Frack Check WV » off-gases

Rover Pipeline Installation is Haulted in WV & OH

Duane Nichols — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 14:05:22 +0000

West Virginia DEP orders halt of Rover pipeline work

From an Article by Ximena Mosqueda-Fernandez, July 24, 2017

West Virginia ordered Rover Pipeline LLC to stop construction on its 3.25-Bcf/d natural gas pipeline project due to violations of a state water permit.

The state’s Department of Environmental Protection issued a cease and desist order after finding violations of a water pollution control permit that involved deposits of sediment in at least eight locations, failure to maintain erosion controls, and other problems.

The order was filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 24. The state agency ordered the Energy Transfer Partners LP subsidiary to submit a plan to correct the violations by August 6th.

The West Virginia order added to a growing list of problems for the project developer, which had to postpone an anticipated in-service date for the first phase of the pipeline until late summer.

In April, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency cited Rover Pipeline over environmental violations. Since then, Ohio accused Rover Pipeline of resisting state authority and began pursuing civil penalties.

According to the FERC certificate order that approved the Rover project, work in West Virginia includes construction of 54.1 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline from Doddridge County, W.Va., to Monroe County, Ohio; 5.9 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline in Doddridge County, W.Va.; 23.6 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline from Marshall County, W.Va., to Belmont County, Ohio; new compressor stations in Doddridge and Marshall counties; and new meter stations and other supporting infrastructure.

Rover Pipeline is awaiting FERC authorization for modifications to an existing compressor station in West Virginia, which would add 100 MMcf/d of capacity. (FERC docket CP15-93)

Sources of Methane Emissions Identified in Fracking Industry

Dee Fulton — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 19:38:52 +0000

Good work, but not the complete story ...

Small number of wells responsible for methane emissions

From an Article by Max. B. Baker, Dallas Star-Telegraph, December 9, 2014

A small number of natural gas wells are responsible for the majority of the methane gas being released into the atmosphere during production, but at higher levels than previously estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, benefiting from unprecedented direct access to gas well sites across the United States, found in one test that methane releases into the atmosphere were the lowest in the Rocky Mountain region but the highest along the Gulf Coast.

With natural gas exploration expected to increase over the next decade, the researchers said it is important to get a better understanding since methane emissions amounting to just a percentage of natural gas use “can change the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas.”

David Allen, the principal investigator for the study and a chemical engineering professor at the Cockerell School of Engineering at UT Austin, compared the impact of the methane emissions from a small number of drilling sites to the small subset of cars that contribute to pollution.

“This is not a new idea,” Allen said. “Over the past decade, 10 percent of the cars on the road have been responsible for the majority of the automobile exhaust pollution.”

Matt Watson, the Environmental Defense Fund’s national policy director, said the study is significant since its conclusions are based on direct measurements made in the field and not from calculations that assume how equipment is operating. The EDF was one of the study’s sponsors.

“These pollution-reduction strategies are highly cost effective for methane alone, but when you consider the other things this reduces it is that much more bang for the buck,” Watson said.

The UT Austin-led field study is being published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal today. It is the second phase of the team’s 2013 study, which involved the sponsorship of several energy companies, including Pioneer Natural Resources in Irving and Fort Worth-based XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil.

The research team from the Austin campus examined two major sources of methane emissions — liquid unloadings and pneumatic controller equipment — at wells pads across the country. Together, they make up 40 percent of gross production emissions, the study found.

In all, the researchers took measurements at 268 wells across the country.

Pneumatic controllers

The study found that 19 percent of the pneumatic devices accounted for 95 percent of the emissions. These devices use gas pressure to control the opening and closing of valves and emit gas when they operate. These emissions are estimated to be among the largest sources of methane gas emissions in the natural gas supply chain, the study said.

But while the EPA reports that there are about 500,000 of these devices in use throughout the United States, or about one per well site, the UT study found that there were almost three at each site they visited, increasing the opportunity for emissions. The UT team actually measured the emissions at 377 controllers at 65 pad sites with 161 wells that had been hydraulically fractured.

The average methane emissions per controller in the study are 17 percent higher than the average emissions estimated in an 2012 EPA study released earlier this year. About two-thirds of the high-emitting devices were not operating properly and may need to be repaired or replaced, Allen said.

Liquid unloadings

Liquid unloading is a method used by operators to clear wells of accumulated liquids to increase their production. Since older wells typically produce less gas as they near the end of their life, unloadings happen more often than in new wells, the study states.

The research team measured emissions from wells at 107 natural gas production sites and found that 20 percent of the wells with unloading emissions venting into the air accounted for up to 83 percent of the methane released into the atmosphere, the study found.

The team found a statistical correlation between the age of wells and the frequency of liquid that is unloaded, and that the amount of emissions was directly tied to how many times this occurred, according to the study.

Because of the large number of wells with frequent unloadings that vent into the air, the Rocky Mountain region accounted for about half of the overall methane emissions, researchers found.

