Fuel spill reported in Armenia Township

BY ERIC HRIN (STAFF WRITER)
Published: March 10, 2010

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ARMENIA TWP. - Talisman Energy spokesman Mark Scheuerman said a spill of between 50 and 200 gallons of diesel fuel that occurred at a Talisman gas well pad location in Armenia Township this week wasn't a "typical incident for us."

The spill, which he said Tuesday has been contained, occurred mid-day Monday at the Putnam well along Fallbrook Road, he said. The source of the spill, he said, is believed to be a drilling rig component, but he couldn't be more specific. He added that fuel is no longer leaking from the source. How it occurred is still being determined, he said, adding the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is investigating.

"Our procedures are to continuously monitor the surface impact and to monitor containment," he said.

He said the amount of fuel spilled is "certainly out of the ordinary."

"It's not an incident that can't be dealt with, but it's an incident that needs to be handled accordingly," Scheuerman said. "I don't want to label it as a major incident, but it's not a typical incident for us. This is something that deserves immediate attention and continuous monitoring."

The snow melt, he said, over the last few days makes the containment more challenging.

He said that, with the snow melting, this leaves a surface that is inconsistent with patches of water and snow as well as dry locations. This doesn't make for ideal clean-up conditions, he said.

The DEP was contacted, and was at the scene Monday afternoon and Tuesday.

He said the fuel did get in a ditch and into a nearby farm field. "Our efforts are to make sure we monitor that run-off and that it has as little impact as possible," he said.

He said it was estimated that the fuel was spilled over 50 to 100 yards.

He said, "The good news is our safety and site preparedness kicked in to identify the leak as soon as possible, and containment is working for the source, and we're relying on it pretty reasonably to contain the surface runoff."

No one from DEP could be reached for comment.

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

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2 posted comments

Wow, I can't believe people aren't all over this!
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B,  03/10/10 3:57
Interesting, and it is kind of sad, but I am sure that twenty or even thirty years ago you will find that plenty of Bradford County people put out their used motor oil on their yards, or used old kerosene to burn weeds on their lots too. I think it has happened an awful lot more in the last fifty years than anyone would care to admit, but I am sure plenty of the older people in this area have a good idea of how often it has happened. How about every time Monroeton floods and all the fuel tanks in thekj area are over run with fuel? I think then it isn't even mentioned in the newspaper, but it does happen doesn't it?
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Fuel Spills happen,  03/10/10 11:11