Posts Tagged ‘Back Mountain’

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 20, 2010

LEHMAN TWP. – The company drilling the Back Mountain’s first exploratory natural gas well will take care of township roads, but residents should be proactive in reporting problems, supervisors said Monday.

Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. will start site preparation in August to drill an exploratory natural gas well at 203 Zosh Road in Lake Township, not far from the Lehman Township border.

During the process, trucks leaving the site will use Ide, Meeker and Slocum roads in Lehman Township to reach state Route 118. Encana has agreed to maintain the roads in equal or better condition during the drilling process, Supervisor Chairman David Sutton said in response to a question by resident Joseph Rutchauskas.

Encana paid for repaving the stone arch bridge on Slocum Road, but the township’s road department filled in all the potholes, Supervisor Douglas Ide said. But the company will take that over when work begins, he said.

“The day they start trucks, the maintenance is theirs for the duration,” Ide said.

Rutchauskas said work had already started, because Zosh Road – which becomes Ide Road in Lehman Township – was closed, so Encana should be responsible now. The supervisors disagreed.

Penn State’s Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads is overseeing a project with the Luzerne County Conservation District in which Encana is paying to strip and pave a 100-foot section of Zosh Road to see how it will hold up under heavy truck traffic.

According to plans filed with the Luzerne County planning and zoning department, Encana anticipates 16 to 18 weeks of traffic during which a total of approximately 2,100 trucks will travel on Lake and Lehman township roads: 200 during site preparation, 100 during the well drilling and 1,800 during the completion phase, when tankers will bring in the roughly 6 million gallons of water needed for hydraulic fracturing.

Encana has submitted a $956,844 bond to cover Outlet, Ide, Meeker Outlet and Slocum roads and the Slocum Road stone bridge. Township officials stressed Encana’s willingness to work with them.

“Anything we have billed Encana for, we have been paid within 30 days,” Treasurer Alvin Cragle said.

“They have been nothing but cooperative in everything we’ve asked them to do,” Sutton agreed.

Rutchauskas asked the supervisors to keep an eye on the drill site and coordinate with Lake Township so residents will be aware of issues like road closings.

Sutton said they would, but “we don’t have the resources to watch 24-7,” he said. He said residents need to be proactive and call if they see problems.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

View article here.

Copyright:  The Citizens Voice

Land in the Back Mountain complex will not be disturbed, since the approach is horizontal.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

LEHMAN TWP. – Board members who oversee the Back Mountain Recreation Complex will certainly appreciate any revenue derived from a natural gas lease if local Marcellus Shale development is successful, but that’s not why they approved the lease, according to the board president.

“All of the adjacent landowners to our property I believe did sign leases with Marcellus Shale companies,” said board President Richard Coslett, a dentist practicing in Shavertown, Kingston Township.

Because it was expected that natural gas drilling would be going on all around the organization’s 130-acre property, there was no reason not to sign a lease with Chief Oil & Gas, Coslett said. “But there will be no well drilling on the property &hellip absolutely not.”

“Our land is there for one purpose – for the recreational enjoyment of residents of the Back Mountain,” he said.

Back Mountain Recreation will receive a bonus payment of $12.50 per acre and, if natural gas is extracted from the land beneath the complex, the organization will receive 20 percent royalty payments.

Coslett said that money would go right back into developing the complex.

Coslett said the lease gives permission to Chief Oil & Gas to drill horizontally deep underneath the organization’s property without disturbing the surface. “Now, on the other properties, I can’t speak for that,” he said.

EnCana Oil & Gas is proposing to drill just over a mile from the complex on property owned by Lake Township Supervisor Amy Salansky and her husband, Paul.

There was “very concerned discussion” among the board members about the safety of children and adults who use the complex if natural gas wells were drilled on nearby property, Coslett said.

“We see what happened to the roads in the Northern Tier counties; we heard the stories of water being contaminated in the Northern Tier. Myself and the board are very concerned about those things happening here also,” Coslett said.

And, of course, the thought of an explosion on property near the complex similar to the natural gas well blowout in Clearfield County on June 3 would be enough to make any Back Mountain recreational enthusiast shudder.

