In the span of two months the same gas drilling company, Carizzo Marcellus, has had two accidents in Wyoming County and spilled thousands of gallons of fracking fluid.
After the first accident on March 13 released more than a quarter million gallons of fluids and forced the evacuation of three homes, the state Department of Environmental Protection asked the company to halt all operations within the state.
But the DEP allowed Carizzo to resume work just a few weeks later, before the agency’s own investigation was complete.
Now Carrizo has spilled another 9,000 gallons at a different well site in Wyoming County.
Read the article here.
Showing posts with label gas drilling spill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gas drilling spill. Show all posts
Friday, May 10, 2013
Saturday, February 11, 2012
DEP Halts Fracking Job After Gas Well Failure in PA
Two weeks ago a natural gas well being fracked by Carrizo Oil and Gas went out-of-control, causing a spill of waste fluids on a well pad in Forest Lake Township, Susquehanna County, according to a newspaper report by Laura Legere:
http://thedailyreview.com/news/dep-halts-fracking-at-site-after-gas-well-failure-dep-halts-carrizo-fracking-at-susquehanna-county-site-after-gas-well-failure-1.1270279
Two valves failed at the Baker 4H well the afternoon of January 30th. Here is the DEP violation report:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48182083/drilling/nov.pdf
There were three violations in these areas: Oil and Gas Act, Solid Waste Management Act, and the Clean Streams Law. There was an "unpermitted discharge of residual waste onto the ground." The residual waste is another phrase for frac fluid. There are big fines for each of these violations. However, no fines have been levied yet, and most likely will never be imposed.
Natural gas drilling cannot not be done safely. There will always be spills, leaks, and explosions- always. The ground is always contaminated- always. The air is always contaminated- always. The degree of contamination varies, but there are always chemicals getting into the air, soil, and water.
http://thedailyreview.com/news/dep-halts-fracking-at-site-after-gas-well-failure-dep-halts-carrizo-fracking-at-susquehanna-county-site-after-gas-well-failure-1.1270279
Two valves failed at the Baker 4H well the afternoon of January 30th. Here is the DEP violation report:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48182083/drilling/nov.pdf
There were three violations in these areas: Oil and Gas Act, Solid Waste Management Act, and the Clean Streams Law. There was an "unpermitted discharge of residual waste onto the ground." The residual waste is another phrase for frac fluid. There are big fines for each of these violations. However, no fines have been levied yet, and most likely will never be imposed.
Natural gas drilling cannot not be done safely. There will always be spills, leaks, and explosions- always. The ground is always contaminated- always. The air is always contaminated- always. The degree of contamination varies, but there are always chemicals getting into the air, soil, and water.
Friday, April 22, 2011
From Penn Future: Update on Gas Well Spill, Waste Water Disposal
From Penn Future:
The spill and its aftermath
Chesapeake Energy shut down all hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania in the aftermath of a massive spill of 30,000 gallons of frack water in Bradford County. The incident polluted a tributary of Towanda Creek. PennFuture has called on DEP to shut down all Chesapeake operations, not just fracking, until the company can prove it can operate safely.
The Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) pilot policy that prevents inspectors from citing drillers for violations of environmental laws until approved by Secretary Krancer is more than unwise. It is dangerous and must end immediately.
DEP asks drillers to stop dumping waste at sewage treatment plants
DEP Secretary Michael Krancer this week asked Marcellus Shale drillers to stop delivering gas well waste water to 15 sewage treatment plants. This action came in response to new reports showing that bromides that pass through plants without treatment can interact with drinking water treatment chemicals and form new substances that cause cancer. Last year DEP enacted strict limits on the disposal of toxic and salt-laden wastewater into our waterways, but the 15 plants were exempt from the new regulation.
The drilling industry's reaction to the request has been positive so far. Secretary Krancer should order the drillers to comply if any companies do not promptly honor the request.
The spill and its aftermath
Chesapeake Energy shut down all hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania in the aftermath of a massive spill of 30,000 gallons of frack water in Bradford County. The incident polluted a tributary of Towanda Creek. PennFuture has called on DEP to shut down all Chesapeake operations, not just fracking, until the company can prove it can operate safely.
The Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) pilot policy that prevents inspectors from citing drillers for violations of environmental laws until approved by Secretary Krancer is more than unwise. It is dangerous and must end immediately.
