Commissioners updatedon injection well status

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Residents of the Highland Street Extension area near DuBois continue to keep a watchful eye on a proposed injection well in Brady Township.
Marianne Atkinson gave an update on the situation during Tuesday's Clearfield County commissioners meeting.
She said the state Department of Environmental Protection has received notification of intent from Mike Hoover of Windfall Oil and Gas to build a hydraulic fracturing water injection well in Brady Township near the DuBois City limits.
Atkinson thanked the commissioners for writing a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency expressing their concern. She said there are numerous reasons why an injection well in that particular area is a bad idea.
She said there are about 20 prime water wells serving homes within a quarter-mile of the proposed location and 60 wells within 1 mile.
Atkinson said most of those wells and others are fed by the same aquifer that runs almost directly under the proposed injection well. She said if a "blowout" occurs at the site, chances are very good that the wells will be contaminated. The water serves about 800 people in the Brady Township, Luthersburg and DuBois areas.
If the wells are ruined, she said, it will not be feasible to extend a water line to the residences.
Atkinson added that the proposed well is on a hill, so contamination can occur from surface spills, too.
Atkinson gave the commissioners maps showing the rock formations in the area. She said the sandstone formation is not the ideal quality to support injection wells like it is in neighboring states like Ohio.
She also pointed out that another injection well operator was fined about $160,000 by the DEP, which she called a "slap on the wrist." Atkinson said that well had been operating at a pressure exceeding what was allowed and also experienced a mechanical failure. She said the well continued to inject frac water for three months after it failed.
The commissioners said they have spoken with U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard, and state Rep. Matt Gabler, R-DuBois, about their concerns.
"I think it's safe to say that the commissioners are more in favor of treating frac water rather than storing it under the ground,"
Commissioner Mark McCracken said. "Building more treatment plants means creating more jobs."
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Reported by Kimberly Finnigan, staff writer. E-mail: kfinnigan@thecourierexpress.com.