HARMONY — An environmental engineer gave a presentation on Marcellus gas drilling and its potential impacts on the environment at Stewart Hall Wednesday night.

Borough councilman Dave Szakelyhidi introduced speaker Jim Daley, director of environmental services for the engineering firm Novel Geo-Environmental. Novel Geo-Environmental is a consulting firm based in Moon Township, Allegheny County.

The Harmony Water Authority is currently working with the state Department of Environmental Protection to survey and identify all possible risks in the Little Connoquenessing Creek watershed, Szakelyhidi said.

The watershed covers about 55 square miles, mostly to the north of the borough. Any toxic chemicals that enter that groundwater in the watershed will end up in the Little Connoquenessing Creek, which is processed by the borough for its drinking water.

“It’s a real nice watershed and we’d like to protect it,” he said.

As part of its effort, the borough requested Daley to speak through the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a Pittsburgh based organization that works to inform the public on Marcellus Shale drilling.

Much of Daley’s presentation covered what he called “Marcellus Shale 101.” Using a slide show and videos he demonstrated how vertical and horizontal drilling operations operate, how hydraulic fracturing works and how a drill pad site is developed.

“It can be good, but you have got to do things right, and do it right for the future generations,” he said.

A drilling operation typically takes three to five months to be completed, while the well it creates will function for an estimated 20 to 40 years, he said.

While drilling operations involve a lot of activity with trucks coming and going, once they have been transformed into wells the areas are reclaimed and planted with new grass and trees and have much less activity, he said.

Daley cited a study done by the state in 2003, before there was natural gas drilling in Butler County, that listed the biggest sources of contamination for the watershed.

They were: salt from roads, road spills, agriculture runoff and sewage or storage tank leaks.

He also added that impacts from past mining operations, some of which are now flooded, are also concerns for the watershed.

Highway spills have been the biggest concern recently for the water authority, Szakelyhidi said. After several incidents on Interstate 79, the water plant had to temporarily shut down, he said.

One takeaway from the presentation that Szakelyhidi reiterated to the group was the only potential contaminants in the watershed created by drilling operations is stormwater runoff or spills on the surface. The drilling itself and the wells do not create contamination, underground or otherwise, he said.

Delsa White of Harmony said she was concerned about the drilling companies following the state and local regulations.

She said she heard from a DEP official that they are understaffed and don’t have the time or ability to properly process permit applications and inspect drill sites.

If a resident sees a spill or other violation occurring at a drill site, they can call either the DEP or the state Fish and Wildlife Service to report it, Daley said.

Donna Statzer of Zelienople spoke to say that her main concern with the drilling operations is the additional truck traffic it has brought to the area’s roads.

“I now ride my bike with all of the tanker trucks and all the dump trucks and on the roads that are turning into dirt and dust and falling apart. It’s not a desirable place to live anymore. The town is surrounded and I’m ready to move,” she said.