RIDGWAY — Elk County has come out against a proposed injection well within its borders, citing research linking the natural gas industry practice to earthquakes.
Tuesday’s meeting of the Elk County Commissioners included its submission of a letter to the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it to deny a permit to Seneca Resources Corp. for a planned injection well in James City, Highland Township.
The commissioners’ letter, signed by board members Dan Freeburg, Janis Kemmer and June Sorg, cites a direct connection between injection wells and the occurrence of earthquakes and seismic activity.
Injection wells are used in the disposal of wastewater created through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the extraction of natural gas. The wells entail “produced” fluids being driven, and stored, underground.
It is the highly pressurized injection which researchers have tied to increased incidences of earthquakes or seismic events.
Researchers at Youngstown State University in Ohio report that a single injection well was responsible for 107 earthquakes there, with magnitudes of up to 3.9 recorded, all within one year of it becoming operational.
The activity reportedly stopped after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources shut the well down in December of 2011.
In their letter, the commissioners say current injection well pressure regulations in place do little to address the potential for “earthquake events.” In addition, the commissioners fear that such an event risks large scale contamination of underground water supplies. The commissioners are the latest entity to publicly oppose the injection well planned for Highland Township.
Earlier this year, the Highland Township Supervisors passed an ordinance banning injection wells in an attempt to block Seneca Resources from going ahead with its plans to develop one near James City. They claimed the ordinance was an attempt to protect its local water supply.
“The people of Highland Township and James City are very, very concerned about this injection well and they have asked us to do anything we can to speak out on their behalf,” Commissioner Dan Freeburg said on Tuesday.
Josie Schultz, a community advisor with oil and natural gas corporation EQT, was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting where she said a definitive link between injection wells and seismic events has yet to made.
“Personally, I don’t believe that there’s a correlation, but there are studies that show discrepancies,” Schultz said, adding that geology could be playing a greater role than industry operations in the seismic activity.
The commissioners’ letter comes as the EPA finishes gathering public comment on the Highland Township injection well. The EPA will issue a response to comments before announcing a final permit decision within 30 days. The public has 30 days from then to appeal the decision by petitioning the Environmental Appeals Board. If the permit goes unchallenged it would become effective immediately.
Tuesday’s meeting of the commissioners also included the tabling of bids for exterior work to be done to the county courthouse. The project bids ranged from $20,500 to $143,900.
The commissioners also tabled bids for the replacement of a front entrance at the Johnsonburg Borough Building.
The following measures were approved by the commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting: Re-adoption of the Elk County Residential Ant-Displacement and Relocation Plan; the use of the courthouse lawn on Sept. 28 for the annual “Flavors of Fall” event hosted by the Ridgway Chamber of Commerce; use of the courthouse lawn on Aug. 30 for the Elk County Summer Concert Series; the nomination of Elaine Chapel with the Elk County Intermediate Punishment Program as an Elk County representative of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Inc. board of directors; and an application for county aid in the amount of $8,000 from liquid fuel funds for maintenance on various roads in Horton Township.
