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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