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A natural gas drilling company will have to wait to at least December - possibly longer - for its operations in Wayne County to move forward until a critical environmental permit is approved by the Delaware River Basin Commission.
A special public meeting on Wednesday, September 23 in Pike County regarding a one-million-gallon per day water withdrawal permit has been postponed by the request of the applicant, Chesapeake Appalachia. The commission also said on Thursday that it will not vote on the permit at its October 22 meeting.
The commission’s next meeting is in December - stalling the natural gas producer’s plans in Wayne County, if the request is even approved then. Chesapeake Appalachia, of West Virginia, is a major leaseholder here and in other areas throughout the Commonwealth including Bradford County, which has witnessed a drastic upsurge in drilling this year. Bradford County, however, is under the jurisdiction of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which has approved quite a few water withdrawal permits for the burgeoning natural gas industry there.
Commission Spokesperson Clarke Rupert said on Friday that a date has not been set for the postponed public hearing.
The permit, originally submitted by the company in May, has been revised since then after the commission received innumerable comments - for and against - prior to and at a public hearing held in July in Bethlehem, Pa. The permit is asking for a copious amount of water, up to 30 million gallons a month, from the West Branch of the Delaware River in Buckingham Township, a pristine area of the Upper Delaware that has been designated as “Special Protection Waters” by the commission. The proposed site would be located on a private property adjacent to the river.
An estimated five million gallons of water is needed - for one drilled well - to bust open deep underground formations to release natural gas beneath the surface.
Chesapeake Appalachia cannot produce Marcellus Shale natural gas wells without water; the commission, a five-member, state-appointed board, regulates water quality and quantity in the Delaware River Basin, requiring any substantial water users to seek environmental permits.
Stone Energy Corp., of Louisiana, also submitted a water withdrawal permit for the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township. The water, if approved, would crack open one natural gas well in Clinton Township and proposed sites in Preston and Mount Pleasant Townships - targeting the Marcellus Shale, a vast geologic formation that contains trillions of tons of trapped natural gas. Wayne County ‘s population resides more than a mile above it.
Stone Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Appalachia are the only companies with leaseholds in Wayne County that have submitted water permit applications to the commission, according to the agencies records as of Friday.
The companies would only be able to use the water for natural gas wells in the Delaware River Basin, which includes most of Wayne County.
A natural gas drilling company will have to wait to at least December - possibly longer - for its operations in Wayne County to move forward until a critical environmental permit is approved by the Delaware River Basin Commission.
A special public meeting on Wednesday, September 23 in Pike County regarding a one-million-gallon per day water withdrawal permit has been postponed by the request of the applicant, Chesapeake Appalachia. The commission also said on Thursday that it will not vote on the permit at its October 22 meeting.
The commission’s next meeting is in December - stalling the natural gas producer’s plans in Wayne County, if the request is even approved then. Chesapeake Appalachia, of West Virginia, is a major leaseholder here and in other areas throughout the Commonwealth including Bradford County, which has witnessed a drastic upsurge in drilling this year. Bradford County, however, is under the jurisdiction of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which has approved quite a few water withdrawal permits for the burgeoning natural gas industry there.
Commission Spokesperson Clarke Rupert said on Friday that a date has not been set for the postponed public hearing.
The permit, originally submitted by the company in May, has been revised since then after the commission received innumerable comments - for and against - prior to and at a public hearing held in July in Bethlehem, Pa. The permit is asking for a copious amount of water, up to 30 million gallons a month, from the West Branch of the Delaware River in Buckingham Township, a pristine area of the Upper Delaware that has been designated as “Special Protection Waters” by the commission. The proposed site would be located on a private property adjacent to the river.
An estimated five million gallons of water is needed - for one drilled well - to bust open deep underground formations to release natural gas beneath the surface.
Chesapeake Appalachia cannot produce Marcellus Shale natural gas wells without water; the commission, a five-member, state-appointed board, regulates water quality and quantity in the Delaware River Basin, requiring any substantial water users to seek environmental permits.
Stone Energy Corp., of Louisiana, also submitted a water withdrawal permit for the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township. The water, if approved, would crack open one natural gas well in Clinton Township and proposed sites in Preston and Mount Pleasant Townships - targeting the Marcellus Shale, a vast geologic formation that contains trillions of tons of trapped natural gas. Wayne County ‘s population resides more than a mile above it.
Stone Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Appalachia are the only companies with leaseholds in Wayne County that have submitted water permit applications to the commission, according to the agencies records as of Friday.
The companies would only be able to use the water for natural gas wells in the Delaware River Basin, which includes most of Wayne County.
Revised Application
The Delaware River Basin Commission has since revised Chesapeake’s May permit application by the request of the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Fish & Boat Commission.
Citing that the West Branch of the Delaware River is a substantial trout habitat, the agencies want to ensure that enough water passes by the Chesapeake withdrawal point in order to protect the “biological community” there. The agencies asked the commission to require a higher volume of water to pass-by than as was allowed in the May permit application.
If at any time the water volume falls beneath a set minimum, as measured by a river gauge below the withdrawal point, an automatic water shut-off will stop the operation.
Commission staff approved this change.
Chesapeake Appalachia said it "has not had adequate time to review the changes reflected in the revised draft docket, particularly with respect to the proposed pass-by flow,” according to the commission. The public hearing was postponed due to this reason.
Public comment on the revised permit application, which is available on the commission’s website, will also be extended; the deadline date is undetermined at this time.
Written comments should be mailed to Commission Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 7360, 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360.
Comments also may be faxed to "Attn: Commission Secretary" at (609) 883-9522 or e-mailed to paula.schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us. All written comments should include the name, address, and affiliation (if any) of the commenter, along with "Chesapeake Withdrawal" in the subject line.
