A gas well just exploded in PA

[spinbaby]

Breaking on local news--a gas well exploded in Mt. Morris, Greene County. Looks bad.

[JVS]

1. I just saw on TV. Impressive fire!

[MadrasT]

2. Here's a link

http://www.wtae.com/news/local/explosion-reported-at-gas-well-in-greene-county/24407710

[livetohike]

3. This is the hell our idiot Governor has brought us. Election Day can't get here too soon.

Gas wells are everywhere, up here near the national forest. When I am hiking, I often wonder if one will explode while I pass by. Yes, I know there are many other things to worry about, but this makes me sad to see how our natural environment is being transformed to a corporate wasteland of unsightly structures.

[spinbaby]

5. We live near them

We have two gas wells and one of those gas distribution plants within a couple of miles from our house. At least the plant is on the other side of a hill, but we worry.

[livetohike]

14. I will hold positive thoughts that there are no incidences near you! There are some regular wells

(not Marcellus) in the gamelands one mile from our house. When the workers come to vent them, it sounds like ablast of hurricane force winds!

[The Wielding Truth]

31. Just saw this. I hate the irresponsibility of greed. Here's a heart. Thinking of you.

[MineralMan]

4. Good thing that well is isolated on a

cleared site. There's probably a reason they do it that way. Gas wells sometimes leak and catch on fire. So, they're built to take that into account.

[hootinholler]

6. Um no they don't

There are gas wells within 100 feet of houses. Pa is a mess from fracking and the energy companies only care that they are paid for the gas.

[Jazzgirl]

12. Texas too.

It amazes me as I've seen wells right next to playgrounds and ballparks. Homes too and in neighborhoods that are in the middle of town. It terrifies me.

[Ikonoklast]

13. Those are older wells drilled before the new setback rules under Act 13 were legislated.

The old minimum was 200' from water wells or buildings.

The new rules went into effect two years ago.

3. Are there new setback provisions?

Yes. Act 13 extends the setback distance for unconventional wells from 200 feet to 500 feet from existing buildings or water wells, unless consented to by the owner of the building or water well.

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/act_13/20789/act_13_faq/1127392

[malthaussen]

10. That particular well, yes.

But Hootinholler is right. You would be appalled at the disregard for safety displayed on the Marcellus Shale.

-- Mal

[Earth_First]

15. Well pads are often within 100 feet of residential properties...

THIS time it was in an isolated location...

[CANDO]

28. That drill pad is way beyond 100 feet from the residence in the photo.

By my own guesswork, this house is close to 1/4 mile from the drilling pad. 1/4 mile is 1,320 ft.

[CANDO]

30. From watching the video....

This well didn't just explode on its own. The piece of equipment in the video looks like a crane boom or wire line boom. Someone had to have collided with the well head and broke it and I'm guessing it was the crane boom looking device in the video.

[marions ghost]

7. Gas well

What does it look like? How big? Is it a well head? Something like this?:

[jwirr]

22. That looks like one on the NE MN pipeline running through the FDL reservation. About one mile from

our home. The crews have been repairing it in 22 below weather. There are rumors of a leak but no one has looked into it.

[marions ghost]

24. So do you know

if it's an actual well head or some kind of valve?

The fact that residents living near these things don't even know what they look like or what they're actually for...bothers me.

[jwirr]

25. And you are correct. Many of us do not know what is going on. I do not think it is a well head

because it is in the middle of the pipeline that goes for miles here and comes from Canada.

[marions ghost]

26. Sounds like

a valve station then. Do they vent it? And why is it that surrounding residents can't know what these things are that are in their communities? It's so irresponsible, but many look the other way.

[jwirr]

27. I do not know if they are venting it but they do periodic checks - this last one was more than a

check since they were using heavy equipment and other supplies I recognized from the original construction. As to why many in THIS community do not pay attention - much of the land was owned by tribal members and they trust the tribe to oversee it.

[The Straight Story]

8. Link:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/crews-battling-large-gas-well-fire-greene-county/ndKqH/

GREENE COUNTY, Pa. —

Crews are battling a large gas-well fire in Greene County Tuesday morning.

The fire was first reported on Bald Hill Church Road in Bobtown around 7:10 a.m.

Officials at the scene said 1 worker is missing.

Details are developing. Stay with Channel 11 News and wpxi.com for updates.


--Video at link

[The Straight Story]

9. Photo:

[marions ghost]

11. Thanks for picture

---I guess they might have to let it burn for awhile? Like oil wells in Iraq?

I have only a limited knowledge of how these things work...

[blue neen]

16. Governor Gashole sez

“Let’s make Pennsylvania the hub of this [drilling] boom. Just as the oil companies decided to headquarter in one of a dozen states with oil, let’s make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom. I’m determined that Pennsylvania not lose this moment. We have the chance to get it.”

Hey Tom, we'd really, really like to lose this moment.

[marions ghost]

17. They've called in Wild Well:

http://wildwell.com/about-wild-well-control/

Of BP Macondo in the Gulf fame...

[marions ghost]

18. Location:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobtown,_Pennsylvania

--South of Pittsburgh on the WV border just above Morgantown (home of WV University).

[FarCenter]

19. Looks to be about an Olympic Torch sized flame

[toby jo]

20. I blew a well up one time when backpacking.

I was on a 12 mile hike in a park in southeastern Ohio. I hiked in about 7 miles, it started to drizzle, I built a small fire under a tall tree, lowest branch a good 25 feet up, figuring to overnight there. I had 2 dogs with me. Now on this hike you hike over alot of the black plastic tubing and you hear leaks, like hissing. I didn't hear anything there. The trail is listed in a "Hikes in southeastern Ohio" book I bought at a gear store.

I went to get some more dry branches, and boom, the thing goes up like holy shit. It's going off like a flare, I thought maybe one of the branches I put on it had some creosote or something on it. But, after a few minutes, I realized that I had set a well off.

So, well I was pretty scared, thought the damn thing would blow the side of the hill up. But then I thought I might burn the forest down, so went and got a long log, and ran up to it, and pushed dirt around to suffocate it. It went completely out, then blew up again right in my face. So, yeah, scared like shit again and just grabbed the log for one last attempt and it went out. Like a damn light. Just - poof. Still, what the fuck? What now?

I lost my little flashlight when it went up the 2nd time so I camped out near there, figured I'd get lost on a dark night. Very long night. Hiked out, called the ranger, reported it, where it was, etc.

Thought I might get in trouble, but when I heard the ranger's voice it immediately hit me they were more concerned about them being in trouble. I let it go. Never followed through , maybe should have, it struck me like way too much red tape and didn't want the wade.

So that is how that one behaved. Now that would be the old-fashioned wells. This was about 12 years ago, before fracking. Everybody I asked said it wouldn't have blown up because it was essentially just letting off a leak.

So now you know what to expect when you blow up a gas well in the middle of the night on a campout. It's all good.

[Aldo Leopold]

21. Wow, awesome story!

[Petrushka]

23. 1 injured, 1 missing in gas well explosion

http://www.ydr.com/state/ci_25111940/3-fire-companies-at-scene-sw-pa-gas

[onethatcares]

29. what do they add to the property values?

when you go to sell? Ain't nothing finer than looking out the back door and seeing burn off flames against the night sky, I say

[GoneOffShore]

32. Updated news link

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/02/11/crews-respond-to-greene-county-gas-well-fire/

[marions ghost]

33. Set up a half mile firefighting perimeter