Fracking Fluid Spill in Bradford PA Result of Sabotage
According to police reports, between midnight and 8:30 am early Tuesday, someone intentionally tampered with a tank on a well pad in Bradford County, PA, resulting in a spill of up to 20,000 gallons of fracking wastewater. Fortunately the wastewater was contained in a plastic liner designed for just such a scenario. There are no reports that the wastewater escaped the containment area. PA State Police are investigating.
Pennsylvania State Police, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Talisman Energy are investigating the Tuesday morning spill of up to 20,000 gallons of wastewater created by the hydraulic fracturing process at a natural gas well pad in Bradford County.
The actual volume of the spill at the well on Ayres Road in Canton Township was unknown Tuesday afternoon because the company had not yet finished measuring it, said Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for Talisman Energy.
State police in Towanda are investigating the spill as criminal mischief. Someone intentionally tampered with a tank on the well pad between midnight and 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to cause the spill, according to a police report.
Cox could not confirm the cause of the spill because it is still under investigation.
The brine that leaked Tuesday was released into an area designed to contain spills, which Cox described as a shallow hole with a "deep plastic liner." Cox didn’t know how thick the liner is, but said it’s the kind of liner that is standard in the energy industry.
The spill was vacuumed out of the containment area and put back in the tank, she said.*
*Ithaca Journal (Jan 10, 2012) – Police probe fracking fluid spill in Bradford County
Don’t they post security on this facilities? Our have cameras? These are hazardous industrial installations, and even mine supply yards have basic security. The last time, you will recall, the perp was, literally, a disgruntled employee.