Rep. George: Gas Well Incident
Underscores Need for Better Oversight
State Rep. Camille "Bud" George of Clearfield County, chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said the incident at a Marcellus Shale gas-drilling site in Clearfield County underscores the need for Pennsylvania to update its environmental safeguards.
"Local and state officials did a wonderful job responding to a very dangerous situation that fortunately did not cause any injuries or deaths," said Rep. George, D-74 of Clearfield County. "I have said for many months that extraction of any natural resource comes with risks and costs and I only wish I had not been proved correct so quickly and so close to home."
Rep George said that he was informed that workers lost control of the new well at about 8 p.m. Thursday after encountering gas under very high pressure. Gas and a reported 1 million gallons or more of brine, including fracking fluid, escaped from the EOG Resources well drilled off McGeorge Road in Lawrence Township.
Emergency management personnel and first responders from Clearfield County coordinated efforts with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
By 8 a.m. Friday, officials from the State Police, the state Fish and Boat Commission and the state Departments of Conservation and Natural Resources and Transportation joined the effort. By around noon Friday, the well was capped.
According to the DEP, there was limited risk of explosion and the flow-back water had been contained and posed no hazards to the local streams. As a precaution, a no-fly zone was established in the area, and roads leading to the site were blocked.
"This dangerous situation should prompt the Pennsylvania Legislature to move more promptly on my House Bill 2213, which would require disclosure of the precise chemical concentrations in the fracking fluids," Rep. George said. "This can be crucial information in emergencies such as this."
For more information, go to Rep. George's website:
http://www.pahouse.com/PR/074060410.asp
"Local and state officials did a wonderful job responding to a very dangerous situation that fortunately did not cause any injuries or deaths," said Rep. George, D-74 of Clearfield County. "I have said for many months that extraction of any natural resource comes with risks and costs and I only wish I had not been proved correct so quickly and so close to home."
Rep George said that he was informed that workers lost control of the new well at about 8 p.m. Thursday after encountering gas under very high pressure. Gas and a reported 1 million gallons or more of brine, including fracking fluid, escaped from the EOG Resources well drilled off McGeorge Road in Lawrence Township.
Emergency management personnel and first responders from Clearfield County coordinated efforts with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
By 8 a.m. Friday, officials from the State Police, the state Fish and Boat Commission and the state Departments of Conservation and Natural Resources and Transportation joined the effort. By around noon Friday, the well was capped.
According to the DEP, there was limited risk of explosion and the flow-back water had been contained and posed no hazards to the local streams. As a precaution, a no-fly zone was established in the area, and roads leading to the site were blocked.
"This dangerous situation should prompt the Pennsylvania Legislature to move more promptly on my House Bill 2213, which would require disclosure of the precise chemical concentrations in the fracking fluids," Rep. George said. "This can be crucial information in emergencies such as this."
For more information, go to Rep. George's website:
http://www.pahouse.com/PR/074060410.asp
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