But Coslett is hopeful state officials will make sure adequate regulatory safeguards are in place before drilling begins anywhere near the complex.

“I really think there is a lot of emotional information out there right now,” Coslett said. “I can understand both sides of the issue. Hopefully, the facts will come out.”

The organization is in the process of a multiphase development. A lacrosse field and two soccer fields opened in summer 2007. They were dedicated in May 2008 as Edward Darling Field, Flack Field and Pride Field.

Two more full-size soccer fields and two mid-size soccer fields were completed in fall 2008 and opened for use last fall. The fields are currently used by Back Mountain Youth Soccer and Back Mountain Lacrosse. A football field, used by the Back Mountain Youth Football and Cheerleading League, is the most recent addition.

The fields lie on about 40 acres of the complex dedicated to organized recreational activities, Coslett said. But the board wants to develop part of the remaining 90 acres for passive recreational activities such as hiking and biking trails and other activities.

Copyright: Times Leader

Pa. American Water Co. wants state government to offer water supply protection.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Officials with the water company that owns two Back Mountain reservoirs want to see state action to better protect those drinking water sources from contamination related to natural gas drilling.

They also want the opportunity to have input into the permitting process for natural gas wells located near those reservoirs.

Terry Maenza, spokesman for Pennsylvania American Water Co., said there is no requirement that natural gas companies or any state agency notify water suppliers when well-drilling permit applications for land near water supplies are submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

“We would like to see those laws and regulations revised so we can be notified and have a chance to express any comments or concerns while a permit is under review,” Maenza said.

Maenza’s comments follow the revelation on Monday that at least one property on the shore of the Huntsville Reservoir in Lehman Township, and an adjacent property, have been leased to EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., which will begin exploratory drilling operations at a well in Fairmount Township in July and at a second in Lake Township in late summer or early fall.

Paul Siegel, who owns the three acres on the Huntsville shore, said on Monday there is language in his lease that allows him and his wife, Janet, to restrict any surface drilling on his land but would allow EnCana to drill horizontally underneath his property.

The couple’s son and daughter-in-law, Christopher and Maureen, own 10.88 acres bordered by Christopher’s parents’ land on the east and by Huntsville-Idetown Road on the west that is also leased to EnCana.

Maenza said there is a 500-foot buffer between other properties and the high-water point of the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs in most areas, but some parcels of land were “grandfathered in” without buffers when Pennsylvania American bought the water system from PGW in 1996.

As far as allowing a gas company to drill underneath the reservoirs, Maenza said it “would depend on what the driller was proposing and who owns the land. I’m not sure how far (down) our rights extend under the reservoirs,” he said.

Maenza said Pennsylvania American started water sampling and visual creek inspections about two weeks ago “so we can get some baseline data before the drilling begins.”

Huntsville Reservoir provides water for about 30,000 people living in Dallas, Kingston Township., Swoyersville, Wyoming and West Wyoming. Ceasetown Reservoir provides water to about 70,000 people in Ashley, Courtdale, Edwardsville, Larksville, Nanticoke, Plymouth, Pringle, Shickshinny, the townships of Conyngham, Hanover, Hunlock, Newport and Plymouth, and portions of the city of Wilkes-Barre.

Wyoming Mayor Robert Boyer said he’d like to learn more about the drilling process, given that his town receives water from the Huntsville Reservoir.

“There is a potential for environmental concerns. If we drill for oil a mile under the ocean floor and we don’t have a plan in place to deal with a catastrophic event like we had off the Gulf Coast, it makes sense that we want to have environmental protections in place before we start drilling here. Don’t put the cart before the horse,” Boyd said.

Maenza noted that state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, is working on legislation to protect water sources.

In order to protect aquifers and determine any adverse consequences attributable to drilling, one bill would require testing at three times – before drilling, at the completion of drilling and six months afterward – at three different depths.

A second bill would rule out drilling at sites too close to drinking water sources such as reservoirs.

A third bill would require DEP to ensure that the operators of wastewater treatment facilities are properly trained and sufficiently monitored to lessen the chances of human error creating a major problem.

Jennifer Wilson, Baker’s chief of staff, said specifics on the proposed bills, such as minimum distances from aquifers, are still being worked out.

