(Post idea from an email received from FRAC-NEWS)

Wastewater from Pennsylvania's natural gas wells, intensely salty and polluted with toxins like barium and strontium
is partially treated, diluted and then dumped into rivers and streams that supply public drinking water. Most states
require natural gas drillers to get rid of the stuff by injecting it down shafts thousands of feet deep.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/gas-drilling/natural-gas-drilling-polluted-wastewater-map-1.1087350

Click wastewater treatment plants to see

nearest drinking water intakes downstream

starting in PA treatment plants from east to west:

NOTE: Tioga River Radiation Monitoring Station monitors for radioactivity 6 times per year.

1. Neshaminy Creek, Delaware River Tributary: In Hatfield 1.8 million gallons of wastewater were treated by PSC
Environmental - Hatfield Township Municiple Authority from July 2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the West Branch Neshanminy Creek.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Langhorne, which is 35 miles downstream.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2, West Branch Susquehanna River, tributary to the Susquehanna River: In South Williamsport 4.2 million gallons of
wastewater were treated by Williamsport Sanitary authority - Central Wastewater Treatment Plant from July 2009
through June 2010.
NOTE: Radiation Monitoring Station near South Williamsport monitors for radioactivity 6 times yearly.
It was then dumped into the West Branch Susquehanna River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Milton, which is 28.5 miles downstream.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Susquehanna River: In Selinsgrove 15.1 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Sunbury Generation from July 2009 through June
2010.
It was then dumped into the Susquehanna River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Susquehanna Township, which is 43.5 miles downstream.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Clarion river, a tributary to the Allegheny River:
In Ridgway 1.5 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Brough of Ridgway Sewage Treatment Plant from July
2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Clarion River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Clarion, which is 57.5 miles downstream.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Sandy Lick Creek a tributary to the Allegheny River:
In Reynoldsville 0.3 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Reynoldsville Sewage Authority from July 2009
through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Sandy Lick Creek.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Hawthorn, which is 40 miles downstream.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Conemaugh River, a tributary to the Allegheny River:
In Johnstown 10.2 millions gallons of wastewater were treated by the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority - Dormick Point
Treatment Plant from July 2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Conemaugh River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Freeport, which is 73 miles downstream.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. McKee Run, a tributary to the Allegheny River:
In Creekside 2.1 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Hart Resource Technologies from July 2009 through June
2010.
It was then dumped into the McKee Run.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Freeport, which is 48 miles downstream.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Blacklick Creek, a tributary to the Allegheny River:
In Josephine 19.9 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Pennsylvania Brine Treatment, Inc. from July
2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Blacklick Creek.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Freeport, which is 56 miles downstream.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Conemaugh River, atributary to the Allegheny River:
In Saltsburg 18.5 milliom gallons of wastewater were treated by Tunnelton Liquids Co., Saltsburg from July
2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Conemaugh River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Freeport, which his 32 miles downstream.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Kiskiminetas River is a tributary of the Allegheny River:
In Apollo 3.8 million gallons of wastewater were treated by McCutcheon Enterprises Biosolids Treatment
Facility at Apollo from July 2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Kiskiminetas river.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Freeport, which is 10 miles downstream.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Allegheny River:
In Warren 7.9 million gallons of wastwater were treated by Waste Treatment Corp. from July 2009
through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Allegheny River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Emlenton, which is 73.5 miles downstream.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Allegheny River:
In Franklin 16.9 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Pennsylvania Brine Treatment from July
2009 through June 2010.
It ws then dumped into the Allegheny River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Emlenton, which is 32 miles downstream.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. Peters Creek, a tributary to Allegheny River:
In Clairton 0.2 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Clairton Minicple Authority from July
2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Peters Creek.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Pittsburgh, which is 15.6 miles downstream.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Monongahela River:
In McKeesport 1.8 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Miniciple Authority of McKeesport from
July 2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Monongahela River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Pittsburgh, which is 11.3 miles downstream.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. South Fork Tenmile Creek is a tributary to the Monongahela river:
In Franklin 0.4 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Tri-County Wastewater Management Inc. -
Franklin Sewer Authority from July 2009 through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the South Fork Tenmile Creek.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Frederickstown, which is 24 miles downstream.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16. Mahoning River, a tributary to the Ohio river;
In New Castle 39.4 million gallons of wastewater were treated by Advanced Waste Services from July 2009
through June 2010.
It was then dumped into the Mahoning River.
Drinking water is taken out of the river at Beaver Falls, which is 18 miles downstream.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Comment: on treat plants data: Based on the numbers above, I would not want to live in the following PA towns:
Beaver Falls, Freeport and Pittsburgh. Of course The Marcellus Shale Gas Play is still in its infancy in PA..
These disturbing numbers will only get worse under our Pro-Gas Governor, Tom Corbett.

Next to go down:
Moratorium on drilling on state forest lands!

At this point it is prudent to post a link to the incomplete list of fracture chemicals posted by the PA-DEP

DEP_Frac_Chemical_List_6_30-PDF.pdf

Also it would be prudent to comment on shale formation compounds that make up fracture surface-returned fluids:
Brine that is 50 times more saline than ocean water makes up the most plentiful part of flowback/produced/formation
wastewater. The brine under the intense pressures of fracking, tends to condense the existing heavy metals like
strontium, barium, and radium and NORM, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials. Radon Gas is present wherever
Radium resides. In N.Y. 13 gas wells were closed on Nov. 3rd 2009 for Radium and Uranium radiation.

and also add Sierra Club document on diesel fuels used in fracture fluids:
Toxic Diesel Fuel Used Without Permits in Fracking Operations

WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 2011 (ENS) - Oil and gas service companies have injected over 32 million gallons of diesel
fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel into wells in 19 states between 2005 and 2009, without permits,
a congressional investigation has revealed.

