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Company suspends fracking operations in Penn. after well explosion
Chesapeake Energy, which has one of the largest natural gas recovery operations in the country, halts all fracking in the state after a spill on the eve of the anniversary of the BP disaster.
Thu, Apr 21 2011 at 5:58 PM
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WORDS TO REMEMBER: Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon is shutting down fracking operations over concerns. (Photo: AP, File)
Chesapeake Energy is suspending all fracking operations in Pennsylvania after a blowout in a Bradford County well late Tuesday night. According to several reports, thousands of gallons of fracking fluid flowed freely onto nearby farming land and nearby creeks. The blowout occurred almost exactly a year after the BP oil spill.
Brian Grove, the spokesperson for Chesapeake Energy Corp., said that initial testing of area waterways shows, “minimal impact, if any.” Chesapeake, however, has stopped all fracking operations in Pennsylvania until the blowout is resolved. The leak continues to flow, but crews have “significantly reduced the flow of chemical-laced water from its out-of-control,” status.
Chesapeake’s hydraulic fracturing operation is among the largest in the nation. The company’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon, has not been shy about taking on journalists who are skeptical about the safeness of fracking. “Try not to be the 51st person to write a story about the alleged contamination of somebody’s water well from fracking,” McClendon said when speaking to the Society of American Business Editors and Writers at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. At that conference, McClendon said something he may regret, considering the developments in Pennsylvania. “Do yourself a favor and realize that frack fluid is not coming to the surface in an uncontrolled fashion,” the CEO said.
This blowout adds to a busy week in Pennsylvania. Earlier in the week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, ordered a halt to treating fracking wastewater in public drinking water treatment facilities. Corbett’s decision came after a study revealed that increased amounts of bromide, a harmful chemical found in fracking fluids, were detected in rivers in the state. That news coincided with a separate announcement by the president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition saying the group, “now believes natural gas exploration industry is responsible for rising levels of contaminates found in the area drinking water.” Since February, The New York Times’ Ian Urbina has written several reports outlining concerns about the gas industry’s ability to regulate itself and Pennsylvania’s inability to regulate the gas industry.
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Surprise,Surprise! I think anyone with even a modest amount of inteligence has figured out that you will never get the truth, when there is money to be made by covering up the truth. First you have to understand," they really don't care". And what's worse is as long as people pay less for their oil and gas they don't even care. There's more than enough evidence that Fracking has some serious issues. The real question I have is, does anyone care?