Although EnCana has obtained a drilling permit for a site in Lehman Township about midway between Harveys Lake and Huntsville Reservoir, Wendy Wiedenbeck, public and community relations adviser for EnCana, said the company has not yet put together a full development program for drilling in Luzerne County should production at wells in Fairmount and Lake townships prove successful.

She did say the company is starting to look at additional potential drilling locations in the county.

As for company policies on proximity of drilling to water resources, she said the company naturally abides by the minimum setbacks set by states. But in considering additional setback distances, she said each potential drill location is unique and is assessed individually.

“We would take the same thoughtful, measured approach to any future operations as we have with our first two wells,” Wiedenbeck said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

Pa. senator says protection needed to ensure drilling doesn’t contaminate water.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

The state senator representing the Back Mountain is proposing a series of bills to protect drinking water sources from contamination associated with natural gas drilling.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said on Monday that the chances of water contamination grow as drilling into the Marcellus Shale increases in Pennsylvania, and the proposed bills are in response to citizen and community concerns about the safety of water resources.

“Prevention and protection are preferable to crisis management and emergency response,” Baker said.

EnCana Oil & Gas plans to drill two natural gas wells in the Back Mountain – one each in Lehman and Lake townships – and a third in the Red Rock area in Fairmount Township, not far from Ricketts Glen State Park.

The well site in Lehman Township is less than two miles from the Huntsville Reservoir.

Although there are proposed water protection regulations moving through the approval process, Baker said state law has “more force.”

And as drilling proceeds on a larger scale, “area residents want answers that show responsibility being assured, rather than risks being assumed,” Baker said.

“Reasonable environmental protections will not discourage the development of this industry; they will help to make sure that unreasonable costs are not imposed on local communities and homeowners,” she said.

In order to protect aquifers and determine any adverse consequences attributable to drilling, one bill would require testing at three times – before drilling, at the completion of drilling, and six months afterwards – at three different depths.

A second bill would rule out drilling at sites too close to drinking water sources such as reservoirs.

A third bill would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that operators of wastewater treatment facilities are properly trained and sufficiently monitored to lessen the chances of human error creating a major problem.

Baker said some of the costs would be borne by the gas companies.

Oversight costs could be paid for through a severance tax, which is expected to be debated in the coming weeks.

She reiterated her opposition to any severance tax plan that would devote the revenue generated to filling a hole in the state budget rather than providing for community protection in drilling areas.

“The environmental and economic catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the crucial nature of taking all reasonable precautions and for being prepared for dealing with extreme situations when things go horribly wrong,” Baker said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

Official lays out efforts to protect environment

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

DALLAS TWP. – The man in charge of ensuring the oil and gas industry complies with environmental regulations in Pennsylvania spoke at a well-attended Back Mountain presentation on Tuesday, informing the public about protections in place and what is being done to improve public safety.

Scott R. Perry, director of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, provided an overview of how drilling into the Marcellus Shale formation differs from other forms of natural gas drilling and discussed the bureau’s current work and future plans to protect the environment.

Misericordia University President Michael MacDowell welcomed Perry to the school’s Lemmond Theater, and assistant professor Julie Kuhlken, who teaches environmental philosophy, moderated a question-and-answer session afterward.

Oil and gas drilling began in Pennsylvania in 1859, Perry said. But new technology that enables horizontal drilling into the 5,000- to 7,000-foot-deep Marcellus formation has brought to the state energy companies that have until recently focused their efforts in western states.

“One of the things we noticed is that people from Texas and Oklahoma aren’t really familiar with hills. Pennsylvania has them, and we also have rain, more so than Texas, and so there have been some struggles in developing these well sites,” Perry said.

Pennsylvania, he noted, is the only state that requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan before a drilling permit is issued.

In his computerized slide show, Perry showed a photo of an erosion-and-sediment control violation at a state drilling site. Controls on the main level were fine, but farther down a hill, a DEP inspector found “a bunch of hay bales” and “silt fence that’s not doing any good.”

“I asked the inspector who took this picture what he thought they were thinking. He said, ‘I think they were thinking I wasn’t going to walk down that hill,’ ” Perry said, eliciting laughter.

DEP forced the operator to put proper controls in place.

