BLOSSBURG — With natural gas companies leasing property throughout the area because of the discovery of the Marcellus Shale natural gas supply underground, and one company’s plans to build a place to store it, some residents wanted to know how all the drilling and storing could impact the environment.
During a committee meeting Tuesday, representatives of Dominion Transmission reassured members of the Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee that the company’s natural gas storage and salt processing facility planned for over 2,000 acres in Tioga, Lawrence and Farmington townships would not negatively impact the environment.
The company, which operates similar facilities in six states, has offices for its transmission facility in Sabinsville.
It is the former Consolidated Natural Gas Co. which attempted to build a similar storage facility in the township in the early 90s, said John Frith, manager of government affairs with Dominion.
Frith spoke about the $350 million project initially slated to begin construction in 2009 and be ready to operate by 2014. With permitting lagging, the project is now about six months behind schedule.
According to Frith, the company expected to have its first certificate from one of the nine government agencies with which it must deal.
Frith said when it is cleared to begin construction, a salt processing facility will be constructed first, and the company will begin extracting salt from underground formations using water, and then extracting the salt from the water to make table and water softener salt, recycling the initial water supply.
The company is looking to get its water supply either from Cowanesque Lake or from water wells it will develop, Frith said, though he couldn’t say how much water would be needed.
There is no danger of salt or natural gas leaching into the water table and thus into private wells, Frith said, because the caverns created by the removal of the salt will be “glazed.”
Nor is there a danger it could leak into the waterways, he added.
Members of the committee, which just received a mini-grant from Dominion to address the polluted Fallbrook tributary with a limestone treatment project, also questioned Frith about the gas migration problems encountered by some residents in Tioga Junction, Mainesburg and Jackson Township.
“Naturally occurring” methane gas and natural gas have been found in some wells, Frith said.
“We are doing some water well testing and so far have six of the 104 wells testing positive,” Frith said.
But he said he does not expect the same issues to occur with the Dominion facility.
“It will be far below the aquifer” that supplies water wells, he said.
Once the salt is extracted, the resulting caverns will be used for natural gas storage from various companies such as PPL Energy, New York State Electric and Gas, and Mohawk.
The processing plant will be constructed off Bear Creek Road, near the Wellsboro and Corning Rail Line, which will carry the salt to market, along with tractor trailers.
No road salt will be made at the facility, he added, in response to a question from Jim Bogaczyk.
Frith said he thought road salt was not legal in Pennsylvania, but is used in New York state.
“We have a strong commitment to the environment, and are very involved in helping non-profits like your group,” Frith said.
The company’s long range plan, which will cost about $750 million, includes a total of eight caverns being developed going into 2028, but “it is market driven,” he said.
The project is expected provide up to 300 construction jobs initially, Frith said, pumping several million dollars into the local economy, followed by about 75 full time staff at the salt facility, he said.
Bob Fulton, manager of media and community relations, said the demand for natural gas worldwide is expected to increase by about 40 percent over the next ten years, because it is being used to generate electricity for cooling in summer as well as heating in winter.
“It is cleaner and more environmentally friendly than coal, so there is more of a demand for it,” he said.
Having a huge storage facility in the area also should “provide energy stability so it is readily available, and it should provide price stability as well by having a ready supply of natural gas, but it is a commodity, and customers’ bills are affected by that fact,” he added.
