Doug Heller, Commissioner, Springfield, PA

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Marcellus Shale and Fracking

Prepared in collaboration with Commissioner Alison Peirce

marcellus_shale
Marcellus Shale Region in Pennsylvania and New York
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Many in our township, state, and country are concerned about the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing (also known as “fracing” or “fracking”). It is the process being used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York. We want to share some recent information that we have learned with you.

We are striving to focus on facts, science and the documented experiences of other states (including Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas) which have had about ten years more experience with the impact of hydraulic fracturing.

In the short run, we believe that we must establish a moratorium on all hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania until the potential environmental impact is assessed and oversight regulations are in place. We must protect our water resources and be prepared for catastrophic accidents.

In addition to the concerns over water quality, there are a host of other issues associated with hydraulic fracturing which warrant our attention — the consumption of enormous amounts of water in the fracking process, air quality, health hazards and the potential destabilizing of the overall geology.

Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

From the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Ref)

What is Marcellus Shale and why the sudden interest in it?
The Marcellus Shale is a rock formation that underlies much of Pennsylvania and portions of New York and West Virginia at a depth of 5,000 to 8,000 feet and is believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. This formation has long been considered prohibitively expensive to access but recent advances in drilling technology and rising natural gas prices have attracted new interest in this previously untapped formation. The geology of the Marcellus formation suggests that areas in the northcentral and northeastern regions of Pennsylvania that have not traditionally seen much gas well drilling might be especially productive.

How is Marcellus Shale different from other natural gas extraction?
Extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation requires horizontal drilling and a process known as ‘hydraulic fracturing’ that uses far greater amounts of water than traditional natural gas exploration. Drillers pump large amounts of water mixed with sand and other proponents into the shale formation under high pressure to fracture the shale around the well, which allows the natural gas to flow freely. Once the hydraulic fracturing process is completed, the used water, often referred to as “frac fluid,” must be treated to remove chemicals and minerals.

How is natural gas drilling regulated in Pennsylvania?
More than 350,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since the first commercial oil well was developed in 1859. The commonwealth first began regulating drilling in 1956. Oil and gas exploration and drilling is regulated under all or part of the state oil and gas laws, the Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, the Water Resources Planning Act, and the Worker and Community Right to Know Act.
DEP is responsible for reviewing and issuing drilling permits, inspecting drilling operations and responding to complaints about water quality problems. DEP inspectors conduct routine and unannounced inspections of drilling sites and wells statewide. Other agencies directly responsible for monitoring the effects of drilling on water quality and aquatic life include the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Susquehanna and Delaware River basin commissions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts.

Who regulates leasing of mineral rights in Pennsylvania?
A mineral lease is a private contractual agreement between the owner of the minerals and the producer (i.e. a drilling or mining company). County courts hear suits for property damage or disputed lease matters. The commonwealth does not regulate mineral leases, audit payments, or read or calibrate meters. DEP recommends that landowners who are contacted by companies wanting to purchase or lease mineral rights consult an attorney who is familiar with oil and gas law before signing any documents. Contact the local bar association for assistance finding an attorney in your area.

How is the collection and treatment of drilling water regulated?
Drilling companies must identify where they plan to obtain and store the water used in their drilling operations and where the used frac water is to be stored and treated as part of the drilling permit application process. The Department of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the Susquehanna and Delaware River basin commissions, has created additional permit guidelines that create consistent rules for water usage and disposal in all areas of the state to ensure that surface water quality is not threatened by drilling operations. When applying for a permit, drillers must specify the sources and location of fresh water and the anticipated impacts of water withdrawals on water resources, and obtain approval from the appropriate river basin commission.

Are oil and gas drilling activities exempt from erosion and sediment control requirements?
No. Erosion and sediment control plan requirements under state law apply to any earth disturbance activities including oil and gas drilling (Pa Code Chapter 102). Earth disturbances of over five acres require a permit from DEP.

Can drilling companies keep the names of chemicals used at drilling sites a secret?
No. Drilling companies must disclose the names of all chemicals to be stored and used at a drilling site in the Pollution Prevention and Contingency Plan 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, and DEP recommends to operators that a copy be kept on each well site. This information is on file with DEP and is available to landowners, local governments and emergency responders.

Can natural gas companies use eminent domain to force landowners to accept gas collection pipelines?
No. Under Pennsylvania law, there is no eminent domain granted for natural gas collection pipelines. Drilling companies must negotiate with landowners for the rights to build gas lines on their property. This right may be included as part of a lease agreement.

How are drinking water supplies protected from the effects of drilling?
Pennsylvania law requires drillers to case and grout wells through all fresh water aquifers before drilling through deeper zones known to contain oil or gas. This casing protects groundwater from pollutants inside the well, and keeps water from the surface and other geologic strata from mixing with and contaminating groundwater.

