Leroy Township, Bradford County – Nearly six months after a natural gas fracking incident in Bradford County, a new report is released detailing what impact this spill of fracking fluid has had on the surrounding area.
April 19 th , was a day that opened the eyes of many people living in Leroy Township , Bradford County . According to officials with Chesapeake Energy, a piece of equipment on a natural gas well failed, causing thousands of gallons of frack water to leak into surrounding streams and the nearby Towanda Creek. Many neighbors concerned about the safety of their drinking water feared the worst.
But on Sunday, after an intense investigation completed by an outside energy and environmental consulting firm, details on the impact of the leak were finally released.
Reports state that due to record setting rainfall in April, the Towanda Creek and smaller tributaries were considered high at the time, which helped to dilute any of the fluids that reached the waterways, leaving only minimal and short term impacts.
For two weeks following the incident, Chespeake Energy along with DEP and the EPA immediately began collecting hundreds of samples from area wells and springs. They were tested for a list of chemicals including those used for hydraulic fracturing.
The seven closest wells to the well pad were monitored on a daily basis, yet no chemicals related to fracking were found in any of the samples. An additional 22 wells located within a four thousand foot radius of the leak were sampled on a weekly basis. They too were cleared.
Although officials with Chesapeake Energy say this was one of the most series accidents that can happen at a natural gas drilling site, there were apparently no serious injuries, the public was never in danger and, according to this report, there were no lasting impacts to the environment
Officials with Chesapeake Energy say they have also taken intensive steps to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again.