Strong Current of Threats to River
State, community need to review need for added monitoring,
regulation of Mon
Morgantown Dominion Post Editorial
22 June 2010
The Monongahela River can never become just water under the bridge. Or
just water over the Morgantown Lock and Dam. No, our community and our
state can never allow something to happen to this waterway that cannot
be changed. Though something may be happening now, there is still time
to fix it.
We refer to a recent report by a Washington-based nonprofit advocacy
group, American Rivers, that listed the Monongahela as No. 9 on its
list of the 10 most endangered rivers in the United States. The report
cites the potential damage Marcellus shale drilling, more commonly
known as fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, could have on the river.
This report and others admittedly don’t cite data that conclusively
show that the impact from this method of drilling is destroying our
river. However, there are good reasons for concern about the potential
environmental and safety threats to the river caused by this form of
drilling.
Two serious incidents, one on the Monongahela, in Pennsylvania, in
2008, and another on one of its tributaries, Dunkard Creek, in 2009,
have heightened this alarm among residents and regulatory agencies.
Fracking uses water from the Mon and its tributaries that’s mixed with
chemicals and injected into boreholes to facilitate release and capture
of natural gas. Then, the water is dumped back into these waterways.
Earlier this year, legislation to ramp up regulations on this process
failed in the Legislature. Since then, the state Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has begun drafting a proposal to create
a secondary drinking water standard that would limit total dissolved
solids in waterways. Such standards may only concern the taste and
color of water, rather than any serious health risks. The DEP is also
working on a comprehensive review of the agency’s staffing, funding,
policies and its regulation of this form of drilling.
DEP records do show permits issued for Marcellus wells more than
tripled between 2007 and 2009, while few additional inspectors have
been added, according to The Associated Press. And last July, the DEP
initiated a 12-month program to gather in-stream water quality data in
a number of the Mon’s tributaries, which should prove useful. Although
the DEP’s review is incomplete and it’s uncertain what kind of new
legislation will be introduced next year on fracking, in the interim
more inspectors should be brought to bear on this issue.
There may be no need for a rapid response to this issue, but it
certainly needs to be on tap.