Emergency Management Services officials in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna County have been busier over the last two years due to the sudden rise of natural gas development in and around Dimock and Montrose.

All of the officials interviewed during an newsgathering trip to the area agreed that no one anticipated the full effect of the natural gas boom that began sweeping the area since the first well was dug in 2006.

“I think everyone was surprised by the level and speed of development,” Susquehanna County 911 Coordinator Art Donato said.

“In the last two years, they’ve really started cranking up,” said Deputy Management Coordinator Scott Aylesworth.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reported a single well was drilled in the county in 2006, two more in 2007, 33 in 2008, 62 in 2009 and 89 in 2010. In total, 187 wells are currently being operated in Susquehanna County with an additional 48 permits issued for future sites.

Chenango County currently has 110 wells, though most are not operating at full capacity due a state memorandum on drilling.

“It’s important to remember we’re still in the build-up phase. Drilling is going to continue here for another 20 years and some of the wells will produce for a lifetime,” said Susquehanna County Coordinator Charlene G. Moser.

Energy companies operating in there have already informed management officials they intend to increase drilling operations and expand their crews in 2011. Officials said companies were estimating areas near established pipelines to see the most dramatic increase in development in 2011. Two gas lines run through Susquehanna County: the Tennessee and the Buckeye. The exact course of these pipelines through the county has not been disclosed to county management; nor has the location of their gathering lines.

Donato said it wasn’t uncommon for people to be wary when first hearing of the large scale natural gas development planned for the area. After attending a 2007 information seminar, he recalled an exchange with a woman from the area:

“Afterwards, I remember a lady coming up and asking, do you think it’s really going to change that much?”

He said his answer, in retrospect, should have been, “Yes.”

As development has progressed, so has the demand for emergency services. Susquehanna County has 27 townships and 13 boroughs; maintains 18 volunteer fire department and eight ambulance services. Dispatchers have dealt with an increased volume of calls, especially those involving traffic-related incidents and trespassing complaints.

“To give you an idea of the traffic, imagine it going 24 hours a day. Never before could you come to downtown Montrose at 11 p.m. and watch the trucks drive by all night, but now you can,” said Deputy 911 Coordinator Paul Johnson.

The officials said they were initially concerned to hear reports from neighboring counties, where natural gas development was in full swing, about traffic impacting business access and residents’ commutes. However, they said that was not yet the case in Susquehanna.

“We’re seeing more of the same thing we’ve always seen. It’s a lot of the small stuff, just more of it really,” added Donato.

Moser said the traffic inevitably caused increases in the number of accidents, but pointed out that statistics had not yet implied an increase of fatal collisions. Companies need thousands of trucks to service their wells in Susquehanna, constantly moving heavy equipment and waste materials from the drilling sites. The amount of water used for a typical hydraulic fracturing well is about 3 million gallons, which needs to be transported to a treatment facility outside of the area.

She said the major accidents that some opponents to gas drilling had envisioned have not occurred.

“The threat is always there, and it’s the first thing people seem to think about, but we just haven’t seen it happen,” she said.

Moser said also there was one death related to natural gas development in 2010, involving a gas employee being crushed by heavy equipment while at a work site.

Aylesworth reported that a crew was removing ground piping when a securing cable came loose. The metal pipe he estimated to be 4 inches in diameter, 35 feet long and weighing around 600 pounds, fell and struck the man in the torso and head.

Emergency crews from Montrose responded and a subsequent investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled the incident an industrial accident, he said. The work site belonged to Cabot and was being drilled by an out of area contracting company, he added.

She said crews had also dealt with large fuel spills at accident sites involving gas company trucks, but added it was not new to local responders who often encounter similar spill incidents when responding to crashes along Interstate 81, which runs through the county.

“We’ve seen a lot of spills along the interstate, even before the natural gas companies got here. It wasn’t that uncommon to have a 200 gallon diesel fuel spill from time to time,” she said.

Moser said there were instances of emergency crews responding to accident scenes in which members didn’t always know what substances or chemicals might be involved.

“They can be hauling chemicals and we’re not always notified about them. No report is needed if they’re under a certain quantity. But all trucks should have a material safety data sheet on them in case of an emergency,” she said.

Apart from traffic complaints, Donato said his office has seen a significant rise in the number of people calling to lodge a minor criminal complaint such as trespassing, harassment and other neighbor-driven disputes. Other complaints received include people reporting improper practices or suspected leaks. Many of the reports were made by a very specific population of people who constantly monitor gas company’s activities, he said.

According to Moser, the community has become more involved in monitoring the drilling activity. “The general public is looking very closely and people are very aware now,” she said.

For example, a witness reported a truck that was allegedly dumping fluids along the road. When responders arrived, they found a gas industry truck had simply broken down.

“Everything that happens involving the gas industry, people seem to think it must be the gas industry’s fault,” said Donato in reference to the increased calls.

The shaking or banging allegedly felt in homes during seismic testing caused the most attention. As did the release of controlled flames during an initial well flare, and the concussion sound of gas rushing from a well and striking the pipelines’ differential in pressure. Officials compared the pipeline effect to an empty garden hose being turned on. As pressure rushes forward through the empty pipe it picks up speed and the force of it striking another object or pressure causes a concussion sound that could be heard as a loud rumble. Some residents reported these sounds as explosions, they said.

“These companies were used to working out in the Midwest where there isn’t a soul in sight, and so there was this adjustment period as they realized the people driving by were alarmed by something they’d never seen before,” said Donato.

In the last two years, emergency crews have also responded to at least four fires at gas well compressors. Part of the devices’ regular function is to regulate natural gas pressures heading from the well to a pipeline.

“The fires have been mechanical in nature and no methane was set on fire,” said Donato.

When responding to incidents involving fires or malfunctions at gas sites, officials reported they were often beat to the site by the gas company’s own emergency response teams. Some were given special emergency management and fire training so they could quickly deal with an accident.