DEP's Failure

BEFORE: Muncy Creek floodplain, north of Tivoli, flooded on Jan. 25, 2010.
AFTER:  By Feb. 21, 2010, XTO had a well in full operation.  

MUNCY -- This is a failure of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Permit by Rule.  Last spring, under pressure from the gas industry to speed up the permitting process, DEP took the permitting for land disturbance and run off away from the county conservation districts.  It is quite doubtful if the county’s conservation district would have permitted this site.

Although DEP took over this function, it didn’t have the manpower to actually do it. To compensate, any disturbance less than 5 acres can receive a permit, sight unseen, by the developer submitting plans from their own engineers.  Most well pads are less than 5 acres.  

When this well is fraced, 18,000 to 20,000 gallons of toxic concentrated chemicals, (hydrochloric acid, biocides, petroleum distillates, methanol, a variety of alcohols, ethylene glycol and much more) will be brought on to this floodplain and mixed. Any spillage will end up in the creek.  

Do spills happen? Ask the 17 cows in Louisiana who died horribly last spring after drinking chemicals that spilled into their pasture from an adjacent well.

On the Internet at http://www.responsibledrillingalliance.org