DEP shuts down well site in Galeton over violations

The following press release was issued by the DEP on 3/23/11:

DEP Shuts Down Potter County Gas Well Pre-Construction Site Over Violations Impacting Public Water Supply

WILLIAMSPORT -- The Department of Environmental Protection has ordered Chesapeake Energy to cease work on a natural gas drilling well pad for failing to comply with regulations and impacting one of Galeton Borough Water Authority’s water sources.

The well pad was in the site-preparation phase, which occurs before any well construction or drilling activities take place.

In conducting site-preparation activities at the Beech Flats well pad in West Branch Township, Potter County, Chesapeake failed to implement the required erosion and sediment controls. As a result, a significant amount of sediment and silt discharged from the site into a stream that is a tributary to a water source serving Galeton’s system. The Galeton Water Authority has been forced to use another permitted water source to serve its customers.

“In order to protect human health and the environment, we ordered Chesapeake to stop all construction activity,” DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber said. “They must begin corrective action on this site immediately.”

By March 29, the company must correct the existing violations at the site and review and revise, as appropriate, its Erosion and Sediment Control Plan to prevent future damage. DEP will not permit Chesapeake to resume construction at the site until all terms of the order are met.

After a routine site inspection March 8 and a March 10 meeting with Chesapeake, DEP issued a notice of violation for several infractions of the Clean Streams Law and Oil and Gas Act. The company did not respond to the notice. During follow-up inspections March 21 and 22, staff discovered the additional violations and impacts that resulted in the March 22 order.

For more information about DEP, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us or contact:  Katy Gresh, Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office.

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Dept. of Environmental Protection

Commonwealth News Bureau 

Room 308, Main Capitol Building 

Harrisburg PA., 17120 

This press release can be viewed in its entirety by clicking HERE.

Huge explosion rocks western PA gas site

At approximately 6:30pm last night an explosion at a Chesapeake drill site rocked the small community of Avella PA (Washington County) and burned for nearly 3 hours as firefighters from at least 2 counties battled the blaze.  The explosion injured 2-3 people who are now being treated for burns.  Two contractors were reportedly flown via helicopter from the scene to UPMC-Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.  For video of the site, click HERE to see the WTOV footage.

"I was eating dinner when all of a sudden there was an explosion," said Katie Leeper, whose home is on a hill across the valley from the well. "I didn't know it was an explosion at first, but the whole house shook and the windows rattled.  "I looked outside, saw all the neighbors, looked over the hill and saw the big fire."  Another neighbor, Robert Dalesio, who said his house is 650 yards from the well, thought a plane had crashed.  "I first thought a C-130 (military transport aircraft) went down because they fly over here all the time," he said. "There was a pretty good concussion. I looked over and saw the whole hillside on fire."  To read the full story, click HERE.

Special report: In depth on fracking (video)

While the WGRZ news station is out of western NY, a good portion of the content (interviews, etc) take place in Bradford County.  The video is approximately 9-10 minutes long and well worth watching.  To read the accompanying transcript, click HERE.

So...there was no explosion...but someone was thrown 30 feet in the air? How does that work?

Chesapeake denies its well exploded

By Ron Hosie

The incident involving a Chesapeake energy natural gas well this morning in Tuscarora Township was not an explosion, a company spokesman said early this afternoon.  Brian Grove, Chesapeake's director of  corporate development in Towanda, in a prepared statement, described what happened as "a brief but forceful uplift of tubing."  He specifically denied that the phenomenon was an explosion.  Three employees of a contract company were transported to a hospital, he said, but none had critical injuries.  "There was no release of any materials that could be harmful to the environment and the situation presents no danger to the public. This is all the information that is available at this time," Grove said in the statement.

According to transmissions over Wyoming County 911 communications at the time of the incident, an explosion  took place at the Mowry well site of Chesapeake Energy on Clapper Hill in Tuscarora Township.  One person was thrown in the air 30 feet, and suffered back pain and injuries to his wrist and another individual sustained back pain, according to preliminary reports.  

Emergency crews were called out, according to the scanner transmission, but there was no visible fire. Laceyville Fire Chief Scott Fisher refused to comment at mid-morning, saying he would need to finish his report first.  Jim Vajda. Bradford County's Emergency Management Agency director was reported on the scene and unavailable for immediate comment.

Source: The Daily Review

1.28.2010

Recent Bradford County spill results in $52/gal fine. Company investigated by US Dept of Justice, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Back in February of this year, an estimated 295 gallons of hydrochloric acid spilled from a tank located at a well site in Asylum Twp, Bradford County.  On Monday, December 7, PA's Department of Environmental Protection issued a press release stating the two companies involved--Chesapeake Appalachia LLC and Schlumberger Technology Corp of Midland TX would each be fined $15,557 (or roughly $50 per gallon spilled).  According to the PRESS RELEASE, clean up involved the following:

• A contractor "removed free-standing acid from the ground with absorbent pads"
• Trenches were excavated to contain the spill
• Contaminated soil was neutralized with "soda ash and hydrated lime"
• Approximately 125 tons of contaminated soil had to be excavated
• Nearly 14,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid and water mixture were removed from the site 
• An additional 11,000 gallons of acid was transfered from the faulty tank to temporary tanks

Schlumberger Technology Corp is one of the country's leaders in the use of hydraulic fracturing (Halliburton is the other).  The company has been the focus of many investigations including:

• that of a team led by Erin Brockovich (remember the movie?) for a spill in Midland, TX.  You can see footage of Brockovich on a CBS appearance HERE
• STC is suspected to be the cause of 16 cattle dropping dead in a field recently in Louisiana after drinking a mysterious fluid in a field next to a drilling rig.  
• recently been investigated by the US Dept of Justice for having violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in their oil & gas business in Nigeria.
• Investigated and fined by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for having "willfully failed to perform required radiation surveys" in Montana resulting in the exposure of 31 workers to hazardous radioactive material.  Read the full Notice of Violation HERE.