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More Drilling Mud Surfaces Near Marsh Creek State Park in PA

While drilling in Chester County, PA, in August 2020 in the Marsh Creek State Park area, Energy Transfer’s (ET) Mariner East 2X pipeline experienced an “inadvertent return” — nontoxic drilling mud coming up out of the ground where it’s not supposed to (see Mariner East 2X Construction Causes Another Drilling Mud Spill). It took more than $8 million in fines and cleanup costs to make it right (see PA Charges Mariner East Pipeline $8M+ to Fix Marsh Creek Lake). The cleanup work was finally done in 2022 (see ET Makes Significant Progress Cleaning Up Marsh Creek Lake). And, wouldn’t you know it? Another small area of drilling mud has just poked up through the ground once again.
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XNG CNG Tractor Trailer Crashes, Closes Section of I-295 in Maine

An unfortunate incident to report. Yesterday morning, a compressed natural gas (CNG) tractor trailer registered to and owned by Xpress Natural Gas (XNG), based in Montrose, Pennsylvania, hit a patch of snow, lost control, struck a barrier, bounced off, and struck the median barrier, causing the trailer to detach. The trailer landed on the rear of a 2016 Hyundai Sonata in the northbound passing lane, which caused both to flip and come to rest facing south. This all happened on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, Maine, closing that section of the interstate.

1/19/24 UPDATE: The driver of the XNG truck has been ticketed by Maine State Police for drifting out of his lane in a construction zone. See below.

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CNG Truck Crash in Upstate NY Near Albany – This One Exploded

Here’s a story we became aware of several weeks ago but have not shared until now because we could not (still cannot) confirm some of the details. A tractor trailer hauling compressed natural gas (CNG) “from Pennsylvania” crashed into a low bridge in Glenville (Schenectady County), NY, near Albany, on Thursday, Dec. 21. The driver said he did not see the height warning signs and the top of the trailer hit a railroad bridge, exploding. The resulting fireball was some 200 feet high. The driver was seriously injured with third-degree burns and airlifted to Westchester Medical Center for treatment.
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Equitrans Still Needs to Tidy Up at Rager Mountain Gas Leak Site

In November 2022, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania), began to leak. Equitrans is the owner/operator of Rager Mountain. The well leaked roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see Equitrans Gas Storage Well in Cambria County, PA is Leaking). It took two weeks for the leak to get fixed after it had leaked an estimated 1.4 billion cubic feet into the air (see Storage Well Leak Fix in Cambria County Failed, Leaked 1.4 Bcf). It turned out to be less — around 1.1 Bcf of leaked methane in total.
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Freeport Fined $163K by EPA for June 2022 LNG Plant Explosion

Freeport LNG’s export terminal with three liquefaction “trains” shut down in June 2022 after an explosion and fire (see Explosion Rocks Freeport LNG Export Plant – Offline for 3 Weeks). What was initially thought to be a three-week outage lasted for ten months. The plant finally returned online in March of this year (see Freeport LNG Plant Back to Full Capacity Using 2.1 Bcf/d of NatGas). However, the plant was not been back to 100% operational status until just a few weeks ago when a second dock came back online (see Freeport LNG Second Loading Dock Gets Final FERC OK to Restart Ops). The all-knowing, all-seeing Biden EPA has brokered a shakedown of Freeport, fining the company $163,054 for the explosion and fire at the plant.
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CNG Truck Accident in Upstate NY Near Albany Injures Driver

Last Tuesday, Dec. 5, a tractor-trailer hauling a trailer with CNG (compressed natural gas) canisters traveling eastbound along Interstate 88 near Albany “exited the road and traveled down a steep ravine” shortly before 3 a.m. It crashed, ripping the top of the trailer off the frame (the part connected to the wheels). The driver was extracted from the cab and transported to the nearby Albany Medical Center, where, at last word, he was in critical condition. The New York State Police closed I-88 in both directions between Exit 24 and Exit 25 for a period of time. It was reopened by evening.
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DEP Allows EQT to Continue Work at Greene Well Frac-Out Site

In July 2022, MDN brought you news of a possible frac-out, or “inadvertent return” that happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to — places outside the borehole being drilled (see Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA). A landowner who lives near a well being drilled and fracked by EQT in Greene County complained her water well was fouled by EQT’s drilling and that a nearby abandoned well was releasing fluids and natural gas. According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), EQT confirmed some of its fluids were “communicating” with the abandoned well. A year later, in August of this year, the nearby community of New Freeport, where the frac-out happened, said the situation remained unresolved (see Possible Frac-Out Near EQT Pad in Greene County…One Year Later). It’s resolved now. On November 29, the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) accepted a settlement agreement between the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and EQT involving appeals of DEP actions related to the frac-out. The deal allows EQT to resume fracking at two well pads shut down by the frac-out.
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Frack Water Spill at Eureka Resources Plant in Williamsport, PA

An undetermined amount of fracking wastewater spilled at the Eureka Resources wastewater recycling facility in Williamsport (Lycoming County), PA, at about 9:10 a.m. yesterday. The incident prompted a response by city firefighters and police. The water came from a valve on a tank inside the facility, where oil, chemicals and other substances are removed from fracking wastewater. Contrary to initial reports, nobody (no employees nor first responders) was injured or became ill from the spill.
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Plum, PA House Explosion that Killed 6 NOT Caused by Local O&G Wells

