Study: Methane in 15 Percent of Upstate N.Y. Wells
Associated Press
17 December 2013
By By Kevin Begos
Some upstate New York state water wells naturally have explosive
levels of methane gas, even in areas that aren’t near oil or gas
drilling, according to a new federal study released Tuesday.
The U.S. Geological Survey study found that 15 percent of
groundwater samples from 66 household wells across south-central
New York contained naturally occurring methane at levels high
enough to warrant monitoring or remediation, even though none of
the water wells was within a mile of existing or abandoned natural
gas wells. Methane is an odorless, colorless gas which can be
explosive in high concentration.
USGS scientist Paul Heisig said the levels in four of the wells
were so high that water coming out of a tap could potentially be
lit with a match, or be an explosive risk.
Heisig added the study found significant differences between water
wells located in valleys and upland areas: nearly 30 percent of
groundwater samples from valleys tested at or above levels that
suggest cause for concern, but none of the samples from upland
wells did.
Heisig said the research should help policy makers and the public
understand the conditions in the region. The testing was done in
the summer of 2012 and the study area included about 1,800 square
miles in parts of Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Chenango, and Delaware
counties that have Marcellus Shale gas resources that the industry
wants to drill.
New York has had a moratorium since 2008 on the “fracking”
drilling method that’s used to tap shale gas deposits. Gov. Andrew
Cuomo said Monday that he might decide whether to allow limited
fracking by the end of 2014, but that the decision will be based
on science.
Heisig said his team didn’t specifically try to link the gas in
water wells to the Marcellus formation, but rather focused on
documenting the naturally occurring variations in water wells in
the region.
In a nearby region of northeastern Pennsylvania, Duke University
scientists found that some water wells located within a mile of
new gas drilling wells had higher levels of methane, compared to
those farther away. State officials, meanwhile, found that some
methane contamination in the area of Dimock, subject of the
anti-fracking documentary “Gasland,” was caused by nearby
drilling.