, 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. DRBC will also accept written comments at the public hearings.

Chief Gathering LLC Slapped with Fine, Surrenders Permit

Today the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it has fined Chief Gathering LLC, of Dallas, Texas (a subsidiary of Chief Oil and Gas) a $34,000 fine for illegally discharging industrial waste in Lycoming County.

In August 2010 Chief was conducting hydrostatic testing at a pipeline project. Hydrostatic tests involve placing water in a natural gas pipeline at the required pressure to ensure there are no leaks before it is placed into service.

During those tests Chief discharged more than 25,000 gallons of hydrostatic testing water into the Big Run watershed – after an earlier notification in which Chief indicated to DEP that no discharge would occur. According to DEP none of the discharged water reached any nearby surface streams

A DEP investigation also revealed numerous other violations including:

• Failure to minimize the flow rate from the discharge point and allowing the formation of a 150-foot erosion channel;
• Failure to submit accurate, detailed Notice of Intent project information;
• Discharging hydrostatic test water with a total chlorine residual greater than 0.05 parts per million;  
• Allowing an unknown industrial waste to co-mingle in five storage tanks with the hydrostatic test water, which was subsequently discharged; and
• A failure to monitor the discharge for the specified effluent parameters at the minimum frequency required.

In conjunction with the enforcement action, Chief voluntarily surrendered its discharge permit in early December.

DEP Fines Talisman Energy for Diesel Spill at Marcellus Well

Today the PA Department of Environmental Protection announced that it has fined Talisman Energy (formerly known as Fortuna in these parts)  $24,608 for a large diesel fuel spill that occurred in March 2010 in Bradford County. The spill happened at the Putnam 77 Marcellus natural gas well pad in Armenia Township.

According to DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber, the diesel spilled off the well pad and into a neighboring farmer’s field. “Talisman is extremely fortunate that it did not impact surface water or wetlands,” Taber told the press.

The company reported the spill to DEP, but has been unable to explain the cause.

According to the DEP press release, discharging the diesel fuel without a permit violates the Clean Streams Law, and failing to manage the waste properly violates the Solid Waste Management Act.

Cleaning up the spill required the excavation and removal of 3,800 tons of contaminated soil. It also meant collecting some 132,000 gallons of contaminated water - from which 450 gallons of diesel fuel was recovered. You can read the DEP press release here.

Owego Puts Wastewater Sale on Hold

Owego Mayor Ed Arringon confers with atty Irene Graven

On Monday night the Village of Owego decided to conduct environmental assessment before voting on the Inflection-wastewater sale.

Before a standing-room-only crowd, the village Board of Trustees voted to retain the legal services of Syracuse law firm Hancock and Estabrook to assist in the environmental review and regulatory compliance. Owego Mayor Ed Arrington explained that the board was not prepared to vote on the sale at that time. “There is still additional work to be done,” he said.

The deal, which could potentially generate as much as $3.6 million a year for the cash-strapped village, still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Residents want to know whether the Village is limited in selling only to Inflection, how – and whether – the agreement can be renewed, and who pays for the development of the pumping site.

The problem is that no one – except Village officials, Inflection representatives and a bunch of lawyers – has read the agreement. That’s because village attorney Irene Graven is denying all FOIL requests for documents related to the sale.

“The agreement may be impaired if it is released right now,” Graven said at Monday night’s meeting.  

Environmental attorney Helen Slottje insists that there is no basis under the Freedom of Information Act to keep the agreement under cover, and Robert Freeman of the NY Committee on Open Government concurs.

Graven acknowledged the difference in opinions and left an opening to revise her stance. “I’m reviewing the (FOIL) requests,” she said last night.

People need an opportunity to see the proposed agreement, says Kevin Millar. The village resident has, through conversations with board members, learned that the contract ties the village into a ten-year lease with Inflection.

“It sounds like the contract was developed by Inflection,” Millar said. And he’s concerned that the agreement might not be in the best interests of the Village. “If we can’t see the contract how can we be sure it is a good deal for the taxpayer?”

Owego To Sell Treated Wastewater for Drilling

This coming Monday, December 20, the Village of Owego Board of Trustees will consider an offer from Inflection Energy LLC to purchase effluent from the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for use in gas drilling operations. Yup, you heard right - someone wants to buy the stuff that comes out of the sewage plant, mix it with fracking chemicals and inject it into Marcellus wells for fracturing the shale.

Right now the Village discharges the effluent (treated wastewater) into the Susquehanna River. If Inflection has its way, the Village could turn sewage into gold – or at least cold hard cash. Close to $3.65 million a year, according to the presentations on the Village website.

The deal, mayor Ed Arrington explained a couple weeks ago, is that Inflection would purchase up to 200,000 gallons of effluent for 5 cents a gallon. There’s a minor glitch – if the treatment plant hopes to sell the effluent, they need to install an ultraviolet disinfection unit. And that will cost about $400,000.

Not to worry, says Inflection. The corporation will front the costs and recoup their investment by paying only two-and-a-half cents a gallon for water they use until the loan is paid off. Which, says the mayor, could be as few as eighty days, if they are using the water at their maximum capacity. Or longer, if they only use a fraction of the water.

Selling WWTP effluent is not an idea unique to the Village elders. Three years ago Prescott Arizona auctioned off their effluent at $24,650/acre foot - that's 7.5 cents/gallon. If Owego charged that much they could potentially haul in a couple million over the price Inflection has offered. And, says Bret Jennings, Director for the Hallstead Great Bend Joint Sewer Authority, some municipalities in PA are charging even more.

Of course, there are some potential problems with the sale, increased truck traffic being a prime concern. It was just a year ago that Mayor Ed Arrington objected to Patriot Water due to the truck traffic it would bring through the village.

Another concern – and one that has little to do with environmental issues – is the fact that residents have not been allowed to read the proposed agreement between Inflection and the Village. When this reporter requested a copy to peruse, village deputy clerk Teresa Sedlacek said, “It’s not available to the public.”

Why not? Well, Sedlacek explained, “the village attorney says it is a negotiation, not a contract.” Village attorney Irene Graven has not responded to a telephone request for clarification.

“The agreement should be a public document,” says environmental attorney Helen Slottje. She feels that the Owego officials are illegally denying citizens access to a document that even the Council of Mayors deems a public document.

Not only that, the public won’t be allowed any time to comment on the proposed deal before the Village Board addresses the issue – privilege of the floor is second on the agenda.

The Board meets Monday, Dec 20 at 7 pm in Hubbard Auditorium at 56 Main Street, Owego following a brief public hearing on some local laws.

You may read the presentation on selling wastewater on the Village website http://www.villageofowego.com/news.aspx