Jul 1
2010

.

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

07/1/2010

CONTACT:
Justin Fleming, Department of Agriculture
717-787-5085
Cattle from Tioga County Farm Quarantined after Coming in Contact with Natural Gas Drilling Wastewater

HARRISBURG — The Department of Agriculture announced today that it has quarantined cattle from a Tioga County farm after a number of cows came into contact with drilling wastewater from a nearby natural gas operation.

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said uncertainty over the quantity of wastewater the cattle may have consumed warranted the quarantine in order to protect the public from eating potentially contaminated beef.

“Cattle are drawn to the taste of salty water,” said Redding. “Drilling wastewater has high salinity levels, but it also contains dangerous chemicals and metals.  We took this precaution in order to protect the public from consuming any of this potentially contaminated product should it be marketed for human consumption.”

Redding said 28 head of cattle were included in the quarantine, including 16 cows, four heifers and eight calves. Those cattle were out to pasture in late April and early May when a drilling wastewater holding pond on the farm of Don and Carol Johnson leaked, sending the contaminated water into an adjacent field where it created a pool. The Johnsons had noticed some seepage from the pond for as long as two months prior to the leak.

The holding pond was collecting flowback water from the hydraulic fracturing process on a well being drilled by East Resources Inc.

Grass was killed in a roughly 30- x 40-foot area where the wastewater had pooled. Although no cows were seen drinking the wastewater, tracks were found throughout the pool. The wet area extended about 200-300 feet into the pasture.

The cattle had potential access to the pool for a minimum of three days until the gas company placed a snow fence around the pool to restrict access.

Subsequent tests of the wastewater found that it contained chloride, iron, sulfate, barium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium, strontium and calcium.

Redding said the main element of concern is the heavy metal strontium, which can be toxic to humans, especially in growing children. The metal takes a long time to pass through an animal’s system because it is preferentially deposited in bone and released in the body at varying rates, dependent on age, growth status and other factors. Live animal testing was not possible because tissue sampling is required.

The secretary also added that the quarantine will follow the recommended guidelines from the Food Animal Residue Avoidance and Depletion Program, as follows:
• Adult animals: hold from food chain for 6 months.
• Calves exposed in utero: hold from food chain for 8 months.
• Growing calves: hold from food chain for 2 years.

In response to the leak, the Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice of violation to East Resources Inc. and required further sampling and site remediation. DEP is evaluating the final cleanup report and is continuing its investigation of operations at the drilling site, as well as the circumstances surrounding the leaking holding pond.

_________________End of press release___________________

.

See also  http://un-naturalgas.org/weblog/?s=farming which contains:

Is hydrofracture compatible with farming? in which photos document tumors and ulcers on animals living near gas operations

Is hydrofracture compatible with farming? Part 2 in which details about the photos are provided

Is hydrofracture compatible with farming? Part 3 Video, in which Tweeti Blancett explains how gas operations have made her ranching operation nearly impossible

.

Tags: , , ,



Trackback  •  Posted in Bad Neighbors, Community Effects, Cost Externalization, Mean Energy, The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


Jun 9
2010

.

From Clearville Times, who blogs at http://clearville.wordpress.com/

Clearville, PA  like DISH, Texas: “pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which from the gas storage owner’s point of view, made it the perfect place”

Clearville had five production wells drilled by PGE gas drilling company,  which produced about two years in  the Oriskany formation.    Wells suddenly stopped production on the same day and were sold to a gas storage company from somewhere in Texas, known as  Spectra Energy or maybe known as a “Spin off of Duke Energy?” from a gas storage operator’s  point of view,  Clearville, PA made it the perfect place”  known as the  ” Steckman Ridge Gas  Storage Project.”

In Pennsylvania, gas is stored in the Oriskany formation, the source rock for the Oriskany is the Marcellus Shale.

In the middle of nowhere, there seems to be a trend for gas storage fields in the Oriskany formation located  near the Marcellus Shale.   There is a  gas storage field located a few miles down the road from the Steckman Ridge’s  underground gas storage field known as the Columbia Gas Storage field, in Artemas, PA.    Columbia gas storage field is also located in the middle of nowhere but has been the perfect place since the early 1940′s .  Columbia gas has been storing gas in the  Oriskany formation where the Marcellus Shale is the source rock.

