Tioga County Conservation District724-1801×118
Currently there are drilling rigs scattered across the region, with rigs located in Tioga, Bradford, Lycoming and Susquehanna Counties. Marcellus Shale rigs typically explore as deep as 8,000 feet and drill horizontal legs as far outward as 4000 feet from the vertical well. In order to release the gas from the tight shale formation a process called hydrofracturing is used. Hydrofracturing (called fracing for short) fractures the shale through the use of pressurized water. Special sands, called propents, and chemical are injected along with the water to form a porous route for the gas to flow through.
We are fortunate that our Department of Environmental Protection has a very rigorous permitting and inspection process that the companies must follow in order to extract the gas. We do however understand that those personnel cannot maintain a watch on the activity of all the people, rigs and trucks contracted and subcontracted to produce the gas. Many contractors and companies brought in from outside the state are not yet familiar with our regulations regarding water usage, erosion and sedimentation, and waste disposal. The region is too large and the resources of the regulators too limited to effectively keep track of the exponential growth in activity taking place.
Filed under: meeting updates | Tagged: Marcellus shale drilling, natural gas in wellsboro pa, pine creek, protecting pine creek watershed, tioga county PA, waterdog, waterdog training |
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