How many fatalities and home explosions have been caused by the oil and gas industry’s leaking “natural” gas?
How many have been silenced by settlements and gag orders?
How many billions in liabilities has the oil and gas industry, the courts and enabling “regulators” and politicians covered-up?
How many deaths?
How many children?
Possible link between Anadarko-operated gas well and fatal Firestone home explosion Oil and gas giant Anadarko has shut down some 3,000 wells in northern Colorado in the aftermath of the fatal explosion of a home some 200 feet from one of its old wells by Susan Greene, Tina Griego and Kelsey Ray contributed to this report., April 26, 2017, Colorado Independent
Photo: Mark and Erin Martinez. Image obtained via GoFundMe page.
Photo by Dennis Herrera
Despite suggestions that plumbing work may have led to last week’s fatal house explosion in Firestone, it looks as though a leak related to a nearby gas well may have been the cause.
In a statement this afternoon, oil and gas giant Anadarko acknowledged that it operates a vertical well that’s about 200 feet from the newly built house on Twilight Avenue that exploded April 17, killing brothers-in-law Mark Martinez and Joseph William Irwin III, both 42, and severely injuring Erin Martinez, Mark’s wife. A GoFundMe page has been created for the family.
The Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) are investigating the cause of the blast.
A source has told The Independent that personnel and trucks bearing Anadarko’s logo responded soon after the explosion, and that company personnel at and near the scene over the following days came in unmarked vehicles and clothes. They were apparently paying special attention to a feeder line that may have been severed near the home.
Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen wouldn’t respond to that report, nor to questions on other aspects of his company’s possible involvement.
“There’s a lot that we don’t know and I’m not going to comment other than what’s in the press release,” said Christensen, who’s based in Texas but is in Colorado this week.
The company says the nearby vertical well was drilled in 1993 by what it noted in its statement was “a previous operator.”
As a result of the explosion, Anadarko has shut down some 3,000 wells in northern Colorado in what it calls “an abundance of caution.”
Firestone is in Weld County, about 30 miles north of Denver. Housing tracts are being built in on the heavily-drilled land there.
News stories after the explosion reported that Irwin, a master plumber, was helping Mark Martinez install a hot water heater, apparently at or near the time of the explosion. The insinuation was that their work may have led to their deaths.
But that narrative sounded immediately curious to those who knew Irwin and his work, and became less plausible when Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission passed the investigation on to the COGCC, which regulates the oil and gas industry.
In a statement, the COGCC said that it has been investigating the incident since Friday, April 18. The investigation includes “directing environmental sampling and inspecting oil and gas wells in the vicinity, including an Anadarko oil and gas operation located approximately 170 feet southeast of the property, and reviewing their history.” The Commission says it is also evaluating additional steps to review activities in the region. The 170-foot distance the COGCC cited is less than the 200-foot estimate Anadarko cited in its statement.
“While the well in the vicinity is one aspect of the investigation, this is a complex investigation and the origin and cause of the fire have not been determined,” Theodore Poszywak, Firestone’s fire chief, said in a statement that indicated his department is continuing to gather and analyze evidence to determine the cause of the blast. The department says it will release the findings to the public “without delay” when they are complete.
We will update this story when more information becomes available.
If you have information about the Firestone explosion, please email Colorado Independent editor Susan Greene at email hidden; JavaScript is required. [Emphasis added]
Watch Video at Link: Anadarko to shut down 3,000 oil wells after fatal home explosion in Firestone, Weld County, Colorado by Allison Sylte, April 26, 2-17, KUSA-TV in News9
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation announced Wednesday afternoon that it will shut down 3,000 oil wells similar to the one 170 feet from a home in Firestone that was the site of an explosion and fire that claimed two lives last week.
In a news release, the energy company did not definitively say the well is the cause of the explosion, which remains under investigation by the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District and Firestone Police Department.
The explosion leveled a home in the Oak Meadows subdivision near the intersection of Colorado and Firestone Boulevards the evening of April 17.
