ATLAS ENERGY RESOURCES
FRAC PIT FIRE

March 31, 2010 near West Middletown, Pa
Hopewell Township - Washington County

Atlas to pay nearly $85K in environmental case

10/19/2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday Atlas Resources LLC will pay an $84,506 penalty to settle alleged air and hazardous chemical violations at its natural gas production facility in Avella. The EPA cited the company for violating the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act )EPCRA), a federal law designed to inform the public and emergency responders about hazardous and toxic chemicals in their communities.

The EPA alleged Atlas failed to provide state and local emergency responders required information on hazardous chemicals stored at the company’s Avella production facility during 2008 and 2009. The agency also alleged Atlas did not comply with proper storage and handling of natural gas condensate at the site. The EPA’s investigation at various Atlas production wells in Washington County also indicated the presence of vapor releases from condensate tanks. Currently, Atlas has discontinued operation of its natural gas extraction wells in Washington County until the company completes audits at eight of its production facilities located there.


Shortly after 8:00am on a Wednesday morning in March 2010, a frac pit fire erupted at an Atlas Energy Resources Marcellus gas well location, shooting flames 300 to 400 feet into the air. A witness compared the sound of the ignition to throwing a match on a pile of wood saturated with gasoline... WHOOF!

The frack pit at this eight gas well location, Cowden #6, 7, 9, 10, 11 12, 15, & 16, along with two frack pits at the nearby Cowden #17 gas well location, had been the source of nauseating fumes all week.

The chemical / hydrocarbon odors were so bad that a neighbor phoned a complaint into the Pennsylvania DEP three days prior to this fire, voicing health concerns for their children and themselves, having had to breath these pit fumes for several days. What health effects could it have on them? The fumes were actually bad enough for them to evacuate their home. In addition to the sickening fumes, a hydrocarbon sheen was clearly visible on the surface of the two closer frac pits at Cowden #17, indicating the presence of VOC's and a strong potential for explosive vapors.

Following combustion of the frac pit at the 8-well location, the heat from the fire was so intense that it burned the pit liner, allowing contaminated pit fluids to seep into surrounding soil.

Some of the first responders had difficulty locating the site of the fire, thereby delaying their response. As of this posting, a DEP fine had not yet been announced for this pit fire, however, one was issued for wastewater spill incidents related to the two nearby frac pits. That DEP press release is shown below.

ATLAS Energy Resources, LLC - Cowden well sign

ATLAS ENERGY RESOURCES, LLC
COWDEN #6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16

View of the Cowden well location from the road below

Atlas Energy - Cowden wells - Washington County

View of the Cowden well location from West Middletown Cemetery

Stream below the Cowden well location is full of foam

This type of foam in streams is often attributed to the
MBAS used in fracking shale gas wells

Atlas Energy frac pit fire still burning strong,
30-minutes after the initial combustion

The black smoke trail lingered in the sky 10-miles away

$First responders at frack pit fire$

Volunteer firefighters on the scene

$Marcellus gas well fracking pit fire extinguished$

Pit still smoldering as the flames diminish

COWDEN 17 OVERFLOW

$Cowden #17 frack pits$

Two frack pits at the nearby Cowden 17 well location had
a hydrocarbon sheen on the surface of the pit fluids,
creating a chemical odor and concern about a
similar fire taking place. These pits were the
subject of a DEP fine three months prior:

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 08/17/2010

CONTACT: Katy Gresh, Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office 412-442-4203

DEP Fines Atlas Resources for Drilling Wastewater Spill in Washington County

PITTSBURGH -- The Department of Environmental Protection has fined Atlas Resources LLC $97,350 for allowing used hydraulic fracturing fluids to overfill a wastewater pit and contaminate a high-quality watershed in Hopewell Township, Washington County.

The violations were discovered on Dec. 5 and 6, 2009, at the Cowden 17 gas well on Old Trail Road off Route 844. Once the unknown quantity of fluid overflowed the impoundment’s banks, it ran over the ground and into a tributary of Dunkle Run.

“It is unacceptable for drilling companies in Pennsylvania to threaten public safety or harm the environment through careless acts, such as this,” DEP Southwest Regional Director George Jugovic Jr. said. “The Marcellus Shale offers significant economic opportunities for Pennsylvania, but these companies must adopt operating standards that prevent these sorts of accidents and they must make protecting our water resources a top priority.”

This spill violated Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Act and Solid Waste Management Act, as well as the state’s Clean Streams Law. Atlas corrected the problem once it was discovered, but failed to report it to DEP.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process during which liquid is pumped under high pressure down a well and into a rock formation. This causes the formation to crack open and form passages through which natural gas can flow into the borehole.

Properly cased and cemented wells prevent the fluid from entering ground water supplies. Diluted frack fluids are classified as residual waste under Pennsylvania’s Solid Waste Management Act and industrial waste under the state Clean Streams Law.

LINKS:

Other Marcellus Shale Fires

ATLAS ENERGY RESOURCES FRAC PIT FIRE

March 31, 2010 near West Middletown, Pa Hopewell Township - Washington County

ATLAS ENERGY RESOURCES
FRAC PIT FIRE

March 31, 2010 near West Middletown, Pa
Hopewell Township - Washington County