|
On February 3, 2024, Makaya Keating of The Derrick reported "more than six months have passed since a Petro Erie wastewater spill contaminated Bellows Spring, which serves as the source of water for more than 200 homes and businesses in Reno that are customers of Venango Water Co.
"Montgomery County-based Aqua Pennsylvania was eventually called in, under a receivership order by the state Public Utilities Commission, to take over operations of Venango Water Co. based on water quality issues the Reno community had been facing."
"In a recent email exchange with the newspaper, Aqua spokesperson Brittany Tressler said “Final ownership (Aqua or Venango) will be decided by the PA PUC after they complete their evaluation of the operations and business elements of the Venango Water Co.”
"Meanwhile, Tom Decker, the state Department of Environmental Protection’s regional communications manager, this week told the newspaper in an email that Petro Erie’s appeal of DEP’s order to rectify matters, including site cleanup and addressing violations, is still pending." Read more here.
Click Here to read the entire article.
Summary Of Spill Incident
The conventional oil well wastewater release from Petro Erie’s production wastewater tanks was discovered on July 20 and was found to have contaminated the Village of Reno’s water supply in Sugarcreek Borough, Venango County leaving the community of over 200 residents and businesses without clean water for more than six weeks.
Although the “do not consume” order to residents in Reno was lifted on September 1, the water supply emergency continues with drinking water trucked into the community every week. Read more here.
Sadly, on September 9, Sugarcreek Borough Mayor Charlie McDaniel, who had been a leader in his community responding to the Village of Reno water emergency for the last six weeks, was found deceased in his home. Read more here.
The latest information from DEP’s Northwest Regional Office is available on its Venango Water Company/ Petro Erie Inc. Investigation webpage.
Visit the Aqua Pennsylvania Venango webpage for more information on activities related to the water supply system the company is operating on an emergency basis for the Venango Water Company.
NewsClip:
-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: Aqua Pennsylvania Continues To Operate Venango Water System Serving The Village Of Reno After A Conventional Well Wastewater Release Contaminated Its Water Supply Last July [PDF of article]
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - February 3 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 56 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In February 3 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP Issues Equitrans Midstream Violation For Not Plugging 19 Abandoned Conventional Wells At The Swarts Natural Gas Storage Field In Greene County; Conflicts With Coal Mining [PaEN]
-- Protect PT: Commonwealth Court Vacates Penneco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit, Remanding It To Plum Boro For Additional Fact Finding In Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- What’s That Pink Stuff Spilled At Apex Energy Shale Gas Well Pad In Salem Twp., Westmoreland County? [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Continues To Operate The Water System Serving The Village Of Reno After A Conventional Well Wastewater Release Contaminated Its Water Supply Last July In Venango County [PaEN]
-- PUC To Seek Comment On $250,000 Penalty Settlement With Peoples Gas On Natural Gas Over-Pressurization Incident In Indiana County That Damaged Hundreds Of Appliances, Caused Distribution Pipeline Leaks [PaEN]
-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council Meets Feb. 13 To Discuss Guidance Limiting Impacts Of Pipeline Construction; Pipelines Needed For Carbon Sequestration, Hydrogen; Electrification [PaEN]
-- PJM Preliminary Performance Review Found 16,119 MW Of Forced Power Plant Outages During Winter Storm Gerri Affecting The Western Region Of PJM [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- WHYY: Chester LNG Natural Gas Export Project Promises Return, Despite Biden’s Pause And Other Hurdles
-- DelcoTimes.com: Chester Mayor Says LNG Natural Gas Export Plant ‘Dead In The Water’
-- Inquirer: Biden’s Pause On New LNG Natural Gas Export Facility Approvals May Have ‘Saved Chester,’ The City’s New Mayor Says
-- Inquirer: Casey, Fetterman Split With Biden Over LNG Natural Gas Export Facility Pause
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Casey, Fetterman Say They’re Concerned About Biden’s LNG Natural Gas Export Facility Pause
-- WESA: Political Debate Over Natural Gas Burns Bright In Casey-McCormick US Senate Race
-- The Hill: European Union Lawmakers To Biden: We Don’t Need More US Natural Gas
-- The Energy Age Blog: Liquefied Natural Gas Or LNG: EU Lawmakers To Biden - We Don’t Need More US Natural Gas
-- Reuters: US LNG Natural Gas Exports Fall In January On Arctic Freeze, Plant Outages
-- PA Business Report: Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition, Other Groups Call For End To Permit Halts For New LNG Export Facilities
-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Hold On Permits For New LNG Natural Gas Exports May Undermine Global Emissions Reduction Goals [Natural Gas Industry]
-- Financial Times: Household Energy Costs Factor Into Biden’s Pause On New LNG Natural Gas Export Facilities [Industrial Energy Consumers: “More Exports Equal More Reliability And Price Risk”]
-- Utility Dive: FERC Approves PJM Capacity Accreditation, Including Measuring Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Contributions, Modeling Reforms Aimed At Boosting Reliability
-- The Energy Age Blog: Reality - ‘Proprietary’ Fracking Chemicals Remain Secrets, But What About The Bigger Picture?
-- CNX Natural Gas Drilling CEO Nick Deiuliis Says Dr. Edward Ketyer’s Comments Raising Questions About The CNX ‘Radical Transparency’ Initiative May Violate His Hippocratic Oath
-- The Energy Age: Energy Politics In PA - CNX CEO Critical Of Dr. Ketyer’s Comments On ‘Radical Transparency’
-- Marcellus Shale Gas Industry Coalition Twitter comment on Gov. Shapiro's new Fracking Chemical Disclosure Policy: "This info is already submitted to @PennsylvaniaDEP through Greenport when the well pad & first well are permitted. DEP has had this information on its servers for years.”
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shell Petrochemical Plant’s Costs Much Higher Than Previously Disclosed,-- $14 Billion; Won’t Be Fully Up And Running Until 2025, 2026
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Shapiro Pays Hollow Lip Service To Natural Gas In New Economic Strategy [PDF of article]
-- TribLive: Westmoreland Water Authority Lifts Mandatory Conservation For Customers Served By Beaver Run Reservoir
-- US DOE Finalizes Efficiency Standards For New Residential Gas, Electric Cooking Products That Will Lower Utility Bills By $1.6 Million
-- Bloomberg: Biden’s LNG Natural Gas Export Facility Pause Has Asian Fuel Buyers Hunting For Other Options
-- Help Wanted: Environmental Health Project Fellowship Summer 2024 [PaEN]
[Posted: February 4, 2024]
|
