Pennsylvania's 200-year history of coal mining has left a
legacy of polluted waterways that remains one of the state's
greatest environmental challenges. More than 250,000 abandoned
surface mines, many containing acidic water-filled pits, scar
Pennsylvania's landscape.
Acidic drainage from these abandoned mines — called acid
mine drainage or AMD — often has a pH below 5.0, which
leaches heavy metals from surrounding rocks and kills fish and
other aquatic species in its path.
AMD from historic coal mining has rendered more than 2,400 miles of
Pennsylvania's streams and waterways unusable and contaminated
untold numbers of household drinking water wells. While the state
spends about $19 million annually on abandoned mine reclamation,
this modest effort is dwarfed by the magnitude of the environmental
problem, which some estimate will cost $50 billion to fix.
To date, relatively few AMD areas have been remediated, because of
cost, potential liability and a lack of meaningful economic
incentives. But Marcellus Shale brings an exciting opportunity to
finally tackle the state's most intractable environmental
problem.
Given the enduring environmental harm caused by Pennsylvania's
last energy extraction boom, there is understandable concern about
the long-term environmental impact of natural gas development in
the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation extending across
two-thirds of Pennsylvania.
The development of natural gas reserves trapped within this
formation — the vestige of an ancient sea floor
— requires copious amounts of water to hydraulically
fracture the shale and liberate the gas trapped within. Each
natural gas well must be hydraulically fractured by horizontal
drilling followed by pressurized injection of from 1,000,000 to
6,000,000 gallons of water, mixed with sand and other chemicals.
The injection of this mixture under high pressure horizontally
fractures the tight shale formation, releasing the natural gas
entrained within.
Because many current and future Marcellus Shale wells are in close
proximity to AMD areas, there is a unique opportunity to
beneficially use these acid waters for hydraulic fracturing,
solving two problems simultaneously. If the right mix of legal and
economic incentives can be engrafted on the current regulatory
program, the Marcellus Shale could represent not just an
opportunity to secure a dependable supply of cleaner-burning fuel
but also the promise of lasting improvement to Pennsylvania's
streams and rivers.
However, existing laws do not provide enough protection against
liability under the Clean Streams Law for natural gas drillers to
use AMD for frack water. Also, because Pennsylvania is one of only
a few states that do not charge a severance fee for natural gas
extraction, there is no stable funding source to encourage AMD
abatement projects in conjunction with natural gas
extraction.
In the absence of an impact fee to capture a portion of the $16
million each natural gas well is expected to generate during its
10- to 20-year lifetime, the external costs of thousands of new gas
wells — in the form of road repairs, water supply
impacts, emergency and social services, municipal development
approvals and school district enrollments — will be borne
by local taxpayers.
Recent efforts in Harrisburg could help to encourage the use of AMD
as a resource for hydraulic fracturing. In July, Gov. Corbett's
Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission published its much-anticipated
report. Among the many recommendations was the proposal of
legislation to encourage reuse of AMD for natural gas
development.
The beneficial reuse of AMD also is part of a bill sponsored by
state Sen. Joseph Scarnati, which was voted out of the state Senate
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on June 14. The bill
would impose an impact fee on natural gas drillers of about
$160,000 per well, spread through 10 years.
The impact fee would reflect a well's declining output over
time, with the first year of a well's operation assessed at
$40,000, the second year at $30,000, the third year at $20,000 and
the fourth through 10th year at $10,000.
Forty percent of the fee would be dedicated to environmental
initiatives, including reuse of AMD for frack water. It is
estimated that the bill would raise $121.2 million by March 1, and
based on current gas prices and production projections, would
generate $675 million over five years.
While the broad-brush recommendations of the commission and the
Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee are steps in
the right direction, bold substantive changes to existing law will
be required if the Marcellus Shale boom is to be leveraged toward
long-term environmental improvement in AMD areas.
Let's not miss this chance to address one of the state's
most pressing environmental challenges.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.