The bodies of 42-year-old Mark Martinez and his brother-in-law 42-year-old Joey Irwin III were later found in the basement.
High school science teacher Erin Martinez was injured, as was her 11-year-old son, who was released from the hospital that same day. Mark Martinez is Erin Martinez’s husband, and Irwin is her brother.
Anadarko says it operates an older vertical well that was drilled by a previous operator approximately 200 feet from the home.
On Friday, investigators from the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District told 9NEWS they are “confident” about the cause, but will hold off on releasing it until they are 100 percent certain.
Family members told 9NEWS they suspected something that went wrong with the water heater led up to the explosion and subsequent fire. [Industry’s leaking “natural” gas leaking into it? CAPP reported in the ’90’s that only 1 mg/l of dissolved methane in water passing a confined space (like a water heater) is risk of explosion. Link to CAPP’s report below.]
Anadarko says it will shut down similar vertical wells in northeast Colorado until field personnel “can conduct additional inspections and testing of the associated equipment, such as facilities and underground lines associated with each wellhead.”
The wells account for 13,000 net barrels of production each day, Anadarko said.
They went on to say they will face “particular focus” on places where houses and commercial developments are being built.
The company says this process could take two to four weeks, depending on weather.
More coverage is available from the Denver Business Journal: Anadarko Petroleum to shut down thousands of wells following fatal house explosion in Firestone
You can read Anadarko’s full statement below:
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) provided the following statement regarding the tragic home explosion and fire in Firestone, Colo., that occurred on April 17.
“This terrible tragedy has left all of us with heavy hearts, and the families and their loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers,” said Al Walker, Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO. “Words cannot express how saddened we are that this occurred in a community where many of our employees, their families, and friends live and work. We share the community’s gratitude for the courageous response of neighbors and nearby construction crews who quickly came to the aid of the family, as well as the first responders and others who made sure surrounding homes were kept safe.”
While there is still much that is not yet known regarding the potential contributing factors, Anadarko operates an older vertical well that was drilled by a previous operator in 1993 and is located approximately 200 feet from where the home was recently built. As such, the company has been working cooperatively with fire officials and state regulatory agencies in their investigations since the time of the accident.
While these events remain under active investigation and much remains to be determined, in an abundance of caution, since the company operates more than 3,000 producing vertical wells of the same vintage, it has taken proactive measures to shut in all vertical wells across the counties in northeast Colorado where it operates. The wells will remain shut in until the company’s field personnel can conduct additional inspections and testing of the associated equipment, such as facilities and underground lines associated with each wellhead. Particular focus is being placed on areas where housing and commercial developments are occurring in close proximity to existing infrastructure. The wells will not be restarted until each has undergone and passed these additional inspections. Anadarko currently anticipates the process will take two to four weeks, depending on weather. The wells currently account for total production of about 13,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day.
“Our teams will remain actively engaged with residents in the Firestone community,” said Brad Holly, Anadarko Sr. Vice President, U.S. Onshore Exploration and Production. “Colorado residents must feel safe in their own homes, and I want to be clear that we are committed to understanding all that we can about this tragedy as we work with each investigating agency until causes can be determined.” [Emphasis added]
Weld County coroner identifies men who died in massive Firestone house fire, explosion, Mark Joseph Martinez and Joseph William Irwin III, both 42, were killed in the Firestone explosion 2017. The home exploded and burned down to the ground Monday afternoon, two were transported, two are missing by Jesse Paul, April 20, 2017, The Denver Post
Mark Joseph Martinez and Joseph William Irwin III, both 42, were killed. Their bodies were found in the ruins of the home on Tuesday after search crews spent hours scouring the destruction.
The explosion happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday and quickly led to a massive blaze at the two-story home on the 6300 block of Twilight Avenue, near Colorado 119 and Weld County Road 13. A woman identified as Erin Martinez — wife of Mark Martinez — was airlifted from the scene and a juvenile male was taken for medical care in an ambulance.