Fixing the problem

Ed Ireland, executive director of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, an industry-sponsored group, found it noteworthy that the amount of gas escaping at well sites dropped from 0.42 percent to 0.38 percent when compared to an earlier study by this team. And that occurred while natural gas production was increasing, he said.

“I think it is a key statement that most of the wells they have surveyed had low to no methane emissions,” Ireland said, adding, “The majority of wells are not emitting methane.”

“Methane emissions are lower and on the right trajectory,” he said.

In that earlier study, the UT-led team found that “green” completion equipment captures methane emissions on new natural gas wells. The EPA already requires drillers to either capture or flare methane and, starting next year, the gas must be captured. Two years ago, the agency estimated about half of the new wells had green completion devices or flared methane.

Watson agreed that fixing the problem at the well sites is one of the most cost-effective things to do. He said producers can get a 40 percent reduction in emissions for about 1 cent per thousand cubic feet of natural gas.

Short-time Bursts of Air Pollution are Difficult to Analyze

Duane Nichols — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 13:46:48 +0000

Gas Combustion Flare -- quanity of gas and quality of flame vary widely

Air monitoring in fracking areas fails to detect spikes in toxic emissions, new study says

A large flare at a central collection facility.

From an Article by Lisa Song & Jim Morris, Center for Public Integrity, April 3, 2014

Some people in natural gas drilling areas complain about nauseating odors, nosebleeds and other symptoms (such as rashes & headaches). They fear these could be caused by shale development but usually get the same response from state regulators: monitoring data show the air quality is fine.

A new study helps explain this discrepancy. The most commonly used air monitoring techniques often underestimate public health threats because they don’t catch toxic emissions that spike at various points during gas production, researchers reported Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Reviews on Environmental Health. The study was conducted by the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, a nonprofit based near Pittsburgh.

A health survey the group released last year found that people who live near drilling sites in Washington County, Pa., in the Marcellus Shale, reported symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, breathing difficulties and nosebleeds, all of which could be caused by pollutants known to be emitted from gas sites. Similar problems have been reported by people who live in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, the subject of a recent investigation by the Center for Public Integrity, InsideClimate News and The Weather Channel.

While residents want to know whether gas drilling is affecting the air near their homes — where emissions can vary dramatically over the course of a day — regulators generally use methods designed to assess long-term, regional air quality. They’re “misapplying the technology,” said lead author David Brown, who conducted the study with three of his colleagues at the Environmental Health Project. Stuart Batterman, an environmental health sciences professor at the University of Michigan, said the study underscores the need for specialized monitoring programs that target community health.

But creating these programs is difficult, Batterman said, because scientists don’t fully understand the emissions coming from natural gas facilities. Air pollutants ebb and flow based on equipment malfunctions, maintenance activities and the weather. They’re released from storage tanks, compressor stations and pipelines during every step of the process: drilling, hydraulic fracturing, production, and processing.

No easy solutions

The Pennsylvania report is the latest demonstration of how little is known about the health impacts of unconventional natural gas development, which uses hydraulic fracturing to extract tightly bound gas. In February, 190 experts from industry, government and the medical community gathered in Philadelphia to discuss major data gaps. The conclusions they reached were almost identical to those in a recent study in Environmental Science & Technology that cited a lack of “comprehensive” public health research.

Isobel Simpson, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California-Irvine who was not involved with the Pennsylvania study, said the group’s paper shows the lack of a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Air quality monitoring is complex, so you need a range of [methods] depending on what your goal is,” she said. Is the research about asthma or cancer? Overall air quality or human health? “All of those weigh into the strategy you’re using.”

Many federal and state-run monitors average their data over 24 hours or take samples once every few days. It’s a technique that’s been used for decades to assess regional compliance with the Clean Air Act. But natural gas facilities have sporadic emission spikes that last just a few hours or minutes. These fleeting events, which release particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and other harmful toxins into the air, can quickly lead to localized health effects. When averaged over 24 hours, however, the spikes can easily be ignored.

Spot monitoring can only catch a fraction of the emission spikes. “Attempts to capture these peaks with 24-hour [averages]; through periodic or one-time spot sampling (under 24 hours); or after a complaint has been filed, will most often miss times of peak exposure,” the authors of the new study wrote.

Batterman, the University of Michigan professor, said 24-hour samples are still useful for long- term health studies, since pollutants like benzene and particulate matter can lead to chronic effects that don’t show up until years or decades later. Ideally, scientists should use a combination of methods to monitor long-term and acute impacts, he said, “but there are technology and cost issues.”

The best way to analyze short-term impacts like skin rashes and headaches is to take frequent samples over a sustained period of time, said Beth Weinberger, a co-author of the new study. She and her colleagues assessed indoor air quality in 14 homes near drilling sites by taking measurements of fine particulate matter once a minute for up to 24 hours. After examining their data, they found that some homes had very high levels of particulate matter more than 30 percent of the time.

“It was alarming, because we realized if fine particulate matter was getting into the house, other things, like benzene and formaldehyde, probably were as well,” Brown said.

Weinberger said her group is now working with other organizations to find affordable monitors that would allow them to take indoor and outdoor samples so they can design better studies.

