Sep 3, 2014 4 min read

A report released by the state Department of Environmental Protection shows just two residential water sources in Washington County have been affected by natural gas drilling in nearly seven years, prompting a local environmental group to question those findings.

The DEP’s list of water supply determination indicates the agency completed investigations that showed 243 confirmed cases of water contamination “liabilities” across Pennsylvania with most of them located in the northern and eastern parts of the state.

No investigations found confirmed cases of water supply contaminations in Greene County, according to the report released last week.

“If there were only two cases (in Washington County), that’s great, but we believe one is too many,” DEP spokeswoman Morgan Wagner said. “There is a lot of drilling in Washington County, so that seems to be a pretty positive thing.”

The first case involved a polluted water supply at a West Pike Run Township property from a conventional well drilled by Dominion Exploration & Production Inc. in late 2007. The DEP determined the well water supply was “cloudy and discolored” and could not be used for drinking or cooking purposes. The DEP ordered Dominion to provide bottled water and restore the property owner’s water service with an alternate supply.

The second case occurred for a homeowner in Cross Creek Township in January 2013. The DEP investigated the case and found a “change in water” compared to pre-drilling sampling near a Range Resources well and determined a “presumption of liability” for the company because of its proximity to the property, according to the DEP. However, the homeowners and Range reached a settlement in March 2013 that included a cash payment of $3,254 to upgrade the resident’s water filtration system, Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella said.

“It demonstrates that while some incidents have occurred, they are very rare and occur in less than 1 percent of the time, and none appear to have had any adverse impacts on health or safety,” Pitzarella said of the report.

But Veronica Coptis, a community organizer at the Center for Coalfield Justice in Washington, said the list does not include any active investigations, private complaints to drilling companies or people who have not yet filed claims. Coptis added she was “shocked” to learn there were no confirmed cases in Greene County and said the group has received several complaints from affected property owners there.

“The DEP’s release on contaminated water supplies does not reflect on-the-ground impacts from shale drilling in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” she said.

She said the group is now urging the DEP to include cases currently under investigation for “full transparency” to the public. Coptis also questioned whether the DEP has the proper staffing to adequately track all complaints, especially in Greene County, where mining and drilling coincide.

A spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition lobbying group noted those cases were remarkably low considering 1,310 conventional and unconventional wells have been drilled in Washington County, and more than 1,000 have been drilled in Greene County.

“Our industry works closely and tirelessly with regulators and others to ensure that we protect our environment, striving for zero incidents,” Marcellus Shale Coalition President Dave Spigelmyer said.

The highest concentration of contaminated water sources occurred in Bradford County with 52 confirmed cases. There were 36 cases found in Susquehanna County and 34 in McKean County.

In Southwestern Pennsylvania, there were eight cases in Indiana County, three cases in Westmoreland County and one in Fayette County.

The full report can be viewed at www.dep.state.pa.us.