Valley View company waiting for water extraction decision

TOWER CITY - It has been more than a year since Rausch Creek Land LP, Valley View, submitted plans to Schuylkill County officials for water extraction in Porter Township.

The company's action prompted speculation that the Marcellus Shale industry was on its way to Schuylkill County since the water, drawn from a stripping pit, was to be trucked to the gas wells in northern Pennsylvania. Water is heavily used in the industry. Mixed with chemicals, it is pumped into the earth to break up the shale, releasing the gas.

However, as of Friday, Jan. 13, water extraction plans still await approval from the Susquehanna River Basin Committee and the company had submitted no drilling plan. The committee has charge over waterways and bodies of water that flow into the Susquehanna River.

Plans were submitted to county officials for review. The project does not need their approval but future projects involving the plans may, Susan Smith, county director of planning and zoning, said.

Paperwork submitted in December 2010 to Schuylkill County's real estate/engineering department said the company intends to withdraw up to 100,000 gallons of water each day from an abandoned mine pit in Porter Township with the purpose "to supply water for drilling and hydrofracturing of proposed Marcellus Shale natural gas wells which are to be drilled and developed on property owned by Rausch Creek Land."

A decision was expected to be made last summer but Rausch Creek asked the river basin committee to waive the requirement of aquifer testing, SRBC Director of Communications Susan Obleski said. Obleski said applicants can request a waiver if they can demonstrate the plan does not damage any other water usages. The waiver request is currently under review, she said.

"I'm not aware of any intentions to withdraw Marcellus Shale gas from this area," state Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, said Wednesday, Jan. 11.

Tobash's district, which includes the Porter Township/Tower City area, has been concerned about potential drilling since Rausch Creek informed residents of plans to extract ground water in the area last year. Although the application is currently under review, trees have been cleared for the project. Rausch Creek Field Superintendent Matt Postupak said he could not comment on the issue.

Marcellus Shale is a rock formation containing the world's second-largest natural gas field and extends through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. A 2008 report by Terry Engelder, a Pennsylvania State University geoscience professor, estimated recoverable reserves as 489 trillion cubic feet, which is only behind the South Pars field in Qatar and Iran. Studies from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources state that the field ranges from ground level to more than 9,000 feet deep in parts of southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Schuylkill County is just outside the bulk of Marcellus Shale reserves in the state. According to DEP Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, 1,751 Marcellus Shale wells were drilled in Pennsylvania, most of them in the northeastern section.

Exploratory wells were drilled by Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. in neighboring Luzerne County a few years ago, but the company pulled operations in February 2011 after concluding there was not enough natural gas to be profitable. The nearest active wells lie in northern Columbia County, where XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, operates six and Williams Pro­duc­tion Appalachia operates two.

Although there has yet to be any drilling in Schuylkill County, studies by DEP reveal the formation does cover most of the county. With an industry that has been steadily expanding across the state, many feel it may only be a matter of time before the first exploratory well is drilled.

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