Gas Industry Decries Pennsylvania's Lack of Water Well Regs

“Rather than pointing the finger at companies, just assuming we’ve done something, when there’s obviously issues in that area and have been for a long time I think we need to look further into how we can address the longterm solution to improve the water well conditions. And a good place to start would be to set some water well construction standards, because right now there are none.”

That’s right. No statewide regulations exist on either water quality, or drilling standards. Some counties, like Montgomery and Chester, do have local regulations. But for the vast majority of the state’s 3 million rural residents who rely on private drinking water wells, it’s up to them to make sure what they’re drinking is safe.
Chief and state environmental regulators say drilling activity was not to blame for high levels of barium, methane and other contaminants in Stroud’s Bradford County water well. That’s not to say Chief has a crystal clean record in the state. Just last week DEP fined Chief $180,000 for a fracking fluid spill at a Marcellus Shale well in Jefferson County.

Stroud in the meantime, calls the DEP report on her water “a joke.”
Both DEP and Chief say barium exists naturally in Bradford County wells. That’s because there are spots where the former glacial sea-bed is close to the surface. Drill for water in those areas, even a shallow water well, and it could come up sea water.
Still, it’s unclear how Stroud’s water, which never tasted salty, would suddenly contain high enough levels of barium to make her sick.
And here’s another question we hope DEP can answer. If historical levels of barium exist in these areas, why were residents unaware of it?

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