4statesconfirmwaterpollutionfromdrilling

KevinBegos,AP

5:20p.m.ESTJanuary5,2014

AssociatedPressreviewofcomplaintscastsdoubtonindustryviewthatitrarelyhappens.
PITTSBURGH(AP)Inatleastfourstatesthathavenurturedthenation'senergyboom,hundredsof
complaintshavebeenmadeaboutwellwatercontaminationfromoilorgasdrilling,andpollutionwas
confirmedinanumberofthem,accordingtoareviewthatcastsdoubtonindustrysuggestionsthatsuch
problemsrarelyhappen.
TheAssociatedPressrequesteddataondrillingrelatedcomplaintsinPennsylvania,Ohio,WestVirginiaand
Texasandfoundmajordifferencesinhowthestatesreportsuchproblems.Texasprovidedthemostdetail,
whiletheotherstatesprovidedonlygeneraloutlines.Andwhiletheconfirmedproblemsrepresentonlyatiny
portionofthethousandsofoilandgaswellsdrilledeachyearintheU.S.,thelackofdetailinsomestate
reportscouldhelpfuelpublicconfusionandmistrust.
(Photo:JohnHeller,AP)

TheAPfoundthatPennsylvaniareceived398complaintsin2013allegingthatoilornaturalgasdrillingpolluted
orotherwiseaffectedprivatewaterwells,comparedwith499in2012.ThePennsylvaniacomplaintscaninclude

allegationsofshorttermdiminishedwaterflow,aswellaspollutionfromstraygasorothersubstances.Morethan100casesofpollutionwereconfirmed
overthepastfiveyears.
JusthearingthetotalnumberofcomplaintsshockedHeatherMcMicken,aneasternPennsylvaniahomeownerwhocomplainedaboutwaterwell
contaminationthatstateofficialseventuallyconfirmed.
"Wow,I'mverysurprised,"saidMcMicken,recallingthatsheandherhusbandneverknewhowmanyotherpeoplemadesimilarcomplaints,sincethe
mainsourceofinformation"wasjustthroughthegrapevine."
TheMcMickenswereoneofthreefamiliesthateventuallyreacheda$1.6millionsettlementwithadrillingcompany.HeatherMcMickensaidthestate
shouldbeforthcomingwithdetails.
Overthepast10years,hydraulicfracturing,orfracking,hasledtoaboominoilandnaturalgasproductionaroundthenation.Ithasreducedimportsand
ledtohundredsofbillionsofdollarsinrevenueforcompaniesandlandowners,butalsocreatedpollutionfears.
Extractingfuelfromshaleformationsrequirespumpinghundredsofthousandsofgallonsofwater,sandandchemicalsintothegroundtobreakapart
rockandfreethegas.Someofthatwater,alongwithlargequantitiesofexistingundergroundwater,returnstothesurface,anditcancontainhighlevels
ofsalt,drillingchemicals,heavymetalsandnaturallyoccurringlowlevelradiation.
Butsomeconventionaloilandgaswellsarestilldrilled,sothecomplaintsaboutwatercontaminationcancomefromthem,too.Expertssaythemost
commontypeofpollutioninvolvesmethane,notchemicalsfromthedrillingprocess.
Somepeoplewhorelyonwellwaterneardrillingoperationshavecomplainedaboutpollution,butthere'sbeenconsiderableconfusionoverhow
widespreadsuchproblemsare.Forexample,startingin2011,thePennsylvaniaDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtectionaggressivelyfoughteffortsby
theAPandothernewsorganizationstoobtaininformationaboutcomplaintsrelatedtodrilling.Thedepartmenthasarguedincourtfilingsthatitdoesnot
counthowmanycontamination"determinationletters"itissuesortrackwheretheyarekeptinitsfiles.
SteveForde,aspokesmanfortheMarcellusShaleCoalition,theleadingindustrygroupinPennsylvania,saidinastatementthat"transparencyand
makingdataavailabletothepubliciscriticaltogettingthishistoricopportunityrightandmaintainingthepublic'strust."
WhenthestateEnvironmentalDepartmentdeterminesnaturalgasdevelopmenthascausedproblems,Fordesaid,"ourmembercompanieswork
collaborativelywiththehomeownerandregulatorstofindaspeedyresolution."
AmongthefindingsintheAP'sreview:
Pennsylvaniahasconfirmedatleast106waterwellcontaminationcasessince2005,outofmorethan5,000newwells.Therewerefiveconfirmed
casesofwaterwellcontaminationinthefirstninemonthsof2012,18inallof2011and29in2010.TheEnvironmentalDepartmentsaidmorecomplete
datamaybeavailableinseveralmonths.

