On Friday 4/25, Thomas Murphy from Penn State returned the call to the reader who called him to inquire about using material other than water and sand in the fracing process. Also, the question was asked about being aware of the Congressional Oversight Committee hearings on using diesel fuel and other chemicals in that process. Mr. Murphy indicatd that he was somewhat familiar with the hearings, however he believed that only sand and water were to be used in Pennsylvania. He referred the reader to a person from DEP regarding water quality issues. The reader will make that phone call on Monday.
There was a short discussion about having a baseline test done on one’s well. Generally, it was agreed that if the homeowner took the test him/herself, it could have little value in court if push came to shove. The issue here is the “chain of custody” of the sample. In other words, who could prove the homeowner took the sample from their own well instead of somewhere else? Knowing that, the reader, and several others had a baseline independent water test taken. The test included voc’s (volatile organic compounds) as well as many other pertinent items. If anyone is interested, a complete list of the tests can be listed here. Again, the important thing is to have the test conducted by an independent company not the homeowner.
Now the next question is, when should it be retested? That is a question for DEP. As noted above, the reader will be contacting their water quality person shortly. That question will be included. The response will be shared here. I suspect the answer will be somewhat complex.
Pennsylvania Code, Chapter 78: Oil and Gas, Section 78.77: Wells in a hydrogen sulfide area.
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/025/chapter78/chap78toc.html
This section deals with hydrogen sulfide, the gas mostly know as “rotten eggs odor”. It is another potential hazard from gas wells. Here is an article from USA Today las year:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-17-1004996867_x.htm
This is a master’s degree thesis that describes hydrogen sulfide and the effects associated with gas wells. Her map shows that Pennsylvania is not is an area where hydrogen sulfide is expected. There are a huge number of references:
http://erg.berkeley.edu/erg/people/Lana%20Skrtic%20-%20Masters%20Paper%20H2S%20and%20Health.pdf
Tests of well water for hydrogen sulfide should be done on site, since it comes out of water quickly:
http://susquehanna.extension.psu.edu/NResources/WaterTesting.html
When you sign a gas lease, the gas company does not file a copy of the lease with the county. Rather, the gas company files a one page “memorandum” with the county against your deed. To remove the memorandum the gas company must write a “memorandum of termination” and file that with the county.
If the gas company disappears, goes bankrupt, or is otherwise hard to find, it may be very difficult to obtain the memorandum of termination. Depending on your lease, the gas company may sell the lease to another company and not tell you. They do tell the county. Some of the leases in Susquehanna County have changed hands three times already.
The leases of twenty years ago are an example. When someone wished to sell their home on land that had been leased, the gas company had disappeared and the legal services were required.