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DEP: Widespread Presence Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fresh Water May Have Led To ‘Inadvertently’ Using Contaminated Water For Fracking Gas Wells In Washington County

In an April 2023 DEP determination of whether natural gas drilling contaminated a Washington County family’s water well, DEP said the “widespread presence of PFAS” forever chemicals in fresh water may have led to “inadvertently” using contaminated water to frack a shale gas well.

But, DEP concluded the use of contaminated water did not result in polluting the water well with PFAS chemicals.

The determination involved a water well owned by Bryan Latkanich near Fredericktown, Washington County that was approximately 500 feet away and down-gradient from two shale gas wells on a pad originally developed by Chevron Appalachia, but now owned by EQT CHAP, LLC, a subsidiary of EQT Corporation.

The shale gas wells were drilled and fracked between September 2011 and August 2012.

Lisa Johnson, the attorney representing Latkanich said, “It was news to me that the Department is admitting that there's a widespread presence of PFAS in public water sources.

“I don't think that's something that the public is necessarily aware of, particularly with respect to the limited set of data, limited testing, that the Department has done. I thought that was pretty surprising that they had put that in this letter,” Johnson said.

The Latkanich’s original water well complaint alleged oil and gas drilling on his property contaminated the Latkanich well with PFAS “forever chemicals” and did not adequately address possible radioactive contamination.

On May 8, Latkanich appealed DEP’s determination that his family’s private water supply was not impacted by oil and gas development on his farm to the Environmental Hearing Board. [Docket #2023043]

PFAS Contamination

“I'm not aware of any requirement that [oil and gas well] operators have to test their freshwater sources before use,” said Johnson. “Brian, and other, especially rural landowners, live in places where there were never PFAS.

“I don't know how many wells there are now in Pennsylvania taking this water and basically introducing it into rural areas where people previously had clean drinking water in their private water wells,” said Johnson.

In its determination, DEP said, “[A] review of records did indicate that fresh water was used in the fluid mixture for stimulation activity on the Latkanich [property] unconventional [gas] wells.

“This fresh water was obtained from multiple sources including municipal water authorities, which source surface water from the Monongahela River, Youghiogheny River and/or Tenmile Creek.

“PFAS chemicals are not found naturally in the environment, but have been extensively produced for use in cookware, carpeting, personal care products, plastic pipes, firefighting foams, industrial processes, clothing and other fabrics, food packaging and other materials for water, grease or stain resistance.

“Because that widespread use has come into contact with the natural environment for decades, PFAS chemicals have been detected in groundwater and surface water in various parts of the world, including rivers in Southwest Pennsylvania and water from some Pennsylvania public water supplies.”

“Review of sample results from sampling conducted on surface water sources across Pennsylvania by the United States Geological Survey in summer 2019, indicated that PFAS was identified at several locations on the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers and Tenmile Creek.” Read more here on USGS/DEP study.

DEP continued, “Based upon the widespread presence of PFAS in these freshwater sources, PFAS-containing water may have inadvertently been used on the well pad during stimulation.

“No indication of an incident during fracturing was identified that would cause a release to groundwater, but because the Water Supply is located downgradient of the well site, an impact from surface spills is possible.”

The appeal filed by Latkanich, however, cites numerous notices of violations for spills and releases at the Chevron/EQT drill pad and for improper disposal of fluids at three onsite impoundments on the site. [Paragraphs 25 - 36]

Latkanich provided DEP with water well test results as recently as 2019 and 2023 from the University of Pittsburgh and an investigation by Environmental Health News showing chemicals consistent with fracking operations and PFAS contamination.

Testing results from the University of Pittsburgh found PFAS in the water well and other locations in the Latkanich home. DEP disregarded the sample results because the samples were not analyzed by an accredited laboratory.

Johnson noted the Environmental Health News test results “were not considered or included in their determination letter.”

DEP’s own sample results showed the presence of PFOS and related chemicals, but they were below the DEP drinking water maximum contaminant level.

Johnson said DEP’s letter of determination does not say whether DEP directly asked if Chevron used PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ at the drilling site in 2011-2012, but the Department instead stated it relied on a “review of documents related to the well site.”

In July 2021, Physicians for Social Responsibility reported PFAS chemicals were used by Chevron in fracking unconventional shale gas wells between 2012 and 2020. Read more here.

The information compiled by Physicians for Social Responsibility also noted wastewater containing PFAS from Pennsylvania shale gas wells was shipped to Ohio disposal facilities. Read more here.

The appeal filed by Latkanich said Chevron sent waste from its drilling operation on the Latkanich property, including sludge, to the AMS Martins Ferry Facility in Ohio, wastewater for reuse at well sites in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and reported road spreading it in Crawford County, all of which could have contained PFAS chemicals, but they were never tested. [See Paragraph 71 in appeal.]

Penn State research released in October 2022 found PFAS chemicals typically persist through public wastewater treatment systems at levels that may impact the long-term feasibility of beneficial reuse of treated wastewater. Read more here.

