An application to build a natural gas wastewater recycling facility in Lake Township has lots of holes, from using buckets to catch potentially toxic spills to explaining just how the polluted water will be treated, the state Department of Environmental Protection determined.

The application, submitted by Pilar Glodzik of Duryea-based United Sanitation Network, Inc. - a partner with Waveco Energy Services, Roadwave LLC and the FAST Rig Support Company - is to build a facility on land owned by 4-P Realty, located on Meeker Outlet Road north of Sholtis Road.

The companies have to provide the information and answers to questions DEP requested in its Feb. 19 letter before the state agency can move forward with processing the application, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said.

The companies have 60 days to address the deficiencies or DEP could deny the application.

Attempts to reach Glodzik on Friday were unsuccessful.

Natural gas drilling involves blasting millions of gallons of chemically treated water deep underground to open cracks in the shale and release the gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” When this “flowback” or “production” water comes back up, it contains substances including naturally occurring radioactive material, heavy metals and salt, so it has to be treated or disposed of in specific ways.

According to the five-page letter from DEP:

The application for the Waveco Recycling Center didn’t “propose any specific treatment technology or equipment other than letting flow-back and production water sit in a frac tank for some unspecified period of time,” and the application stated that sediment from these tanks would be handled by “backhoe, skid steer or wheelbarrows.”

But DEP said the application “should be revised to designate the waste stream as treatment sludge and remove references to sediment.” The state agency wants United Sanitation to provide a chemical analysis of the waste that will be processed at the facility, and to “Demonstrate that allowing flow-back and production water to settle in a frac tank is an effective treatment method that will allow for beneficial use of the residual waste.”

Contrary to the statement in the application that “sediments make an excellent cover for today’s landfills since they are bountiful in minerals for plant growth,” the treatment sludge can’t be spread out on landfills, but has to be taken to a specially permitted location for disposal, DEP states.

The application stated, “Buckets will be utilized beneath all connections to capture any minor spills,” but DEP states that “The proposed use of buckets under hose connections is not an acceptable engineering control to contain spills.”

The application also didn’t describe what impact the project would have on local traffic or list ways to minimize that impact. DEP states that Meeker Outlet Road and roads connecting to it have 10-ton weight limits, which the trucks transporting the water would exceed.

Other deficiencies in the Waveco application:

n One part of the application indicates the facility would be open during normal business hours, while another indicates it would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

n Copies of a contingency plan for emergencies were not included with the application.

n The map in the application did not show the location of features including wetlands, property lines, occupied dwellings, access roads or bodies of water such as streams, ponds and irrigation ditches.

n The bond for the site is based on 47 frac water tanks, but calculations only account for 37 tanks and the drawing only shows room for 28 frac tanks.

The companies have to show DEP the property is properly zoned for the proposed facility. A zoning hearing for a use variance is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 4 in the Luzerne County courthouse.

Finally, DEP wants United Sanitation Inc., Waveco Energy Services, 4-P Realty and the FAST Rig Support Company to “explain the relationships and provide information about the related parties.”

The Waveco Web site, www.wavecoenergy.com, reports that “In September 2011, M&P Energy Services received a permit from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) to withdraw one million gallons of water per day from the Susquehanna River.”

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission’s approval allows M&P Energy Services to withdraw water from the river in Briar Creek Borough, Columbia County, which it provides to EXCO Resources for use in natural gas drilling.

The Department of State’s database lists Rodney Passeri as the secretary of M&P Energy Services, which has the same Berwick address as Waveco, and was established in February 2011. Passeri is one of the four principals of 4-P Realty, along with Joseph J. Passeri Jr., John J. Passeri and Michael A. Patrician.

In August 2010, Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. received permission from the Luzerne County zoning hearing board to drill five gas wells and permanently establish a natural gas facility with equipment, including a meter station, radio tower and compressor building on the 4-P Realty property.

Four residents appealed the zoning board’s decision, but before the case could progress, Encana announced in November 2010 that it was leaving town after two exploratory wells - one in Fairmount Township and another in Lake Township near the 4-P property - failed to produce enough gas to be economically viable.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

First Published: February 24, 2014, 2:04 p.m.