One of the springs supplying water to the Village of Reno’s system was contaminated in July by a spill from conventional oil well wastewater tanks operated by Petro Erie, Inc. and the 550 people in Reno have been getting emergency supplies of make-up water ever since.
The Village of Reno’s water supply is owned by the Venango Water Company which is being operated by Aqua Pennsylvania under an emergency order issued by the Public Utility Commission on August 12.
Aqua Pennsylvania made the request for the interconnection to the Franklin General Authority to help avoid the cost of trucking water to the Reno water system daily.
The Authority is expected to consider the request as early as its meeting in December.
Click Here to read the article. [PDF of article]
Summary Of Spill Incident
The conventional oil well wastewater release from Petro Erie’s production wastewater tanks was discovered on July 20 and was found to have contaminated the Village of Reno’s water supply in Sugarcreek Borough, Venango County leaving the community of over 550 residents and businesses without clean water for more than six weeks.
Although the “do not consume” order to residents in Reno was lifted on September 1, the water supply emergency continues with drinking water trucked into the community every week. Read more here.
Sadly, on September 9, Sugarcreek Borough Mayor Charlie McDaniel, who had been a leader in his community responding to the Village of Reno water emergency for the last six weeks, was found deceased in his home. Read more here.
On October 5, Petro Erie Inc. filed an expanded appeal with the Environmental Hearing Board of DEP’s August 16, 2023 order requiring the operator to restore the Village Of Reno’s water supply and clean up the spill of conventional oil well wastewater from wells the company operates in Venango County. [EHB Docket No. 2023075]
One grounds for the appeal is that the “Appellant lacks the financial ability to comply with the Order.”
This is the second order DEP issued in this case and the second appeal of those orders filed by Petro Erie, Inc. [EHB Docket No. 2023063]
This is the second time the company said it lacked the financial ability to comply with DEP’s orders. Read more here.
On August 21, a DEP inspection found two more Petro Erie, Inc. conventional oil well wastewater tanks with a pipe running from the tanks to a discharge area in a ditch with clear indications of wastewater dumping. Read more here.
On August 29, a DEP inspection found Petro Erie, Inc. had begun some cleanup at the site of the original wastewater tank release, but there was no activity at the site the day of the inspection. Read more here.
On September 25, 2023, DEP did a follow up inspection of the Lower Reno 1 conventional oil well operated by Petro Erie, Inc. in Sugarcreek Borough, Venango County and found a limited amount of excavation was done in a drainage ditch impacted by the production wastewater spill that contaminated the Village of Reno water supply and the dirt was stockpiled for later disposal. [DEP inspection report + photos]
The latest information from DEP’s Northwest Regional Office is available on its Venango Water Company/ Petro Erie Inc. Investigation webpage.
Visit the Aqua Pennsylvania Venango webpage for more information on activities related to the water supply system the company is operating on an emergency basis for the Venango Water Company.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - October 7 to 13 - More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Spills; Venting Gas; Emergency Well Plugging [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - October 14 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 55 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In October 14 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Still Fighting To Make Road Dumping Its Wastewater Legal; DEP Introduces Concepts Of A ‘Life Insurance Policy’ For Plugging Wells; Certified 3rd Party Inspectors [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: Permanent Alternate Water Supply Being Considered For Village Of Reno, Venango County After Contamination By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill [PaEN]
-- DEP Reports Shale Gas Operations Sent Over 138,000 Cubic Feet Of Radioactive TENORM Waste To Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facilities For Disposal In 2022 - Over 911,000 Cubic Feet Since 2017 [PaEN]
-- Better Path Coalition: Oct. 18 Webinar Launching 9th Compendium Of Scientific, Medical Findings Demonstrating Risks, Harms Of Natural Gas Development, Infrastructure [PaEN]
-- Sierra Club's Delaware County Team Hosts Oct. 16 Webinar On Lawsuit Challenging Law Preventing DEP From Protecting Public Health, Environment From Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells [PaEN]
-- House Committee Meets Oct. 16 On Cryptocurrency Mining Moratorium Bill; Resolution To Study Potential Of Geothermal Energy From Abandoned Mine Pools [PaEN]
-- DOE Awards Natural Gas-Based Hydrogen Hub In Western PA, Renewable/Nuclear Power-Based Hydrogen Hub In Eastern PA; Reactions [PaEN]
NewsClips This Week:
-- The Allegheny Front: After Fayette County’s First Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit Was Withdrawn From EPA; Residents Worry There May Be More To Come
-- TribLive: Some Plum Boro, Allegheny County Residents, Activists Push Back Against 2nd Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well
-- Post-Gazette: Plum Boro, Allegheny County, Environmental Group Go To Commonwealth Court Trying To Stop New Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well
-- Inside Climate News: Plum Boro, Allegheny County, Environmental Group Go To Commonwealth Court Trying To Stop New Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Plum Boro, Allegheny County Residents Battle Penneco, Zoning Board Over Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well
-- Warren Times: Land-For-Shale Gas Deal Between Game Commission, PA General Energy Will Result In New State Game Land In Warren County
-- PA Physicians For Social Responsibility: MarkWest Carpenter Natural Gas Compressor Station Natural Gas Leaks In Washington County [Video]
-- Observer-Reporter: Local Couple First Natural Gas Leaseholders To Contribute To Giving Fund Account Created By EQT Natural Gas At Washington County Community Foundation [EQT Matches Donations] [Check EQT’s DEP Compliance Record here. ]
-- Observer-Reporter: Range Resources Welcomes 150 Female Students To Annual Power Of Her Event [Check Range Resources DEP Compliance Record here.
-- Reading Eagle: Chocolate Company Pushes Back Against OSHA Finding Company Was Responsible For Deaths From Natural Gas Explosion
-- The Daily Item Letter: Fossil Fuels Have A History Of Being Unreliable
-- Warren Times: Gasoline Prices Fall In Region, But Not In Warren County [In Middle Of Conventional Oil Drilling Country]
[Posted: October 13, 2023] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment