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Chief Oil & Gas: Crystal Stroud Water Contamination Not From Drilling
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In April 2011, Crystal Stroud of Granville Summit, Bradford County, accused Chief Oil & Gas of contaminating her water well, which had been found to contain high levels of barium and lead. A thorough investigation showed that Chief Oil & Gas is not responsible for the water well contamination or health claims of Crystal Stroud.
In numerous public appearances and radio and television interviews, Ms. Stroud stated that a well drilled by Chief had caused water contamination and health problems for her and her family.
While Chief strongly believed its operations were unrelated to Ms. Stroud’s claims—and no evidence had been provided by Ms. Stroud to validate her allegations— Chief met with Ms. Stroud, sampled her well and then subsequently launched a full investigation to determine the cause of contamination.
Hundreds of man-hours were utilized and considerable costs incurred in hiring independent experts to collect and review data. The Department of Environmental Protection also conducted an independent investigation of Ms. Stroud’s claims. Neither the scientific data obtained by Chief or the conclusions of the independent experts support Ms. Stroud’s claims that natural gas development was to blame for her water well contamination.
Chief’s Investigation
In late January 2011, Chief used a small rig, similar to those used to drill water wells, at the Andrus well site in Bradford County, located near the Stroud property, to drill a surface hole to a depth of 360 feet.
The well was drilled using compressed air. No drilling mud was used, and none of the metals or chemicals found in Ms. Stroud’s well water went into or came out of the well during the drilling process. Before any further drilling occurred, the surface hole was properly cased and cemented, isolating and protecting the ground water.
Additionally, Chief sampled water from other wells in close proximity to the Andrus site prior to drilling, and then again after receiving Ms. Stroud’s complaint. These wells, which are much closer to the Andrus well site than Ms. Stroud’s well, showed no meaningful change in water quality after drilling.
Barium and the other substances mentioned by Ms. Stroud appeared in only trace levels, well below any U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), both before and after drilling.
The investigation by the independent experts revealed that high levels of barium and the other substances in Ms. Stroud’s well have been naturally present in the ground water in this area for quite some time. In fact, this conclusion mirrored the conclusions of a study published by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in 1998, long before any Marcellus drilling in the area.
That report was based in part on ground water sampling conducted by the United States Geologic Survey dating back to the late 1980s, in some cases. That report concluded that levels of naturally-occurring barium in excess of the EPA’s maximum contaminant levels “are commonly found in ground water” in some wells drawing water from this area. It is likely that Ms. Stroud’s well water has had the levels of barium and other substances she reported since the day she moved into this residence.
DEP’s Investigation
The DEP has also investigated Ms. Stroud’s well contamination claim and has determined that any water well problems in her well are a result of a pre-existing condition in the area and not related to the development of the Marcellus Shale or the drilling of Chief’s Andrus well.
In a letter to Ms. Stroud the DEP writes, “The Department's investigation indicates that the conditions documented in your water well reflect background conditions/pre-existing and that gas well drilling has not impacted your water supply.”
Copies of maps of well locations and copies of reports are available online.
DEP Says Gas Drilling Didn't Sicken Woman
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7/11/2011 |
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