There is a big difference,   between then and now’s,  when it comes to gas storage project acquisitions, at least up until 2005.    Columbia Gas Storage got off to an easier start  in the 1940′s.   At that period in time, most all gas production leases gave away gas storage rights  in gas production leases.

Landowners over the years with the advent of the internet, became more savvy and placed no gas storage clauses in their gas production leases.   Soon these gas leases became known as obstacles in the market place which needed a  removal tool.     Someone,  somewhere,  came up  with the perfect legal tool to remove these obstacles in the market place for gas storage projects.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney used legal legislative laws as the best use obstacle removal tool  in EPACT of 2005. At that time,    Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney likely knew  a little about the gas market,  heard about obstacles in the market place, and knew a solution was needed for the problem.     Minds of genius noted for acquisitions developed and signed a law which classified depleted gas wells which can be taken legally for underground gas storage projects because they are now considered public utilities.    This  law is broad and can take land which has no gas leases.  This law will take any land and  give it to a private company for profit once they eye your land as the perfect place for a federally backed underground gas storage field.

Clearville, PA was eyed as the perfect place.   Landowners watched Halliburton and Schlumberger legally use exempted fracking chemicals from the SDWA.  They watched as horizontal gas storage wells were drilled into the Oriskany sandstone formation. This was a federally backed gas storage project with all the amenities.

Remember:  “There is no way to save your land from the laws of a federally backed gas storage project.  If someone, somewhere, spots your land  as the perfect place,  you can kiss it goodbye.”

Clearville, PA;  the Oriskany formation;  the Marcellus Shale is  the Oriskany source rock;   in the middle of nowhere;   all goes somewhere; from a gas storage operator’s  point of view;  Clearville was another perfect place.

.

Tags: , , , , , ,



Trackback  •  Posted in Bad Neighbors, Community Effects, Cost Externalization, General, Legislation, Mean Energy, On the Bleeding Edge, Property Rights, The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


Apr 20
2010

Oh, no! It thinks it’s … the Chamber of Commerce!

DEP Announces Winners of 2010 Environmental Excellence Awards

(Be sure to archive that press release, since DEP press releases disappear after a few weeks, and no one will believe you otherwise.)

An excerpt from the list of winners:

Lycoming County Community Gas Exploration Task Force
The Board of Commissioners for Lycoming County and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce collaborated to form the Community Gas Exploration Task Force. Since early 2008, a number of gas companies began establishing a significant presence in Lycoming County to arrange leases with county landowners to drill the Marcellus Shale. The task force identifies key issues, researches facts and information, and reviews and proposes public policy regarding the positive, economic impact of gas exploration of the Marcellus Shale in Lycoming County.

See also: Lycoming County Community Gas Exploration Task Force

How come the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is acting like a booster of the natural gas industry?

Oh.

Tags: ,



Trackback  •  Posted in The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


Apr 19
2010

Toxics Targeting reports:

See un-naturalgas.org’s Resources & Documents page for
Pennsylvania DEP cease & desist order against US Energy

So, why is US Energy still allowed to do business in New York State?

And DEC thinks it can handle

more drilling?

Tags: , , , , , ,



Trackback  •  Posted in Bad Neighbors, Community Effects, Cost Externalization, Mean Energy, Natural Gas Industry Lies, The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


Mar 19
2010

From The Sun Gazette, 3/17:

Spill from drill site likely contains 2-butoxyethanol

WATERVILLE – A substance used in the natural gas drilling process is discoloring and distorting the texture of spring water running off a Cummings Township sidehill.

. . . . .

The mysterious substance was seen flowing down the slope, under the road and into Pine Creek, said Daniel T. Spadoni, spokesman for DEP’s northcentral region office. Officials from another state agency alerted DEP.

“We were notified (Monday) morning by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,” Spadoni said. “There was a white foamy material discharging from a spring down the hill.”

. . . . .

Terming it a surfactant, Spadoni said a substance known as Airfoam HD was causing the water run-off to be unnatural in appearance.

. . . . .

Surfactant used to treat Pennsylvania General Energy wells affected the water run-off, which Spadoni said had nothing to do with hydrofracturing.

Workers for the Warren-based energy company are drilling five wells in the area, high above the road, but he said they have yet to reach the point of using highly pressurized water to break the rock underneath the ground.

