April 21: Bradford County well suffers blowout
- A Bradford County well suffered a blowout late Tuesday night, allowing thousands of gallons of chemically laced hydraulic fracturing fluid to flow from the site for at least half a day. Seven families near the Chesapeake Energy site were evacuated, though no injuries or natural gas escapes were reported. DEP officials were checking a small nearby tributary, into which the fracking fluid flowed, for environmental impacts.
The natural gas well site operated by Chesapeake Energy in Leroy, Bradford County:
- We also took a look at how the recent procedural changes to DEP as the governor's shale commission continues its work are making environmentalists and lawmakers anxious to start moving on the changes they want to put in place.
- In local news, the Wilkinsburg council agreed Wednesday night to have its solicitor review a sample ordinance that would ban fracking from within municipal limits. During open comments from the public, Ms. Supowitz asked council to consider the bigger picture."Everyone has the right to a healthy environment," she said.