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R e s o u r c e s Centre County Natural Gas Task Force Guideline Documents Available: www.co.centre.pa.us Road Use Maintenance Agreement Lease Considerations Seismic Considerations Pipeline Considerations A d d i t i o n a l I n f o r m a t i o n Centre County Natural Gas Task Force c/o Centre County Planning and Community Development Office 420 Holmes Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823 [PHONE REDACTED] Boyer, Swistock, Clark, Madden, Rizzo. The Impact of Marcellus Gas Drilling on rural Drinking Water Supplies. The Center for Rural October 2011. Fairway Laboratories Handout Marcellus Shale Well Sampling Parameters. Altoona, PA. Acquired November 2011. Mahaffey Laboratory, LTD Handout Listing Testing Parameters. Curwensville, PA. Acquired November 2011. New York State Water Resources Institute. Gas Wells. Retrieved from http:// wri.eas.cornell.edu/gas_wells.html Penn State Cooperative Extension Service. Water Facts #28: Gas Well Drilling and Your Private Water Supply. http://www.das.psu.edu/research-extension/dairy/ nutrition/pdf/swistock-gas-drilling.pdf PA DEP Accredited Laboratories. 2011. http://files.dep.state.pa.us/ RegionalResources/Labs/LabsPortalFiles/zAccredited_Laboratories.pdf PA-DEP Recommended Basic Oil & Gas Pre-Drill Parameters. http:// files.dep.state.pa.us/RegionalResources/Labs/LabsPortalFiles/2010-10_OG_Pre- Drill_Guidance.pdf DEP. 25 PA code §78.52, section 601.208.c PA DEP (2010, Nov 20). 5500-FS-DEP4300 (table) Penningroth, S. (April 2009). Documenting Contamination of Private Water Supplies by Gas Well Drilling in New York State. Ithaca, NY: Community Science Institute. Osborn, Vengosh, Warner, and Jackson. “Methane Contamination of Drinking Water accompanying Gas-Well Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing”, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708: Nicholas School of the Environment, and Biology Department. 2011. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/05/02/[PHONE REDACTED] Seewald Laboratories, Inc. Handout. Williamsport, PA: Author. Acquired November 2009. Surface owners who depend on a private well or spring, and municipal water suppliers, should perform minimum yearly water testing regardless of natural gas industry activity. Comprehensive pre-drilling baseline testing and monitoring of their water supply/supplies that are in use or have the potential to be used when gas drilling activity is occurring on their own land or nearby is especially important for property within 1000 feet of a traditional well and 3000 feet of a unconventional gas well site. Ponds, lakes, and streams may also be tested. A comprehensive pre-drilling baseline is necessary because it is the only way to establish whether or not water quality has changed. In if water contamination within 1,000 feet of a gas well is documented within six months of the well being drilled, the burden of proof is on the gas company to show that they are not responsible for the contamination. As a result, companies will conduct pre-drill water testing by a third party certified laboratory at no expense to the property owner. After six months, the burden of proof is on the landowner. For this reason, Penn State Cooperative Extension strongly recommends water testing be performed approximately two to three months after a well has been drilled and (re)stimulated (or hydraulically fractured) in order to allow sufficient time to complete the tests before the burden of proof shifts from the gas company to the landowner. Even though bacteria is not used as a PA DEP indicator to evaluate for gas drilling impacts, test the water supply for bacteria while the lab technician is on-site as it could be an indicator of inadequate aquifer protection. Wa t e r S o u rc e s — P r e - D r i l l i n g T e s t i n g a n d M o n i t o r i n g C e n t r e C o u n t y N a t u r a l G a s T a s k F o r c e G u i d e l i n e D o c u m e n t # 5 W h y T e s t ? This document is not a substitute for legal advice. It serves to provide easy access to electronic information on this subject. It was prepared by the Centre County Natural Gas Task Force in consultation with individual and business consultants, the Centre County Planning and Community Development Office, the Centre County Solicitor; and, received the acknowledgement of the Centre County Board of Commissioners on December 20, 2011. ---PAGE BREAK--- The best time to do baseline water testing is two months to one year before drilling