GENESEE, Pa. — Chemical contamination of water supplies for five households in Potter County, which also resulted in fish kill in a small pond, is under control, according to officials.
In early June, reports of the fish kill and a sweet taste in the water at the five residences in the Genesee area led to the discovery that a leak had occurred in a line to the compressor station owned by Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. The leaked substabce was ethylene glycol, which was released into nearby water sources.
As a result, the station was shut down and remediation efforts were initiated.
Megan Lehman, environmental community relations specialist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the agency received a complaint regarding a fish kill in a pond near the Stateline Compressor Station on June 9. DEP officials and members of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission visited the site to investigate.
“DEP collected samples from (Dominion’s) water well, spring influent for the pond and the pond itself,” Lehman said. “DEP also spoke with neighboring property owners who reported recently noticing an odor in their well water.”
DEP followed up by conducting sampling at residences. Water samples were tested and ethylene glycol was found to be above groundwater limits.
Lehman said Dominion investigated an area of underground piping at the compressor station and discovered a “pinhole leak” in a subsurface line and impacted soils.
Residential wells and springs that served as water supplies at additional neighboring properties were found to have ethylene glycol above the state’s health standard, bringing the total to five residential water supplies above the cleanup standard.
Ethylene glycol is odorless and colorless but has a sweet taste if ingested. Commonly used in antifreeze, hydraulic brake fluids, ballpoint pens or in the manufacture of polyester fibers, ethylene glycol is not considered dangerous if an individual comes into skin contact with a small amount. However, it can cause issues if ingested. A mild to moderate exposure can cause dizziness, headaches, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure or increased rate and depth of breathing. A severe level of ingestion could lead to coma and acute kidney failure.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not set a permissible exposure limit for ethylene glycol. However, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists has issued recommendations on this matter, setting a ceiling exposure limit of 39.4 ppm (parts per million).
Samantha Norris, senior communications specialist at Dominion, said the company arranged for fresh water to be provided to the households affected by the leak.
She said Dominion takes environmental protection and safety very seriously.
“Since June 11, regular water samples have been taken in the surrounding area and we have performed a thorough examination of every inch of Stateline’s equipment,” she said.
“Based on the water sampling, the release appears to have impacted a small number of residences, and the latest results showed no detections of ethylene glycol. All contaminated soil has been excavated and properly stored for disposal. The station is not currently in operation and will not resume until remediation is completed.”
Lehman said fixing the problem has been a collaborative effort between Dominion and DEP’s Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program, while keeping affected residents updated.
“DEP has collected samples four times to date, and multiple inspections have been performed,” she said. “(Dominion) has been sampling residential wells weekly and provided bottled drinking water and a holding tank of potable water to affected residents.”
Lehman said Dominion removed the leaking section of pipe and the affected soil down to shallow bedrock and will conduct additional remediation activities, including remediating the pond and restocking the fish.
“At this time, it appears that ongoing remediation efforts undertaken by (Dominion) are successfully mitigating impacts from the release,” she said. “The concentrations of ethylene glycol found in the affected residential wells have trended significantly down compared to the initial samples.”
Lehman said the most-recent round of well samples found that ethylene glycol was below the detection limit, with the exception of one well that was not tested in this round because the homeowner was not available.
“Removing the source of contamination, combined with natural biodegradation that occurs with ethylene glycol, has resulted in a significant positive trend in the sampling results, and DEP anticipates the trend to continue,” Lehman said.