Perry noted the DEP hired 37 inspectors in 2009 and is hiring 68 more this year to nearly double the size of the inspection staff to 193. Three-fourths of those employees will oversee the oil and gas industry; higher permit fees pay for it all.

Perry said he believes there are adequate regulations in place to protect public health and safety and the environment, but he supports several provisions in proposed legislation, such as one that would increase bonding requirements for drilling companies.

Perry said DEP officials are “always evaluating” regulations, and when they’re inadequate “we’re strengthening them. … For example, we’re evaluating the permit requirements for air quality. … We’re not done with the evaluation and regulation process for this industry. They’re just getting started and so are we.”

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

People are wondering just what EnCana will bring to Marcellus Shale drilling.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Edward Buda had been dealing with representatives of Whitmar Exploration Co. for about two years since he, his late brother and sister-in-law negotiated a lease with the company for natural gas drilling on their Fairmount Township property.

Now, there’s a new player in the mix, since Whitmar announced a partnership with EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. in November for a joint venture in drilling and development of the Marcellus Shale in Luzerne and Columbia counties.

Like others in the Back Mountain, Sweet Valley and Red Rock areas, Buda is a bit wary of the Denver-based energy company.

“We did business with Whitmar. How (Encana is) going to be, I don’t know. How they honor the contract, that’s to be seen. I still don’t know much about them,” said Buda, 75, who lives in Ross Township.

Buda’s brother Walter and Walter’s wife Eleanor signed a fairly simple three-page lease with Whitmar in February 2009, a month before Walter died. Eleanor passed away in November, Edward said, and he became the new lease holder just as EnCana came into the picture.

Now, EnCana wants to lease Edward’s property in Ross Township, but he isn’t too impressed with the $1,000-per-acre offer. And the 16-page lease proposal that has undergone many revisions is written in legalese, he said.

“They wanted to put a drill pad on my property (in Ross Township). I said I want to wait and see what happens in Red Rock (section of Fairmount Township). Everybody’s waiting to see whether it’s going to be a gusher or a fiasco in Red Rock,” Edward said.

Wendy Wiedenbeck, a public and community relations adviser for EnCana, said the well on Buda’s property and a second well planned for a Lake Township property owned by township Supervisor Amy Salansky and her husband, Paul, are exploratory ventures.

If those wells produce an acceptable amount of natural gas, EnCana will develop a plan for expanded drilling operations in the area, Wiedenbeck said. Drilling is expected to begin in July on Buda’s property and gas production should start by October. Clearing of an access road to the site began last week.

Company has won honors

For the past few months, Wiedenbeck has been the face of EnCana locally, arranging and attending meetings with people who live or own property within a mile of the planned drilling sites as well as attending meetings with local groups concerned about drilling activity in their communities.

A self-described “Army wife” with two sons – one in first grade, the other a senior in college, Wiedenbeck has lived in Colorado since 1989 and has been working in community/public relations since the early 1990s. She’s been with EnCana for five years.

“They’re a cultural fit for me. I believe they truly believe in responsible development,” Wiedenbeck said of her employer.

To prove her point, Wiedenbeck provided a long list of awards EnCana has received over the past few years. Just a few include:

• The 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Natural Gas STAR award, recognizing outstanding efforts to measure, report and reduce methane emissions;

• Interstate Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Chairman’s Stewardship Awards, recognizing exemplary efforts in environmental stewardship by the oil and natural gas industry;

• The 2009 Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Award for Courtesy Matters program in the Denver-Julesburg Basin surrounding Erie, Colo.

“Courtesy Matters” is EnCana’s community engagement program that brings EnCana staff and third-party contractors together with the community to discuss the nuisance issues associated with company operations,” Wiedenbeck said.

“Courtesy Matters creates a working environment where open and ongoing dialog are paramount. Discussions generally include concerns with traffic, noise and dust associated with our operations,” she said.

Community investment vital

Marty Ostholthoff, community development director for Erie, Colo., said in a teleconference that EnCana is one of four major energy companies drilling in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, the others being Noble Energy Inc., Kerr-McGee Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Fred Diehl, assistant town administrator in Erie, said he would be remiss if he didn’t point out “how far ahead of the other operators EnCana is” when it comes to community investment.

