PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP: Shale Gas Operator Found Responsible For Water Supply Contamination After Investigation Documents Chemical Contamination Spread Across 3 Townships In Greene County

On December 28, 2023, DEP posted an inspection report for the Mohr A and B shale gas well pads in Cumberland Township, Greene County operated by Greylock Production LLC-- formerly Energy Corporation of America-- saying--

“This administrative inspection is being conducted of the Mohr A and B locations well sites to document violations related to impacts to a private water supply.

“The Department has determined that activities associated with your [Greylock’s] oil and gas activities, specifically the leak at the Mohr impoundment, has resulted in pollution of a private water supply.”

Among the new notices of violation included in the inspection report where--

-- Discharging industrial waste into the waters of the Commonwealth;

-- Failure to control and dispose of waste in a manner that prevents water pollution;

-- Failure to immediately take steps to prevent injury to property and downstream water users;

-- Failure to identify and sample water supplies that have been polluted; and

-- Failure to restore or replace water supplies affected by the operator.

DEP is requesting a written response by January 15, 2024 from the operator on how they plan to correct the violations and bring the site into compliance.

Click Here for a copy of DEP’s inspection report.

Click Here for more photos & maps

Recent DEP Inspections

DEP’s eFACTS database file for the Mohr A and B lists the sites as “active” and the last onsite inspection was conducted on September 8, 2022.

DEP’s inspection report said there were no violations and the well equipment for both Mohr A and B “appeared to be in generally good condition.”

In addition, the report said, “The reclaimed area where impoundments were previously located looked vegetated and stable. No evidence of spills, stressed vegetation, or recent earth disturbance were observed.”

On April 7, 2023, DEP posted an inspection report to document that it had requested Greylock to provide the pre-drill survey it had conducted prior to drilling the wells in 2011, along with all the water sample results associated with the site. [DEP inspection report]

Part Of Larger Pollution Investigation

This pollution is part of widespread shale gas drilling-related contamination caused by Greylock Production LLC-- formerly Energy Corporation of America-- and documented by DEP during an investigation that started in June 2015 at 17 well sites in Cumberland, Jefferson, and Whiteley Townships, Greene County, including the Mohr A and B site, and Goshen Township, Clearfield County. Read more here.

These new violations are separate from violations covered in a 2017 consent order and agreement DEP signed with Energy Corporation of America-- now Greylock-- covering pollution incidents at the 17 well sites. Read more here.

The 2017 consent order has a specific provisions related to the discovery of new water supply contamination incidents--

“This Consent Order and Agreement does not address ECA’s obligations to restore or replace water supplies or to comply with any future orders to restore or replace water supplies related to any releases from the Onsite Pits.

“It is the parties’ intention that only ECA’s potential liability for civil penalties for water supply impacts known as of the date of this Consent Order and Agreement has been resolved as part of the settlement of the Department’s claims for civil penalties in this Consent Order and Agreement.”

Background

There were six shale gas wells on Mohr A drilled in May, June and July of 2011. There were two shale gas wells on Mohr B drilled in March of 2009 and May of 2011. The last active well completed fracking on May 2, 2012.

DEP’s eFACTS database file for the Mohr A and B well pads includes DEP approvals for “alternative waste management practices” for land application of drilling waste on the Mohr A and B well pad site dated April, May and October 2011 which match the drilling dates of seven out of the eight wells.

Water pollution problems at the Mohr A and B shale gas well pads go back to at least June 30, 2015 when an investigation by DEP started to uncover incidents of leaking waste pits and wastewater impoundments at these and several unconventional well sites and forensically demonstrated mismanagement of drilling, flowback, and produced fluids, according to DEP. Read more here.

Subsequent inspections revealed holes in the liners of onsite pits at Mohr A and B. A natural spring providing domestic water approximately 300 feet from the onsite pits at Mohr A and B was “adversely impacted” at the time, according to DEP.

“DEP’s investigation [also] revealed that ECA transferred drilling fluids from well site to well site long after the last well at these sites was completed, making these sites an unlawful waste transfer station. These fluids were stored in onsite pits for over nine months after the completion of drilling, in violation of site restoration regulations,” according to the 2017 consent order and agreement with Greylock. Read more here.

$1.7 Million Penalty/Consent Order

On January 16, 2018, DEP announced it signed a consent order and agreement with Energy Corporation of America-- now Greylock-- that included a $1.7 million civil penalty for water pollution and waste disposal violations at 17 well sites in Cumberland, Jefferson, and Whiteley Townships, Greene County, including the Mohr A and B site, and in Goshen Township, Clearfield County. Read more here.

