Posted on 03/16/2012 7:32:03 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi
WASHINGTON — A first round of tests showed no evidence that water at 11 homes in a small town in Pennsylvania near natural gas drilling operations had been polluted to unhealthy levels, U.S. environmental regulators said on Thursday.
The Environmental Protection Agency said in January it would perform tests at about 60 homes in Dimock where residents have complained since 2008 of cloudy, foul-smelling water after Cabot Oil & Gas Corp began hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for gas nearby.
Sampling results from the first round of 11 homes "did not show levels of contamination that could present a health concern," a regional EPA spokesman said in an email.
Samples from six of the 11 homes did show concentrations of sodium, methane, chromium or bacteria, but those results were all within safe ranges, the spokesman said.
Arsenic was found in the water at two of the 11 homes, but the agency determined those levels were also safe. The agency will retest the water at those two homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
The EPA has been bought off by the oil industry.
There is not enough evidence to prove environmentalists are wrong.
It's almost like they bitterly cling to their religion.......
Well, hey, as long as it’s a safe level of pollution, all is well.
This story was reported by our local news last night.
It was near impossible to find through searches online.....and I can find nearly anything.
Uneducated and ignorant post of the week candidate!
People in my area are in a growing state of panic due to the anti drilling activists. A woman at a recent meeting was screaming about all the chemicals detected in her well that “weren’t there” 20 years ago.
However, the numbers she gave from the two tests 20 years apart told the whole story. 20 years ago, the test couldn’t detect what they find in miniscule quantities today.
“Well, hey, as long as it’s a safe level of pollution, all is well.”
Well, I think Wolfie is just poking fun, and is, well, just being facetious as well.
This is old news because two years ago the state determined there was no contamination from gas wells at Dimock:
DEP CONTINUES TO ANALYZE DIMOCK WATER SUPPLIES
No Indications of Contamination from Gas Well Hydro Fracturing Activities
WILKES-BARRE – Responding to recent concerns expressed by residents of Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, the Department of Environmental Protection has collected dozens of water supply samples in the Carter Road area and determined that nearby gas well hydro fracturing activity has not impacted local wells.
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=2165&typeid=1
It was mentioned that a previous study in Wyoming did verify that specific fracing chemicals were not in local drinking water wells, which implies that chemical fingerprints were part of the analytical data and its interpretation.
But the facts don’t matter. There is a movie which says that it did. And it is endorsed by Troy Polamalu.
A little bit of both. Make no mistake, I’m on the side of the industry on this point. Presumably, the residents did notice a change in their water (cloudier and smellier), but if tests prove levels are safe, then it’s small price for them to pay for our energy needs. The idea that we’re going to have pristine water and air was nice, but we live in a global economy now, where our competitors citizens don’t or can’t demand that. To compete with that, quality of life has to be adjusted. Of course, it’s not my water, but there ya go.
The prices on whole house filters has really come down while the efficiencies of these units has gone up.
"Drill baby, drill..."
That is why the Impact Fee legislation establishes mandatory baseline water quality levels for private wells near drilling sites.
If they did notice a difference in their water it was from the increase in the number of water wells removing the water from the ground. As you take the water out more water comes in to replace it and as it does it brings the so called “bad things” with it.
Another possibility, as the water level goes down the concentration of “bad things” goes up.
You’re right.
As the water table drops or the more the water moves the more contaminants will be in the water.
I was horrified to hear the the wells were full of Dihydrogen Monoxide......that stuff can kill you!
I’ve been the operator of a small public water supply for almost 30 years. We have four deep wells. There’s “stuff” in the water. Heck, there’s “stuff” in surface water supplies. It can’t all be removed, and it’s there naturally. But the amounts are infinitesimal! Fractions of a part per billion. And, they’re very strictly regulated by the epa. Water is different everywhere, depending on what the water is exposed to. Well water generally has more minerals present, surface water, more chemical agents. I can remember drinking from a water fountain in Midland Texas 50 years ago. Water tasted like metal! Like chompin’ on a penny. If we had to remove every trace of everything, there’s no way you could afford to use water! Back to a once a month bath, where the whole family shares the same bath water. And back to outhouses!
20 years ago, a rep from the epa (spit,,spit) told me they felt a fair water bill for a family of four should be $1,500 per year! And that was then! Wonder what they think is fair now?
BTW, our water has always passed all their tests with flying colors, but there’s still “stuff” in the water. Just not enough to remotely matter.
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