By Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E reporter
U.S. Geological Survey researchers are adding to the growing volume of research surrounding methane in Pennsylvania water.
A small USGS sampling found high levels of naturally occurring methane in two of 20 randomly selected private water wells. Five other wells also contained some levels of methane, but the source of the gas was not determined. The water wells are in northeast Pennsylvania’s Sullivan County, not near any currently producing natural gas wells.
The prevalence of methane in Pennsylvania water wells has become a contentious topic after state regulators shut down Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. wells in Susquehanna County when water wells were found to be contaminated by methane from poorly constructed gas wells. A subsequent study by a Duke University researcher linked methane contamination with nearby shale drilling.
Methane is the main component of natural gas but also exists naturally deep underground. If a water well or gas well is shoddily built, methane contamination can cause the site to explode. Private water wells are unregulated in Pennsylvania.
Cabot Oil & Gas released its own study last month finding natural methane to be “ubiquitous” around Susquehanna County (EnergyWire, May 31), a characteristic of the region frequently noted by industry supporters who say methane contamination has nothing to do with oil and gas operations.
“This independent study, like many others, further underscores the serious nature of this chronic issue and importantly demonstrates that high, ‘potentially explosive or flammable quantities’ of naturally-occurring methane are indeed present in private water wells in areas with absolutely no Marcellus development,” Marcellus Shale Coalition CEO Kathryn Klaber said in a statement about the USGS study.
Rob Jackson, who authored the Duke study, has said the presence of natural methane doesn’t mean industry hasn’t also played a role.
“The fact that methane is found naturally across Pennsylvania does not mean that all methane that’s found in Pennsylvania is natural,” he told EnergyWire last month.
USGS researchers, who collaborated with Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, emphasized that their study was only a starting point and was designed to provide data on base-line methane levels before natural gas drilling moves to the area.
“These findings provide background information on the presence of dissolved methane in Sullivan County’s groundwater,” the agency said in a release. “Because the sample size was small — only 20 wells — additional sampling would be necessary to provide a broader picture of naturally occurring methane in the region.”
NOTE: Click HERE to view this article online.
