Already a major processor of natural gas in the local Marcellus Shale region, MarkWest Energy Partners is building a new $400 million plant and pipeline in Wetzel and Marshall counties.
However, company Manager of Environmental Regulatory Affairs Robert McHale said Denver-based MarkWest is also dealing with "a series of slow landslides" at the Mobley site in eastern Wetzel County. The slips have released sediment into an unnamed tributary of Fishing Creek.
"Under a pending permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this was an area of the tributary that was already planned to be permanently filled-in with an engineered fill in order to prevent future landslides," said McHale of Mark West Liberty, the local subsidiary of MarkWest Energy.
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In the process of constructing a new $400 million natural gas processing plant and pipeline in Wetzel and Marshall counties, MarkWest Energy Partners’ officials said the company is also dealing with “a series of slow landslides” at the Mobley plant site.
Scott Hans, chief regulator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, said the company has an application pending before his agency. Though his office has not cited MarkWest for the slip, Hans said the gas processor must submit a stabilization plan to the Corps.
"They cleared out a lot of the timber, which they are allowed to do without a permit. But clearing the timber - combined with all the wet weather we are having - caused this slip to occur," he said, noting MarkWest's goal is to create level ground to build the processing plant.
Once natural gas comes out of the wells following fracking, it needs somewhere to go. This is where transmission lines and piping come into play. Plenty of gas is already being piped to plants operated by Caiman Energy and MarkWest in Marshall County, while the $500 million Dominion Resources plant at Natrium is under construction. Plants like these separate the methane (natural gas) from other substances in the gas stream, such as ethane, propane, butane and pentane so the individual products can be marketed.
As for the MarkWest slip, McHale said the company is working with the Corps and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to prevent further landslides by addressing any sediment or debris entering the tributary or extending down below the planned fill area.
"While we regret that this incident occurred, we do not believe that the public was at risk. We remain committed to sound and responsible engineering practices and environmental stewardship and would like to thank the DEP for their cooperation and guidance on this matter," he said.
Tonya Mather, environmental inspector for the Northwest Region (Wheeling Office) of the West Virginia DEP, recently told a group Wetzel County residents that water quality is her top priority.
"It presents a real issue right now-a real danger," she told the approximately 40 people attending the Wetzel County Oil and Gas Task Force meeting regarding the MarkWest problem.