DEP says 166 water complaints filed in tri-county area

DEP says 166 water complaints filed in tri-county area by Rachel Morgan, November 15, 2012, Shalereporter.com
Over the past two years, there were 166 complaints filed in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties to the state Department of Environmental Protection by residents who believed their water was contaminated due to oil and gas activity, DEP officials said. These complaints were filed from January 2011 through October 2012. The DEP does not keep a record of how these complaints were resolved or if they were definitely related to oil and gas activity. The DEP also said it couldn’t give a breakdown of the complaints by county although it recently released information that 11 complaints had been filed in Beaver County during the same period. Characteristics of contaminated water include odor, color and taste problems or changes. Water could also get an orange tint or develop a salty taste or a “chemical odor,” officials said. “The DEP should be called if there is a change in quality or quantity,” said DEP spokesman John Poister. “The sooner we can investigate, the better it is for evidence gathering.” The DEP investigates all complaints, he said. If DEP personnel determine that an operator is responsible for the water contamination, they issue a report to that operator for replacement or restoration of the water supply. … Municipal water supplies are under the DEP’s jurisdiction as well. “If a public supply is alleging an impact from an (oil or gas) operation, we will test it,” Poister said. “The procedure and enforcement would be the same.” [Emphasis added]

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