Diehl said he mentioned to Wiedenbeck that officials wanted to install solar panels on a new community center being built, and EnCana donated $250,000 to make that happen. A month ago, the company donated $175,000 for eco-friendly lighting at community ball fields.

“It’s not a requirement that they make notifications to our residents (about drilling activities or problems), but they do. It’s not a requirement that they make financial investments into our community, but they do,” Ostholthoff said.

Of course, there’s a downside to the presence of the drilling companies in the suburban area, which lies in one of the largest natural gas fields in the country, Diehl said.

“These things are still loud,” he said of the drilling rigs. “People come into our offices complaining, ‘We can’t sleep.’ But we worked with the operators to put up hay bales and cargo trailers to minimize the noise. The only good thing is, (the drilling is) temporary.”

As far as addressing concerns of residents, Diehl said all of the companies seem willing and responsive. “If they’re not, one of them can give the whole industry a black eye,” Diehl said.

Wiedenbeck said EnCana will have a toll-free number posted at its drilling sites that people can call to report concerns. Callers who choose the Pennsylvania prompt will be automatically directed to her office or cell phone. An operations phone number also will be established, she said.

And while EnCana will hire someone locally to help with community relations efforts, Wiedenbeck said she will continue to be “that face” for the community. She has spent about half her time in Pennsylvania since EnCana partnered with Whitmar, sometimes bringing her youngest son, Sammy, on trips here.

“He loves Pennsylvania,” she said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

EnCana’s hydraulic fracturing has never impacted a water well, spokeswoman says.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Wendy Wiedenbeck acknowledges that Luzerne County residents might be troubled by the fact that EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. paid $1.5 million in fines over the past four years.

But Wiedenbeck, the community and public relations adviser for the natural gas company that will begin drilling in the Back Mountain and Red Rock areas this summer, said the company is “committed to responsible development” and today is “a leader in environmental stewardship.”

According to data Wiedenbeck provided at the request of The Times Leader, EnCana was assessed $542,000 on nine fines in 2006; $663,000 on 19 fines in 2007; $306,000 on 19 fines in 2008; and $3,000 on 10 fines in 2009. The data for 2009 is subject to change, she said.

Some Back Mountain residents and elected officials have expressed concern that drilling activities could contaminate water private water wells or the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs.

Wiedenbeck said EnCana has never had an instance in which the company’s hydraulic fracturing process affected a water well.

“In fact, there has never been an instance where the fracking process impacted water wells. We have, however, experienced operational failures, which resulted in regulatory violations and fines. These range from issues with lost circulation during cementing, which resulted in permanent changes to cementing protocols in 2004, to deficiencies with location signage,” she said.

Encana’s violations have ranged a wide gamut, from a $1,000 fine after a contractor’s truck broke down on a mountain road during a restricted time period, preventing parents from picking up their children from a bus stop in 2002, to the largest fine issued by the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission for allowing gas to migrate into a creek.

The commission fined EnCana a record $371,000 after one of the company’s wells leaked into West Divide Creek in Western Colorado in 2004. The seep was found to contain the carcinogenic chemical benzene.

Wiedenbeck said that fine is included in the total assessed in 2006, and the seep resulted from a failure in cementing procedures at the well.

“We made a mistake. We moved too fast. But we worked with the commission to modify and improve the cementing procedure in Colorado. Since then, we’ve drilled hundreds of wells in Colorado without incident. But (the Divide Creek incident) is part of the reason why we’re taking a very thoughtful and measured approach to our operations in Luzerne County,” she said.

Wiedenbeck also pointed to a vast improvement in EnCana’s record related to spills.

In 2009, EnCana had 75 reportable spills totaling 4,036 barrels of material, a volume reduction of 38 percent from 2008 and 87 less than in 2007, she said.

Dave Neslin, executive director of the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, said commission staff views EnCana as “a responsible operator.”

Neslin said EnCana’s compliance has improved since the Divide Creek seep, and the company implemented an extensive remediation plan. “Much of the impact has been remediated,” he said.

Neslin said EnCana is one of the largest operators in the state, responsible for nearly 10 percent of the approximately 40,000 active oil and gas wells in the state.