starts. Water quality can change over time as a result of many natural factors. Test any well exhibiting changes in physical characteristics (color, odor, turbidity). The closer the baseline tests are to the commencement of drilling activity, the more representative they will be of actual water quality before the drilling period and the more valid they will be as a basis for evaluating post-drilling test results for possible impacts from gas development activities. Unconventional gas drilling in deep shale formations is permitted by “pads” which, to date in Centre County, typically include 3 - 6 wells per pad. Wells are not necessarily drilled simultaneously. Furthermore, “re-stimulation” may occur when production falls throughout a well’s lifecycle. should be prepared to monitor their water supplies based on local drilling activity. Natural gas-related exploration, drilling, and production activities that can affect water quality and quantity include: seismic testing, the initial drilling into and through an aquifer, failure of the cement barrier enclosing the well, leaks from imperfect understanding of local geology, improper plugging of a well, and spills of fracking fluid and recovered produced water or flowback fluid. It is impossible to know in advance exactly which elements will affect a water supply if the aquifer it draws from is contaminated as a result of nearby gas drilling activity. Contamination of ground and/ or surface water from gas well development may be derived from the following sources: releases of lubricants drilling mud, mineral oil, etc.) used during drilling of the well hole, releases of chemicals used in the fracturing process, and constituents released from underground rock formations the well hole passes through. The most likely causes of water quality impacts to the local aquifer are: a faulty improperly sealed) well casing or a release of drilling/ fracturing fluids across ground surfaces. W h e n t o T e s t W h a t t o T e s t f o r C e n t r e C o u n t y Todd Giddings and Assoc Inc 3049 Enterprise Drive, State College, PA 16801 814-238- 5927 DW: NPW: M BNPW C l e a r f i e l d C o u n t y Mahaffey Labora- tory LTD 551 State Street, Curwensville, PA 16833 814-236- 3540 DW: NPW: SCM: M, TM, NM, VOC M, TM, NM, VOC M, TM, NM, VOC Hess & Fisher En- gineers Inc 36 North Second Street, Clear- field, PA16830 814-765- 7541 DW: NPW: SCM: M, TM, NM M, TM, NM M, TM, NM L y c o m i n g C o u n t y Seewald Laborato- ries Inc. 2829 Reach Rd, Williamsport, PA 17701 570-326- 4001 DW; NPW: SCM: M, NM, TM, VOC M, NM, TM, VOC NM, TM, VOC Excepted from PA DEP Accredited Laboratory List (November 21, 2011) Source: http://files.dep.state.pa.us/RegionalResources/Labs/LabsPortalFiles/zAccredited_Lab oratories.pdf ---PAGE BREAK--- P A D E P A c c r e d i t e d L a b o r a t o r i e s i n C e n t r e C o u n t y a n d S u r r o u n d i n g C o u n t i e s Laboratory Address Phone Accreditation Fields B l a i r C o u n t y Fairway Laboratories Inc. 2019 Ninth Avenue, Altoona, PA 16602 814-946- 4306 DW: NPW: SCM: M, TM, NM, VOC, SEMI M, TM, NM, VOC, SEMI, PCB M, TM, NM, VOC, SEMI, PCB Mountain Research LLC 825 25th Street, Altoona, PA 16601 814-949- 2034 DW: NPW: SCM: M, NM, TM, VOC M, NM, TM, VOC, SEMI NM, TM, VOC, SEMI Spring Laboratory 740 Spang Street, Roaring Spring, PA 16673 814-224- 5141 DW: M T a b l e L e g e n d : Matrices: DW Drinking Water NPW Non-Potable Water SCM Solid and Chemical Materials Fields of Accreditation: M Microbiology TM Trace Metals NM Inorganic Non-Metals BNPW Basic Non-Potable Water Category (Fecal Coliform, BOD, CBOD, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Total Nitrogen, TKN, Phosphorus, TSS, TDS, TS, VS) VOC Volatile Organic Compounds SEMI Extractable and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds, excluding PCBs PCB PCBs The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has recommended “Basic Oil and Gas Pre-Drill Parameters” for homeowners. Parameters appearing on the DEP list are designated with asterisks * As a minimum, a homeowner wishing to have their private water supply tested should analyze for these parameters. Inorganic parameters Alkalinity* * Ammonia-nitrogen Chemical oxygen demand Chloride** Conductivity** Nitrate Hardness (total and as CaCO3)** Bromide Oil and grease** pH* Sulfate** Residue - filterable (TDS)* Residue - non-filterable (TSS)** TDS =Total dissolved solids TSS = Total suspended solids Turbidity Metals (total concentration) Arsenic