Monongahela River Watershed Meeting
17 August 2010
UMRA, the Upper Monongahela River Association, invited all
watershed groups within the Monongahela River basin to attend a meeting
on 17 August 2010 at the Morgantown Airport. The statements below were
adopted by consensus.
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We recognize the value of mineral extraction, including oil, gas and
water, in the Monongahela basin when conducted responsibly.
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The West Virginia and Pennsylvania DEPs must enact commensurate and
enforceable standards and rules/regulations and adequate penalties to
protect regional water resources from potential hazards caused by
mineral extraction and oil and gas drilling, including but not limited
to sedimentation, water withdrawal, organic and inorganic chemicals and
thermal effects.
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The West Virginia and Pennsylvania DEPs must hire an additional and
adequate number of inspectors and other staff to effectively monitor
and enforce regulations governing mining and the oil and gas well
industries.
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A Resolution Concerning "Blowback Pit" Construction on Marcellus Well
Sites
WHEREAS, a significant component of a Marcellus gas well construction
site is the "blowback pit", which receives contaminated water
originally used in the shale fracturing process, and;
WHEREAS, blowback water contains dissolved solids concentrations which
can vary between 70,000ppm and over 200,000ppm (parts per million) as
well as chemicals utilized in the fracturing process and having harmful
environmental and human health potential, and;
WHEREAS, current legislation often limits the lining of blowback pits
to a single HDPE liner, offering little protection from percolation of
the blowback water into the soil and groundwater, and;
WHEREAS, current legislation minimally regulates pit construction in a
manner that would ensure the structural integrity of the facility,
sometimes resulting in the massive discharge of blowback water into a
receiving stream;
NOW, BE IT RESOLVED that the Upper Monongahela watershed groups
advocate that the state environmental agency responsible for permitting
such well-development sites require the use of sufficient natural or
geosynthetic protection to both contain the blowback water and to
prevent its percolation into the soil or groundwater beneath the pit
should the containment liner become ruptured. Further, we advocate the
usage of regulation typically found in state dam safety statutes in
order to ensure that blowback pits are properly sited and constructed,
and that emergency contact/notification procedures are implemented when
an accident involving the release of blowback water occurs.
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Now be it resolved that the Upper Monongahela watershed groups advocate
that closed-loop system for containment of blowback water be required
at all new construction gas well drilling sites rather than the open
pit system of containment.