They were using the whitening substance as a lubricant that lowers the surface tension between air and water, according to Spadoni.

A receptionist answering a Pennsylvania General Energy phone Tuesday afternoon said company officials were not available to comment.

“They’re attempting to determine what caused this problem and what actions they can take to stop it,” Spadoni said of energy company representatives, with whom DEP members have been communicating.

The only precaution Spadoni recommended to residents is to avoid the suspicious spring water run-off in the area.

“I don’t think you would want to drink this discharge,” he said.

The substance leaking down the hill isn’t listed as dangerous on a Material Safety Data Sheet, according to Spadoni.

“I don’t believe there are concerns about drinking water in Waterville at this time,” Spadoni said, adding that area residents can continue regularly using tap water in their homes.

The investigation will continue.

“We don’t know for sure what its chemical composition is,” Spadoni said.

-end of excerpt of Sun Gazette article-

.

Now, you have to wonder what Material Safety Data Sheet Spadoni is talking about.  The one copied below says the component of Airfoam HD is 2-butoxyethanol, also known as 2BE, which is linked to a particular kind of adrenal tumor that’s rare… unless you happen to be Laura Amos, who was exposed to 2BE, got that adrenal tumor, and wrote the following (click above on her name for complete text):

In August 2004 I came across a memo written to the US Forest Service and BLM Regional offices in Delta County, describing the health hazard posed by a chemical used in fluids that are injected underground to enhance the release of methane. Dr. Theo Colborn of Paonia, Colorado submitted the memo in response to decisions that were being made in Delta County by the government officials to allow gas exploration and development on the Grand Mesa. Colborn is the President of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc (TEDX) and for over 10 years directed the World Wildlife Fund’s Wildlife and Contaminants Program. She has been honored worldwide for her focus on the effects of synthetic chemicals on human and wildlife health. The focus of Colborn’s memo was on a chemical called 2BE, used in fracturing fluids.

The following information was taken from Colborn’s report: “2BE is a highly soluble, colorless liquid with a very faint, ether like odor.” She wrote that at the concentration to be used in Delta county 2BE might not be detectable through odor or taste. “2-BE has a low volatility, vaporizes slowly when mixed with water and remains well dissolved throughout the water column.” “It mobilizes in soil and can easily leach into groundwater.” “It could remain entrapped underground for years.”

She noted it is readily absorbed by the skin and can easily be inhaled as it off-gasses in the home. Colborn cited the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Profile that listed the following effects of 2-BE: kidney damage, kidney failure, toxicity to the spleen, the bones in the spinal column and bone marrow, liver cancer, anemia, female fertility reduction, embryo mortality, and the biggie that got my attention – elevated numbers of combined malignant and non-malignant tumors of the adrenal gland.

-end of excerpt-

Here’s the MSDS that Spadoni mentions, but, hmmm, maybe just hadn’t read?

"Component: 2-butoxyethanol"

A deep bow and sweeping tip of the hat to Nastassja Noell for the Material Safety Data Sheet.

For more on this story, and more photos, see
Citizens Alarmed By Foam Discharge

Tags: , , , , , ,



Trackback  •  Posted in Community Effects, General, Mean Energy, On the Bleeding Edge, The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


Mar 14
2010

*Substitute your state environmental regulating agency

Guest post by Lynn Senick:

.

  • On Feb. 2, DEP fined Talisman Energy $3,500 for violations at its “Cease” well pad in Troy Township discovered during inspections in 2009.

    • A February 2009 inspection revealed that the company had not publicly posted the permit number and other required information at the entrance of the well pad. During a follow-up inspection in June 2009, a DEP statement explains, “flow-back fluids — or the fluids that are used to break up underground rock and then return to the surface — were found discharging into a drainage ditch, an adjacent sediment basin, and eventually through a vegetated area into an unnamed tributary of the south branch of Sugar Creek.” The Daily Review

  • “A vertical drilled well in The Marcellus Shale zone costs $810,000 to drill while a horizontal drilled well will cost you roughly 3-5 million dollars.” oilshalegas.com
  • In the Marcellus shale, Talisman drilled nine gross (nine net) wells during the quarter, for a total of 12 gross (12 net) in the first half of the year. The development plan is ahead of schedule and the company is now producing at rates in excess of 30 million cubic feet of gas per day. ugcenter.com

    • .

