Fracking is a big deal where ever it occurs AND chemical spill$ can occur!!!

From an Article by Reid Frazier, Allegheny Front, November 17, 2022

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has fined the natural gas drilling company CNX some $200,000 for spilling natural gas production fluids at well sites in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

The spills took place between 2019 and 2021, all in Richhill Township. (Greene County is in the extreme southwest corner of Pennsylvania bordering West Virginia on the south and west.)

The largest spill took place on September 18, 2019, in which approximately 40 barrels, or 1,680 gallons, of production fluid leaked out of a containment structure and spilled on the ground at CNX RHL 71 and RHL 87 well site.

The PA-DEP said the company tried to make repairs to the containment and remove fluids from the site. But CNX “postponed full remediation nearly 70 days due to its ongoing hydraulic fracturing activities,” according to a PA-DEP press release. In total, the company had to remove nearly 1,400 tons of contaminated soil at the site.

Another spill occurred at the site on January 23, 2021, in which 420 gallons of fluid discharged onto the ground due to an “equipment failure.” Another spill of 40 gallons occurred three months later.

A smaller incident occurred in December 2019, in which 30 gallons of fluid leaked out of containment and into a sediment basin at the company’s RHL 4 well pad. According to the PA-DEP, “CNX postponed removal of contaminated soil until hydraulic fracturing was completed, and the discharge continued for days.”

The company ended up removing nearly 2,000 tons of contaminated soil from the site.

“Delays like these are unacceptable. PA-DEP expects, and the regulations require, prompt reporting and cleanup of spills and that operators will take measures to prevent future incidents,” said PA-DEP southwest district oil and gas manager Dan Counahan, in a statement.

Production fluids are a byproduct of the drilling and fracking process in oil and gas production. They can contain high levels of naturally-occurring metals, radioactive materials, and salts, but also can contain fracking chemicals. The fluid is too toxic for disposal in municipal wastewater facilities and is typically disposed of in deep injection wells.

The company paid two fines, of $125,000 and $75,000, for the violations. The money will go toward the state’s fund to plug abandoned oil and gas wells.

>> This story is produced in partnership with StateImpact Pennsylvania, a collaboration among The Allegheny Front, WPSU, WITF and WHYY to cover the commonwealth’s energy economy.

Drilling & fracking in the Marcellus and Utica shales is a huge investment

From an Article by Anya Litvak, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 21, 2022

When the airport and the company now known as CNX Resources signed their Marcellus Shale gas agreement in 2013, there was the potential to drill as many as 45 wells on the campus of Pittsburgh International Airport. (But, only 14 have been drilled.) On Friday, the airport authority approved two new agreements with CNX that would incentivize more drilling, including in the deeper and drier Utica Shale layer.

Over the next five years, the airport will act as a marketing agent for CNX to secure customers for the gas that would come from yet-to-be drilled Utica wells. In order to be burned as airline fuel or in vehicles, that gas would need to be either compressed or liquefied — that is, cooled to a point where it turns into a liquid. That would also require the vehicles and/or plane engines to be retrofitted.

All of this will take time and money, Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, acknowledged. But she believes that with an increasing number of transportation and aviation companies pledging to reduce their carbon emissions, natural gas — which burns cleaner than diesel and gasoline — might be a short-term draw.

“Given the carbon commitments that are out there, how can we be part of helping the industry and airlines start to decarbonize immediately,” she said, invoking natural gas as a bridge fuel until cleaner fuels become available.

Both the airport authority and CNX framed this as a path to hydrogen — the subject of billions in federal funding and a focus of the natural gas industry, which envisions using its product to make hydrogen with the resulting carbon dioxide emissions captured and sequestered in a massive Appalachian storage hub.

CNX plans to build a liquefaction plant, according to spokesman Brian Aiello, with the timing yet to be determined. He also said it would produce a “naturally, not mechanically” compressed natural gas product, but the company declined to provide technical details, saying it’s proprietary.

In a fact sheet, the company referenced its “unique autonomous ultra-high-pressure separation technology, which performs consistently in harsh and high-pressure conditions, manages gas streams to be used to generate electricity and power — as well as hydrogen — in the immediate proximity of the wells.”

The timeline for adoption of natural gas derivates isn’t clear yet. Pittsburgh International will loop gas from CNX wells and solar power into its own microgrid, now in place.