In December 2019, Gov. Wolf’s PFAS Action Team Report noted there is a concern wastewater plant sewage sludge also contains PFAS and policies are needed to properly manage this waste. Read more here.

Similar concerns would be present in oil and gas waste treatment facilities.

An October 2014 DEP memo still in use today by the Oil and Gas Program and by the Act 2 Land Recycling Program spells out the chemicals and other constituents oil and gas operators and DEP test for during investigations and cleanups of spills and releases.

It does not include requiring an analysis for PFAS/PFOA ‘forever chemicals” [or radium-226, radium-228 or radon].

Air sampling was also performed at the Latkanich home showed potentially harmful chemicals and an optical gas imaging “FLIR” camera captured emissions coming from the well site in 2019.

Both Latkanich and his son Ryan are suffering from adverse health affections they blame on living next to the shale gas wells. [See paragraph 78-98 of EHB appeal.]

Radiation Testing

DEP did not test anywhere on the Latkanich property for radiation or radon gas, in spite of multiple requests, according to Johnson.

“Radiation testing was never part of the testing that the Department performs on the site, even though we had asked repeatedly for radiation testing. There certainly wasn't any radon testing,” said Johnson.

In March 2021, a Wayne State University study took samples at the Latkanich home, including air and soil samples, and those results were provided to DEP, Johnson said, but DEP did not follow up to obtain the backup data from Wayne State or address the findings in its determination letter..

DEP’s October 2014 DEP memo on investigation, testing and cleanup of oil and gas spills and releases does not require testing for Radium-226 or Radium-228 or radon gas, but it does mention the fact that “circumstances may exist that require additional evaluation of other constituents (for example, materials that contain TENORM [naturally occurring radiation].”

Monitoring of Act 2 Land Recycling Program notices in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for the last six months have not included references to radiation contamination or radiation sampling results either in notices or in inspection reports posted by DEP with the Act 2 sampling results. Read more here.

DEP, however, has ordered the cleanup and radioactive decontamination at several oil and gas wastewater treatment facilities taking conventional and unconventional shale gas wastewater in the state due to high radiation levels. Read more here.

During a September 2021 Senate hearing, DEP said it does not do routine radium or radioactivity testing as part of the Oil and Gas Program’s water contamination investigations because they are looking for other unique chemicals typical of drilling operations. They felt it wasn’t necessary to establish links to oil and gas activities. Read more here.

In June 2022, DEP adopted updated technical guidance for managing oil and gas waste, including drill cuttings, production wastewater, treatment facility sludge, well sites, facilities where plugging wastes are processed and other related facilities must develop radiation action plans.

The policy only applies to unconventional shale gas wells, not to conventional oil and gas wells, even though the solid and liquid wastes are very similar and come from shale formations.

Radiation Action Plans are designed to detect, identify the type of radiation and determine the actions needed to safely handle the radiative waste.

Radiation monitoring of oil and gas wastes have resulted in unconventional shale gas operators sending nearly 236,000 cubic feet of radioactive TENORM [naturally occurring radioactive materials] to low-level radioactive waste facilities for disposal in 2021.

Since 2016, 811,070 cubic feet have been sent to low-level disposal facilities. Read more here.

Conclusion

The Latkanich appeal of DEP’s letter of determination has identified gaps in DEP’s investigation and Act 2 cleanup protocols that do not routinely require testing for PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ or for radium-226, radium-228, radon and radioactivity generally.

In spite of these problems and the real concerns over the health impacts on the Latkanich Family, Lisa Johnson remains optimistic.

“I've been doing this for not as long as many people, but I'm optimistic. I have to tell you, the relationships with the DEP attorneys have greatly improved,” said Johnson. “And I look forward to the department living up to its mission, and not just acting as a partner to industry, but as a partner to residents and figuring out the pollution that's affecting their lives.”

Click Here for all documents related to this EHB appeal.

Contact Lisa Johnson, Esq., 1800 Murray Ave., #81728, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, (412) 913-8583 or lisa@lajteam.com for more information on this case.

Follow the progress of this case through the new Environmental Hearing Board Twitter feed.

[Note: The Department of Environmental Protection does not comment on matters in litigation.]

(Photo: The Latkanich property and Chevron/EQT well pad. Impoundments have since been removed.)

(Written by David Hess, former Secretary, PA Department of Environmental Protection. Send comments to: PaEnviroDigest@gmail.com.)

Resources Links:

-- October 3, 2014 Memo: Common Constituents For Oil And Gas-Related Spills And Releases

-- November 20, 2021: Final Regulation Setting PFOA/PFOS/PFBS Cleanup Standards Under Act 2 Land Recycling Program

-- June 11, 2022: Guidance Document On Radioactivity Monitoring At Solid Waste Processing And Disposal Facilities

-- Environmental Quality Board Publishes Final Reg. Setting PFOA/PFOS Drinking Water Standard And The First MCL Developed By DEP [PaEN January 2023]

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