Erin Martinez and the boy were inside or near the home when the explosion occurred. The boy is OK, officials said.
Statement from Frederick/Firestone Protection District spokesperson: 2 bodies found in home
Public records indicate the home is owned by Erin and Mark Martinez.
“Autopsies have been completed, with the results expected in four to six weeks,” the Weld County Coroner’s Office said in a news release. “No further information will be available until that time.”
Ben Chapman told The Daily Times-Call that he rushed to the home after the explosion.
“I found the lady in the back, with the roof pinning her down on her back,” he said. “And the construction guys were right there, so they plowed right through the fence with the forklift and started raising up the roof. It wasn’t really working though so we had to dig in, ripping pieces of wood out.”
He said he used a hose at the neighbor’s house to do what he could to douse the flames and then noticed burns on his arms.
Donna Bezdek was working in her home around the corner when the explosion happened.
“I thought someone came in and slammed a door and was stomping everywhere,” she said. “I heard the boom and saw the smoke. Black smoke. It was pretty much gone, the house.”
Bezdek said she saw “tons of people and the fire trucks” racing to the scene. Another neighbor told The Denver Post the house had collapsed in on itself.
Television news helicopter images from the scene on Monday showed firefighters spraying water into the smoking remnants of the house. It appeared as if neighboring homes were damaged as well, with smoke billowing from a nearby rooftop.
By about 6 p.m., all that was left of the home was a smoldering crater filled by debris. Three fire departments had been called to the scene.
It’s not clear what caused the explosion and fire investigators say it could be several days, if not weeks, before they know.
Although investigators don’t believe criminal activity led to the explosion, what’s left of the home is being treated as a crime scene, Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District spokeswoman Summer Campos said.
Two bodies found in ruins of massive Firestone house blaze, Mountain Range High School teacher in crtical condition by Jesse Paul, April 18, 2017, The Denver Post
After hours sifting through the ruins of a Firestone home leveled by an explosion and fire, investigators on Tuesday found the bodies of two people believed to have been in the basement when the blaze began.
Although investigators don’t believe criminal activity led to the explosion, what’s left of the home is being treated as a crime scene, Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District spokeswoman Summer Campos said.
It may be weeks before police, fire and Colorado Bureau of Investigation investigators determine what caused the explosion, Campos said. “It’s going to be a slow process.”
A child also was injured and a Mountain Range High School teacher left in critical condition by the incident that Campos described as a “horrible tragedy” that shook residents of the Oak Meadows neighborhood, where other homes still are under construction.
Campos said the bodies have been transferred to the Weld County Coroner’s Office. The names of the two have not been released.
The explosion happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday and quickly led to a massive blaze at the two-story home in the 6300 block of Twilight Avenue, near Colorado 119 and Weld County Road 13. A woman identified as Erin Martinez was airlifted from the scene and a juvenile male was taken to medical care in an ambulance.
Martinez and the boy were inside or near the home when the explosion occurred. The boy is OK, officials said Tuesday.
Martinez has been a science and physics teacher at Mountain Range High School in Westminster since 2007. The Adams 12 School District said Martinez was flown to a hospital and is in critical condition and that her brother and husband were believed to have been in the home.
“Incidents such as this impact people in unexpected ways, even if they were not directly involved,” Mountain Range principal Julie Enger wrote in a letter to parents. “Reactions can range from shock, sadness, fear or anger.”
Martinez previously worked at Northglenn High School. She has been an Adams 12 teacher since 2004.
Campos said investigators don’t know what the adults whose bodies were found on Tuesday were doing in the unfinished basement when the explosion happened. The Daily Times-Call reported that public records indicate the home is owned by Erin and Mark Martinez.
Ben Chapman told the Times-Call that he rushed to the home after the explosion happened.
“I found the lady in the back, with the roof pinning her down on her back,” he said. “And the construction guys were right there, so they plowed right through the fence with the forklift and started raising up the roof. It wasn’t really working though so we had to dig in, ripping pieces of wood out.”