What if drilling changes the water quality or flow in my water well?
Disruption of water quality or flow in water wells from drilling activities is often temporary. However, if problems persist, state law requires drilling operators to replace or restore water supplies affected by drilling. If you are not satisfied with the drilling company’s response, you should contact the nearest DEP regional office. DEP will investigate complaints within 10 days and issue orders as necessary to replace or restore your water supply.

Is the drilling operator required to restore the land and plug the well?
Drilling operators must restore the land within 9 months of drilling completion. Once a well is no longer producing, the operator must plug the well and restore the site within 9 months of plugging the well.

Can drilling companies store drilling wastes and waste water in un-lined pits or discharge drilling fluids into streams?
No. Drilling wastes must be collected and stored in pits with synthetic liners. Waste fluids must be collected and treated at an authorized water treatment facility.

How close can a well be drilled to a house or stream?
Wells cannot be drilled within 200 feet of structures, or within 100 feet of streams and wetlands. The locations of wells, access roads and related drilling operations are usually negotiated as part of the lease agreement.

Who should I contact if I believe drilling activities have affected water resources or caused pollution?
Contact the nearest DEP Regional Office if you suspect drilling or any other earth disturbance activities have harmed water resources or the environment. Regional office phone numbers can be found in your phonebook or online at www.depweb.state.pa.us.

Academic Resources

  • Marcellus Shale Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
  • Water Quality Impacts From Natural Gas Drilling Online presentation (~1:25 hours) from the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute of Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. This gives a rather balanced overview of the possible impact on water quality. Around 1:00, Mr. Bryan Swistock mentions that he has not analyzed any water for traces of the fracking chemicals. By email he wrote, “Our limited testing thus far has not indicated any fracking chemicals but we do have a rather extensive study underway that is testing water wells near Marcellus drilling. Results from that study should be released early in 2011”
  • Evaluating the Environmental Implications of Hydraulic Fracturing in Shale Gas Reservoirs ALL Consulting (pdf)

Advocacy Resources

  • Earthworks
  • ‘Fracking’ causes environmental, human disaster International Action Center, Dec. 10, 2009
  • Upper Monongahela River Association
  • Marcellus-Shale.us
  • Bluedaze Drilling Reform for Texas (blog)
  • Damascus Citizens Working to Protect the Watershed Region (Delaware River Basin)
  • Drilling for National Gas (Bucks County)
  • "Gasland" Sundance Award-winning movie. "When filmmaker Josh Fox discovers that Natural Gas drilling is coming to his area — the Catskillls/Poconos region of Upstate New York and Pennsylvania, he sets off on a 24 state journey to uncover the deep consequences of the United States’ natural gas drilling boom. What he uncovers is truly shocking — water that can be lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas from disparate locations in the US all with the same mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation well blowouts and huge gas explosions consistently covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies. These are just a few of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND."
  • "Rural Impact" "What To Expect From The Gas Industry And How To Address It" (Google Video)

Dunkard Creek

Dunkard Creek is a high-profile fish kill that some have attributed either to fracking or to the introduction of nonnative algae from uncleaned fracking equipment transported from Texas.

Legislative Initiatives

  • State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC), May 2009 [PDF]
  • FRAC Act — Congress Introduces Twin Bills to Control Drilling and Protect Drinking Water
  • PA House Bill 1155 An Act providing for duties of oil and gas well operators, for notice of operations and surface use and compensation agreement, for entry without surface use and compensation agreement, for restriction on issuance of permits for wells, for attorney fees and costs and for emergency situations
  • PA House Bill 1489 An Act amending Title 72 (Taxation and Fiscal Affairs) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, imposing a tax on the extraction of natural gas; providing for natural gas severance registration certificate, for duties of the Department of Revenue, for tax assessments and tax liens; imposing penalties; providing for service of process, for rulemaking, for cooperation with other governments and for bonds; and making an appropriation
  • PA House Bill 2213 An Act amending the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as the Oil and Gas Act, further providing for definitions, for well permits, for well location restrictions, for protection of fresh groundwater and casing requirements and for protection of water supplies; providing for hydraulic fracturing chemicals and surface impoundments, for hydraulic fracture fluids monitoring and for use of surface impoundments for temporary flowback storage; and further providing for bonding, for enforcement orders, for penalties, for civil penalties, for well plugging funds and for local ordinances
  • PA House Bill 2214 An Act amending the act of July 20, 1979 (P.L.183, No.60), entitled "An act regulating the terms and conditions of certain leases regarding natural gas and oil," further providing for guarantee of minimum royalties and for escalation of royalties.
  • PA House Bill 2235 An Act providing for a moratorium on leasing State forest lands for the purposes of natural gas exploration, drilling or production; imposing duties on the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and providing for report contents and for Legislative Budget and Finance Committee study

In the News

The following is from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 9, 2010, written by Greg Vitali, a Democratic state representative from Delaware County who serves on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. He can be reached via pahouse.com/Vitali.

