UH-OH for XTO 

                                        by Ann Pinca  

Open the webpage of XTO Energy Inc. and the first statement you might see is "We respect and protect the environment. It's how we operate."

That seems a bit of a stretch for a company that recently settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice over an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act. Last week, XTO Energy Inc. agreed to pay a penalty of $100,000 plus spend an estimated $20 million more to improve and monitor its wastewater management practices associated with hydraulic fracturing.

The settlement comes as a result of a discharge discovered on November 16, 2010, by a Pennsylvania  Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) inspector who found flowback and produced fluid wastewaters spilling through an open valve from a series of storage tanks on the Marquardt well pad in Penn Township, Lycoming County. RDA readers may remember the Marquardt well pad from this year's May 17 newsletter that featured XTO's Marquardt 8537H well as the state's top violator with 26 violations.

The release of wastewater for approximately 65 days allowed between 6,300 gallons to 57,373 gallons of flowback and produced waters to contaminate a spring and an unnamed tributary of Sugar Run that flow into Muncy Creek.  

Pollutants such as strontium, chloride, bromide, and barium were present in both the spring and the unnamed tributary, leading also to a high level of total dissolved solids (TDS).

While reports last week were quick to note that the Department of Energy's study on hydraulic fracturing showed no evidence that the process will contaminate aquifers, it is clear from situations like the Marquardt incident that hydraulic fracturing chemicals can and do find their way into our water through other pathways.

XTO Energy Inc. was founded in 1986 in Fort Worth, Texas, and merged with Exxon Mobil Corporation in 2010. According to PADEP records, XTO Energy Inc. currently holds 4,888 permits for conventional and unconventional wells in Pennsylvania. So far, XTO has been cited for 223 violations on 66 wells, with Lycoming County hosting 144 of those violations on just 26 wells. Total fines of $260,960 dollars were imposed in 15 of those violations, with the majority coming from one fine of $150,000 dollars for a well pad in Indiana County. Violations run the gamut from unreported defective well casings to improperly constructed impoundments and even failure to plug abandoned wells or restore well pad sites.

EPA's action in this incident is a step toward better protection of surface and drinking water resources in Pennsylvania and West Virginia said Cynthia Giles,  assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. She continued to say that EPA  will "push for responsible development of domestic sources of energy" and "insist that companies play by the rules that protect public health."

Time will tell whether XTO Energy Inc. will follow the "program of best practices" as directed - or if this settlement is just an acceptable cost of doing business in Pennsylvania. For now, the consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval. The consent decree is available for review at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

The Marquardt well pad in Penn Township, Lycoming County,  March 2011.  IMAGE: ANN PINCA