The order included a $2,250,000 penalty, but the order discounted the penalty by 25% to $1.7 million because the company paid the penalty in full before January 31, 2018.

The consent order posted by DEP-- dated November 17, 2017-- includes additional information on the violations, environmental sampling results, maps of well pad locations, the Well Pads Environmental Assessment and Remediation Plan and associated Work Plan for one of the well pads-- Coldstream B.

The Environmental Assessment called for sampling for aluminum, barium, boron, chloride, chloride SPLP, iron, lithium, manganese, strontium, vanadium, zinc and Selenium. These are typical “fingerprint” chemicals for oil and gas wastewater.

There was no reference to testing for PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ and only one reference to radiological field screening at only one of the 17 well pads-- Coldstream B.

The Coldstream B well pad radiological screening found results within the wastewater pit there ranged from 7 to 14 microroentgens per hour and the mean and maximum background radiological levels were 10 and 12 microroentgens per hour, according to a consultant’s report included with the consent order.

The consultant concluded-- “Because all radiation levels measured during the initial site characterization were less than double the mean background level and no correlation between radiological data and elevated soil conductivity was observed, no additional radiological screening will be conducted.

“If radiological impacts were present within the pad, radiation levels would greatly exceed levels established using this conservative screening criterion.”

The consent order and agreement set a schedule for the removal of sludge and accumulated precipitation that exists in onsite pits at the five sites where pits remain.

The consent order provides additional stipulated penalties if ECA fails to comply with its obligations in a timely manner.

The agreement outlined sites for priority remediation and ordered ECA to do the following--

-- Close open onsite pits by removing and reusing or properly disposing of all fluids, removing and properly disposing of liners, sludge, and impacted soils, managing precipitation, and managing residual solids;

-- Monitor on a quarterly basis any water supplies within 3,000 feet of the well pads with open pits and manager precipitation into the pits until the pits are closed;

-- Provide DEP with written records of reuse, disposal, or treatments of all fluids, waste, and soils removed from the sites;

-- Restore all well sites with open onsite pits; and

-- Assess and remediate all sites with open or closed pits according to the Land Recycling Act or Act 2 standards.

Click Here for a copy of the consent order.

Criminal Charges

On June 10, 2022, then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro brought criminal charges against Energy Corporation of America-- now Greylock-- and two employees-- for leaks at the Mohr A and B site and water pollution and waste disposal violations at other shale gas well sites. Read more here.

“The [Attorney General’s] investigation involved the use of unpermitted impoundments at various unconventional well pads in Clearfield and Greene counties. Some of these impoundments ultimately leaked and caused contamination of waters of the Commonwealth, including at least two domestic water supplies,” according to the Attorney General’s announcement.

“According to the testimony, ECA’s consultant, Moody and Associates, investigated and confirmed the pit was leaking potentially toxic fluids meant to be confined to the well pad. The pits were subsequently dismantled, and once the water was removed, numerous holes were found in the liner.”

“One landowner who lives downslope from one of ECA’s well pads in Greene County testified before the Grand Jury that during the roughly five years the pits were in use, no one ever tested his drinking water until the end of the project in 2017.”

“The [Attorney General’s] investigation also revealed criminal conduct continued under Greylock at a newer unconventional well pad, known as the Beacon Pad.

“The pad experienced a spill in February 2020 while the wells were being drilled. The waste that spilled made its way to an unnamed tributary.

“Instead of cleaning up the spill appropriately, [the employee] ordered that a defoaming agent be sprayed onto the rocks above the mouth of the stream. The defoaming agent effectively removed the evidence of the spill but left all the chemical constituents still in the water.”

Click Here for a summary of the Grand Jury Report leading to the charges.

The case was referred to the Office of Attorney General by DEP.

“All charges are accusations and the defendant is innocent unless and until proven guilty.”

Click Here to read the Attorney General’s announcement of criminal charges.

(Photos: Mohr A shale gas wells; Mohr B shale gas wells; Site of reclaimed impoundment from DEP 9.8.22 inspection report.)

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

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-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Compliance So Far In 2023 - It Isn’t Pretty [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - January 6 [PaEN]

-- DEP Disapproves Land Recycling Risk Assessment For Dozens Of Chemicals At American Refining Group Refinery In Bradford, McKean County [PaEN]

-- DEP Reviewing Act 2 Cleanup Reports For Trainer Refinery, Delaware County; Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 49 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 6 PA Bulletin [PaEN]