Video provided in the Allegheny Front article ...
From an Article by Julie Grant, Allegheny Front, February 4, 2021
Ohio regulators are working at a gas well that started spewing what’s believed to be brine water from fracking into the environment more than a week ago. Brine is a salty byproduct of gas and oil production and can contain toxic metals and radioactive substances, according to US EPA.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which regulates the oil and gas industry, said in an email that it was notified on Sunday, January 24 that fluid, what the agency called “produced brine,” was spraying out of an oil and gas well in the Crooked Tree area near Dexter City in Noble County.
The video posted to Facebook by Amber Deem shows what she says is liquid spraying out of the well and pooling on the ground. Deem told The Allegheny Front in a phone call that the Parkersburg, West Virginia company where said she works owns this well, and that it hadn’t produced gas in years. Deem has now said she is awaiting advice from her attorney before commenting further.
Chasity Schmelzenbach, director of Noble County Emergency Management, was informed by Ohio DNR about the incident at the well, which is owned by Genesis Resources LLC of Parkersburg.
On Wednesday, January 27, the state was able to contain the spray in a collection system on-site, Schmelzenbach said, but not before the suspected brine killed fish in Taylor Fork, a small tributary. She said state regulators had wildlife experts at the scene.
“The chloride counts are really high, that’s why the fish kill happened, they believe,” Schmelzenbach said. “Typically brine doesn’t kill fish, so the concentrations had to be pretty high in that small area.” By the next day, Schmelzenbach said the state reported that the pressure of the emerging liquid had dropped.
Ohio DNR said brine continues to flow at the wellhead. So far it has collected, and disposed of more than 30,000 barrels of fluid from the site. The agency has not determined where the liquid originated, or why it suddenly started spewing from the old gas well. There have been no injuries or evacuations and the extent of impact to the environment is not yet known.
Noble County is home to around ten frack wastewater injection wells, according to Schmelzenbach and state mapping, some a few miles from the incident. In late 2019, brine from an injection well in Washington County, Ohio migrated to several producing gas wells, some more than five miles away.
Since 2017, there have been seven spills of frack waste in Noble County, including this one, according to Ohio EPA records.
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See also: REPORT FAULTS PA-DEP FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT STREAMS FROM MINING IN WESTERN PENNA., Reid Frazier, Allegheny Front, January 22, 2021
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is failing to protect streams and property from subsidence from underground “longwall” mining, according to a report released by a Washington County-based environmental group, the Citizens Coal Council.
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PA Permit Violation Issued to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2/08/2021 to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Twp, Washington county. OGA3211(H) – WELL PERMITS – LABELING – Failure to install, in a permanent manner, the permit number on a completed well.
PA Permit Violation Issued to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Twp, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2/08/2021 to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Twp, Washington county. OGA3211(H) – WELL PERMITS – LABELING – Failure to install, in a permanent manner, the permit number on a completed well.
Range Resources pays $294K over wells left unplugged that should have been declared abandoned
By Matt Hicks, Towanda Daily Review, Penna., February 10, 2021
Marcellus Shale gas well developer Range Resources Appalachia LLC was fined $294,000 for not plugging inactive wells that should have been declared abandoned under the 2012 Oil and Gas Act, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday, February 10, 2021.
https://www.thedailyreview.com/news/business/range-resources-pays-294k-over-wells-left-unplugged-that-should-have-been-declared-abandoned/article_848a2f94-6d6a-5819-923c-58d59c470a12.html
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/08/2021 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.54 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS – Operator failed to control and dispose of fluids, residual waste and drill cuttings, including tophole water, brines, drilling fluids, drilling muds, stimulation fluids, well servicing fluids, oil, and production fluids in a manner that prevents pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth.
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/08/2021 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland county. 91.34(A) – ACTIVITIES UTILIZING POLLUTANTS – Failure to take necessary measures to prevent the substances from directly or indirectly reaching waters of this Commonwealth, through accident, carelessness, maliciousness, hazards of weather or from another cause.
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/08/2021 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.57(a) – CONTROL, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTION FLUIDS – Operator failed to collect the brine and other fluids produced during operation, service and plugging of the well in a tank, pit or a series of pits or tanks, or other device approved by the Department or Operator discharged brine or other fluids on or into the ground or into waters of the Commonwealth.
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/08/2021 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Washington Twp, Westmoreland county. SWMA 301 – MANAGEMENT OF RESIDUAL WASTE – Person operated a residual waste processing or disposal facility without obtaining a permit for such facility from DEP. Person stored, transported, processed, or disposed of residual waste inconsistent with or unauthorized by the rules and regulations of DEP.
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.73(a) – GENERAL PROVISION FOR WELL CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION – Operator failed to construct and operate the well in accordance with 25 Pa. Code Chapter 78 and ensure that the integrity of the well is maintained and health, safety, environment and property are protected.
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.88(a) – OPERATING WELLS – MECHANICAL INTEGRITY OF OPERATING WELLS – Operator failed to inspect each operating well quarterly for compliance with the well construction and operating requirements.
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.121(A) – WELL REPORTING – PRODUCTION REPORTING – Conventional operator failed to submit annual conventional production and status report for permitted or registered well.
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.88(b)1-4 – OPERATING WELLS – MECHANICAL INTEGRITY OF OPERATING WELLS – Operator failed to meet minimum requirements for inspections to determine compliance with the well construction and operating requirements.
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.88(e) – OPERATING WELLS – MECHANICAL INTEGRITY OF OPERATING WELLS – Operator failed to submit an annual report to the Department identifying the compliance status of each well with the mechanical integrity requirements for structurally sound wells in compliance with 25 Pa. Code Section 78.73(c).
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Administrative violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.121(B) – WELL REPORTING – PRODUCTION REPORTING – Operator failed to electronically submit production and status report to the Department through its web site.
PA Permit Violation Issued to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland County, Penna.
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2/05/2021 to MID EAST OIL CO in Hempfield Twp, Westmoreland county. 78.91(a) – PLUGGING – GENERAL PROVISIONS – Upon abandoning a well, the owner or operator failed to plug the well to stop the vertical flow of fluids or gas within the well bore under 25 Pa. Code 78.92-78.98 or an approved alternate method.
NRC Report: Natural Gas near Jacobsburg, OH
Description: Incident Type: PIPELINE – NRC Report ID: 1298392 – Medium Affected: AIR – Suspected Responsible Party: BLUERACER MIDSTREAM
Incident Date/Time: 2021-02-19 08:15:00
Tags: NRC, other, release
NRC Report: Sodium Hydroxide (50% Solution) near Proctor, WV
Description: Incident Type: FIXED – NRC Report ID: 1298004 – Medium Affected: LAND – Suspected Responsible Party: WEST LAKE CHEMICAL
Incident Date/Time: 2021-02-14 19:00:00
Tags: NRC, other, release
NRC Report: Other Oil – 325 Overheads (Biproduct Hydrocarbon) near Pittsburgh, PA
Description: Incident Type: PIPELINE – NRC Report ID: 1298614 – Medium Affected: LAND – Suspected Responsible Party: NEVILLE CHEMICALS
Incident Date/Time: 2021-02-21 19:15:00
Tags: NRC, other, release
SOURCE: SkyTruth, P.O. Box 3283
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