He said he used a hose at the neighbor’s house to do what he could to douse the flames and then noticed burns on his arms.
Donna Bezdek was working in her home around the corner when the explosion happened.
“I thought someone came in and slammed a door and was stomping everywhere,” she said. “I heard the boom and saw the smoke. Black smoke. It was pretty much gone, the house.”
Bezdek said she saw “tons of people and the fire trucks” racing to the scene. Another neighbor told The Denver Post the house had collapsed in on itself.
A Black Hills Energy, the company that provides natural gas service to the neighborhood, is helping local fire crews and other authorities investigate the explosion, spokeswoman Carly West said. “At this time, there is no evidence of any leaks on the Black Hills system.”
Television news helicopter images from the scene on Monday showed firefighters spraying water into the smoking remnants of the house. It appeared as if neighboring homes were damaged as well, with smoke billowing from a nearby rooftop.
By about 6 p.m., all that was left of the home was a smoldering crater filled by debris. Three fire departments had been called to the scene. [Emphasis added]
One person flown by AirLife from massive house fire that followed explosion in Firestone
Firefighters from three departments knock down blaze that reduced a large home to a smoldering crater by Jesse Paul, April 17, 2017, The Denver Post
Firefighters from at least three departments battled and knocked down a massive blaze in a Firestone neighborhood after an explosion was reported Monday afternoon.
One person, who was in the home, was taken from the scene by an AirLife medical helicopter. The person’s name, age, gender and condition were not released.
Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District spokeswoman Summer Campos said a call about the fire came in at about 4:30 p.m. The fire was burning near the intersection of Colorado 119 and Weld County Road 13, northwest of the Firestone Regional Sports Complex.
“We did call in extra resources,” she said. “We’re just working on getting it under control. We’re just making sure that everything is officially out.”
Campo said authorities were called to the scene on reports of a house explosion.
“We don’t know if that’s actually what happened,” she said.
Officials didn’t immediately have any further information on injuries. No one was reported missing as of 6 p.m.
The fire briefly began to spread into an adjacent home but crews were able to knock it down.
Television news helicopter images from the scene showed firefighters spraying water into the smoking remnants of the house. It appeared as if neighboring homes were damaged as well.
By about 6 p.m., all that was left of the home was a smoldering crater surrounded by debris.
“It’s going to take some time to figure out what caused that explosion,” Campos said. “We don’t know that at this time.” [Emphasis added]
[Refer also to:
2016: Six things you need to know about Anadarko, the worst corporation you’ve never heard of
Slide from Ernst presentation at frac conference in Montreal, November 19, 2016
2016 06 04: Danger Below? New Properties Hide Abandoned Oil And Gas Wells
2014 08: Table summarizing PA DEP warning letters, obtained by FOIP completed by media) sent to residents with methane contamination cause by the oil and gas industry
*Many more letters were released showing other contamination, all were caused by oil gas activities. Only gas contamination letters are tabled. If no methane data is listed, none was presented in the letter. PDF of the above table
July 2014, DEP released 209 cases since late 2007; August 28, 2014 they released more cases, bringing total to 248 cases. Media FOIPed for and released the letters.
Standard comment in most of the DEP methane home and water contamination letters:
“There is a physical danger of fire or explosion due to the migration of natural gas into water wells or through soils into dwellings where it could be ignited by sources that are present in most homes/buildings. Natural gas migration can also cause threat of asphyxiation….
It is the Department’s recommendation that all water wells should be equipped with a working vent. This will help alleviate the possibility of concentrating these gases in areas where ignition would pose a threat to life or property. Please note that it is not possible to completely eliminate the hazards of having natural gas in your water supply by simply venting your well.”
2014 07 17: Woman dead, man seriously injured in home explosion in Orwell Ohio; well on property with chronic leaking natural gas problems Her boyfriend in hospital, seriously injured.
The couple’s dog the day after the explosion
[Canadian authority and enabler, Dr. Maurice Dusseault, concluded in his report that the risks of leaky wellbores “are not great as shown by years of experience” and that the environmental consequences of seepage of natural gas in aquifers “are not catastrophic, albeit undesirable.”]
