Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

October 28, 2010

Low flow limits gas industry withdrawals, says river basin head

Agency regulates quantities to be taken from Susquehanna watershed.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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As the flow of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries continued to drop during the last couple months with soaring temperatures and rainfall well below normal levels, concerns about gas drilling operations siphoning off precious water supplies and ultimately harming regional aquatic life began to grow.

Just last week at a press conference announcing Gas Stock, a concert/rally/festival aimed at garnering support for a moratorium on the heavily water-dependant natural gas drilling industry in the Marcellus Shale region, organizers shared concerns they had not only about pollution of the Susquehanna and other water supplies, but also about water quality deteriorating because of gas industry withdrawals from regional waterways.

But Susquehanna River Basin Commission Executive Director Paul O. Swartz said the commission has measures in place to prevent that from happening.

The process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses millions of gallons of water per gas well – with sand and chemicals added – to stimulate the release of natural gas from the shale.

The commission regulates from where and in what quantities drilling and fracking companies can withdraw water, and the commission’s process for protecting streams during low flows is working as intended, Swartz said in a prepared statement.

“Throughout July and so far in August, many water withdrawals for natural gas activities have been suspended because of the commission’s protective requirement, known as the passby flow restriction,” Swartz said.

At the beginning of August, 45 water withdrawals were suspended because of passby flow restrictions. Now, in mid-August, there are more than 63 water withdrawals in 19 counties that have been suspended, Swartz said.

While those numbers account for various types of water-dependent activities approved by the commission, many involve natural gas activities, he said.

The counties with suspensions on water sources for natural gas include Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Lackawanna, Lycoming, Potter, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming.

When streams drop to designated levels, water withdrawal permit holders required to meet passby requirements must stop taking water and cannot resume until streams have recovered above the protected level for at least 48 hours, Swartz said.

“Our field inspectors have been verifying that those companies required to suspend withdrawals are, in fact, abiding by those restrictions. Many of our inspections are taking place during non-standard work days and hours, including weekends and evenings to avoid predictable patterns,” Swartz said.

And the commission doesn’t rely solely on field inspections to verify compliance. All permit holders must install tamper-proof water meters that automatically record withdrawals on a daily basis. In addition to the commission receiving those records quarterly, field staff continuously performs spot inspections, he said.

The commission opened a new field office in Sayre, Bradford County, early this year to enhance compliance and enforcement, making possible more inspections and faster follow-up on calls from concerned citizens, Swartz said.

Swartz said he has been asked why the commission approves some water withdrawals without placing passby restrictions on them, allowing companies to continue taking water during low-flow periods.

“Those are the withdrawals where the approved amounts are so small that they will not affect the protective levels of streams,” he said.

Swartz said the commission’s stream protection measures kicked in even when no drought declarations were in place because “our system is ahead of the curve. … Our system is based on science and kicks in well before streams drop to critical low levels,” he said.

Susan Obleski, the commission’s director of communications, said the commission has seen 100 percent compliance with passby restrictions from drilling and fracking companies.

George Stark, director of external affairs for Cabot Oil & Gas, said passby restrictions have not affected operations in Susquehanna County.

“We know of nothing that is impeding any water withdrawals,” said Stark, noting that any withdrawals the company has from the Susquehanna River would be below the restriction threshold.

“We’ve been working with the SRBC to ensure that we are following all requirements,” Stark said.

Representatives from some other large natural gas exploration companies in the area did not return calls seeking comment.

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