Marcellus Shale Coalition Seeks To Establish Standards For Water Source Methane Tests
Natural Gas Intelligence reports that the Marcellus Shale Coalition has awarded Pennsylvania-based consulting firm Environmental Standards Inc. with a contract to manage a study that will analyze the presence of methane in groundwater samples. Specifically, the study will seek to establish a consensus standard for analyzing light gases in groundwater, both before and after the drilling process. Although there are several published procedures for analyzing methane in water sources, none are widely adopted, nor has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published any particular one. The goal is to establish uniform standards that will provide more reliable test results. The study will examine the practices of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s laboratory, as well as 10-15 other private laboratories across the country. The final report is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2015.