- President Obama knows about this.
- The EPA knows about this.
- The Texas Railroad Commission knows about this.
- Scientists know about this.
- Range Resources knows about this.
No one is doing anything about this.
No one will ever live at 1101 Carter Road in Dimock Pennsylvania again.
The 3.6-acre property is one of 18 in the Susquehanna County village where state environmental regulators in 2009 traced methane contamination in the water supplies back to faulty natural gas wells drilled by Cabot Oil and Gas Corp.
The last residents, Craig and Julie Sautner, were once outspoken critics of natural gas development. As part of a confidential settlement that ended their part in a bitter lawsuit against the company, the Sautners sold their property to Susquehanna Real Estate I Corp., a Cabot subsidiary, for $167,500 in August 2012 and moved out of the state. Last month, Cabot had the home demolished, leaving the lot largely empty save for a yard sign for Dimock Proud, a community group that supports natural gas drilling and promotes a positive image of the township’s environment. Now, Cabot has sold the property, minus the oil and gas rights, to a neighboring family for $4,000. The deed stipulates that a home can never be built on the parcel: No building, according to the deed’s careful conditions, “shall be erected as or for or used or occupied as a residence or dwelling for human habitation.” The restriction applies “forever.”
The deed allows for a barn, garage, pool, outbuilding or driveway to be placed on the lot. It also carries a permanent easement that allows Cabot to access the water well on the property “for the purpose of inspection, water sampling, maintenance, and repairs.”
… Cabot spokesman George Stark declined to comment on the sale. Cabot has long denied that its operations damaged Dimock’s water supplies and has worked to make the case that any contamination in the township’s water wells occurs naturally or predated its drilling.
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2013 10 16-17: Presentation on industry’s leaking methane migration problems in Alberta by Theresa Watson, appointed to the ERCB (now AER) Board, from 2009 to June 2013. Below is the last slide in Ms. Watson’s presentation:
2013 07 13: Doddridge County gas fracking explosion injures at least 7
“We do not know the ignition source, but we suspect it was a methane explosion,”
2013 06: Ernst shares her gas migration brief with harmed citizens around the world and the public, summarizing industry and regulator research showing many cases of fracking contaminating drinking water – in some cases blowing homes and water wells up and killing innocent citizens.
Submissions of Ernst’s Gas Migration Paper:
Earlier editions of this report were submitted:
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation January 11, 2012
The Québec Évaluation Environnementale Stratégique (ÉES) sur le Gaz de Schiste January 15, 2012
June 17, 2013 to Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel reviewing frac impacts
June 17, 2013 to Wheatland County Council
June 18, 2013 to Rocky View County Council
Please specify if your new law’s exemption for 50,000 litre injections or less is per stage or all stages of a frac, per individual perforated zone or total injections via all perforations in a well bore, and how often a company can legally inject 50,000 litres of frac fluid at different time intervals into the same perforation of a well bore.
June 26, 2013 to Lancashire County Council
The Science is Deafening
Industry’s Contamination Everywhere
Regulator and Protective Agencies Run for Cover
Dates (2013)
June 13 EES Gas Migration paper submitted to UK Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment, Oil and Gas Licensing
June 14 ERCB closes the Campbell’s (Alberta ranchers) drinking water contamination investigation after 8 years of investigation*
June 15 Encana misses their promised deadline to file Statement of Defence on the Ernst vs Encana case after being served April 2011
June 16 BC Tap Water Alliance, FrackingCanada and Ami(s) du Richelieu broadcast the EES Gas Migration paper globally
June 17 EES Gas Migration paper submitted to Council of Canadian Academies expert panel reviewing frac’ing; report due soon
June 18 US EPA announces 2 year delay of comprehensive frac study
June 20 US EPA pulls out of Pavillion water contamination investigation after 4 years;Encana takes over with $1.5 million donation
June 24 Duke Study #2 on drilling and frac’ing causing methane contamination of groundwater published online, affirms Study #1
Duke Study #1 reported 17x more methane in groundwater near drilled and frac’d wells, published online May 9, 2011.