    COST OF DRILLING ONE HORIZONTAL WELL; $ 4 MILLION

    A FINE OF $3500 is 0.0875%  – the value of a a used Chevy Caravan.

    VALUE OF CLEAN AIR, LAND, & WATER?

    PRICELESS

    .

    Tags: , , , ,



    Trackback  •  Posted in Bad Neighbors, Community Effects, Gas Drilling Accidents, General, Mean Energy, The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


    Mar 8
    2010

    Tags: , , , ,



    Trackback  •  Posted in Bad Neighbors, Community Effects, Fighting Back, Gas Drilling Accidents, On the Bleeding Edge, The Fox is Guarding the Henhouse  


    Nov 5
    2009

    A November 4th press release from the PA DEP reveals that while “numerous” people in Dimock have been without good water for, oh, a year, give or take, it takes an agreement process with DEP to force Cabot Oil & Gas to address residents’ need for “replacement” water.  It takes an agreement process with DEP to force Cabot Oil & Gas to release to DEP a complete list of people who have reported issues with their water.

    DEP says this will provide a “long-term solution.”  That seems optimistic.  How do you “replace” someone’s own clean, clear, safe spring or well water?  And, you have to wonder, eventually,  after northeastern PA and New York’s Southern Tier are pincushioned with  gas wells, where will the “replacement” water come from?  And what will we use to schlep it from hither to thither?  Oh, yeah, now I remember: diesel fuel made from foreign oil.  Yup, that stuff that natural gas was supposed to free us from depending on.

    ________________________________

    Pennsylvania DEP Reaches Agreement with Cabot to Prevent Gas Migration,
    Restore Water Supplies in Dimock Township

    Agreement Requires DEP Approval for Well Casing, Cementing

    MEADVILLE, Pa., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Department of
    Environmental Protection and Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. have executed a consent
    order and agreement that will provide a long-term solution for migrating gas
    that has affected 13 water supplies in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County.

    The affected area covers nine square miles around Carter Road.

    The consent order and agreement outlines a process that will give DEP more
    oversight of Cabot’s new well construction work in the affected area. Prior to
    drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or hydro fracking, the company will submit
    well casing and cementing plans to DEP. Once DEP provides written approval,
    Cabot may proceed.

    “The goal of the consent order and agreement is to ensure a long-term
    resolution to issues that have emerged in Dimock,” said DEP Northwest Regional
    Director Kelly Burch. “The company will focus on the integrity of the wells in
    the affected area in an attempt to determine the source of the migrating gas.”

    This past week, Cabot has provided an interim solution for all of the homes
    where water supplies have been affected. Cabot must develop a plan by March 31
    to restore or replace the affected water supplies permanently.

    Under the consent order and agreement, Cabot must additionally submit to DEP:

    – Information on all parties who have contacted the company about water
    quantity or quality issues; and

    – A plan that specifically identifies how the company intends to prove the
    integrity of the casing and cementing on existing wells and fix
    defective casing and cementing by March 31.

    If Cabot fails to fix the defective casing and cementing by the March
    deadline, the company must plug defective wells or implement another
    alternative as approved by DEP.

    In addition, Cabot paid a $120,000 civil penalty for violations of the Oil and
    Gas Act, the Solid Waste Management Act and the Clean Streams Law.

    The consent order and agreement caps a DEP investigation that began early this
    year when numerous Dimock area residents reported evidence of natural gas in
    their water supplies. DEP inspectors discovered that the well casings on some
    of Cabot’s natural gas wells were cemented improperly or insufficiently,
    allowing natural gas to migrate to groundwater.

    On Sept. 25, following a series of wastewater spills, DEP ordered Cabot to
    cease hydro fracking natural gas wells throughout Susquehanna County. The
    prohibition was removed after the company completed a number of important
    engineering and safety tasks.

    Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. is a Delaware-based company with a mailing address in
    Pittsburgh.

    For more information on oil and gas wells, visit www.depweb@state.pa.us,
    keyword: Oil and gas.

    Tags: , , ,



    Trackback  •  Posted in Bad Neighbors, Boone-Doggle, or, Why the Pickens Plan Stinks, Community Effects, Fraccidents, Gas Drilling Accidents, Mean Energy, On the Bleeding Edge  


    « Older Entries