Tag: Energy & Environment

W.Va.-Pa. Stream Being Used In Gas Well Restoration Effort

A natural gas well fire in Greene County, Pa., is out after it burned for several days.

A stream that meanders along the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border is being used to help keep the site restored, as order is slowly coming back to the location.

Dunkard Creek is the stream being used to withdraw water as the site is being worked on.

“Dunkard Creek is flowing at the bottom of the hill, near the well site. We evaluated the withdrawal point and determined the volume of water they are requesting, and the rates that they will be pumping it, posed no threat to water quality,” said Scott Perry with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The water is basically there as a safety net, in case another fire would start burning. Perry says that’s possible but unlikely.

The greatest threat at the site now, according to Perry, is methane venting out of the well, as workers try to replace the damaged well head. Perry says there are meters at the site that are set to alarm workers if methane levels get too high.

Grandview Elem. Closes Early Due to Odor in the Water

Concerns over the water in West Virginia persist 39 days after a coal scrubbing chemical spill affected the water supply of some 300,000 residents across…

Concerns over the water in West Virginia persist 39 days after a coal scrubbing chemical spill affected the water supply of some 300,000 residents across nine counties. One school in Kanawha Co. dismissed early  Monday.

According to the state Department of Education, Grandview Elementary in Kanawha Co. closed at 12:15 Monday due to an odor in the water and two school employees complaining of burning eyes and noses.

Spokesperson Liza Cordiero said the Rapid Response Team (made up of individuals from the West Virginia National Guard, the Kanawha Charleston Health Department, the West Virginia DEP’s Division of Air Quality, the Kanawha County Emergency Operations Center and the local school system) was dispatched to the school, detected a slight odor, collected samples, and then recommended early dismissal.

She said another round of sampling will occur after flushing. Previous tests did not detect the associated chemical, crude MCHM, in the school’s water.

In a news release, Kanawha Co. Superintendent Ron Duerring said Grandview is expected to resume classes Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Duerring also noted that the Rapid Response Team also visited Sharon Dawes Elementary, John Adams Middle School, and Alum Creek Elementary on Monday.  There were complaints of a slight licorice odor at Sharon Dawes and John Adams. Alum Creek reported oily water in one sink which does not appear to be related to the Jan. 9 chemical spill into the Elk River, according to Duerring.

Test results from Sharon Dawes Elementary and Alum Creek Elementary also retuned at non-detect levels. Results for John Adams Middle School are pending. 
 

Five schools in the county were forced to close in recent weeks due to similar concerns when faculty and staff complained of a strong licorice odor following a flushing process.

Local health department officials last week pulled a specific lot of bottled water sent to schools in the county from the Federal Emergency Management Agency despite testing indicating no presence of coliform. Those using the water had complained of a musty smell and an issue with taste.

W.Va. Senator Says Goverment Should Fund Health Monitoring

A top state senator wants West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to use $10 million in reserves for health monitoring after chemicals spilled into 300,000 people’s water supply.
 
     Senate Majority John Unger wants the governor to tap into the state’s rainy day fund for the program. The last-resort fund of about $915 million is considered one of the nation’s strongest.
 
     The Berkeley County Democrat says county health officials, such as Dr. Rahul Gupta of Kanawha County, should help administer the monitoring. Gupta has said health tracking is needed after people had contact with the little-known chemical, crude MCHM.
 
     Little toxicity information is available about the chemicals that spilled Jan. 9. They were not considered hazardous by federal standards.
 
     A Tomblin spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.

DEP Orders Fayette County Waste Pit Shutdown, Renews Well Permit

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has renewed a permit for an underground injection well in Fayette County that accepts fracking water and other waste.

A public hearing in 2013 brought concerned residents and former workers of Danny Webb Construction, the owner of the site. Residents have been concerned about the site for years.

The DEP renewed the permit on February 6 for a class two UIC, or underground injection control disposal well owned by Danny Webb Construction. The permit allows the company to accept fluids from oil and gas exploration, development drilling, and production fluids for another five years, although during the renewal process, the company could accept the waste anyway.

The permit was granted with the condition that the company close a waste pit and no longer use it. The pit is located near the underground well and was used to help remove sediments from the waste before injecting underground.

The DEP ordered the pit closed after the operator failed to submit a plan to bring the pit up to code. Although the DEP did not find the pit to be leaking, officials say it needed to be upgraded.

Underground Injection Control Permit Reviewer for the DEP Office of Oil and Natural Gas James Peterson says the pit needs a leak detection system and a new liner.

DEP is asking DWC to submit an engineered plan to properly close the pit.

The renewal comes despite opposition letters from several national and local environmental groups.

This pit and the well have received waste from Pennsylvania, Virginia and other parts of West Virginia.

The DEP says there are 54 non-commercial and 17 commercial disposal wells in the state as of late last year.

W.Va. Attorney General Targets Two Stores Over Water Price Gouging

West Virginia’s attorney general is accusing a convenience store company of illegally raising water prices while running water was unusable after a chemical spill.
 
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed the enforcement action Friday in Putnam County Circuit Court, claiming Mid Valley Mart more than doubled prices for one-gallon water jugs to $3.39 at two Hurricane stores. The complaint also says one customer paid more than $40 for 12 one-gallon jugs.
 
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, reimbursement to customers and fines in excess of $5,000 per violation.
 
Store owner Achraf Assi declined comment.
 
It’s illegal in West Virginia to raise prices on essential products and services by more than 10 percent in a state of emergency.
 
The Jan. 9 spill spurred a tap water-use ban for days for 300,000 West Virginians.

In-Home Testing After Elk River Chemical Spill Launches

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Tuesday the West Virginia Testing Assessment Project for residents in the nine counties affected by the Jan. 9 chemical spill into Elk River.

The project, which will make use of $650,000 from the state budget according to Tomblin, will be conducted by independent scientific experts under the direction of Dr.  Andrew Whelton, assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of South Alabama, and Corona Environmental Consulting.

Gov. Tomblin said West Virginia American Water president Jeff McIntyre offered financial support for the WV TAP project but no money from the company has been accepted.

Both Tomblin and Whelton referred to the project as “unprecedented.”

Whelton said the project has three main objectives:

1. To convene an international panel of experts to examine the West Virginia safety factor of 10 ppb MCHM drinking water screening level.

2. Determine the drinking water odor threshold for MCHM.

"This action is important because it is possible that people that can detect MCHM odors at concentrations less than the sensitivity of labratory instruments," said Whelton.

3. Conduct a focused drinking water residential sampling study. 

  • Whelton said this will begin with a sampling of 10 homes across the nine counties affected (one per county, except for two in Kanawha Co.).
  • These 10 homes were selected with help from non-profits in the area, he said.
  • Testing will begin Wednesday and will take three weeks to complete.
  • Results will be released directly to homeowners as part of this study but, there will be an effort to provide this information to the public.
  • Whelton says those involved will not be reporting to the Department of Health & Human Resources or other government agency to ensure the independent nature of the project.

Whelton also noted plans for a larger scaled testing project to include a sample “much greater than 100 homes” as a continuation of the study. He also suggested the need for animal toxicity studies on MCHM as well as medical monitoring for those affected by the incident.

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