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The Marcellus Shale: How to Protect our Watersheds
Notes Taken From the 01/14/09 Meeting
Rebecca L. Dunlap
Project Manager West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Initiative Trout Unlimited
“Historical Extractions of our Natural Resources / Learning from the Past”
- Economically depressed areas are more prone to doing resource extraction in the wrong way
- Over the years, there has been two previous resource extraction “times” that have caused environmental damage, logging and mining
- Gas well drilling is the third
- Already 10,000 locations in PA (2007)
- 7241 permits submitted (2007)
- A large impact to the cold water communities are the connections of dirt and gravel roads
- Sediment, benthics, riparian habitat, fragmenting habitat
Tim Keister
Chief Chemist/President Prochemtech
“Treatment/Recycle of Frac Water and Use of AMD for Frac Water”
- Company mainly industrial and commercial products
- Process to recycle frac water and potentially use AMD water to frac
- 2 to 10 million gallons of water needed for frac process
- Recover approximately 10 to 50% of water volume, called flowback
- Wagon wheel shaped drilling (horizontal)
- High pressure water and sand
- Ba, Sr, Ca, Mg, NaCl
- ½ million ppm of solids
- Frac water chemistry
- Friction reducer—organic polymer or KCl
- Wetting agent—soap, non-ionic surfactant
- Biocide—toxic, kills microorganisms
- Scale inhibitor—organic polymer or phosphonate (No Ca scale)
- Considerations—free suspended solids, pH 7.5, few microorganisms, minimal Al, Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and Sr
- Flowback chemistry
| Constituent |
Range |
| pH |
3.5–8.5 |
| Ba |
5–4,500 mg/L |
| Ca |
600–32,000 mg/L |
| Fe |
10–225 mg/L |
| Mg |
30–2,500 mg/L |
| Mn |
2–20 mg/L |
| Sr |
5–7,000 mg/L |
| Dissolved Solids |
6,000–250,000 mg/L |
| Suspended Solids |
30–500 mg/L |
| Carbon Oxygen Demand |
500–2,500 mg/L |
- Treatment targets are to recycle flowback, remove problem constituents and reuses (problems are Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Sr)
- Sequential chemical precipitation with first stream removing Ba and second stream removing Ca and Mg (Sr is also removed)
- By-product of precipitation can be used to remove P from sewage sludge
- Remove 30% of P
- Highly alkaline (CaOH2)
- Treatment and Reuse of mine drainage is based on removing the same “scale formers”
- It undergoes the same chemical precipitation processes
- AMD by-product also used to treat P
- Proprietary
Fred Berry
Conservation Technician Clearfield County
“Gas Well Drilling Environmental Impacts”
- Erosion and sediment control (E&S)
- Permits for large earth disturbances such as large “pads” and transmission lines
- If more than 5 acres of disturbance occurs, the conservation district gets involved
- What impacts may this drilling have on the environment?
- Drinking water supplies
- Timber resources
- Less forest canopy
- Increased human access (ATV’s)
- Disturb habitats
- Fragmentation
- Wetland and stream encroachment
- Increase stormwater runoff
- Decrease core forest
- Spread invasive species
- Increased truck traffic
- Abandoned well problem
- Dirt and gravel roads
- Using brine on roads
- Potential groundwater contaminants
Jennifer L. R. Hoffman
Section Chief, Monitoring & Assessment
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission
“Environmental Review of SRBC Water Withdrawal Applications”
- 72% of the Susquehanna River Watershed is underlain with the shale
- Regulated as a consumptive use
- Water withdrawal needs permitted if more than 100,000 gpd/30 day average
- Approval by Rule—purchase water from drinking water supply
- Change thinking to use wastewater or mine water
- NO groundwater uses yet
- Application
- Does it lower stream or groundwater levels
- Does it affect fish, wildlife
- Other uses
- Low flow quality
- Look at cumulative impacts
- Environmental Screening
- Classification
- 303d list
- Wetlands
- PNDI
- Other water quality issues
- Aquatic nuisance species (zebra mussels)
- Aquatic resource surveys
- Q710—low flow/worst case scenario for 7 days in 10 years
- 10% of Q710 were water removal at beginning
- Gas wells will be #4 in water removal in state
- Pass by flow—turn off at certain times of the year
Questions Asked:
- Tim—What might be the active ingredient in the Biocide? What are you using to precipitate the metals in AMD water and frac water?
- Fred—What “teeth” does your agency have for reinforcement?
- Jennifer—Why permit by MGD and not just permit for actual water needed to frac per well?
- Tim—Why are the extra substances like Ca, Fe, Mn, Mg in the flowback? What chemical(s) take the oxygen in the flowback and why? Do you sell the recycled water? Is it economical to the gas drillers? What about in WV?
- Jennifer—Is the Susquehanna River Basin Commission a government agency? Who funds you and how did you come about? Are there other watersheds with this type of regulating agency? Where can I view a criteria chart on stream quality?
- Jennifer—What are the reclamation requirements, after the fact?
- Tim—How often can water be fracked? How can it be disposed of after if it can’t be used?
- Jennifer—What is the quality of the water left in the well?
- Fred—After you turn in a report of a problem, how long does it take to get it corrected?
- Tim—Is it going to be cost effective for gas drillers to use AMD?
- Becky—What is the progress on cleaning up Contrary Run?
- Fred—What four companies are drilling in Clearfield County?
- How close can a well driller get to a wetland, stream or a house?
- Do any of the speakers advocate a change in the current law regulating the construction of gas wells?
- What is being done toward a comprehensive water plan for PA or watersheds?
- How do we know where drilling activities are occurring?
- Is there a document that has to be “on site” at all SRBC approved water withdrawal sites? If not, how would one know if those withdrawing have permission from SRBC when you see it happening?
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