Luzerne County Mud Blowout: Pipeline Installation Accident

This drilling mud blowout is .2 miles behind Kunkle Motors of Route 309 in Dallas Township Pennsylvania.

Drilling blowout in Back Mountain

Published: May 8, 2012
The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a blowout at a natural gas pipeline installation near Leonards Creek in the Kunkle section of Dallas Township.

Chief Gathering LLC, which was recently bought out by PVR Partners, is laying a natural gas pipeline from wells in Susquehanna County to connect to the Transco interstate pipeline in Dallas.

The blowout occurred last week as contractors were boring beneath wetlands and some of the mud they were using blew out into the creek,  according to state Department of Environmental Protection Spokeswoman Colleen Connolly. She did not know how much mud got into the creek.

The mud is being sucked up with hay bales and a vacuum pump. Connolly said the mud will be tested to see what, if any, chemicals it contains. "It doesn't look like anything dangerous at this point, but we'll take a look and see," she said.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling-blowout-in-back-mountain-1.1312313#axzz1uLCTYBWI

Another Mud Spill In Laurel Lake Creek in Susquehanna County, PA

Eye Witness Report From Vera:

Just passed Laurel Lake Creek at noon and saw the pumping going on again for the escaping pipeline drilling mud entering the creek bed. All the guys and tankers and trucks and pumping station back again with Southeast Directional Drilling working to pump this out and contain it.

I called Tom Karam , the owner of this Laser Pipeline and told him what is happening and he didn't know!

I videotaped the latest "blow-out"--they supposedly tried some different tactics and the mud escaped again !! The Creek is not wanting this mud to stay underground and it is barfing it up--

Here are Vera's reports after the other accidents in this creek last month:

http://dearsusquehanna.blogspot.com/2011/08/laurel-creek-mud-spill-susquehanna.html (08/05/11)

http://dearsusquehanna.blogspot.com/2011/08/laurel-lake-creek-update-another.html (08/11/11)

http://dearsusquehanna.blogspot.com/2011/08/laurel-lake-creek-mud-inadvertent.html (08/16/11)

http://dearsusquehanna.blogspot.com/2011/08/laurel-lake-creek-pipeline-drilling.html (08/17/11)

And this from the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/pennsylvania_citizen_intimidat.html

THANK YOU, VERA!

INDEPENDENT MEDIA REPORTER

EXTRAORDINAIRE!

Remembering a dear friend who fought against unconventional gas drilling in Pennsylvania:

Karen Korell

1944-2010

Laurel Lake Creek Pipeline Drilling Resumes (Susquehanna County, PA)

Salt Spring State Park
Laurel Lake Creek flows into Silver Creek which flows through this park.
[Photo: Gary Li]

It's a go for Laser Northeast Gathering Company!  They can now resume their installation of the 33-mile natural gas pipeline.  They had a little glitch- three "inadvertent returns" of drilling mud- this month, but now everything is back to drill, baby, drill normal.  The pipeline has to go under Laurel Lake Creek, a stream designated as an exceptional value waterway.  However, in eleven days, there were three accidents involving mud mixed with bentonite surging up into the pristine creek and making an utter mess.  The PA DEP is saying that there will be no lasting damage, no effect on aquatic creatures.  They say that most of the spilled material was recovered.  Think about this:  You pour gallons and gallons of mud into a creek.  How do you know you got most of it up?  And how do you really know how much mud actually did come up out of the ground and into that water? 

Laser CEO Thomas Karam met with DEP Secretary Michael Krancer in Harrisburg Monday and got the go-ahead to proceed with the pipeline project. They re-started drilling on Tuesday.  They are going to use a smaller drill to try and "intercept the existing pilot bore."  Laser already constructed a flume at the site to divert the water around the bore.  See video.

No fines have been levied thus far. 

Comment regarding the mud return from Susquehanna River Watch: LINK

FIRST, DO NO HARM

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primum_non_nocere]

LINK to PressConnects article.

Laurel Lake Creek Update: Another "Inadvertent Return" of Mud (PA)

A very sad situation gets worse. Another inadvertent return (mud blowout) in Laurel Lake Creek, Susquehanna County, PA. This pristine stream is supposedly protected by the PA DEP as an exceptional value stream. Such a designation means that it is protected more than other streams. So much for that plan. If you watch the men standing in the stream, trying to "fix" this mess, does it strike you that they seem to just be randomly throwing what look like sandbags haphazardly as if they have no clue what to do. Are they just trying to act busy and look like they are doing something beneficial? To me it looks like a lost cause. From crystal clear water to thick coffee. News is that there have been three mud blowouts in the last week or so in this creek. Drilling stops, then resumes, and then another blowout. Isn't there a definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Here is Part Two of the video taken by a resident of the area on Monday, August 8th. You can see the mud coming up in the creek.

This just in from Vera, reporter from Susquehanna County (August 10th):

[The mud is] still leaking and being pumped out;

day 13 --first happened July 29th. The ban on drilling still on for that section--it's coming out of different spot in the creekbed; about 10 feet from the other spot-- our geology is a challenge for them--

thanks, to the Gaia Earth-- Be a challenge-

WHERE WILL WE GO AFTER OUR PLANET IS UNINHABITABLE?

