Hauler Charged with Dumping Frack Wastewater

by Dee Fulton on March 18, 2011

Robert Shipman of Greene County, Pa. and  owner of Allan’s Waste Water Service was arraigned on 98 charges relating to the illegal dumping of loads of waste which included Marcellus shale drilling wastewater and sludge and restaurant slop.  The news story states that vast quantities of waste water were illegally dumped between 2003 and 2009 in a half-dozen Pennsylvania counties.

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Brian Bagby March 19, 2011 at 5:43 pm

Solution available to Gas Industry for monitoring haulers conduct

As a member of PIOGA and The Marcellus Shale Coalition, H20 Resources LLC/Water TRAC endorses the recent press release condemning the alleged actions of a rogue water hauler in the Attorney General’s complaint dated March 17, 2011. “It is unfortunate that the possible actions of a single individual could threaten the reputation of the hundreds of water hauling companies serving the industry in Pennsylvania and throughout the Marcellus Shale operational area. “ says Charles Keith President of Water TRAC.

Water TRAC offers the natural gas exploration and production industry an innovative and truly unique process to track and monitor water that is used in its operations. The main purpose of the real-time automated monitoring is to assist producers in knowing where the location and volumes of water at all times. Water is tracked and accounted for when withdrawn from approved sources, in individual water hauling trucks, pipelines, tank batteries, impoundments, flow back, and disposal. Producers benefit by being able to manage all aspects of their water use via a secure real-time relational database. The database automatically tracks each truck several times a minute to provide a “digital footprint” of its exact routes and timing. The Water TRAC system applies logic to verify that authorized pickup and drop off locations are utilized. Deliveries to unauthorized locations are identified and flagged.

It is alleged in the AG’s complaint that driver’s hand written manifests and company billing reports were falsified. The Water TRAC process does not rely on and minimizes the dependence of hand-written documents. “We automatically generate electronic BOL’s (bill of lading) for each water transfer, there is no necessity for driver input of hand written records”, says Keith. While many haulers use off-the-shelf GPS units to “see” their fleets, none are truly monitored and verified in a relational database like what Water TRAC offers. Water TRAC has staff that reviews and will call into question any suspicious or unauthorized activity. While the events described in the AG’s complaint are extremely rare, a cost-effective and reliable safe-guard is in place for the industry to utilize.

H20 Resources LLC is the company that developed and operates the Water TRAC system. It is a privately owned, entrepreneurial firm that has its two year anniversary in September. It is focused on providing cost-effective water management solutions to the Marcellus play and beyond. Please visit http://www.watertrac.com to learn more.

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