The limits of air monitoring are especially apparent when regulators respond to citizen complaints near drilling sites. InsideClimate News and the Center for Public Integrity reviewed more than a dozen TCEQ investigation reports on Eagle Ford oil and gas-related complaints. In most cases, regulators responded by taking instantaneous air readings next to industrial facilities. Some inspectors conducted an initial survey by sniffing the air for detectable odors, then returned days later with monitoring equipment. On several occasions, the instruments detected such high levels of contaminants that inspectors fled the site.

Weinberger said the TCEQ’s practice of taking quick “grab samples” is “the perfect design” to miss detecting emission spikes. “That’s what you do if you’re not interested in capturing episodic exposures,” she said. Also, more frequent and consistent sampling is needed, such as monitoring once an hour for two weeks. Regulators can then compare the individual data points with existing health standards to see how often they’re exceeded.

Even when scientists use the right monitoring techniques, it can be hard to figure out what the numbers mean. Federal air quality standards exist for only six chemicals: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and lead. All other pollutants, including dozens of volatile organic compounds, are managed by a patchwork of occupational standards and state guidelines.

Texas, for instance, uses short-term exposure guidelines of 180 parts per billion for benzene and 4,000 parts per billion for toluene to determine whether a situation requires further investigation.

Other states have different guidelines, and some chemicals have none at all because little is known about their health impacts. The guidelines have another flaw: They don’t fully consider what happens when people are exposed to many chemicals at once, as is common near gas and oil production sites.

This report is part of a joint project by the Center for Public Integrity, InsideClimate News and The Weather Channel. Lisa Song is with InsideClimate News and Jim Morris is with the Center for Public Integrity.

Air Quality “Notice of Violation” Issued to Lisby Well Pad in Tyler County

Duane Nichols — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:13:00 +0000

Off Gases in Deep Valley Near Residences

WV-DEP issues air quality Notice of Violation to Jay-Bee Oil & Gas

Public Announcement from WV DEP via Email, March 2, 2014

The WV Department of Environmental Protection — Division of Air Quality has issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Jay-Bee Oil & Gas Inc. for operating storage tanks on its Lisby Well Pad without the proper permits.

The natural gas drilling site is located in the Big Run area of Tyler County and the Lisby Pad includes four Marcellus wells that are in the initial production phase. Because six storage tanks at the site are used to collect natural gas liquids and can produce vapors, air quality permits are required.

The NOV, issued late Tuesday, requires Jay-Bee to provide dates when the tanks were installed and when each was put into operation; the amount of natural gas liquids produced at the site from commencement of operations until present; the potential emissions from all other sites not permitted by the DAQ; and a detailed explanation of the remedial measures taken to address the causes of non-compliance.

Inspectors from the WV-DEP’s Office of Oil and Gas and Division of Air Quality were dispatched to the Lisby Pad early Friday after receiving a complaint of a strong odor late the night before. The inspectors determined the likely cause of the odor was a nighttime inversion created by atmospheric conditions that trapped the gas vapors coming from the tanks. The WV-DEP worked with the operator to implement measures to decrease emissions. Also, the operator plans to implement a secondary recovery system on the tanks to capture the gas vapors.

The WV-DEP continues to monitor the situation and requested assistance from the agency’s Emergency Response section to monitor air quality at the site. The air monitoring equipment, which indicates the presence of volatile organics, detected no dangerous levels. Air monitoring equipment on site and mobile equipment operated by local emergency officials also detected no explosive levels – even last Thursday night when the odor was at its strongest.

To view the official order letter, click here .

Contact: Kelley Gillenwater, WV-DEP, Charleston, WV

Purge Gas Streaming at Lisby Pad Creates Public Hazard

Duane Nichols — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 13:50:18 +0000

Response to Marcellus Well Off-Gases

Purge Gas Streaming at Lisby Pad Creates Public Hazard

YouTube Post on Mar 30, 2014:

On March 27 2014 an extremely strong chemical smell was reported coming from the Lisby well pad operated by Jay-Bee oil and gas on Big Run Road in Tyler County, WV.

Emergency fire personnel were called, they were threatened with arrest by Jay Bee employees if they tried to do their job. Several people got sick from the exposure. This is the same pad that was ordered to cease and desist operations from the January 3rd explosion. A few weeks later there was a spill on the pad. (Jay-Bee has had over 20 environmental violations and 38 OSHA violations and is still allowed to do business in the state, according to the post.)

The audio/video here captures some of the communications among emergency personnel dispatched to the site. See and hear this communication exchange on YouTube:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=3uRfTrLwXM4

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Marcellus gas well purge gives off fumes in Tyler County, WV

News from WTOV, Channel 9, March 28 2014

TYLER COUNTY, WV — Crews are purging a new well at the Lisby Pad along Indian Creek Road about 8 miles south of Middlebourne. EMA Director Tom Cooper said that work is giving off fumes. Thursday night into Friday morning, people within a couple of hundred yards of the site were evacuated from their homes. Officials said it was precautionary and was largely due to the smell. Those families have since returned to their homes. Cooper said the work is almost finished.