EES = Ernst Environmental Services
Where are the authorities hired and paid to protect public health and safety from explosive pollution cause by the oil and gas industry?
Why are ordinary citizens doing the regulator’s work for no pay and at great risk?
2013 03 19: Columbiana County Well Explosion Caused by Static Electricity
2013 03 16: Well explodes in eastern Wayne County, Ohio
2012 08 17: Deadly explosion Encana’s latest woe
The rare and tragic incident, which occurred at a recently completed site northeast of Denver at approximately 1 p.m. MT on Wednesday, comes at a particularly bad time for Canada’s largest natural gas producer.
2012 11 13: Mountain View County will inform residents about new abandoned energy well rules
2012 10 04: Cabot Oil & Gas’ leaking methane concerns continued on Carter Road
2012 09 05: Dimock, PA: State is probing methane in home
2012 08 28: More Than Three Months Later, Methane Gas Is Still Leaking In Bradford County
2012 07 07: Migration of Gas from Oil/Gas Fields
Oilfields have demonstrated a long history of gas migration problems. Experience has shown that the migration of gas to the surface can create a serious potential risk of explosion, fires, noxious odors, and potential emissions of carcinogenic chemicals, such as BTEX.
… As discussed under “Paths of Gas Migration,” man-made channels (wells) and fault zones are the most likely zones where large volumes of migrating gas flow will occur. … The major paths for vertical migration of gas are faults and fractures. These breaks or channels in the rock may be formed by natural lithification processes and tectonic activities. Additional avenues of migration may be created during drilling operations, which not only create a hole (or wellbore) through the strata but also cause fracturing of the formations around the wellbore. This problem is often compounded by inadequately sealing the space between the wellbore and the well casing with cement or improperly filling the fractures around the wellbore itself in an attempt to prevent future gas and liquid migration (poor cement bonding).
… Any holes in the casing and the surrounding cement sheath in the annular space between the casing and the wellbore, within the calculated “zone of escape,” will result in gas leaking out of the wellbore and then toward the surface. …
The lower explosive limit of the oilfield gases (composed primarily of methane) is approximately 5% by volume when mixed with 95% by volume of air. This mixture of gases is a serious explosion and/or fire hazard, especially where this gas is capable of migrating into a confined space, such as a room or an electrical vault. A clear recognition of a very serious problem with oilfield gases migrating to the surface and causing an explosion was the incident in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles on March 24, 1985, which demolished the Ross Department Store and injured over 23 people (Cobarrubias, 1985). Escaping oilfield gases along the fault zone burned for days through cracks in the sidewalks and within the parking lot surrounding the store. [Emphasis added]
2011 11 11: 118 homes evacuated in Calgary after explosion
2011 10 06: Province may change energy well setback rules because of industry’s fugitive methane To protect the oil and gas industry? Or landowners and the many citizens living in explosive risks?
2011 05 04: Calmar Homeowners Suing Town of Calmar and Aztec Home Sales Inc over Leaking Wells
2011 04 11: Imperial Oil leaking natural gas wells a nightmare for homeowners near Edmonton
U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today wrote U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu concerning gas migration-related incidents in Northwestern Pennsylvania. After the most recent house explosions in McKean County, Senator Casey called for federal help investigating the explosions and in coordinating with local and state officials to protect public health and safety.
“I am deeply alarmed to learn of yet another gas-migration-related explosion in Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) Emergency Response Program, there have been dozens of gas migration incidents in northwestern Pennsylvania recently. Some of those have led to explosions, leading to injury and the destruction of at least two homes. The belief that the source of the explosions is some type of thermogenic gas migration caused by extensive drilling appears to be widespread. Two homes in McKean County (the state leader in drilling permits for oil and gas wells) were destroyed, the first on December 12, 2010, and the second on February 28, 2011. … The McKean County homes were located about two and half miles from each other in neighborhoods bordering Hedgehog Lane, where oil and gas drilling activities had caused methane gas infiltration into drinking water wells, leading to taste and smell impacts. Schreiner Oil, the company involved, was ordered by the PA DEP to restore the water and has been providing bottled water to the impacted neighborhood.”
