There are a few major milestones in the development of a Marcellus Shale natural gas well. The first is site preparation, followed by the drilling of the well, completions process (hydraulic fracturing) and building the gathering infrastructure to get the gas to market.
Prior to building the well pad, companies are required to obtain an erosion and sediment (E&S) control permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection. This permit ensures that companies have met the pre-determined regulatory requirements to ensure that the operator is building the pad to DEP specifications. E&S permits ensure that storm water run-off from a pad does not enter surface waters and sediment does not enter the storm water system.
During the drilling phase, companies case the wells in multiple layers of steel and cement to prevent contents from entering underground drinking water aquifers. In Pennsylvania, companies are required to case wells with multiple layers of steel and cement. This barrier also insulates the hydraulic fracturing fluid from migrating from outside the wellbore.
After a well is drilled and completed, the midstream gathering infrastructure needs to be constructed to transport the natural gas to the transmission network. Think of the gathering infrastructure as a network of streets in your neighborhood and the transmission network being the larger roads and highways. During this process, companies have to apply for permits to cross streams, rivers and wetlands – all of which must be granted prior to a pipeline being constructed.
At each stage of the process, water resources are protected. However, like any industry, there is risk associated with constructing a natural gas well. So long as a well site is constructed and drilled in accordance with regulations, water resources are safe and contamination will not occur.