Barium** Calcium** Iron* Magnesium** Manganese* Potassium** Sodium* Strontium** Aluminum Lead Organic Ethane* Methane* Microbiology Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Total coliform/E. coli** Other MBAS/surfactants Gross alpha and beta radioactive particles NOTE: Tests for VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) are optional. If VOC contaminants are present, there is a good chance the concentrations will be lower than the detection limits of the test; however, a VOC test is strongly recommended if diesel fuel or propane is suspected in the fracking fluid. Source: http://files.dep.state.pa.us/RegionalResources/Labs/LabsPortalFiles/2010- 10_OG_Pre-Drill_Guidance.pdf and http://www.rural.palegislature.us/ W h a t t o T e s t f o r ---PAGE BREAK--- Testing should be done by a DEP-accredited lab. For test results to be admissible in legal proceedings, samples must be taken by an unbiased third party — not the landowner or gas company. Samples must be collected according to accepted procedures; have a verifiable chain of custody; and be tested by a lab certified by the state in which the well is located. Usually water samples are collected by an employee of the certified lab or an environmental consulting firm for a fee. The fee depends on time and distance traveled to collect the sample. As an aid to interpreting the test results, specify that the water testing laboratory include the State “Maximum Contaminant Levels” (MCLs) with your water test results. See the PADEP-Accredited Laboratories, on the following pages, for a list of labs in Centre and neighboring counties. A complete list of PADEP accredited labs, including out-of-state labs, can be found at the PADEP web site (dep.state.pa.us/labs). The Community Science Institute recommends performing two complete sets of certified baseline tests: one within a year before the gas well is drilled and one less than six months after the well is complete. Even if no contamination is found right after a gas well is complete, water remains at risk for two reasons: underground contaminants migrate slowly (it can take months or years for contamination to reach a well, spring, pond or stream) and re-stimulation of nearby wells can happen multiple times over the next 20 to 30 years. Therefore, a certified baseline test should be repeated every time a well is hydraulically fractured, drilled, or every two years, whichever comes first, and testing should continue for at least ten years after the wells are plugged. Significant increases in concentration of one or more indicators can provide a pattern, or chemical signature, of contamination coming from a gas well. H o w t o t e s t H o w o f t e n t o t e s t H o w t o I n t e r p r e t t h e F i n d i n g s Water Test Interpretation Tool: http://www.psiee.psu.edu/water/dwit.asp Following the water analysis, you as the homeowner will receive a report of findings from the state certified water testing laboratory that you selected. Penn State Extension offers assistance via a web-based analysis for homeowners unfamiliar with interpreting this type of information. Simply read the instructions and enter your results into the boxes on the form and click “Submit” at the bottom of the page to get an interpretation of your results. If you are unable to access the internet to use this tool, additional assistance can be provided by staff at the: • Penn State Centre County Extension Office, Willowbank Office Building. 420 Holmes Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823 Telephone: 814- 355-4897 • Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, Land and Water Research Bldg., University Park, PA 16802 Telephone: [PHONE REDACTED] W h a t i f I n o t i c e a p r o b l e m ? Gas drilling activities that can affect water quality and quantity include seismic testing, surface runoff due to pad, road or pipeline construction, the initial drilling into and through an aquifer, well casing failure, chemical spills, improper plugging of a well, and release of production water. Any change in clarity, color, flow or taste in a water supply can indicate a problem. Record observed water characteristics, with dates and times, on a regular basis. Stop drinking and cooking with it and have it tested immediately. If your water tests have resulted in unexpected findings or you see an emergency that could impact a watershed or water source, please contact DEP’s NorthCentral Regional Office in Williamsport at [PHONE REDACTED]. This number has coverage 24/7 and weekends for all environmental incidents.