47-079-00739
Well drilled in 1967
Producing formation(s): Newburg
Geographic location: latitude 38.465861, longitude -81.761546
Visited first in 2009
This older well is on North Poca River Road between 47-079-00601 and 47-079-0735. It sits next to a natural gas pipeline.
The well has several problems. There is no API number as required by state code and regulation and the plastic tank doesn't have the required secondary containment dike. Since the site is close to the river this is also a possible federal SPCC violation.
There were several maintenance issues. There was more industrial debris than we're used to seeing at a well site. Besides pipe and a 55 gallon steel drum, there was a large unused piece of equipment pushed into the tall grass. The road had deep ruts, possibly caused by a vac truck.
When we were at the site in late November the trap door for the tank had been left open and there was a sizable oil spill on the well access road. We believe the spill occurred during the transfer of fluid from the tank to the vac truck.
The well site is just above River Road. It is well vegetated but the road shows a need for maintenance.
A pipeline comes down the ridge, crosses the site and goes under the river.
The wellhead shows an unusual configuration that we hadn't seen before. At first we thought this was a storage well but we've seen similar well configurations at other wells operated by this operator.
The site is on a bench above the road, close to the river.
If one looks closely they can see the tank's trapdoor is open and hanging on the other side of the opening.
We've seen an extremely large tank at another site operated by this operator and believe the cement piece served as a foundation for a similar, now gone, tank at this site.
No secondary containment dike around tank as required.
Where the oil had spilled on the road all vegetation had been killed. The odor was quite pungent.
This 55 gallon steel drum was sitting near the tank.
Visited again in 2012
We first visited the site in 2009 when we found the condensate storage tank didn't have secondary containment. The well had no API number.
In our 2012 visit it appears there might be secondary containment for the tank, though we couldn't judge its size or effectiveness due to tall grass. The well had a number but not an API number as required.
The wellhead comes out of a large cement block just to the east of a pipeline.
The metal is severely corroded.
The well has a tag on it now; it didn't in 2009 when we first looked at it. The tag though just has the last digits of the well's API number which doesn't meet the law's requirements.
The wellhead and site show many signs of a need for maintenance.
Gas Well Site Visits
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Table with Links to Wells Visited
47-039-05714 Environmental Assessment
47-079-01492 Environmental Assessment
47-039-02026 Environmental Assessment
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An investigation into what caused the vegetation death in the land application area after landspraying hydraulic fracture flowback waste.
The Spill at Buckeye Creek
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