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Police probe hydraulic fracturing fluid spill in Bradford County

written by Jason Whong
6:30 PM, Jan. 10, 2012

Pennsylvania State Police, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Talisman Energy are investigating the Tuesday morning spill of up to 20,000 gallons of wastewater created by the hydraulic fracturing process at a natural gas well pad in Bradford County.

The actual volume of the spill at the well on Ayres Road in Canton Township was unknown Tuesday afternoon because the company had not yet finished measuring it, said Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for Talisman Energy.

State Police in Towanda are investigating the spill as criminal mischief. Someone intentionally tampered with a tank on the well pad between midnight and 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to cause the spill, according to a police report.

Cox could not confirm the cause of the spill because it is still under investigation.

The spilled liquid is called production brine or “flow back water,” Cox said, explaining that it’s “the water that comes back after the hydraulic fracturing is complete.”

It flows to the surface after water and hydraulic fracturing fluid are injected into the well, she said.

“It comes back with rock chippings and pieces of the earth in with it,” Cox said, noting that it’s similar to what was dumped Dec. 1 on state game land in the county.

Josh Foster, 27, of Temple, Ga., is charged in the December dumping, in which 800 gallons of sludge were found on Pennsylvania Game Land 219 in Warren Township, Bradford County. He is scheduled to appear Jan. 17 in District Court.

The brine that leaked Tuesday was released into an area designed to contain spills, which Cox described as a shallow hole with a “deep plastic liner.” Cox didn’t know how thick the liner is, but said it’s the kind of liner that is standard in the energy industry.

The spill was vacuumed out of the containment area and put back in the tank, she said.

A DEP spokesman could not provide additional formation about the spill Tuesday.

Police are asking that anyone with information on the incident call them at (570) 265-2186.