2011 02 16: Bainbridge Ohio: Methane Leaking, Home Exploding Gas-well ordeal finally ends well
2011 01 12: Bainbridge Ohio: Settlement reached in methane leaking, home exploding gas-well incident
2010 06 02: Leaking gas well forces families out in Calmar neighbourhood
2010 04 04:PA DEP Takes Aggressive Action Against Cabot Oil & Gas Corp to Enforce Environmental Laws Protect Public in Susquehanna County; Suspends Review of Cabot’s New Drilling Permit Applications Orders Company to Plug Wells Install Residential Water Systems Pay $240,000 in Fines Cabot contaminated 9 square miles with leaking explosive methane in the drinking water aquifer there!
2009 12 02: PA Dimock families sue Cabot, Gas drilling fallout
2008 Bachu with ERCB (now EUB) and Watson presentation on the problem:
2007 09 15: Home Explosion in Bentley Alberta destroys one home, damages several others
2007 EUB, now AER, presentation on the problem (to the public, and impacted families and communities, the regulator lies & denies):
Summer 2006: Ernst’s methane and ethane contaminated water
2006 05: Bruce Jack Private water well explosion at Spirit River, Alberta:
AER and Alberta Environment fraudulently covered-up and bullied Bruce Jack after his water well at Spirit River also sprayed gas contaminated water up, later found to have been caused by an oil & gas industry well nearby:
The regulator had advised Jack to install the above gas venting system as the solution to the pollution!
Years later , even though knowing from this experience that venting does not remove industry’s migrating gases from water well bores or aquifers, the regulator advised this life threatening venting to numerous other Albertans, including Ernst, who remain harmed with explosive drinking water contaminated with methane, ethane, etc because of frac’ing by the oil and gas industry nearby.
2006 05 09 Bruce Jack Water Well Pump house explosion AFTER professionally installed system to vent industry’s dangerous methane and ethane out. Photo taken day of the explosion, May 9, 2006. The Alberta government and AER continue to allow companies to drill and frac the area.
Special CBC News report on the Jack contaminated water well and explosion by Grant Gelinas. The video starts with audio of gases forcing water to shoot out of Jack’s well.
Bruck Jack in hospital the day after the explosion, when Peter Watson, then Deputy Minister Environment (now CEO of the National Energy Board), promptly arrived at his bedside to silence him with promises of permanent safe alternate water (the ministry and AER had deflected Jack’s concerns for years before the explosion).
Peter Watson, appointed by Harper govt to Chair the National Energy Regulator. Do you feel safe in your Canadian home?
Two industry gas-in-water testers, there to test the contaminated water the day of the explosion, were also hospitalized with serious injuries. Jack was hospitalized for a month. There were no Canadian Drinking Water Guideline Limits for methane and ethane (or propane, butane, pentane, etc.) then, and there still aren’t. Limits for methane and industry’s other migrating explosive gases might get in the way of private profits.
More details at FrackingCanada’s The Silence is Deafening, Industry’s Gas Migration, including a video of Jack’s water shooting out of his well
2005 12 08: Home exploded at Bondad Hill, Colorado
COGCC seeks aid in dealing with wells, State agency to ask Legislature for $800K in emergency funding …
“Holy mackerel, this is an expensive proposition,” said Samuel Potter, who sits on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The price tag could climb an additional $750,000 if the commission decides it needs to buy out area property owners to ensure public safety.