Ohiohad37complaintsin2010andnoconfirmedcontaminationofwatersupplies54complaintsin2011andtwoconfirmedcasesofcontamination
59complaintsin2012andtwoconfirmedcontaminationsand40complaintsforthefirst11monthsof2013,withtwoconfirmedcontaminationsand14
stillunderinvestigation,DepartmentofNaturalResourcesspokesmanMarkBrucesaidinanemail.Noneofthesixconfirmedcasesofcontamination
wasrelatedtofracking,Brucesaid.
WestVirginiahashadabout122complaintsthatdrillingcontaminatedwaterwellsoverthepastfouryears,andinfourcasestheevidencewasstrong
enoughthatthedrilleragreedtotakecorrectiveaction,officialssaid.
ATexasspreadsheetcontainsmorethan2,000complaints,and62ofthoseallegepossiblewellwatercontaminationfromoilandgasactivity,said
RamonaNye,aspokeswomanfortheRailroadCommissionofTexas,whichoverseesdrilling.Texasregulatorshaven'tconfirmedasinglecaseofdrilling
relatedwaterwellcontaminationinthepast10years,shesaid.
InPennsylvania,thenumberofconfirmedinstancesofwaterpollutionintheeasternpartofthestate"droppedquitesubstantially"in2013,compared
withpreviousyears,DepartmentofEnvironmentalProtectionspokeswomanLisaKasianowitzwroteinanemail.Twoinstancesofdrillingaffectingwater
wellswereconfirmedtherelastyear,shesaid,andafinaldecisionhasn'tbeenmadeinthreeothercases.Butshecouldn'tsayhowmanyoftheother
statewidecomplaintshavebeenresolvedorwerefoundtobefromnaturalcauses.
Releasingcomprehensiveinformationaboutgasdrillingproblemsisimportantbecausethedebateisnolongeraboutjustsciencebuttrust,saidIrina
Feygina,asocialpsychologistwhostudiesenvironmentalpolicyissues.Losingpublictrustis"asurefirewaytoharm"thereputationofanybusiness,
Feyginasaid.
Expertsandregulatorsagreethatinvestigatingcomplaintsofwaterwellcontaminationisparticularlydifficult,inpartbecausesomeregionsalsohave
naturalmethanegaspollutionorotherproblemsunrelatedtodrilling.A2011PennStatestudyfoundthatabout40%ofwaterwellstestedpriortogas
drillingfailedatleastonefederaldrinkingwaterstandard.Pennsylvaniaisoneofonlyafewstatesthatdon'thaveprivatewaterwellconstruction
standards.
Butotherexpertssaypeoplewhoaretryingtounderstandthebenefitsandharmsfromthedrillingboomneedcomprehensivedetailsaboutcomplaints,
evenifsomecasesarefromnaturalcauses.
InPennsylvania,therawnumberofcomplaints"doesn'ttellyouanything,"saidRobJackson,aDukeUniversityscientistwhohasstudiedgasdrillingand
watercontaminationissues.Jacksonsaidhedoesn'tthinkprovidingmoredetailsisaskingfortoomuch.
"Rightorwrong,manypeopleinthepublicfeellikeDEPisstonewallingsomeoftheseinvestigations,"JacksonsaidofthesituationinPennsylvania.
IncontrastwiththelimitedinformationprovidedbyPennsylvania,Texasofficialssuppliedadetailed94pagespreadsheetalmostimmediately,listingall
typesofoilandgasrelatedcomplaintsovermuchofthepasttwoyears.TheTexasdataincludethedateofthecomplaint,thelandowner,thedrilling
companyandabriefsummaryoftheallegedproblems.Manycomplaintsinvolveotherissues,suchasodorsorabandonedequipment.
ScottAnderson,anexpertonoilandgasdrillingwiththeEnvironmentalDefenseFund,anationalnonprofitbasedinAustin,notesthatTexasregulators
startedkeepingmoredataoncomplaintsinthe1980s.Newlegislationin2011and2013ledtomoredetailedreportsandprovidedfundsforanew
informationtechnologysystem,hesaid.
Andersonagreedthatalackoftransparencyfuelsmistrust.
"Iftheindustryhasnothingtohide,thentheyshouldbewillingtoletthefactsspeaksforthemselves,"hesaid."Thesamegoesforregulatoryagencies."
Copyright2014TheAssociatedPress.Allrightsreserved.Thismaterialmaynotbepublished,broadcast,rewrittenorredistributed.
ReadorSharethisstory:http://usat.ly/1loH8W0

TOP VIDEOS

Teslaordersrecalloverseat
beltbolt

00:46
(/videos/money/2632390403001/4623861047001#cx_ab_te
Dunkin'Donutsistesting
deliveryandonthego
ordering
00:52

(/videos/money/2632390403001/4623178910001#cx_ab_te
WhattowatchFriday:can
Footlockerstepupitsgame?
01:36

(/videos/money/2632390403001/4622539224001#cx_ab_te
Threecarsthatdisappointed
usatL.A.'sAutoShow
01:50

(/videos/money/2632390403001/4622428435001#cx_ab_te

LOOKING FOR A JOB?

Keywords

Location

SelectJobCategory

FindJobs

Poweredby