Pause the Pa. gas rush

The state must deal with environmental questions before it allows more drilling.

Gov. Rendell plans to lease more state forest land for Marcellus Shale gas drilling, perhaps as early as this spring, to raise an additional $180 million for the 2010-11 budget. This would be in addition to the almost 700,000 acres of state forest land already available for drilling.

But no one knows what the environmental impact of the anticipated drilling will be. That's why I have introduced legislation to impose a moratorium on further leasing until we know more.

One-and-a-half million acres of Pennsylvania forest land sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation. With the leasing of 32,000 acres last month, 692,000 acres of state forest land is now available for drilling. The remaining unleased public land is environmentally sensitive, containing old-growth forests, fragile ecosystems, and rare and endangered species.

The Marcellus Shale lies about a mile below roughly 60 percent of Pennsylvania, as well as parts of neighboring states. Embedded in it are vast quantities of natural gas, which can now be accessed by an advanced drilling technique known as hydrofracturing, or fracking. It involves pumping huge quantities of water mixed with chemicals into the ground to fracture the shale, releasing the trapped natural gas.

Fracking a single well typically requires millions of gallons of water. Several acres of land must be cleared for the drilling pad. Access roads, a water sediment basin, and other infrastructure are installed, and a high volume of truck traffic is required to transport drilling equipment and water to and from the site. All this activity has an impact on the forest as well as on water quality.

Right now, there are only a handful of Marcellus wells producing gas on Pennsylvania forest land. About another hundred wells are planned or being drilled. Five to six thousand more will be drilled in the next 15 years, according to conservative estimates.

No one knows what the cumulative environmental impact of this drilling will be. We need to stop leasing state forest land for the purpose until we can better assess the consequences.

The bill I've introduced would impose a five-year moratorium on further leasing of state forest land for gas drilling. It would also require the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to study the impact of drilling and provide an annual report on the subject to the governor and the General Assembly.

Our state forests and the quality of our drinking water are too important to compromise. Instead of attempting to balance this year's state budget by leasing more forest land, Pennsylvania should impost a severance tax on gas drillers. Almost every other state that extracts natural gas imposes such a tax.

The following is from the Philadelphia Inquirer, May 23, 2010, written by Greg Vitali, a Democratic state representative from Delaware County who serves on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. He can be reached via pahouse.com/Vitali.

Halt state forest gas leases

Recently, the Pennsylvania House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would put a three-year moratorium on the leasing of additional state forest land for Marcellus gas drilling. The state Senate should act immediately on this legislation to help prevent the degradation of this valuable resource.

In addition to the moratorium, H.B. 2235 would require the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to assess the impact of Marcellus drilling on state forests. After the expiration of the moratorium, the DCNR could lease additional forests only if it determines that the environmental, recreational, social, and aesthetic values of that land would not be compromised.

H.B. 2235 is the product of compromise and is limited in scope. It would not affect drilling on private land. Nor would it prevent drilling on the more than 700,000 acres of state forest already available for gas drilling.

About 1.5 million acres of state forest sits on the Marcellus Shale formation, which lies about a mile below 60 percent of Pennsylvania. With the recent leasing of 32,896 acres to Anadarko Petroleum Corp., 724,000 acres of state forest land are now available for drilling.

Natural gas is extracted from the shale formation using a drilling technique known as hydrofracturing. This drilling could have a significant impact on forests.

Several acres must be cleared to create a Marcellus drilling pad. Access roads, a water- sediment basin, gas lines, and other infrastructure need to be installed. About 800 truck trips are required to transport equipment and water to and from the site, and several million gallons of water are required to drill each well. Harmful chemicals are added to this water prior to drilling, and it is contaminated further in the drilling process.

Currently, there are fewer than a dozen Marcellus wells producing gas on Pennsylvania forest land. According to DCNR, 5,000 to 6,000 more wells are expected to be drilled in the next 15 years on state land already leased.

No one knows what the cumulative impact of this drilling will be. H.B. 2235 would give us more time to assess this impact before more land is leased. We need to proceed cautiously because the remaining unleased state land contains old growth forests, fragile ecosystems, and habitats for rare and endangered species.

State forests are important to many Pennsylvanians, including environmentalists, hikers, campers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, hunters, fishers, boaters, and the 70,000 Pennsylvanians employed in the forest-products industry. We need to pass on this valuable resource to our children, not shortsightedly lease it to satisfy a short-term budget shortfall.

There are much better sources of revenue to balance our budget, starting with a severance tax on gas drillers, which almost every other state that extracts natural gas imposes.

The Senate should take up H.B. 2235 immediately.

 

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