He noted that the company was the first to voluntarily establish a wildlife mitigation program encompassing 44,000 acres to ensure wildlife populations will be protected, and that EnCana won a commission award last year for the company’s Courtesy Matters community outreach program.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

PA American Water Co. to sample water from Huntsville Creek near natural gas well.

By Jerry Lynottjlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer

A water company has begun inspecting a creek flowing from the Huntsville Reservoir as a result of a permit issued for a natural gas well in Lehman Township.

PA American Water Co. also will soon begin sampling water from Huntsville Creek, company spokesman Terry Maenza said Thursday.

The testing is to check whether drilling has affected the 1.9-billion- gallon reservoir that supplies drinking water to the utility’s customers. The reservoir is in the Back Mountain area of Luzerne County where more than 25,000 acres have been leased by companies planning to tap into the natural gas rich Marcellus Shale formation underground.

Technicians will go out once a week to take water samples, said Maenza, “so we have baseline data.”

Last month township officials approved a drilling permit for EnCana Gas & Oil USA Inc. It has partnered with Whitmar Exploration Co. to locate possible drilling sites within nine townships and Harveys Lake in the Back Mountain.

PA American has two reservoirs bordered by lease holdings. The 2.9 billion gallon Ceasetown Reservoir also is located in Lehman Township. In conjunction with Huntsville, Ceasetown supplies water to 100,000 people in the Wyoming Valley, Maenza said.

The reservoirs have 500-foot buffer zones around them where drilling is not permitted, he explained.

Maenza added that the water company relies on regulators and inspectors to enforce laws related to drilling and disposal and treatment of waste water used in the hydraulic fracturing or fracking, the high pressure injection of a mixture of water, chemicals and other materials to break up the rock containing the natural gas.

The utility frequently is in contact with the state Department of Environmental Protection on a number of issues, including permits issued for drilling. “They’re letting us know about it,” Maenza said.

Two other water companies that serve customers in the Back Mountain are leaving oversight up to DEP, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the state Fish and Boat Commission.

Donna Alston, a spokeswoman for Aqua Pennsylvania, said existing DEP regulations provide protection for the company that draws its water from wells. The company provides service to customers in Luzerne County through its White Haven Division. Statewide it serves 1.4 million people in 30 counties.

Still, Aqua is stepping up its own efforts.

The utility “will be monitoring water quality more frequently and extensively than required by regulation whenever drilling activity is occurring anywhere near one of its well supplies to detect and respond to any water quality changes that might occur,” Alston said.

What steps United Water takes depends upon how close a natural gas well is drilled to one of its water wells, said spokesman Bob Manbeck.

“If a permit for extraction was under consideration within a one mile radius of a United Water-owned well, we would intervene in the permitting process and attempt to ensure that the extraction points are an appropriate distance from our wells,” said Manbeck.

United Water has six wells in Dallas, two each in Dallas Township and Harveys Lake and one in Noxen Township in Wyoming County. It serves 10,000 customers in the Back Mountain.

Copyright: Times Leader

Encana Gas and Oil spokeswoman says company would be required by the state to correct problems.

By Jen Marckinijmarckini@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

LEHMAN TWP. – Stefanie Spezzia and her husband, Howard, live just outside of a one-mile radius of an exploratory drilling well site in the Back Mountain.

The Spezzias built their Shady Lane home nearly four years ago, but now they worry about the possibility of water contamination due to drilling into the Marcellus Shale for natural gas. It was one of many concerns talked about at a Tuesday evening meeting for neighbors within the proposed “Salansky” gas well site area, as it is called by the company.

“We don’t have the money to put a new well up,” said Stefanie Spezzia. “If the water is contaminated and they can’t fix it, we have nowhere to go.”

EnCana Oil and Gas Inc., which operates from its headquarters in Denver, Colo., has about 8,700 gas wells across the United States. This is the first time the gas company is drilling into the Marcellus, according to Wendy Wiedenbeck, spokeswoman for the eight-year-old natural gas company.

“How safe are we from you polluting our water on your first endeavor?” asked one of the estimated 130 in attendance.

