A state Department of Environmental Protection investigation of methane in a private water supply in Bradford County has lasted almost two years, records show.
In late October 2012, the DEP received a complaint about a private water supply in Springfield Twp. The complaint sparked an investigation that is still ongoing.
In correspondence with the gas company, EOG Resources Inc., the DEP stated the problem has affected at least three water supplies.
Although DEP did not specify who had water problems, Richard Kingsley, who said his family has lived on what is now Kingsley Road for more than 75 years, said the water in one of the wells on his property went bad a few years ago.
The well used to supply water for the 100 or so dairy cattle the Kingsleys used to milk, Mr. Kingsley said. But in 2008, health problems forced them to sell the herd.
The other water well that supplies his home is fine, he said, though the two are only a few hundred feet apart.
“We can get along without that well over there if we have to,” Mr. Kingsley said.
He said EOG has provided a water tank. In an email, EOG spokeswoman K Leonard said EOG also provided a vent for Mr. Kingsley’s well and since 2012 has been working with him and the DEP “to gain a better understanding of groundwater and well conditions in the area,” among other measures.
“Neither EOG nor DEP has concluded that EOG wells are the source of methane in the Kingsley water supplies, but EOG will continue to take voluntary measures to address both DEP and public concerns,” said Ms. Leonard.
On Sept. 12, DEP issued a notice of violation to EOG telling the company it violated the state’s Clean Streams Law and Oil and Gas Act when it “caused or allowed methane gas from lower formations,” along with iron, manganese and turbidity, to enter fresh groundwater.
Although Mr. Kingsley’s water well isn’t mentioned specifically, a Sept. 25 DEP inspection report noted violations on EOG’s Kingsley 2H gas well, drilled in 2010 on land belonging to Mr. Kingsley’s son Robert, DEP records state.
Gas wells in Pennsylvania contain multiple layers of steel pipe, known as casing. DEP detected methane, the main constituent of natural gas, in various concentrations in the spaces between layers of well casing.
EOG put three vents between casing layers in the Kingsley 2H well, combining them into a single vent pipe running to an open tank at the surface, the inspection report states.
This allows methane to vent to the atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The oil and gas industry is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the U.S.
On Sept. 25, a DEP inspector found 12 percent methane between the outermost casing layer and the next casing layer, 90 percent methane in between the next two layers and 97 percent methane between the two smallest layers.
DEP collected samples for isotopic analysis, a technique that uses the unique chemical signature of the gas to tell whether it comes from deep deposits such as the Marcellus Shale or other layers closer to the surface.
DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said the department could not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
Mr. Kingsley is still waiting on answers.
Though his drinking water is still drinkable, “before they did anything, we had a good water well and we feel that we should be left with a good water well,” he said.
DEP “has not explained anything to us,” he said, though he has been able to get more answers from EOG.
“EOG has talked with us about it but the problem we’ve had with EOG is you don’t know for sure what they’re saying is accurate,” he said.
This is not the first time EOG’s wells Bradford County have leaked methane. Five wells in Springfield and Ridgebury townships have leaked methane for years, according to the DEP. Ms. Leonard would not answer questions about these wells.
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