Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations for West Virginia Gas Wells
There is much misunderstanding about the regulation of drilling and hydraulic fracturing in West Virginia. Here are a few basic facts:
• Drilling and hydraulic fracturing of wells has been conducted in the United States since shortly after WWII, to date over one million wells have been completed using hydraulic fracturing.
• According to recent testimony by the EPA, there has never been a confirmed case of ground water contamination from hydraulic fracturing.
• Some people think that because the legislature failed to pass a bill to more specifically regulate horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation that no regulation exists. Nothing could be further from the truth.
• The drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes are heavily regulated right now in West Virginia.
HERE IS A STEP-BY-STEP OVERVIEW OF WEST VIRGINIA'S RULES.
1. In West Virginia, operators must secure a permit to drill from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Office of Oil and Gas (OOG). The permit application must describe all of the surface and downhole activities including, but not limited to, well design, location, water management and disposal, waste management and disposal and casing and tubing programs before the well is drilled or before any fracturing fluids are used to stimulate production.
2. DEP oversees all drilling operations including the management of any fluids on the surface, ensuring adequate cementing of casing and tubing, and monitoring the surface casing and production casing during fracturing operations for signs of any fluids migration.
3. Operators are required to manage water and cuttings that might be generated during the drilling and fracturing process pursuant to the rules of the DEP and OOG. Drill pits and their contents are protected by a pit liner that must remain in place during the entire drilling and reclamation process.
4. Currently, OOG has 17 inspectors. These inspectors have specific oversight duties during the drilling process. Currently in West Virginia, there are approximately 40 drilling rigs in operation. Seventeen inspectors to 40 rigs is a manageable ratio to assure proper oversight. However, geographically, as drilling in the Marcellus increases, it may be beneficial to add additional inspectors to keep up with the pace of the increased drilling in the Marcellus Play. New legislation and/or regulation might be necessary to address revenues to meet this need.
On July 12, Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed an executive order for the West Virginia DEP to adopt emergency rules to provide stability to the industry as well as ensure protection to the environment, ground water and communities where fracking occurs.
FACT: NEVER BEEN A CONFIRMED CASE OF GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION
In over 50 years of drilling for natural gas in the United States, there has never been a confirmed case of groundwater contamination from stimulating a well to begin producing. In May of 2011, the Director of WV DEP testified before an interim committee of the West Virginia Legislature that the DEP has never confirmed one case of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing. Additionally, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal oversight counterpart of the WV DEP, testified before a Congressional Committee in May of 2011 that the EPA has never confirmed a case of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing.
CONCERNS WITH FRACTURING FLUID
Fracturing fluids vary based on the specific requirements of the formation, but they generally contain 99.5% water and sand. The remaining chemicals are used to facilitate the flow of sand into the formation. These chemicals are handled carefully by operators and service companies at all times. Remember – in fracturing, all chemicals combined are diluted to less than one half of one percent of the fluid! Moreover, many of the chemicals are the same as are found in many common household products.
Second, stakeholders are concerned about the potential of fracturing fluids to be released into underground sources of drinking water from the fractures created in the hydrocarbon formation. In fact, fracturing has too small of an area of influence to release fluids through thousands of feet of rock to reach underground aquifers. The volume of fluid for each fracture treatment is individually designed to impact a few hundred feet of lateral growth in the reservoir, not thousands of vertical feet.
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING DISCLOSURE Many companies that drill deep horizontal wells in West Virginia publicly disclose the additives to water used in the fracturing process. Here are two websites that provide the public with this information, additionally, the WV DEP also posts a list of frack additives on their website:
