Drilling Opponents Fight for Monongahela River
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
5
November 2010
By Chris Togneri
A day after hundreds of protesters marched Downtown, about 50 people
opposed to drilling for gas in the Marcellus shale formation took up
signs Thursday in Clairton and marched again, this time to a wastewater
treatment plant.
At issue, they said, is the release of thousands of gallons of
contaminated drilling wastewater into the Monongahela River every day,
a claim drilling companies strongly disputed.
"It's an issue every citizen needs to become aware of," said Leila
Weir, a founder of Communities United for Rights and Environment, or
CURE. "We're not out here because we want to disrupt industry and jobs
-- everyone wants that. But no one should be allowed to dump into the
rivers."
Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for Range Resources, a Fort Worth company
with regional headquarters in Canonsburg, said Range and other drilling
companies adhere to state Department of Environmental Protection
regulations.
"The DEP prohibits the disposal of any untreated oil and gas wastewater
into surface waters in Pennsylvania. Our industry has been recycling
and reusing that water," Pitzarella said. "This is one of two things:
They're either misinformed or deliberately misleading people. Either
way, they're not helping anyone."
DEP Secretary John Hanger said drillers are required to treat all
wastewater for acids.
Additionally, new standards took effect in August for Marcellus shale
drilling sites and existing sites that hope to expand, which ban
operators from discharging wastewater that contains more than 500
milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids -- such as salts and
other minerals -- into a watershed, he said.
Water that drillers use to fracture the deep shale has high levels of
dissolved salts, minerals and chemicals. Hanger said only a few older,
pre-Marcellus shale drill sites are permitted to discharge wastewater
without treating it, because the levels of dissolved solids in water
from those sites would not affect drinking water or aquatic life.
"The rules have been greatly strengthened," he said. "Our rivers and
streams now have the strongest legal protections in the history of the
commonwealth."
The protesters are not convinced.
Carrying signs reading "No Fracking Way" and "Stop the Toxic Invasion,"
they rallied for about an hour outside the water treatment plant.
Several drivers in passing cars honked horns in support. Only one man
expressed disapproval, shouting as he drove by: "Get a job!"
Bob Donnan, 59, of Peters said drilling began near his home in 2008 and
his tap water "started smelling and tasting bad."
"I thought Marcellus shale drilling was a great thing at first," Donnan
said. "I just don't think that anyone is prepared or aware."
About 400 people marched Wednesday outside Pittsburgh's David L.
Lawrence Convention Center, where gas industry representatives are
holding a conference. CURE spokesman Ken Weir said more protests are
planned.
"We will not go away. We refuse to go away. We are in this for the long
haul," he said.
Chris Togneri can be reached at ctogneri@tribweb.com or 412-380-5632.