Two firefighters stand on the debris around the smoldering wreckage of the three houses that exploded in Plum, Pa., on Aug. 12, 2023. (AP)

In mid-August, a house exploded in Plum, PA, causing two neighboring houses to burn to the ground. Plum is located in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh. Five people died in the initial blast and fires. However, a sixth person later died from his injuries. We grieve with the families and friends of those who died or were injured. The incident is under investigation. The house is part of a development built on abandoned mine land surrounded by shallow oil and gas wells, some of which have been abandoned. Two wells still producing gas are about 1000 feet from the home. So, to be thorough, the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched its own investigation to see if nearby wells (active or inactive) or the pipelines that connect them could have contributed to the tragedy (Plum, PA House Explosion Investigation Expands to Local O&G Wells). On Friday, the DEP said its investigation has found that “stray gas” from area wells and/or pipelines is NOT the cause of the explosion.
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PA DEP Still Probing How/If to Regulate Gas Storage Wells Post-Rager

Last November, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania) began to leak. The well leaked roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see Equitrans Gas Storage Well in Cambria County, PA is Leaking). The leak took nearly two weeks to get fixed (see Storage Well Leak Fix in Cambria County Failed, Leaked 1.4 Bcf). Both the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) investigated this major leak. The DEP thought (wrongly) that it had regulatory authority. The DEP is still trying to figure out how much (if any) authority it has over Rager and other gas storage facilities in the state. Who’s on first?
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Uncontrolled Release of Gas at Repsol Well in Bradford County, PA

A Repsol well located on a pad in Troy (Bradford County), PA, experienced uncontrolled natural gas venting. The situation began around 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27. It continued to vent “sporadically” until about 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 28. Repsol called the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to report the situation at 2:02 a.m. on Monday. A DEP inspector was at the site within hours, at 5:55 a.m. The venting caused a brief evacuation order for several homes within a half-mile radius of the well pad, which was lifted hours later when the DEP determined the venting had stopped.
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Report: Rager Mountain Gas Storage Well Casing Failed from Corrosion

Last November, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania) began to leak. The well leaked roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see Equitrans Gas Storage Well in Cambria County, PA is Leaking). The leak took nearly two weeks to get fixed (see Storage Well Leak Fix in Cambria County Failed, Leaked 1.4 Bcf). Both the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) investigated (see Feds Investigate Equitrans Storage Well Leak in Cambria County, PA). Equitrans hired an independent, third-party company with expertise in reservoir management and well and corrosion engineering to do a “root cause analysis” to determine what happened. The report was just filed with the PHMSA.
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Possible Frac-Out Near EQT Pad in Greene County…One Year Later

One year ago, in July 2022, MDN brought you news of a possible frac-out, or “inadvertent return” that happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to–places outside the borehole being drilled (see Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA). A landowner who lives near a well being drilled and fracked by EQT in Greene County complained her water well was fouled by EQT’s drilling, and that a nearby abandoned well was releasing fluids and natural gas. According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), EQT confirmed some of its fluids were “communicating” with the abandoned well. A year later, the nearby community of New Freeport, where the frac-out happened, says the situation remains unresolved.
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TGP Compressor Station Explosion, Fire in TN Causes Force Majeure

Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) experienced an explosion and fire at Compressor Station 860 near Centerville (Hickman County), TN, last Friday around 8:30 a.m. The location is about 60 miles southwest of Nashville. The explosion blew out the upper tier of the walls of the building. One employee experienced a medical emergency not directly related to the blast and was taken to an area hospital. That employee has since been discharged. The six on-site employees during the incident are okay and accounted for. A one-mile evacuation was ordered but lifted later in the day on Friday.
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Plum, PA House Explosion Investigation Expands to Local O&G Wells

Last Saturday, a house exploded in Plum, PA, causing two neighboring houses to burn to the ground. Plum is located in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh. Five people died in the blast and fires. However, a sixth person died yesterday from his injuries. We grieve with the families and friends of those who died or were injured. The incident is under investigation. Initial reports said the house that exploded had been “having hot water tank issues” (the hot water tank used natural gas). However, the house is part of a development built on abandoned mine land surrounded by shallow oil and gas wells, some of which have been abandoned. Two wells still producing gas are about 1000 feet from the home. So to be thorough, the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has launched its own investigation to see if nearby wells (active or inactive) or the pipelines that connect them could have contributed to the tragedy.
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Columbia Gas Pipeline Near Interstate 81 in Va. Explodes, Big Fire

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Talk about bad luck. On Monday, TC Energy announced it had sold a 40% stake in its Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline subsidiary to Global Infrastructure Partners for $3.9 billion (see TC Energy Sells 40% Interest in Columbia Pipeline to Investor GIP). Yesterday, a portion of the Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline in rural western Virginia–in Shenandoah County near Interstate 81–exploded and caught fire. Fortunately, the blast did not hurt nearby residents, nor were there any injuries among first responders who helped extinguish the fire.
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