Mud Blowout in Exceptional Value Watershed: Susquehanna County, PA

Laser Pipeline mud and bentonite blow out into exceptional-valued Laurel Lake Creek, Silver Lake Township, Susquehanna County, Pa. Videotaped 8-1-11. Rockford company drilling and drill bit came out into creek spilling the mud. Company pumped and contained the spill into a containment pond but it's still seeping downstream into the creek as we witnessed. DEP has been there and investigating. The latest impact on our delicate environment.

To read the Pennsylvania Code for High Quality or Exceptional Value Waters, click HERE.  This accident has impacted a body of water designated as exceptional value.

(Click on map to enlarge.)

From the DEP website:

The highest quality streams are rated as ‘EV’ and DEP testing must show a high biotic integrity and health with test data from over a year period to obtain this rank. EV streams include all streams that flow through state natural areas, or federally protected wilderness areas, other waters that receive a score of 92% biotic integrity ranking, and wilderness trout streams. Once a stream has been defined in such a way, the stream is protected in that DEP regulation does not permit uses along the stream that would lead to any degradation of the stream quality. The ‘HQ’ streams are the next level of quality (slightly degraded) and must show a macro-invertebrate community score of 83% or better, or be a state designated class A trout stream. HQ streams are defined as still sustaining cold water fisheries. The EV streams are mostly found in undeveloped areas of a watershed and represent, perhaps, some of the more pristine streams remaining in the state. One road block in this designation system is the number of streams that are untested or evaluated. Evaluations are usually made by DEP staff although the public can petition for a review. Because of staff limitations, many streams remain unevaluated.

IS THERE A SAFE WAY TO DRILL?

CAN A MESS LIKE THIS BE REVERSED?

Just One Little Pig Can Hurt You

Pipelines have been with us for years, and most people are a bit blase about them.  I have heard, "Oh, that pipeline was put in 40 years ago, and it has never caused any problem."  However, pipelines deteriorate from the inside out and are not easily monitored.  (My town of Greece, NY, is replacing old pipes right now.) Old pipelines have been causing problems lately. Because they are underground, we don't think about them, but they are everywhere under our feet, our homes, our roads, our schools- everywhere, like a spider's web.

There is a new worry after a very scary incident in Texas.  On October 15th, in Grand Prairie, a "pig" was accidently discharged out of the end of a pipe being installed.  This device was being used to test pressure in the pipe.  The 150-pound pig went right through the wall of a home 500 away and landed in the owner's bedroom.  No one was hurt. But that was just luck.  It could have killed somebody.  According to the homeowner, the incident was not even reported to the Texas Railroad Commission until Wednesday (6 days after it happened) and only after a TV news reporter began asking questions.  The rule is that such incidents must be reported within two hours. The TRC is charged with regulating and overseeing the natural gas industry in Texas.

Want to know more about pigging?  Click here.  One explanation of the term "pig" is that it is short for Pipeline Inspection Gauge.  There are quite a few uses for these devices and other theories as to how they got their name.  But what is clear is they can be very dangerous.  With thousands of new pipelines going in for natural gas transport, the dangers are compounded by the sheer numbers and their close proximity to homes, schools, and other areas where people are.

Here is Texas Sharon's 2007 comment on the Railroad Commission. She's not a fan.

Wonder what a PIG looks like?  Here is a picture of one:

A PIG like this flew through the air and landed in a near-by house in Texas!

Here is a LINK to the article, "When Pigs Fly," provided by one of my favorite blogs, Un-Natural Gas.

Gas Drilling: Another Deadly Pipeline Explosion in Texas

It has been a deadly few days in Texas.  Two natural gas pipeline explosions took the lives of 3 gas drilling workers.  The latest blast occurred today (6/8) in Darrouzett, Texas (270 miles northeast of Lubbock).  In addition to the two who were killed, three workers were injured, but not seriously.  Five men were moving clay from a pit near the pipeline when a bulldozer struck it, causing the explosion.

Watch the VIDEO REPORT here.

PA News: Residents Report Toxic Clouds of Gas Near Compressor Station

Compressor station in Dimock, PA. Photo by Mary Sweeny

On October 20, 2009, residents of Mt. Pleasant Township, PA, reported an incident involving natural gas near the Nancy Stewart Compressor Station about 1:15 p.m. Raw natural gas was escaping from a pipeline with such force that it caused nearby homes to shake! Martin O'Lear, a local resident said,

It sounded like a rocket taking off. My eyes started to burn, and then I started to cough which lasted through the afternoon and night. I've lived here for 34 years and never had my eyes start to burn when I stepped outside.

The Department of Environmental Protection stated that the incident was "normal operating procedure." The DEP is currently performing air tests in the area. Results may be available next week.

Wilma Subra, a chemist and founder of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, said,

We [in Louisiana and Texas] frequently have compressor stations that either had an explosion or an over-pressurization.

On the same day this incident in PA was reported, Dr. Subra was interviewed on WHRW Binghamton's radio show "The Point." She spoke about her work testing the air in DISH, Texas, and about the report she gave to the New York State Senate regarding clean water.

Read the whole article by reporter Nastassja Noell here.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!