Amphibians reported dead in Leroy well incident

BY ERIC HRIN (Staff Writer)
Published: April 28, 2011

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A state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official confirmed Wednesday that amphibians died as a result of the blowback incident last week at the Chesapeake natural gas well site in Leroy Township.

The incident began with an equipment failure at the drill site, causing hydraulic fracturing fluid to be released into the environment, including into Towanda Creek and an adjacent tributary. The cause of the equipment failure is undetermined at this time, according to Chesapeake.

Katherine Gresh, spokeswoman with DEP, said that, "in DEP's sampling of the farm pond, the unnamed tributary and Towanda Creek, the only evidence of impact to aquatic life was several amphibians (frogs and tadpoles) in the farm pond."

She explained that an unknown number of the amphibians died.

"The farm pond was very small and a pond, so unlike the diluted effect of the flowback fluid that made its way into the intermittent stream (unnamed tributary of Towanda Creek), the effect on the pond appears to have been different," she said. "The pond is owned by the gentleman who holds the lease for the well site. DEP continues to conduct surface water sampling and will follow up with an aquatic biological survey when the flows decrease."

In an update on the incident, Chesapeake said that at 6:05 p.m. on Monday, April 25, Chesapeake well-control specialists completed efforts to achieve "permanent well control" of the Atgas 2H well in Leroy Township by replacing the damaged wellhead with a fully competent wellhead.

"It means a fully functional wellhead has been placed on the well," Roy Sweeney, media relations coordinator for Chesapeake said Tuesday, when asked for comment about the statement.

Chesapeake's update had noted that "tests thus far indicate only minimal environmental impact as a result of this incident."

The company also said that "additional testing will be done in conjunction with DEP to fully assess and remediate any environmental impacts. Chesapeake will continue to work with the appropriate regulatory agencies to investigate and determine the cause of the equipment failure."

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.

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