Weston Solution's Evaluation of Split Sample Results Taken During EPA's Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Hydraulic Fracturing Study Finds No Impact From Marcellus Shale Gas Activities To Water Sources
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently conducting a national study to determine if hydraulic fracturing has any impact on drinking water sources. As part of a larger study, the EPA is conducting five focused retrospective studies in separate areas across the country including Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
Samples were taken in Bradford County during the study’s first round of sampling in October and November 2011. In a collaborative effort, Chesapeake Energy Corporation consultants collected split samples with the EPA from 15 individual drinking water sources for analysis by accredited laboratories. Chesapeake then commissioned WESTON Solutions, Inc. to critically evaluate the results and compare them with more than 4,000 historic and baseline groundwater samples in the area. Approximately 310 of these samples came from the United States Geologic Survey’s public databases and predate any Marcellus Shale natural gas development activity in the area. Based on the data evaluated, WESTON has concluded these drinking water sources have not been impacted by Marcellus Shale natural gas development activity – including hydraulic fracturing.
In advance of a public release, these findings were submitted to the EPA, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and landowners involved in this study. Chesapeake hopes the EPA will find WESTON’s report useful in meeting Congress’ request for independent sources of information to be included in the agency’s influential scientific assessment regarding hydraulic fracturing.
Please follow the link below to view WESTON's complete findings.
Weston Solution's Evaluation of Split Sample Results Taken During EPA's Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Hydraulic Fracturing Study Finds No Impact From Marcellus Shale Gas Activities To Water Sources
WESTON has more than 60 worldwide offices and has more than 50 years of experience delivering integrated sustainable solutions for environmental restoration, property redevelopment, design/build construction, green buildings and clean energy.
Throughout its 55-year history, the company has conducted thousands of environmental assessment studies for industries, state and local governments, and federal agencies. These studies incorporate the use of geographical information systems, groundwater models and surface geophysical techniques to aid in the understanding of site conditions.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection Enter Into Agreements
Towanda, Pennsylvania, February 9, 2012 – Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), through its subsidiary Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, announced today it has voluntarily entered into agreements with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to address three separate matters at locations in Bradford and Potter counties.
"Chesapeake worked proactively with all appropriate regulatory agencies throughout the response and analysis of these incidents to achieve compliance, identify and implement operational improvements and ensure proper resolution," said Brian Grove, senior director of Corporate Development for Chesapeake's Eastern Division.
A summary of each matter is listed below:
Elevation – In July 2010, Chesapeake discovered and self-reported to the PADEP a wetland encroachment at its Elevation work site near Towanda in Bradford County, a site that had been constructed but at which no other activity had taken place. Chesapeake also self-reported subsequent slope erosion of the site to PADEP in October 2010. Chesapeake worked with PADEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a wetland restoration plan, which was initiated during spring 2011 and will ultimately conclude in a fully restored wetland at the location.
Beech Flats – During a period of unusually heavy precipitation and snowmelt in March 2011 at the Beech Flats well-pad construction site near Galeton in Potter County, sediment entered an unnamed tributary of the right branch of Wetmore Run. Much of the sediment originated from a pre-existing, poorly maintained logging road that Chesapeake was working to upgrade during site development. Chesapeake immediately responded as weather conditions worsened in coordination with the PADEP to mitigate the runoff and establish enhanced safeguards to prevent it.
Atgas – In April 2011, a failure occurred at a flange connection in surface equipment during well-completion operations at the Atgas 2H well site in Leroy Township, Bradford County, causing fluid to be discharged from the wellhead. Well-control response and fluid-containment procedures began immediately and continued, in coordination with the PADEP, until the compromised wellhead was replaced with a fully competent and functional wellhead. Chesapeake began extensive surface and well-water sampling the day of the incident and continued collecting data for several months, culminating in a comprehensive analysis submitted to the PADEP that indicated no lasting environmental impact. Detailed information regarding Chesapeake's response to the Atgas well site is available here: http://www.chk.com/news/articles/Pages/Release_20111015.aspx.
"Through the course of the analysis and response to each of these matters, we have identified ways to enhance our operations and have fully implemented them," Grove said. "Chesapeake strongly supports high standards for operational excellence, safety, environmental protection and regulatory compliance. We continually analyze our planning process and fieldwork to identify and improve operations focused on employee, community and environmental safety."
