Two KS Oil Drillers Guilty Of Felony Dumping Of Fracking Brine In PA National Forest

[hatrack]

Two men from a Kansas oil-drilling firm pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally dumping 200,000 gallons of brine water down an abandoned well in Pennsylvania's only national forest. The pollution by Swamp Angel LLC in the Allegheny National Forest could contaminate groundwater and streams, but authorities have not linked any water damage conclusively to the pollution, acting U.S. Attorney Robert Cessar said.

The pleas before a federal judge in Erie should send a signal to oil and gas drillers to properly dispose of brine, a saltwater byproduct of the drilling process that sometimes also contains metals, Cessar said. "These guys were drilling oil wells, produced this brine water and decided they weren't going to pay for its disposal," Cessar said. "This is the result of them getting caught. That's the case in a nutshell."

The Wichita-based company's part-owner, 66-year-old Michael Evans, of La Quinta, Calif., and the company's site supervisor, 54-year-old John Morgan, of Sheffield, Pa., each pleaded guilty to felony violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Under the law, brine must either be hauled away and treated at a sewage treatment plant or dumped into an abandoned well, provided permits are obtained. Permits weren't obtained in this case, but are required to ensure measures are taken so the water won't leach into the ground and pollute groundwater and nearby streams, Cessar said.

EDIT

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/16/state/n072620S00.DTL&type=politics

[phantom power]

1. The Marcellus shale project is going to be fucking *awesome*

:eyes:

[TransitJohn]

2. Well, it is time that

the population centers that consume the lion's share of the energy in this country get to see the environmental costs that are usually kept far away from them in the West.

[hatrack]

3. Good point - Cape Wind? Perish the thought! Flattening WV? A-OK!

Or the Powder River Basin, for that matter.

[phantom power]

4. I agree, that is what we are seeing. Everywhere.

Energy is going to come from places it didn't before. It's also going to be more in our faces.

We could keep the footprint a lot smaller, but it would mean we have to split atoms. A lot of people don't like that idea very much either.

What I'm waiting for is somebody to instigate an adult dialogue about energy in this country. "Very soon we are going to have to choose. If we don't want to split atoms, then we are going to have wind farms and solar farms in places where not everybody is going to like them. And some people are going to have water problems from gas fracking. Or we can continue to level the Appalachians, and roll the dice on climate change."

Life is full of shitty compromises.
:shrug:

[Nihil]

6. I suggest you don't try holding your breath though ...

> What I'm waiting for is somebody to instigate an adult dialogue about
> energy in this country.

... especially as, deep inside, you already know that the answer will be

> we can continue to level the Appalachians, and roll the dice on climate change.

:shrug:

[ensho]

5. what a horrible mess they made - hope they go to prison

nt