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DEP takes samples at blast site in the Marcellus Shale drilling region
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BY LAURA LEGERE
STAFF WRITER
DIMOCK TWP. — A state agency that regulates natural gas drilling gathered gas and water samples this week from the site of a New Year’s Day explosion in a manhole above a Susquehanna County resident’s water well.
The Department of Environmental Protection sent inspectors from its oil and gas division and a professional geologist to survey the site after a concrete slab above a water well in Norma Fiorentino’s front yard was blown apart. The cause of the blast has not been determined, but DEP has taken a role in the investigation because the incident occurred in a municipality that has seen extensive drilling into the Marcellus Shale.
On Wednesday, the inspectors captured a gas sample by dropping a probe down the water well, DEP spokesman Mark Carmon said. An earlier attempt to gather gas in the manhole above the well had failed this week.
The sample will be sent to a lab in Ohio capable of pinpointing the geological provenance of the gas.
“We’ll have them do a pretty sophisticated breakdown and see what kind of gas we’re dealing with,” Mr. Carmon said.
Water samples taken from Mrs. Fiorentino’s well earlier in the week are being analyzed for basic quality, as well as for signs of gas and potential drilling-related disruptions, like high total dissolved solids and turbidity, Mr. Carmon said. The samples will be sent to a DEP lab in Harrisburg, but Mr. Carmon said he did not know when test results are expected.
The DEP geologist at the scene also collected information about adjacent gas drilling activity, which will be reviewed as part of the investigation, Mr. Carmon said. There have been 18 wells drilled into the Marcellus Shale in Dimock and neighboring townships in the last year, according to DEP data.
On Wednesday, DEP inspectors also tested for gas in the basements of about seven homes around the blast site, none of which showed any presence of gas, Mr. Carmon said.
A spokesman for Cabot Oil and Gas, the natural gas company operating in the township, said Cabot found “no indication whatsoever” of natural gas during tests taken around the well on the day of the blast and the day after it. A test by the Springville Volunteer Fire Company on the day of the blast also showed no sign of gas, according to the county emergency management coordinator.
Kenneth Komoroski, the Cabot spokesman, said it is “likely” the company will return to the site to check for gas one more time “simply because any time a landowner raises a concern we want to make sure we’re attentive to the concern.”
Mr. Komoroski added that there is no sign that the company’s activities contributed to the blast.
“With all the information that we have, there is absolutely no indication that this has anything to do with natural gas,” he said.
Related Story:
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com
The Department of Environmental Protection sent inspectors from its oil and gas division and a professional geologist to survey the site after a concrete slab above a water well in Norma Fiorentino’s front yard was blown apart. The cause of the blast has not been determined, but DEP has taken a role in the investigation because the incident occurred in a municipality that has seen extensive drilling into the Marcellus Shale.
On Wednesday, the inspectors captured a gas sample by dropping a probe down the water well, DEP spokesman Mark Carmon said. An earlier attempt to gather gas in the manhole above the well had failed this week.
The sample will be sent to a lab in Ohio capable of pinpointing the geological provenance of the gas.
“We’ll have them do a pretty sophisticated breakdown and see what kind of gas we’re dealing with,” Mr. Carmon said.
Water samples taken from Mrs. Fiorentino’s well earlier in the week are being analyzed for basic quality, as well as for signs of gas and potential drilling-related disruptions, like high total dissolved solids and turbidity, Mr. Carmon said. The samples will be sent to a DEP lab in Harrisburg, but Mr. Carmon said he did not know when test results are expected.
The DEP geologist at the scene also collected information about adjacent gas drilling activity, which will be reviewed as part of the investigation, Mr. Carmon said. There have been 18 wells drilled into the Marcellus Shale in Dimock and neighboring townships in the last year, according to DEP data.
On Wednesday, DEP inspectors also tested for gas in the basements of about seven homes around the blast site, none of which showed any presence of gas, Mr. Carmon said.
A spokesman for Cabot Oil and Gas, the natural gas company operating in the township, said Cabot found “no indication whatsoever” of natural gas during tests taken around the well on the day of the blast and the day after it. A test by the Springville Volunteer Fire Company on the day of the blast also showed no sign of gas, according to the county emergency management coordinator.
Kenneth Komoroski, the Cabot spokesman, said it is “likely” the company will return to the site to check for gas one more time “simply because any time a landowner raises a concern we want to make sure we’re attentive to the concern.”
Mr. Komoroski added that there is no sign that the company’s activities contributed to the blast.
“With all the information that we have, there is absolutely no indication that this has anything to do with natural gas,” he said.
Related Story:
DEP probes blast in gas-drilling region
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of thetimes-tribune.com.
Paula wrote on Jan 8, 2009 12:53 PM:
" Very misleading headline. Your article never shows where this was a "Marcellus Shale drilling" site as the headline states. It was a water well, not on a drilling site, that exploded. What your reporter failed to find out (poor investigation or do you want to always negatively portray the drilling?) was that someone, not related in any way to the gas drilling, was welding on that site that day. Your "reporters" need to report the whole story.
While I want to know what is going on with the drilling, keep your stories balanced. Almost all of your stories shed a negative light on the drilling. Look deeper, because much positive has come from the drilling. Jobs and financial security are the best things that have arrived. Farmers who have worked hard all their lives for little to nothing now have secure futures for themselves and their families thanks to the gas discovery.
Be good watchdogs, not just attack dogs. "
While I want to know what is going on with the drilling, keep your stories balanced. Almost all of your stories shed a negative light on the drilling. Look deeper, because much positive has come from the drilling. Jobs and financial security are the best things that have arrived. Farmers who have worked hard all their lives for little to nothing now have secure futures for themselves and their families thanks to the gas discovery.
Be good watchdogs, not just attack dogs. "
Rachel wrote on Jan 9, 2009 8:38 AM:
" Thank you very much for your reporting on this blow-out. It is very important for residents of our area to know that a blow-out like this has happened. I am glad to know that the DEP is sending its oil and gas investigators to collect more data about the cause of the blast. Please keep us informed about what they find out. "
