The state Department of Environmental Protection slapped five environmental violations on a natural gas drilling company for spilling nearly 8,000 gallons of a toxic mixture at a site in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County.
The violations address two spills at a Cabot Oil & Gas site last Wednesday that had a harmful chemical - used to produce natural gas - enter a wetland area and a creek running through the property.
The environmental regulator (DEP) said the company violated the state’s Clean Streams Law by allowing the “discharge of polluting substances” into Stevens Creek, among other charges, according to the violation notice obtained by The Wayne Independent. DEP estimated that 7,800 gallons of the fluid discharged out of a broken pipe on two separate occasions last Wednesday - the first incident at 2:00 p.m., the second at 8:00 p.m.
As of Thursday, DEP had not issued a violation notice related to a third, much smaller spill Tuesday morning, involving a faulty hose and the same fluid.
Texas-based Cabot Oil & Gas has been engaged in extensive drilling operations in Dimock Township throughout the year. In February, the company received a different major violation notice, also pertaining to the Clean Streams Law, for causing methane to seep into a local drinking water aquifer in the same rural community, state regulators have said.
Cabot Oil & Gas has a minor leasehold in Wayne County, county court records show, allowing the company to explore and drill for natural gas on private properties. Seventy-eight property owners have signed leases with the company, with the most recent filed in March 2009, in the following municipalities: Berlin, Cherry Ridge, Clinton, Dyberry, Honesdale, Oregon, Palmyra (W), and Texas.
Cabot sub-contractor Halliburton, who is often used by the industry to bust open natural gas wells through a process called hydraulic fracturing, reported to environmental regulators that the spilled mixture was mostly water but it also contained a “liquid gel concentrate” that can be detrimental to human health and the environment. Natural gas companies use an array of chemicals, sand, and millions of gallons of water to extract the energy commodity located more than a mile beneath the surface.
Cabot Spokesperson Ken Komoroski said the sub-contractor was at fault, since Halliburton was in charge of the operation that caused the spill.
“Halliburton was responsible for this incident,” he said. It is common for the industry to sub-contract work to players who have expertise in different aspects of the process.
DEP, however, contends that Cabot Oil & Gas is responsible for the spill.
“Cabot is the permit holder for the site,” said DEP Spokesperson Dan Spadoni.
Komoroski also noted that the spilled fluid was comprised of one-half percent of the liquid gel concentrate and 99.5 percent water, according to information provided by Halliburton to the spokesperson and state regulators. “There weren’t any other chemicals involved,” he said.
Spadoni said the company is completing site remediation work and is also testing soil in the impacted area to determine whether it needs to be excavated.
“There was not any remediation required in Stevens Creek,” he added, as the creek flow flushed the fluid out of the area. The incident caused a minor fish kill in Stevens Creek but it did not involve adult-sized fish, according to press reports. A state Fish & Boat Commission officer involved in the investigation was unavailable for comment by press time.
It has not been determined at this time whether DEP will fine Cabot Oil & Gas for the incident.
“That will be addressed down the road,” said Spadoni in a phone interview on Thursday. “It’s too early for that yet.”
Myron Arnowitt, state director of environmental advocacy group Clean Water Action, said Cabot was “clearly not operating with care” since three spills occurred in less than one week.
“We really want to see DEP take strong action against Cabot,” he added. “We hope there is a serious financial penalty.”
DEP could issue a fine of up to $25,000 for a violation of the Clean Streams Law. The regulator may assess a fine after the cleanup is finished, the agency has said.
Liquid Gel Concentrate
The “liquid gel concentrate”, or lubricating fluid, was being used for the first stage in the fracturing process at one Cabot natural gas well located off Troy Road in the township, said Komoroski.
A medley of other chemicals are additionally used in the fracturing process, mixed with a majority of water and sand. The exact nature of the “liquid gel concentrate” is unknown, however, since it is protected as a trade secret and does not have to be disclosed under current federal and state laws. The fluid that entered Stevens Creek is named “LGC-35 CMB” - its vague product trade name.
According to an information sheet prepared by Halliburton for state regulators and obtained by The Wayne Independent, the “liquid gel concentrate” is listed as a “blend” under a heading that would describe what chemical family it comes from. Revealing some information, under a “hazards” heading the gel is listed as a “potential carcinogen,” “combustible” and “may be harmful if swallowed.”
The sheet, formally called a material safety data sheet, also recommends that the substance should not enter “waterways.” Shedding a little more light on its chemical composition, it contains “petroleum distillates which have been shown to cause skin cancer is laboratory animals.”
Komoroski asserted that the spilled fluid - containing “LGC-35 CMB” - was heavily diluted with water and it did not constitute, in any way, a major environmental problem.
It “was almost entirely a freshwater spill,” he said - more than 99 percent water mixed with less than one percent “LGC-35 CMB.”
Shortly after the first two spills, Brad Gill, the executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York, issued a statement noting that the fluid was “slick water” - “comprised of 99.5 percent water and sand and is not considered a toxic substance.”
“Such incidents as the spill in Dimock are quiet rare, and natural gas exploration has been conducted safely and in an environmentally sound manner for decades,” he added.
But a record of incidents clearly exist: the state has had recent environmental and water quality problems related to natural gas production in Lycoming County and McKean County among others, according to state regulators and press reports.
