PA Slaps Equitrans with $1.1M Fine for 2022 Rager Mountain Gas Leak
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. Now, a year and a half later, the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is fining Equitrans $1.1 million for the accidental leak.
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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 
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.
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 
Freeport LNG’s export terminal with three liquefaction “trains” shut down in June 2022 after an explosion and fire (see 
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.
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 
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.
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 
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.
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 
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 
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.
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.