ODNR Official Addresses Issues About Consol Well
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A faulty regulator that exerted an overbearing amount of pressure at the Cadle well in North Jackson caused the surface casing to crack, but at no time was the environment or water supply in any danger.
That's the assessment of Tom Hill, regional supervisor for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, who apprised the Board of Mahoning County Commissioners Thursday on the well and its operations.
"The casing split at ground level," Hill told a crowded meeting of commissioners attended by activists opposed to drilling in the Meander watershed and the use of hydraulic fracturing. The incident occurred Oct. 13 when CNX started drilling the well, located just off Bailey Road.
As soon as the mishap occurred, Hill said, CNX, a division of Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy Inc., alerted the ODNR and an official was soon at the site inspecting the problem.
The conductor casing was cut off six inches below where the split occurred, or about five feet from the surface, before the next casing was inserted, Hill explained.
"ODNR stepped in, assessed this well and didn't want to create an environmental hazard," Hill said. Once the problem was corrected, CNX was allowed to proceed with drilling operations.
Hill told commissioners CNX's Cadle well used five separate strings of steel pipe casings, including the surface casing, of various lengths that run inside the other. Each casing is cemented securely to create an enclosure that prevents any migration of gas or oil from the well.
Only the surface casing was damaged, Hill noted, emphasizing there were no chemicals used during this process, just fresh water. The rest of the casing integrity was secure.
The vertical depth of the Cadle well reached 6,825 feet, while its horizontal leg extends another 6,421 feet, Hill reported. The aquifer in this area is about 250 to 300 feet below the surface, Hill said.
"You have an incredible amount of geological formations separating your potable aquifer from the actual production zone," he said. "We set all those casings to make sure we maintain that separation."
ODNR takes these issues very seriously, Hill told commissioners, and has inspectors on call 24 hours a day. The agency is directly involved with a well's preconstruction stage, permitting, development and subsequent inspection.
"I take great offense when people say they're not doing their job," he said. "Do you think I'm going to let go something like this?"
Hill was invited to speak at Thursday's meeting in response to a barrage of complaints from citizens who want to see the Cadle well shut down. These activists say that the company, Consol Energy, has a history of environmental violations and that the company is drilling in a protected area of the Meander Creek Reservoir watershed.
Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti said that those attending the meeting were prohibited from addressing the commissioners on matters pertaining to the Cadle well or ask any questions of Hill. Instead, all questions would be accepted in written form and forwarded to ODNR for replies.
"The public needs to know the answers," said Chris Khumprakob, an activist and member of FrackFree Mahoning Valley, a group that has been very vocal against hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. "We have the right to speak."
"Why can't he answer our questions now?" added fellow activist Jean Engle.
Rimedio-Righetti responded that Hill was invited to the meeting as a courtesy to address concerns about the Cadle well, and the commissioners had other county business to conduct. "We have a meeting to finish," she remarked.
John Williams of McDonald, who addressed the meeting for three minutes, noted that he has concerns about the validity of water tests performed in the neighborhood where the Cadle well was dug.
Two companies, MicroBac Labs and Test America, have complaints filed against them in Washington County, Pa., alleging they colluded with the oil and gas industry to manipulate the results of well water tests near drilling sites.
One, Test America, conducted pre-drilling tests near the Cadle well and another well Halcon Resources is developing in Lordstown.
"They've been accused of conspiring with the oil and gas industry to falsify records," Williams said. "If I lived 380 feet from that well, and I drank well water, and I knew that my water was tested by a company that was accused of collusion in Pennsylvania, I'd be mighty upset."
FrackFree member Susie Beiersdorfer said that she appreciates the efforts of the Mahoning County commissioners to invite ODNR representatives to the meeting, but feels that public's concerns were not addressed nor their questions answered.
"Once again, we the public were not given the opportunity to ask our questions and voice our concerns," Beirsdorfer said in a prepared statement. "We are calling for transparency, honesty and accountability and are extremely concerned about the tone of these reports and the risk to our drinking water source to over 200,000 people."
The safety and health of the public does not appear to be a priority for ODNR, she added, and "our elected officials, from the local to the state, should be very concerned. I urge them to become better informed."
Her answer, Beiersdorfer emphasized, is to reinstate local control over the oil and gas industry. "We will begin the process by passing the community bill of rights on May 7, 2013."
Rimedio-Righetti said that there's little the county can do to address issues with well sites. "We have no jurisdiction on where the wells go. Most of them are on private property, so it's the individual who sells the property.
The state of Ohio controls the regulatory and permitting process, not counties or cities, she reminded reporters.
"I know there are questions on the wells. It's a new industry," Rimedio-Righetti continued. "Today, we held a public meeting for the people to write down your questions. We will submit them to the right authorities, and we'll make them all accountable."
The commissioner expects to get answers from ODNR within five to 10 days.
"When we do get the answers, I will bring a set down to the commissioner's office," Rimedio-Righetti said. "They will be here."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.