Water ban for drillers in shale region

Staff report

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Citing potentially unsafe drinking water, Pennsylvania is calling on companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale natural-gas formation to stop taking wastewater to 15 treatment plants by May 19, but it shouldn’t have a major impact on drilling.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection took the step Tuesday, citing elevated levels of bromide in rivers in the western part of the state where gas drilling has rapidly grown in the past three years.

Bromide, a salt, is present in drilling wastewater that is partially treated by sewer authorities and discharged into rivers that supply drinking water.

When bromide reacts with chlorine disinfectants used by drinking water systems, it creates trihalomethanes. That chemical can be harmful to people who drink water with elevated levels of trihalomethanes for many years.

In addition to gas drilling, other industrial sources are also a factor in the high salt levels that lead to trihalomethanes in drinking water.

Shale natural-gas drilling already has sparked economic activity in the Mahoning Valley — and the new ruling out of Pennsylvania likely will not derail it, experts say.

Range Resources Corp., which produces 200 million cubic feet of gas a day — enough to power every home in western Pennsylvania — said Tuesday the request from the DEP won’t impact it, or a majority of others drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Matt Pitzarella, director of public affairs at Range, which reported a 17 percent increase in production in the first quarter, said 90 percent of the company’s water is recycled or reused, and not shipped to wastewater treatment plants.

Pitzarella said Range has “overwhelming support” for the DEP’s decision, and said it could help drilling in the Marcellus Shale overall, which has been the target of many environmental groups.

“It’s less of an issue of public health and more of an issue of public trust,” he said.

In Ohio, shale-drilling wastewater is not put into rivers but rather sent to one of about 170 injection wells where it’s contained, similar to the concept of a landfill.

In 1980s, the federal government gave Ohio the ability to control injection wells, said Dr. Jeffrey C. Dick, chairman of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Youngstown State University.

The Clinton Formation produced natural gas and oil throughout the state, and many old Clinton wells were converted into injection wells, he said.

“We accept some flow-back waters from Pennsylvania, so some of it is coming here anyway. It’s something that’s coming kind of late. The oil industry for economical and environmental reasons, they’re already recycling all of their flow-back water,” Dick said.

Many shale-drilling companies already are recycling, and most started over a year ago so that now about 90 percent of flow-back water is recycled.

“That which they can’t recycle, either goes to wastewater treatment plants or injection wells. Since the federal government overseas injection wells in Pennsylvania, the process is incredibly long and slow so they don’t have many injection wells,” Dick said.

“The real problem is the flow-back water has a lot of salt in it, and there’s no way to remove [the salt] in wastewater treatment plants, so they diluted it with river water. It’s been known for a while in the industry that it is not the best way to get rid of the stuff,” he said.

Contributors: Karl Henkel and Ashley Luthern