As part of the agreements, Chesapeake has agreed to pay $565,000 in civil penalties and reimbursement of costs.
Chesapeake Requests Correction of CDC Consultation
Chesapeake Energy Corporation has formally requested a correction to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consultation regarding a Pennsylvania well that caused unnecessary public alarm.
In November 2011 the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released a report after investigating a spill at the Bradford County well. Under the Information Quality Act, ATSDR was required to meet rigorous scientific standards.
Chesapeake contends that the ATSDR did not meet those standards. The ATSDR report was based on single water sampling event of seven wells but did not include more than 29 other sampling events from the same wells, including those conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during their own investigations.
To learn more about why Chesapeake requested a correction, please read the company's letter to the CDC and its formal petition.
Chesapeake Requests Correction of CDC Consultation
Chesapeake Energy Corporation has formally requested a correction to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consultation regarding a Pennsylvania well that caused unnecessary public alarm.
In November 2011 the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released a report after investigating a spill at the Bradford County well. Under the Information Quality Act, ATSDR was required to meet rigorous scientific standards.
Chesapeake contends that the ATSDR did not meet those standards. The ATSDR report was based on single water sampling event of seven wells but did not include more than 29 other sampling events from the same wells, including those conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during their own investigations.
To learn more about why Chesapeake requested a correction, please read the company's letter to the CDC and its formal petition.
Marcellus Shale Drilling in Pennsylvania
The Marcellus Shale underlies large portions of Pennsylvania, and Chesapeake’s Marcellus drilling activity began in July 2008 in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
With its acquisition of Columbia Natural Resources (CNR) in 2005, Chesapeake has been active in Pennsylvania through our predecessors since the mid-1900s. Chesapeake is the largest leasehold owner, most active driller and one of the largest producers of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. We are committed to helping Pennsylvania realize the great potential of its rich natural gas resources while maintaining the state’s historic beauty.
Chesapeake Energy To Resume Pennsylvania Well Completions
TOWANDA, PENNSYLVANIA, MAY 13, 2011 -- Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), announced today that its subsidiary, Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, plans to immediately resume well completion operations in Pennsylvania. The company had voluntarily suspended completion operations shortly after a well-control incident at the Atgas 2H well, in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, on April 19, 2011.
John K. Reinhart, Chesapeake’s Vice President of Operations, Eastern Division, said, “We regret this incident and the inconvenience it has caused to our neighbors and the community. We have engaged in a rigorous investigation of the cause of the incident, a thorough examination of our existing operations, and a comprehensive environmental evaluation of the area surrounding the location. We understand that operating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a privilege. We have learned from this and have taken steps to mitigate the risk of this type of event happening in the future. We are very confident that we will safely resume our completion operations.”
On April 29, the company provided a written incident response to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). It is more than 700 pages in length and addresses the wellhead equipment failure experienced at the location, the additives used in the completion process and the water testing protocols used to conduct an environmental assessment of the impact of the area around the well location. Below is a summary of key points from Chesapeake’s response to the PADEP, provided by Brian Grove, Chesapeake’s Senior Director of Corporate Development, based in Towanda, Pennsylvania.
The Incident
The incident occurred around 11:45 p.m. on April 19, 2011, during completion operations when the well was being fracture stimulated. During the process, a failure occurred at a valve flange connection to the wellhead, causing fluid to be discharged from the wellhead at high pressure. An equipment failure of this type is extremely rare in the industry and is the first valve flange failure of this magnitude in more than 15,000 wells Chesapeake has completed since its founding in 1989.
Rapid Well Control Response
Personnel onsite immediately responded and promptly notified the appropriate authorities and first responders, including Chesapeake’s team of certified well-control specialists, who began arriving within 45 minutes. The authorities notified included the PADEP, a contract well-control company and construction crews to bring equipment to the location to enhance the containment process.
Chesapeake’s internal well-control team assessed the situation, secured the location, ensured the safety of neighbors and took appropriate and safe steps to begin limiting the flow of the fluid from the well by inserting loss control material (LCM) into the well to begin plugging it. These initial steps were successful in reducing the flow of the fluid from the well by approximately 50% by 10:00 a.m. on April 20 and approximately 70% by 12:30 p.m. that day, setting the stage for further actions to bring the well under full control. Additional contract well-control specialists arrived at the location early Wednesday afternoon, joining the Chesapeake well-control team. The strategy continued, as additional work utilizing LCM brought increasing levels of success. At 3:50 p.m. on April 21, the well was successfully brought under control. At 6:05 p.m. on April 25, the compromised wellhead was replaced with a fully competent and functional wellhead and the well remains shut-in and stable.