EnCana is attempting to establish a baseline for water quality and quantity conditions by requesting property owners participate in a water sampling assessment, which will be collected by Rettew Associates, a third-party environmental-testing firm based in Lancaster.

Letters were mailed April 8 to landowners located within a mile radius of the well covering Lake and Lehman townships, and Harveys Lake borough.

Wiedenbeck said the gas company would be required by the state to correct water contamination problems.

“We will take every safeguard to not impact your water,” she said to concerned residents.

Wiedenbeck said the company is committed to responsible development and protecting the water by baseline water testing.

But, residents such as the Spezzias and homeowner Libby Davis, who resides with family at their Meeker Outlet Road property just within the well drilling radius, remain skeptical.

Davis, of Lake Township, said she has not signed an access agreement that would allow the collection of water samples.

Township officials voted unanimously on April 13 to allow the company to drill near Peaceful Valley Road.

Jen Marckini, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7210.

Copyright: Times Leader

Elected official who held hearing in area last week on natural gas drilling says he was responding to pro-energy group attack.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

A state representative says he was unfairly attacked in a press release by a pro-energy group after holding a public hearing in the Back Mountain last week.

State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, majority chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, issued a rebuttal Friday, saying that “money and misinformation are the hallmarks of a gas industry attack titled, ‘Rep. George’s Fact-Free Fact-Finding Mission.’”

Energy In Depth sent the press release to media outlets on Thursday, a day after George convened a committee hearing at 1 p.m. in the Lehman Township Municipal Building to hear testimony on the impact of Marcellus Shale drilling and proposed legislation that would put more environmental safeguards in place.

State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston, invited George to have a hearing in her district, where EnCana Gas & Oil USA plans to drill the first natural gas exploratory well in Luzerne County in May or June. The well will be drilled in Lehman Township.

Area residents and lawmakers are concerned for many reasons, including the fact that the drill site would be less than two miles from the Huntsville and Ceaseville reservoirs, which supply drinking water to nearly 100,000 area residents.

Energy In Depth’s press release classified the hearing as a “pep rally staged by anti-energy activists and like-minded public officials in Northeast Pennsylvania.”

“Characterized as a ‘field hearing’ by … George, who held the event as far away as he could from his home in Clearfield County, the forum included representatives from the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action league, as well as testimony from a local podiatrist and someone describing himself as a ‘naturalopathic’ physician. The only thing missing? Anyone in possession of real, genuine facts related to responsible gas exploration in the Commonwealth,” the release stated.

In response, George said the most troubling aspect of “the attack by Energy In Depth, whose members include the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, is its slur of concerned lawmakers and citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania as anti-energy activists.”

George noted that the committee had a hearing on Feb. 18 in Clearfield County, where the president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition and executives from some of the leading gas companies in Pennsylvania, including Range Resources and Chesapeake Energy, testified. He also participated two weeks ago in a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing in Ebensburg that included testimony from Chief Oil & Gas and Chesapeake. Ebensburg is in the Altoona area.

“The industry has not been an unwanted stranger at hearings,” George said.

Energy In Depth’s press release then listed quotes – pulled from a story in The Times Leader – of people who testified and rebutted them with quotes from gas industry representatives, a state Department of Environmental Protection fact sheet and Gov. Ed Rendell.

Energy In Depth pointed to testimony from Mundy in which she said she supports House Bill 2213 “which would among other things … require full disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.”

The organization then pointed to a DEP fact sheet which states that drilling companies “must disclose the names of all chemicals to be used and stored at a drilling site … that must be submitted to DEP as part of the permit application process. These plans contain copies of material safety data sheets for all chemicals … This information is on file with DEP and available to landowners, local governments and emergency responders.”

But George said that “full disclosure of the chemicals – not just the trade names – and how they are used is not (now) required.”

“The precise chemical identities and concentrations and how and when they are employed can be crucial to emergency responders and remediation efforts after spills, and is at the crux of efforts to remove the infamous ‘Halliburton Loophole’ that exempts the industry from oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency,” George said.

“The gas industry can bloat campaign coffers with money, buy discredited and ridiculed studies and poison the debate by taking statements out of context. However, its ‘best management practices’ should never be taken at face value to be the best for Pennsylvania,” George said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader