Checklist for the Evolution of a Water Monitoring Program
Fran Teresi, Garrettsville Board of Public Affairs, 4/2014
Garrettsville, OH (330)527-2630 frances.teresi@gmail.com
Local Water Officials
State EPA
Monitoring Sites
Water Monitoring
Program Team
CountyHD
Environmental Consultant
WHAT IS YOUR MUNICIPALITY’S DRINKING WATER SOURCE?
_____ Identify the source(s) of your municipality’s drinking
water (river, water wells, reservoir, lake, etc.)
_____ Determine whether your municipality has a Drinking
Water Source Protection Area, developed w/EPA, that helps
define your 1-, 5- and 10-year time of travel (TOT) zones.
WHAT FED/STATE/LOCAL LAWS PROTECT DRINKING WATER SOURCES?
_____ Research whether or not there are federal or state
laws that protect a municipality’s drinking water source
area or watershed.
_____ Look into the federal Energy Policy of 2005 which
contains provisions (commonly known as the “Halliburton
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Loophole”), which exempts
the Clean Water Act, Safe
Resource Conservation and
Environmental Policy Act,
the oil/gas industry from parts of
Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act,
Recovery Act, and National
among others.
_____ Check if local zoning laws have ordinances that refer
to: a) protection of a local drinking water source/watershed,
and b) regulate the oil/gas drilling industry and its
related activities.
_____ Learn from problems other states are having with the
oil/gas industry. Be proactive in updating and using local
zoning ordinances as much as possible.
ARE THERE LEGACY AND/OR NEW OIL/GAS DRILLING NEARBY?
_____ Research “legacy” (old) oil/gas leases in or near your
drinking water source. Old leases can be sold to new
drilling companies.
_____ Keep track of new drilling applications and permits in
or near your drinking water source.
DOES YOUR MUNICIPALITY OWN PROPERTY AND MINERAL RIGHTS?
_____ Check whether your municipality has the deed(s) to
property(ies) in your watershed/drinking water source area.
_____ Determine whether the municipality owns the mineral
rights in those deeds. (Mineral rights = power to control.)
_____ If your municipality is offered a drilling or pipeline
lease, contact lawyers familiar with the oil/gas industry to
read over contracts and offer specific advice.
_____Concentrate on protecting your community and on
maintaining the integrity of your drinking water source,
especially if contracts/leases are for property in your
watershed, near your drinking water sources, in residential
areas, or near schools, hospitals, and areas where large
groups of residents congregate.
DO LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICIALS HAVE THE WILL & MEANS TO MONITOR?
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_____ Research oil/gas industry-related problems in other
states (PA, WY, OK, TX, OH, etc.) Include cradle-to-grave
activities of shale drilling (injection wells, earthquakes,
compressor stations, open pit flowback storage, chemicals
used, truck/train transport, water usage, radioactive drill
cutting disposal, cracked or aging well casings, willful
negligence, pipelines, poor cement jobs, accidents, leaks)
_____ Keep local officials updated on latest news in oil/gas
industry, both pros and cons.
_____ Are local officials signing leases (private, public)
with oil/gas companies?
_____ Do local officials/water department have money to
pursue developing a Water Monitoring Program?
_____ Determine your watershed through a
geologist/hydrologist professional familiar with the oil/gas
industry and related environmental risks.
_____ Hire professional environmental consultants
(geologist/hydrologist) to map the waterflow (surface and/or
underground) that feeds your drinking water source.
_____ Determine (with geologist/hydrologist) location and
number of water monitoring sites; most cost-effective plan.
_____ Contact land owners in watershed areas for permission
to proceed with water monitoring program.
_____ Solicitor draws up any necessary legal documents
between land owners and municipality to proceed.
HOW TO COLLECT LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE BASELINE WATER DATA?
_____ Research chemicals and/or parameters for water testing.
Get advice from state and county officials, web sites, EPA
groundwater/drinking water departments, drillers.
_____ Arrange for collection and analysis of water samples
by an EPA-certified lab according to EPA protocols at each
monitoring site and at intake to local water facility.
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_____ Collect a minimum of 2 years of baseline water quality
data (twice a year in different seasons, such as
spring/fall).
_____ Ideally, baseline water quality testing will be
completed before shale gas drilling begins in your area.
_____ If this is not possible, continue testing to observe
water quality changes as drilling operates in your watershed.
_____ Hire geologist/hydrologist (environmental consultants)
to analyze the water quality data and issue reports annually.
WHAT WILL WATER MONITORING DO FOR YOUR MUNICIPALITY?
_____ Your municipality now has an “early warning system” to
detect a water contamination event before it reaches the
intake to your water facility.
_____ Your municipality now has a “window of opportunity” to
plan, respond and remediate the contamination before it
reaches your water facility.
_____ Your municipality has time to put its Water
Contingency Plan into operation.
_____ Your municipality has time to apply for federal
emergency funds, if needed, and to plan for another water
source, if necessary (piping from another municipality,
digging a new water well, etc.)
_____ Contact local drillers (oil/gas well and injection
well) informing them of the on-going Water Monitoring
Program your municipality has in place.
_____ Share underground water migration and watershed maps,
monitoring site locations, and water quality data, if Public
Records Requests are received. Oil/gas companies in your
area may be motivated to operate more carefully.
_____ Ask each driller for an Emergency Response Plan in
case of an accident or intentional spill.
_____ Keep your municipality and surrounding communities
informed and updated on the progress of your Water
Monitoring Program via local newspapers.
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_____ Contact federal and state legislators, county
officials, and water organizations such as AWWA, regarding
your concerns about protecting the integrity of your
drinking water source and inform them of the Water
Monitoring Program you have in place.
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