“I think it depends on who’s asking, how motivated the engine manufacturers are,” Ms. Cassotis said. “Maybe it’s not an airline. Maybe it’s the snowplow.” She said the airport is looking at its own operations and evaluating ways to use more sustainable fuels. For example, it is pursuing a study of the potential to use organic waste to generate sustainable aviation fuel. “One thing at a time,” she said. “What the new agreement does is it puts some skin in the game for us — and it allows for a little bit of an additional royalty if we help” CNX sign up customers. Specifically, the airport stands to get up to 5% on the sale of any compressed or liquefied gas that it brokers, officials said.

The more immediate impact might come from revising the airport’s existing agreement with CNX — the one signed in 2014 that delivered a $46 million signing bonus and more than $57 million in royalties since the first Marcellus well went into production in 2016.

In exchange for a commitment from CNX to drill new wells, the airport authority has agreed to have post-production costs deducted from its royalties. Such costs include expenses incurred by CNX to get the gas from the wellhead to the point of sale. The airport authority’s original lease specifically prohibited deducting these costs from its 18% royalty, which Ms. Cassotis said has held CNX back from drilling additional wells.

The amended lease now allows for up to $1.60 for each million British thermal units to be withheld from its royalties. For context, the average price that CNX received for its gas last year was $2.57 per million Btu. The cost of gas has increased drastically in recent months. Eric Sprys, the airport’s CFO, estimated this would have the effect of slicing up to 45% from its royalty revenue. But Ms. Cassotis noted that a 45% cut is better than no new drilling and therefore, no new royalties. “We’re each getting something out of the deal,” she said.

According to CNX, the airport authority stands to add $24 million in Marcellus royalties and up to $27 million in Utica royalties by 2030 as a result of these agreements. CNX gas already powers a microgrid at Pittsburgh International Airport, which also includes a solar panel installation.

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See Also: Special Focus: Well Completion Technology ~ “Using data from drilling to guide completion designs,” Kevin Wutherich (Drill2Frac), World Oil, Volume 343, No. 5, May 2022.

Existing but previously unused data obtained during the drilling process can now be used to enhance completion design. The author outlines the available data and discusses how it can be incorporated into the completion design process and ultimately provide economic benefits to an operator.

RECENT DRILLING / FRACKING PERMIT VIOLATIONS IN SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

1. PA Permit Violation Issued to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 08/04/2020 to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Twp, Washington county. OGA3211(H) – WELL PERMITS – LABELING – Failure to install, in a permanent manner, the permit number on a completed well.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-08-04 00:00:00

2. PA Permit Violation Issued to CNX GAS CO LLC in Richhill Twp, Greene County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 07/29/2020 to CNX GAS CO LLC in Richhill Twp, Greene county. 78A73(C)___ – GENERAL PROVISION FOR WELL CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION – The operator failed to immediately electronically notify the Department of any change to a well being monitored, of any treatment pressure or volume changes indicative of abnormal fracture propagation at the well being stimulated or if otherwise made aware of a confirmed well communication incident associated with their stimulation activities.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-07-29 00:00:00

3. PA Permit Violation Issued to CNX GAS CO LLC in Richhill Twp, Greene County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 07/29/2020 to CNX GAS CO LLC in Richhill Twp, Greene county. 78A73(C)___ – GENERAL PROVISION FOR WELL CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION – The operator failed to immediately electronically notify the Department of any change to a well being monitored, of any treatment pressure or volume changes indicative of abnormal fracture propagation at the well being stimulated or if otherwise made aware of a confirmed well communication incident associated with their stimulation activities.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-07-29 00:00:00

4. PA Permit Violation Issued to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 07/23/2020 to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington county. 78a12 – COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS – Person failed to comply with terms and conditions of permit or registration while drilling, altering or operating an oil or gas well.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-07-23 00:00:00

5. PA Permit Violation Issued to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 07/23/2020 to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington county. 78a12 – COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS – Person failed to comply with terms and conditions of permit or registration while drilling, altering or operating an oil or gas well.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-07-23 00:00:00

6. PA Permit Violation Issued to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 07/23/2020 to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington county. 78a12 – COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS – Person failed to comply with terms and conditions of permit or registration while drilling, altering or operating an oil or gas well.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-07-23 00:00:00

7. PA Permit Violation Issued to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 07/23/2020 to RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC in Jefferson Twp, Washington county. 78a12 – COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS – Person failed to comply with terms and conditions of permit or registration while drilling, altering or operating an oil or gas well.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-07-23 00:00:00

