Seismic testing planned this month could stir up water wells
PRESTON – Residents of Preston, Smithville and Smyrna may experience cloudy water coming from their faucets as a result of seismic testing set to resume at the end of the month.
Norse Energy, Inc., the Norwegian-based company currently drilling into the Herkimer formation in Chenango County, has garnered work permits from the county highway department to haul in and lay seismic testing cables across the following roads: County Routes 10, 10A, 14, 21, 20, 3 and 3A.
Individual town boards have also granted seismic testing and permits for town road crossings, such as on the Bliven-Sherman and McDonough roads in Preston.
Actual testing will be conducted on private land. The temporary cables are the width of an extension cord and will be in place for a couple of days per location.
With the advent of natural gas discoveries in the region, the Chenango County Department of Highways has allowed seismic testing at various times over the past two years. Many towns have followed suit and put procedures in place that natural gas companies must follow in order to lay the cables over municipal roads. Because the vehicles that carry the equipment for the tests can weigh from 60,000 to 80,000 pounds, the county and some towns have also developed bonding requirements that hold companies liable for road damages if they occur.
Three-dimensional seismic testing ignites dynamite 50 to 100 feet deep underground to create a vibration, or echo effect, that might signal the presence of natural gas. Where there are nearby water wells, the vibration could stir up any sediment that may lie at the base of a homeowner’s well.
Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan warned members of the Public Works Committee last week that town supervisors may receive complaints from their constituents.
“Be ready. You are going to get called. Your constituents nearby where they are doing this, you may hear from them about their water wells,” he said.
According to Norse Energy spokesman Dennis Holbrook, the subsurface charge during 3-D testing is minor.
“Our first assumption is that we are not going to stir anything up, but for any reason it would be temporary, like shaking a water glass that might have some sediment at the bottom,” he said.
Also at the public works committee meeting, Chenango County DPW Director Randy Gibbon reported that Norse had been granted boring permits under county roads, two under county Route 19 between Route 4 and 10A, and one on county Route 10 west of the intersection with county Route 18.
Gibbon said the boring size was for a 12-inch main pipeline that would be buried 7 to 8 feet deep. The size would indicate “more of a trunk line for multiple wells rather than a connector line from a well,” he said.
Holbrook, an invited guest to a Chenango County Natural Gas Committee meeting last month, said Norse is purchasing easements to build an 80-mile long pipeline south from its 20 miles of existing trunk line in the Town of Plymouth in order to reach the Millennium Pipeline in Broome County. The company has identified 350 Herkimer Sandstone locations and plans to drill 1,850 wells in Chenango County. The Herkimer formation is located between 2,500 to 4,000 feet beneath the surface.
In a related discussion of an upcoming compulsory integration hearing on county-owned land at Preston Manor, Town of Bainbridge Supervisor Rick E. Chase asked whether water wells in the area had been tested or would be tested before drilling commences.
“Not yet,” said Flanagan.
New York State Department of Conservation draft regulations for permitting hydrofracking into the Marcellus and other shale formations - the regs that were heavily scrutinized at public hearings held recently across the state - require county-level public health departments to keep records of water well tests both before and after drilling.
Holbrook said Norse Energy has had “no hydrofracking issues” because the Herkimer formation is sandstone, not shale. “Our focus is on the Herkimer. We have 30 wells, all naturally flowing with no fracking issues,” he said.
Norse is actively seeking partners to help develop their land holdings in the Marcellus Shale, however. Holbrook said Norse would “probably not be the big player” in the Marcellus here.
When asked whether the any of the draft DEC stipulations for drilling in shale would apply to drilling into sandstone, Holbrook said there “might be some applicability.”
“We will certainly observe these regs as good policy as they pertain to our operations and safeguarding the environment. We are already following the practice of testing water wells on our own,” he said.
Flanagan asked Holbrook for “as much notice as possible” on future road boring applications.
Norse Energy, Inc., the Norwegian-based company currently drilling into the Herkimer formation in Chenango County, has garnered work permits from the county highway department to haul in and lay seismic testing cables across the following roads: County Routes 10, 10A, 14, 21, 20, 3 and 3A.
Individual town boards have also granted seismic testing and permits for town road crossings, such as on the Bliven-Sherman and McDonough roads in Preston.
Actual testing will be conducted on private land. The temporary cables are the width of an extension cord and will be in place for a couple of days per location.
With the advent of natural gas discoveries in the region, the Chenango County Department of Highways has allowed seismic testing at various times over the past two years. Many towns have followed suit and put procedures in place that natural gas companies must follow in order to lay the cables over municipal roads. Because the vehicles that carry the equipment for the tests can weigh from 60,000 to 80,000 pounds, the county and some towns have also developed bonding requirements that hold companies liable for road damages if they occur.
Three-dimensional seismic testing ignites dynamite 50 to 100 feet deep underground to create a vibration, or echo effect, that might signal the presence of natural gas. Where there are nearby water wells, the vibration could stir up any sediment that may lie at the base of a homeowner’s well.
Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan warned members of the Public Works Committee last week that town supervisors may receive complaints from their constituents.
“Be ready. You are going to get called. Your constituents nearby where they are doing this, you may hear from them about their water wells,” he said.
According to Norse Energy spokesman Dennis Holbrook, the subsurface charge during 3-D testing is minor.
“Our first assumption is that we are not going to stir anything up, but for any reason it would be temporary, like shaking a water glass that might have some sediment at the bottom,” he said.
Also at the public works committee meeting, Chenango County DPW Director Randy Gibbon reported that Norse had been granted boring permits under county roads, two under county Route 19 between Route 4 and 10A, and one on county Route 10 west of the intersection with county Route 18.
Gibbon said the boring size was for a 12-inch main pipeline that would be buried 7 to 8 feet deep. The size would indicate “more of a trunk line for multiple wells rather than a connector line from a well,” he said.
Holbrook, an invited guest to a Chenango County Natural Gas Committee meeting last month, said Norse is purchasing easements to build an 80-mile long pipeline south from its 20 miles of existing trunk line in the Town of Plymouth in order to reach the Millennium Pipeline in Broome County. The company has identified 350 Herkimer Sandstone locations and plans to drill 1,850 wells in Chenango County. The Herkimer formation is located between 2,500 to 4,000 feet beneath the surface.
In a related discussion of an upcoming compulsory integration hearing on county-owned land at Preston Manor, Town of Bainbridge Supervisor Rick E. Chase asked whether water wells in the area had been tested or would be tested before drilling commences.
“Not yet,” said Flanagan.
New York State Department of Conservation draft regulations for permitting hydrofracking into the Marcellus and other shale formations - the regs that were heavily scrutinized at public hearings held recently across the state - require county-level public health departments to keep records of water well tests both before and after drilling.
Holbrook said Norse Energy has had “no hydrofracking issues” because the Herkimer formation is sandstone, not shale. “Our focus is on the Herkimer. We have 30 wells, all naturally flowing with no fracking issues,” he said.
Norse is actively seeking partners to help develop their land holdings in the Marcellus Shale, however. Holbrook said Norse would “probably not be the big player” in the Marcellus here.
When asked whether the any of the draft DEC stipulations for drilling in shale would apply to drilling into sandstone, Holbrook said there “might be some applicability.”
“We will certainly observe these regs as good policy as they pertain to our operations and safeguarding the environment. We are already following the practice of testing water wells on our own,” he said.
Flanagan asked Holbrook for “as much notice as possible” on future road boring applications.
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