That well is leaking gas from the Fruitland Coal formation – the same place tapped by La Plata County’s coal-bed methane wells. The leak started almost 70 years ago, and nearby residents have long complained about methane pollution in their water wells. The gas commission hired a consultant to measure methane in the soil at 150 different points every few months since the explosion. “One of the disturbing things is we’re starting to see some high concentrations further east where we haven’t seen them before,” said Debbie Baldwin, a COGCC environmental specialist who has been actively involved in the cleanup. The latest methane gas survey showed that although the overall size of the gas seep hasn’t changed much, methane concentrations have intensified around some nearby homes….
The high methane concentrations caused a harrowing experience for the last crew that tried to excavate the Bryce 1-X well this year. “There was so much gas seeping up around the well that the whole pit was on fire. It was very dangerous,” Baldwin said …
“Gas is leaking and encroaching on people’s homes. Clearly, something needs to be done about it,” said Peter Mueller, the commission’s chairman. “If somebody got hurt and we’re waiting on paperwork, that’s a horrible thing to have to wait through.”
Petrogulf, which owns the closest operating well to the abandoned Spatter wells, bought the property of Charles Yoakum, who was injured in the explosion. The COGCC is talking about reimbursing Petrogulf for the expense. “I talked to (Yoakum), and I think he feels he’s been treated fairly,” Baldwin said. “His health still isn’t perfect, but he’s much better than he was.”
October 2005: Ernst’s methane and ethane contaminated water post illegal frac’ing by Encana (pre-frac’ing test by Encana said her water poured clear):
2004 Encana secretly illegally fractures Rosebud’s drinking water aquifers, community-wide methane and ethane contaminated followed, some water wells additionally with propane and butane, Encana and regulators lie & deny:
Diagram, showing Encana’s perfs and fracs into two Rosebud fresh water aquifers, by Hycrogeological Consultants Ltd. – retained by Encana when water wells began to go bad at Rosebud
Where are the authorities?
Breaking the law, violating Ernst’s Charter rights, covering-up to protect the law violating polluter, Encana.
2003 Records filed by Encana at The Groundwater Centre Database, shows 6 zones intentionally perf’d into Rosebud’s fresh water aquifers, subsequently intentionally fractured by Encana:
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So much of industry’s leaking gas made its way into the aquifers, it create “natural” gas infused geisers
2000 Meehan & Hamilton Research and Findings on the 1985 Dress For Less explosion:
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1996 Part 2: Migration of Methane into Groundwater from Leaking Production Wells near Lloydminster
1995 Part 1: Migration of Methane into Groundwater
1993 04 19: Foul Water Leads to Court Methane Contamination from CBM
In a two-year study, USGS scientists found methane gas in one-third of water wells inspected and concluded that oil and gas drilling is the main source of contamination of the shallow aquifers in the Animas River Valley. …the BLM’s reaction reflects a long-standing refusal to trust evidence linking rising numbers of methane-contaminated private wells with the gas boom. …the report shows that “the industry isn’t anywhere near as competent in preventing that kind of contamination as they have led everyone -including regulators – to believe.” Based in part on the USGS report, lawyers representing hundreds of area residents filed a class-action lawsuit Feb. 11 charging four oil companies – Amoco Production Company, Meridian Oil Inc., Southland Royalty Company, and Phillips Petroleum – with recklessness and deliberate disregard for the safety of local residents. The suit says the four oil companies ignored their tests, which showed that methane from their deep wells was polluting shallow aquifers, and asks for both actual and punitive damages.
1993 Husky Oil’s Gas Migration Research Effort – An Update
1985 03 25: Gas Explosion Shatters Fairfax Store; 23 Hurt
March 24, 1985 03 24: Ross Dress for Less Explodes in LA, California, 23 seriously injured, massive damages. Caused by oil and gas industry’s excessive & greedy injections causing a slip, resulting in methane migrating into the store, where a spark ignited it.
No Duty of Care? AER and Alberta Environment did the same thing: Blamed bacteria and the harmed water well owners to protect the polluters, putting the public at risk, even though the regulators knew Encana had broken the law, intentionally fractured Rosebud’s drinking water aquifers.
Slides above from Ernst presentations
