As I was writing this, this was being reported:
Out-of-control well spews gas and water in Clearfield County
An out-of-control gas well in a Clearfield County forest poses no immediate threat to humans or the environment, but could fuel a forest fire if it is not contained, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said today.
The well has been spewing natural gas and wastewater from drilling since 7:30 p.m. yesterday when it shot out from the ground like a geyser, DEP spokesman Dan Spadoni said. Well operator EOG Resources did not realize how much pressure their well was under, and blowback broke through the well casing, causing workers to evacuate, Spadoni....
"Well, fortunately it's in a remote area. And that's obviously very beneficial," Spadoni said. "But it's a situation that does not occur very often and it's one that needs to be corrected as soon as possible but as safely as possible."
The well operators hired two companies to get the well under control, and one of them dug trenches to trap the wastewater and gas before it reaches small tributaries nearby, Spadoni said. DEP is overseeing that cleanup and has an official on site. The Pennsyvlania Emergency Management Agency and county officials also were notified.
However, it has now been contained:
Gas Well Blowout Under Control
Pennsylvania environmental officials said natural gas and polluted drilling water poured for 16 hours from a well in rural Clearfield County.
Elizabeth Ivers, a spokeswoman for the gas well's owner, driller EOG Resources Inc., said the well was brought under control just after noon Friday, about 16 hours after it started spewing gas....
But please note the following detail from the updated story:
According to state Rep. Bud George's office, initial reports from Process Equipment Manufacturers' Association said three of four wells were secured. The other well was releasing frack water and unignited wet gas, which caused the evacuation. Officials said an estimated 1 million gallons of frack water was uncontrolled as of 11 a.m. in the area of exit 111 on Interstate 80.
Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" is the process of blasting millions of gallons of water deep underground to break up the shale and release the gas. Most of the frack water stays underground, but what comes up must be treated or disposed of in approved facilities.
Quite ironic for many reasons, not the least of which is the current calamity in the Gulf, but also because this week, American Rivers named the Upper Delaware America's most endangered river, due to gas drilling- specifically- hydro fracking in the river's watershed, in both Pennsylvania and New York state.
American Rivers statement (in part):
Upper Delaware Named America’s Most Endangered River
Gas drilling threatens drinking water for 17 million people
June 2, 2010
Washington, DC — The Upper Delaware River, the drinking water source for 17 million people across New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania is at risk from shale fracking for natural gas, a process that poisons groundwater and creates toxic pollution. This threat landed the Upper Delaware in the number one spot in America’s Most Endangered Rivers: 2010 edition.
“Unless we stop the threat of rampant shale fracking, the drinking water for 17 million people across the Northeast will be threatened by toxic pollution,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. “We can’t let natural gas companies fatten their profits by putting our precious clean water at risk.”
American Rivers called on the Delaware River Basin Commission to ban any shale fracking in the Upper Delaware watershed until a thorough study of impacts is completed and the pollution potential of shale fracking is fully documented and assessed. American Rivers also urged Congress to pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2009 and to resist special interest pressures to include federal subsidies of shale fracking for natural gas in upcoming energy legislation....
http://www.americanrivers.org/...