>>> Tabulation by SkyTruth, P.O. Box 3283, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. CONTACT: info@skytruth.org

Fines plus restorations become more expensive

Information Compiled by FrackCheckWV, Primarily From SkyTruth, Shepherdstown, WV

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Cnx Gas Co Llc in South Franklin Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2019-01-30 to Cnx Gas Co Llc in South Franklin Twp, Washington county. 78.55(a) – CONTROL AND DISPOSAL PLANNING – Operator failed to prepare and implement a plan under 25 Pa. Code Section 91.34 for the control and disposal of fluids, residual waste and drill cuttings, including tophole water, brines, drilling fluids, additives, drilling muds, stimulation fluids, well servicing fluids, oil, and production fluids from the drilling, alteration, production, plugging or other activity associated with oil and gas wells.

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Cnx Gas Co Llc in South Franklin Twp, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2019-01-30 to Cnx Gas Co Llc in South Franklin Twp, Washington county. 78.57(a) – CONTROL, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTION FLUIDS – Operator failed to collect the brine and other fluids produced during operation, service and plugging of the well in a tank, pit or a series of pits or tanks, or other device approved by the Department or Operator discharged brine or other fluids on or into the ground or into waters of the Commonwealth.

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Cnx Gas Co Llc in South Franklin Twp, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2019-01-30 to Cnx Gas Co Llc in South Franklin Twp, Washington county. 78.54 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS – Operator failed to control and dispose of fluids, residual waste and drill cuttings, including tophole water, brines, drilling fluids, drilling muds, stimulation fluids, well servicing fluids, oil, and production fluids in a manner that prevents pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth.

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>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2019-01-22 to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene county. OGA3211(H) – WELL PERMITS – LABELING – Failure to install, in a permanent manner, the permit number on a completed well.

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2019-01-22 to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene county. CSL 401 – PROHIBITION AGAINST OTHER POLLUTIONS – Discharged substance of any kind or character resulting in pollution of Waters of the Commonwealth.

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2019-01-22 to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene county. CSL 402(b) – POTENTIAL POLLUTION – Conducting an activity regulated by a permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of The Clean Streams Law to prevent the potential of pollution to waters of the Commonwealth without a permit or contrary to a permit issued under that authority by the Department.

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2019-01-22 to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene county. 78.54 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS – Operator failed to control and dispose of fluids, residual waste and drill cuttings, including tophole water, brines, drilling fluids, drilling muds, stimulation fluids, well servicing fluids, oil, and production fluids in a manner that prevents pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth.

>>> PA Permit Violation Issued to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2019-01-22 to Rice Drilling B Llc in Franklin Twp, Greene county. 78.57(a) – CONTROL, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTION FLUIDS – Operator failed to collect the brine and other fluids produced during operation, service and plugging of the well in a tank, pit or a series of pits or tanks, or other device approved by the Department or Operator discharged brine or other fluids on or into the ground or into waters of the Commonwealth.

SkyTruth, P.O. Box 3283, Shepherdstown, WV 25443
(304) 885-4581, info@skytruth.org

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US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs

Note the Ohio River (at risk) at upper left

U. S. and West Virginia Reach Settlement With Antero Resources Corporation for Clean Water Act Violations at 32 West Virginia Sites

The Department of Justice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) announced that they have reached a settlement with Antero Resources Corporation resolving alleged violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) at 32 sites in Harrison, Doddridge, and Tyler Counties in West Virginia.

The settlement filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia requires Antero to pay a civil penalty of $3.15 million and to conduct restoration, stabilization, and mitigation work at impacted sites. Antero will also provide mitigation for aquatic resource impacts.

“The Department of Justice is pleased to join with the EPA and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in reaching this settlement and will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to hold corporations accountable for violating the nation’s environmental laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“This settlement seeks to rectify harm done to U.S. waters from unauthorized activities undertaken by Antero, and demonstrates that federal and state regulators are committed to pursuing violations that threaten human health and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio.

Impacts to aquatic resources will be partially offset at a 51.5-acre permittee-responsible mitigation site that will restore, enhance, create, and preserve over 11,500 linear feet of streams and more than 3 acres of wetlands. The EPA-estimated value of the proposed mitigation and restoration is $8 million.