DEP asks drillers to stop dumping waste at sewage treatment plants
DEP Secretary Michael Krancer this week asked Marcellus Shale drillers to stop delivering gas well waste water to 15 sewage treatment plants. This action came in response to new reports showing that bromides that pass through plants without treatment can interact with drinking water treatment chemicals and form new substances that cause cancer. Last year DEP enacted strict limits on the disposal of toxic and salt-laden wastewater into our waterways, but the 15 plants were exempt from the new regulation.
The drilling industry's reaction to the request has been positive so far. Secretary Krancer should order the drillers to comply if any companies do not promptly honor the request.
Fraccident in PA: Popular Mechanics Weighs In
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| We're not supposed to drink what? |
Popular Mechanics featured an article on Tuesday's well spill in Leroy Township, Bradford County, PA. The well operated by Chesapeake Energy erupted just before midnight April 19th, sending thousands of gallons of contaminated frack fluid over the earthen berms surrounding the well pad and down through farmlands to a nearby creek which flows into the Susquehanna River. The well is Atgas 2H located about 175 miles northwest of Philly. The mishap occurred while the crew was in the middle of a "frack job." Although the investigation into this accident is not complete, officials believe a steel coupling located beneath the well's blowout protector, but above ground, failed, allowing the flowback to gush out. This blowout protector is the same technology as the device that failed in the Gulf oil spill one year ago this week. What happened in Leroy is not being described as a blowout which would have involved an explosion and methane release into the air. However, there was no way to immediately stop the flow of water. As the PM article siad, "there was a lot of water." Normally this flowback is collected in pits or tanks, processed to remove some of the contaminents, and then partially reused in other wells. However, some of the waste is trucked out of state or worse, diluted and released by treatment facilities into rivers and streams.
Prior to the incident this week, there had been days of steady rain which had partially filled the containment pits, causing the pits to overflow when the accident occurred. Then the berms failed as well. DEP officials have warned farmers to stop their cows from drinking surface water. [And we know how easy it is to monitor cows.]
Investigators did not immediately disclose the chemical make-up of the fracking fluid that escaped. Some of the chemicals are proprietary, making it impossible for emergency workers to know what to test for or treat for. Popular Mechanics said,
If initial estimates are accurate, it would make Wednesday's incident the most serious fracking accident in the history of Marcellus Shale development.That is quite a claim to make.
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| Methane bubbles in the Susquehanna in Sugar Run Credit: Don Williams |
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Gas Drilling Accident Goes Virtually Unreported in PA
A fracking blowout in a state forest in PA (Tioga County) occurred January 17th, 2011. Did you hear about it? I didn't. The location of the blowout was on PA State Forest lands in Ward Township about nine miles southeast of Mansfield.
According to an article in the Ithaca Journal (http://www.theithacajournal.com/), the accident caused an uncontrolled discharge of sand and fracking fluids onto state forest lands in Tioga County.
There were three violations identified to date:
Potential pollution of fresh water streams near the well site
Releasing fracking fluids onto the ground
Failing to contain hydraulic fracturing fluids
Talisman said it had modified the design of the failed component. (Question: They haven't got it right yet??? Are they practicing on us? Of course, they are.) They said they strive to continuously improve well site operations. So reassuring.
In 2010, PA DEP conducted 187 inspections of Talisman well sites. Ninety-one of these inspections found 151 violations. In my opionion, that is way too many violations.
G. Jeffrey Aaron wrote the source article for this post.
LINK
According to an article in the Ithaca Journal (http://www.theithacajournal.com/), the accident caused an uncontrolled discharge of sand and fracking fluids onto state forest lands in Tioga County.
This was a serious incident that could have caused significant environmental harm had it not been brought under control....Talisman Energy began having problems controlling the well in the early afternoon of January 17th. A needle valve on a casing wing valve failed, which caused a loss of well control.During the blowout, fracking fluids and sand discharged from the well into the air. There was no fire or explosion, and no one was injured.
There were three violations identified to date:
Potential pollution of fresh water streams near the well site
Releasing fracking fluids onto the ground
Failing to contain hydraulic fracturing fluids
Talisman said it had modified the design of the failed component. (Question: They haven't got it right yet??? Are they practicing on us? Of course, they are.) They said they strive to continuously improve well site operations. So reassuring.
In 2010, PA DEP conducted 187 inspections of Talisman well sites. Ninety-one of these inspections found 151 violations. In my opionion, that is way too many violations.
G. Jeffrey Aaron wrote the source article for this post.
LINK
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