Fluid Containment Actions
In the early hours of the incident, a mixture of well fluid and rain water accumulated in the containment area of our well location, and approximately 240 barrels flowed over the top of the containment berms onto nearby land, with an even more limited amount of fluid making its way into an unnamed tributary of Towanda Creek. Chesapeake estimates that the fluid that escaped initial containment included the equivalent of approximately one barrel of highly diluted chemical additives used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Chesapeake provided the list of these additives to the PADEP within hours of the incident. Even though the well is only partially completed, the company has requested that this information be posted and made available to the public at www.fracfocus.org.
Chesapeake began utilizing vacuum trucks from the beginning of the incident to maintain containment of the fluid. Additional trucks were quickly mobilized for on-going assistance. Water that began escaping containment at 2:30 a.m. on April 20 was stopped about four hours later.
In addition to on-site containment measures that we typically employ and the design of our work locations, which are constructed as containment mechanisms themselves, construction crews worked successfully to create a diversion channel to pre-constructed sediment basins that contained the vast majority of the fluid, greatly minimizing the amount that left the site. All recovered fluid was stored in steel tanks and was properly treated and disposed. No fluid was disposed in systems that discharge to rivers or other surface waters.
Rapid Environmental Response and Assessment
Chesapeake began extensive surface and well water sampling the day of the incident and continues daily testing today. The PADEP has also taken extensive samples from both surface water and nearby water wells. To date, our testing results indicate minimal and localized impact to the environment immediately surrounding our location, and no impact to Towanda Creek or the Susquehanna River.
The most significant impact occurred at a small farm pond near the location, which was drained in coordination with the PADEP, and the pond water was trucked to a Chesapeake waste water recycling facility. Area landowners’ private water wells continue to be tested. Water quality sampling of the unnamed tributary and Towanda Creek shows results at or near the same water quality indicated by samples taken prior to drilling activity. Thus far, ecological assessments of both streams have shown no indication of any fish kills or other adverse impacts.
Chesapeake and the PADEP continue to sample a wide area for various constituents in an effort to properly and thoroughly analyze any environmental effect from this incident. Chesapeake will work closely with the PADEP to formulate a plan for restoration of the site which will likely require excavation of limited quantities of soil and also some soil remediation activities to return the affected area to its original condition.
Equipment Testing and Assessment
As a result of this incident, Chesapeake voluntarily suspended completion operations in its Eastern Division to perform a review of the integrity of comparable wellheads. Every wellhead in the review was disassembled, components were studied and pressure tested and reassembled. We are confident that this was an isolated incident and that all wellhead equipment and connections are fully functional and structurally sound. For future operations, Chesapeake has implemented changes in its oversight of the contractors that assemble and test our wellheads. Certification of contract employees will be reviewed more thoroughly and more extensive documentation for all phases of pressure testing and equipment calibration will be required. In addition to these steps, we are instituting an independent auditing system to serve as an extra layer of oversight in wellhead assembly.
Assurances to the PADEP
Chesapeake has committed to continue to test soil and water sources, submit a plan for future monitoring and provide frequent updates to the Department. And, while its internal, certified well-control specialists were on site quickly, the company has agreed to utilize local third-party well-control specialists should their services be required in the future.
Chesapeake will share what it has learned from this experience with our industry partners to encourage Best Management Practices and the company will work with the PADEP to ensure future operations meet and exceed the standards regulating natural gas development in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the second-largest producer of natural gas, a Top 15 producer of oil and natural gas liquids and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company's operations are focused on discovering and developing unconventional natural gas and oil fields onshore in the U.S. Chesapeake owns leading positions in the Barnett, Haynesville, Bossier and Marcellus natural gas shale plays and in the Granite Wash, Cleveland, Tonkawa, Mississippian, Bone Spring, Avalon, Wolfcamp, Wolfberry, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, Three Forks/Bakken and Utica unconventional liquids plays. The company has also vertically integrated its operations and owns substantial midstream, compression, drilling and oilfield service assets. Chesapeake’s stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CHK. Further information is available at www.chk.com where Chesapeake routinely posts announcements, updates, events, investor information, presentations and press releases.