MORGANTOWN - A leading West Virginia regulator said Wednesday the state has not seen any confirmed cases of groundwater contamination from fracking, but he emphasized drillers need to stay diligent.
Though the state's burgeoning Marcellus Shale boom has not polluted groundwater, a top federal regulator acknowledged drillers have completed unauthorized earthwork, including some in Wetzel County.
During a natural gas engineering conference in Morgantown, James Martin, chief of the West Virginia Office of Oil and Gas, said he is unaware of any instance in which fracking has released methane into a drinking water well. Martin oversees the office, which is a division of the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
Martin emphasized, however, such a problem is not out of the question, so he urged the 200 drilling industry workers in attendance to ensure that gas wells are properly constructed and cased with steel and concrete.
"The casing of wells is getting more attention lately. This is one area I don't think anyone wants to cut corners on," Martin said. "The casing is critical to overall development."
Scott Hans, chief of the regulatory branch of the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, spoke to the gas employees about potential problems, urging them to consult with his office before moving soil in or near streams.
"We do the same thing for every Walmart. We do the same thing for the coal industry," said Hans in noting the requirements for the gas drillers are no more stringent than they are for any other business.
During his presentation, Hans showed a picture of a Wetzel County stream that Chesapeake Energy, or one of its subcontractors, allegedly filled without authorization to build a road. Chesapeake officials have said they are working to address this problem.
When asked about the photo later, Hans said those in his office have seen "more than one" stream like this in the state.
"You don't need a permit to drive across a creek," Hans said. "If you are not putting fill in the stream, you don't need a permit."
Gary Clayton, central coordinator of highway permitting for oil and gas drilling for the West Virginia Division of Highways, said some of the state's roads are taking a beating from oversized drilling trucks. Under the highway division's new "Oil and Gas Policy," drillers must post a $1 million road bond to operate in the state to guarantee that roads will be repaired when drilling is finished. The bond would only be $250,000 if the company chose to operate in only District 6, which includes the Northern Panhandle.
Also during the meeting, Eli Wagoner, an environmental engineer with Antero Resources, described his company's drilling site selection process.
"We don't really want to move a million tons of rock for a well site," he said, noting landmen work with field representatives to determine the best locations for wells.