Remember how oil and gas producers are always saying no one can prove that smoking cigarettes causes cancer water pollution was caused by their activity…we now have proof.
DEP zeros in on gas tainting water
Tests show source is a formation tapped for energy
Natural gas invading at least nine water wells in Dimock Township has been tracked to the Marcellus Shale or a similar formation being tapped by drilling crews working in the area.
In an effort to fix the problem, regulators from the state Department of Environmental Protection have asked Cabot Oil & Gas to vent its natural gas production wells around the Carter Road area, just south of Montrose, said Mark Carmon, a spokesman for the agency. The intention is to give the gas seeping in the ground and collecting in water supplies a means to escape.
I’ve blogged previously about this issue. A water well exploded. YIKES!
Tests show gas found in water is “production gas,” Carmon said, meaning it escaped from the kind of geological formation commonly tapped for energy. The state has ruled out the possibility it was a product of organic conditions in shallow ground that sometimes affect water wells.
Carmon stopped short of blaming Cabot, adding more lab work is needed to pinpoint exactly how the gas migrated from thousands of feet below the earth.
I expect the industry to pull out all stops to make sure this is not proven to be the result of gas drilling.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Thanks for all of the good info.
All of the media coverage of this explosion and the gas found in the private wells in Dimock Township contain comments to the effect that the levels of gas in the water isn’t dangerous for drinking, and yet the official Pennsylvania DEP news release states: “drinking water standard limitations have not been established for natural gas and associated health risks have not been identified.” One more reason to be concerned about the rapid advance of drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Diane
http://www.homebeckons.com
What? Drinking water that contains enough methane to blow the top off a well is not dangerous!
What will they think of next?
Also consider that if the methane is migrating there might be other substances that are also migrating like hydraulic fracturing fluid or toluene or…