The violations involved the unauthorized disposal of dredged and fill materials into waters of the United States at or near sites where Antero had constructed well pads, compressor stations, impoundments, pipeline crossings, access roads, and other structures associated with Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction by means of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

While each of the 32 sites varied regarding the extent of the impact to wetlands and streams, the unauthorized activities impacted more than 19,000 linear feet of streams and over four acres of wetlands and included:

>> Stream impoundments;
>> Filling wetlands and streams for compressor station pads;
>> Realigning and culverting stream segments; and
>> Failing to fully restore “temporary” impacts.
>> Approximately half of the sites were identified by Antero through a self-audit. Several of the sites were associated with construction failures or “slips” from access roads and pads.

The proposed settlement which is subject to a 30-day public comment period is available at: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees

For more information about Clean Water Act Section 404 protection of wetlands and waterways, visit: https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404

Diesel fuel fire on well pad destroys 8 trucks, etc.

From an Article by Kathie Warco, Washington (PA) Observer Reporter, June 28, 2018

The director of Washington County’s Department of Public Safety is praising the quick reaction of the first firefighters on the scene of a fire at a CNX well pad Wednesday night on Newland School Road in East Finley Township.

Crews from numerous departments were called about 10:10 p.m. to the Morris 31 pad, with the first fire truck arriving five minutes later, said Jeff Yates, county public safety director.

Yates said a worker was refueling frack trucks with high-pressure pumps when there was an ignition and fire. Seven of the frack trucks caught fire and were destroyed, along with the truck being used for refueling and a man lift, Yates said. There also was some damage to an acid tanker.

“When the fire started, the well crew shut the wells off and went to the muster point, where they were all present and accounted for,” Yates said. “Most well sites have a primary and secondary spot where they meet during an emergency. They practice this.”

“The firefighters did a great job stopping the fire quickly and keeping it away from the well pad,” Yates said. “The well pad was never in danger.” Yates said crews from West Finley and Morris Township fire departments were the first to arrive.

“It was a big ball of fire,” said Steve Emery, West Finley fire chief, of the scene as he and his crews were the first to arrive at the scene. “When we got there, there were four or five trucks on fire. Then there were explosions from tires and maybe some tanks.”

Emery said it is a major loss. “We are probably talking a million dollars,” the fire chief said.

About 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel ignited, said Lauren Fraley, DEP community relations coordinator. The DEP team did not observe runoff or fluids leaving the site, she added.

DEP staff returned Thursday to gather information on the cause and to get estimates on the volume of material lost, Fraley added. She said they will also be getting information on remediation by CNX and how they prevent similar incidents in the future. She also said the actual wells were not compromised.

Also assisting were members of the county’s public safety department, along with firefighters from Claysville, West Alexander, Lone Pine and Amwell, Canton, Hanover and South Strabane townships in Washington County. Also responding were firefighters from Richhill and Morris Township in Greene County and Dallas Pike in West Virginia.

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Consol, CNX and affiliates donate property for bat conservation area in Greene County

From an Article by Bob Niedbala, Washington (PA) Observer Reporter, July 22, 2018

Consol Energy, CNX Resources and affiliated companies have donated more than 1,500 acres of property in Richhill Township to the PA Game Commission to expand existing state game lands and develop a bat conservation area.

About 1,236 of the 1,536 acres of land adjoin State Game Lands 302 in the northwestern corner of Greene County. The properties are bisected by Consol Energy’s overland coal conveyor belt that runs between Crabapple and Enon and are known as an Indiana bat habitat, according to the game commission. The remaining 300 acres are just southeast of the game lands.

As part of the transaction, the companies also agreed to donate $580,000 to the commission for a stewardship fund for the perpetual management of the land, including payment in lieu of taxes on the property.

“The companies are glad to be part of such an important project and be afforded the opportunity to provide a perpetual conservation area in Greene County,” Consol spokesman Zackery Smith said in an email explaining the donation.

“The combined coordination with the local, state and federal agencies was focused on a common goal: to protect our threatened and endangered species and allow for future public enjoyment of natural areas within our beautiful state,” he said.

The transaction is a good deal for the game commission, said Dennis Neideigh, game commission chief of real estate. The commission “looked at it from the perspective of future hunting opportunities and wildlife management,” he said. With the acquisition, “about 1,500 acres will be open to public hunting and wildlife management,” he said.The area is also known to be an Indiana bat roosting and foraging area, Neideigh said. It’s management as a bat conservation area coincides well with the game commission’s roll in managing wildlife.What the commission is always looking to expand games lands where it is possible.