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Americas: US EPA asks Chesapeake for data related to broken Pennsylvania gas well

https://www.chemnet.com   Apr 28,2011 Platts
The US Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Chesapeake Energy to provide the agency by Tuesday all records related to the April 19 discharge of fluids from a company-owned natural gas well in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

EPA asked the company for information on the hydraulic fracturing fluids used in the drilling process, reports on the water, land and air affected by the accidental release and any sampling data from private water wells, surface water and soil before and after the incident.

The agency said the state of Pennsylvania "is the lead in responding to this incident," but it added EPA is authorized by three federal statutes to obtain the records. The request was sent to Chesapeake on Friday.

"We want a complete accounting of operations at the site to determine our next steps in this incident and to help prevent future releases of this kind," EPA Regional Administrator Shawn Garvin said in a statement.

In addition to those records, Chesapeake was told that it must provide by May 9 details of the incident, including timelines, sources of discharge and the extent of environmental impact. The EPA also wants to know the substances placed into or returned to the surface from the wells at the site.

The EPA also wants to know whether "radiological compounds are or were present in the fluids or sediment generated as part of the well development." It also wants to know what if any other leaks, spills or releases have occurred at the site and the name of each chemical brought to the site, "including type and quantities and storage, management and handling practices."

Chesapeake Energy in a Tuesday statement said it is "working with federal, state and local agencies to coordinate its response efforts. We intend to comply with the EPA's request for information and have already communicated with the agency about how best to prioritize its requests in relation to the overall and ongoing response efforts."

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