PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Energy companies drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale have violated environmental laws 1,435 times since the drilling boom began in early 2008, according to a survey published on Monday by an environmental group.
The survey, based on data from state regulators, found that the most common infraction -- representing almost a third -- was for erosion plans that failed to meet legal requirements, while 11 percent of violations were for polluting waterways.
A fifth of the cases were for faulty construction of waste water impoundments, also known as "frack pits" that hold the water before it is trucked away, treated, or reused.
Only 1 percent of violations were for the improper construction of well casings, designed to protect the water supply from toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, a technique for extracting gas from shale a mile or more underground.
The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, an environmental group, compiled the survey from data obtained with a Right to Know Request from the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Critics of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," say it contaminates drinking water with chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and other illnesses.
The industry, which has drilled some 1,500 Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania since the start of 2009, says its processes are safe and that there has never been a proven case of water contamination from fracking in the United States.
Of the total number of violations between January 1, 2008 and June 25, 2010, 952 were judged more likely to have a negative effect on the environment than the others, which were commonly administrative infractions.
East Resources Inc. committed the most violations, 138, followed by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC with 118, and the privately held Chief Oil & Gas Corp. with 109.
Myron Arnowitt, state director for the environmental group Clean Water Action, said the report shows the state needs more rules and better enforcement of an industry expected to drill at least 30,000 Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania over the next decade.
"There are so many problems that when you start multiplying it by 20 or 30, it's pretty scary," Arnowitt said.
Pennsylvania DEP Secretary John Hanger said the state has hired more inspectors to keep up with the industry's growth but probably needs even more in 2011.
"We've grown with the industry," Hanger told Reuters. "No state has done more to properly regulate the industry than Pennsylvania."
In July, regulators fined EOG Resources $400,000 and halted its operations after one of its Pennsylvania wells blew out. Earlier, officials quarantined 18 cows on a farm in Tioga County because of fears they may have drunk water from a leaking frack pond.
Kathryn Klaber, president of the industry's Marcellus Shale Coalition, said the industry is already tightly regulated.
"We will continue to work with regulators and other officials each day to ensure that Marcellus natural gas development is done effectively and environmentally responsibly," she said in a statement.
(Editing by David Gregorio)
Copyright 2010 Reuters Environmental Online Report