Begun by three Democratic members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in February 2010, the investigation
looked at the potential impact on water quality of using diesel fuel injected at extremely high pressure to crack rock
seams, releasing the natural gas and oil trapped within.

Under the 2005 Energy Policy Act, any company that performs hydraulic fracturing using diesel fuel must receive a permit
to be in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In the course of their investigation, Representatives Henry Waxman of California, Edward Markey of Massachusetts, and
Diana DeGette of Colorado sent letters to 14 oil and gas service companies requesting information about the type and
volume of chemicals they used in hydraulic fracturing fluids between 2005 and 2009.

All the companies voluntarily provided the committee with data on the volume of diesel fuel and other hydraulic
fracturing fluids they used during the five year period. Twelve of the 14 companies acknowledged using diesel in
their fracking operations.

In a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson dated January 31, the legislators wrote, "We learned that no oil
and gas service companies have sought - and no state and federal regulators have issued - permits for diesel fuel use
in hydraulic fracturing."

"This appears to be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act," they wrote. "It also means that the companies
injecting diesel fuel have not performed the environmental reviews required by the law."

The EPA's Office of Research and Development also is currently conducting a scientific study to examine the possible
relationships between hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and drinking water quality.

"A key unanswered question is whether the unregulated injection of diesel fuel or fluids containing diesel is
adversely affecting drinking water supplies," the legislators wrote to Jackson.

None of the hydraulic fracturing service companies track the nearness of the wells they fracture to underground
sources of drinking water, which they said is the responsibility of the oil and gas well operators.

For this reason, the legislators told Jackson they have been "unable to draw definitive conclusions about the
potential impact of these injections on public health or the environment."

Analysis of data provided by the companies shows that BJ Services used the most diesel fuel and fluids containing
diesel, more than 11.5 million gallons, followed by Halliburton, which used 7.2 million gallons.

Four other companies, RPC (4.3 million gallons), Sanjel (3.6 million gallons), Weatherford (2.1 million gallons),
and Key Energy Services (1..6 million gallons), used more than one million gallons of diesel fuel and fluids containing
diesel.

Of the 19 states where diesel-containing fluids were injected, Texas accounted for half of the total volume injected,
16 million gallons.

The companies injected at least one million gallons of diesel-containing fluids in Oklahoma, North Dakota, Louisiana,
Wyoming, and Colorado.

In total, the companies used 10.2 million gallons of straight diesel fuel and 21.8 million gallons of products
containing at least 30 percent diesel fuel.

But in January 2010, Energy In Depth, a group representing most of America's oil and gas producers, wrote that
"diesel fuel is simply not used in fracturing operations."

"The industry has been saying they stopped injecting toxic diesel fuel into wells. But our investigation showed this
practice has been continuing in secret and in apparent violation" of the Safe Drinking Water Act, said Waxman, a
former chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and currently the panel's ranking Democrat.

Diesel fuel contains toxics, including benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes. The Department of Health and
Human Services, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have
determined that benzene is a human carcinogen.

Chronic exposure to toluene, ethyl benzene, or xylenes has been shown to cause damage to the central nervous system,
liver, and kidneys.

While fracking is used in more than 90 percent of natural gas and oil wells, not all fracking operations use diesel
fuel. Other fracking fluids are water-based, but some formations cannot be cracked by these fluids because clay or
other substances in the rock absorb water.

Last August, more than 25 conservation organizations wrote to Waxman and Markey and separately to the EPA, urging
probes into the use of diesel in fracking operations and its effect on drinking water quality.

The Environmental Working Group is pleased that their prompts have yielded information.

"Companies are increasingly drilling in populated areas and using ever more intensive hydraulic fracturing in shale
formations," said EWG Senior Counsel Dusty Horwitt. "Reps. Waxman, Markey and DeGette deserve credit for pursuing this
important investigation and working to ensure that drilling is conducted carefully and in compliance with our laws."

A final comment needs to be made about the existing treatment technologies for fracture wastewater. Most well operations
use a mixed variety of about 13 different fracture chemicals which are used from a selection of over 900 chemical
products to produce specific effects underground. A treatment plant would be completely unable to remove any unknown
fracture chemicals. Heavy metals can be filtered out of fluids, but radiation is also not removable from these fluids.
______________________________________________________________________________________
General PA Gas Wells Toxicity note:
from:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/27/us/natural-gas-map.html?ref=us

By Jeremy White, Haeyoun Park and Ian Urbina

How much toxic
contamination was
found in wastewater
from each well

Radium:
42 wells exceeded the federal
drinking water standard for
radium

Uranium:
4 wells exceeded the federal
drinking water standard for
uranium

Gross Alpha
128 wells exceeded the
federal drinking water
standard for gross alpha, a
type of radiation caused by
emissions from uranium and
radium.

Benzene:
41 wells exceeded the federal
drinking water standard for
Benzene.

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