Fracking related gas leak incidents at California and Wyoming
Aliso Canyon is a massive gas storage facility owned and operated by Southern California Gas (SoCal Gas) which distributes gas to 21 million customers and 14 power plants . The gas leak which was first noted on October 23, 2015 happened near SS-25, a well that was drilled in 1953 . Investigations proved that the age of the well, combined with lack of maintenance as the root cause of this disaster. The safety valve is located deep inside the well and is responsible for any unwanted emission was removed in 1979 as it had developed leaks at that time . Interestingly, it was never replaced as SS-25 was not classified as a critical well- one within 100 feet from the road or 300 feet from a home . Combined with this was the unpreparedness of SoCal Gas to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. The older wells do not adhere to modern safety standards and many have exposed steel pipes without concrete cover that exposes them to the soil resulting in rusting and decay over the period of time.
Adequate safety precautions and compliance with the new age laws may have prevented such a disaster. Aggravating the problem is half of the facility’s 229 wells are of the same vintage as the leaked one and many neither have the sub-surface safety valve in them, nor have the concrete casing . The immediate need of the hour is to inspect all the wells in the field and do the adequate maintenance to avoid any similar disaster. The missing safety valves have to be installed and the wells should be sealed to the surroundings with cement from the surface to the bottom of the well. This helps to protect the wells from any water seepage and resulting rust formation on the steel casing. Yet another important step to be implemented is to update the regulations and make them tighter. In fact, SoCal Gas was in full compliance with the existing regulations set forth by the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermic Resources and yet this accident happened. This calls for an urgent revamp of the regulations, which may help to prevent any similar disaster in the future.
Residents of Pavillion, Wyoming have been complaining about contaminated water, ever since the fracking operations for the gas extraction expanded during the 1990s . The study conducted by EPA in 2011 also verified the fact that fracking is in fact responsible for the water contamination in the area, even though the agency backed out of conducting further researches a year later . The United States Geological Survey (USGS) results released in 2011 were also in line with the findings of EPA. It is of utmost importance that priority should be imparted to the safety and well-being of the residents and the environment. Political and business interests should not get precedence over the security of the people and hence is advisable that the fracking activity be banned in that area.
Works Cited
Lustgarten, Abrahm. EPA’s Abandoned Wyoming Fracking Study One Retreat of Many. 3 July 2013. Website. 3 May 2016.
Maddaus, Gene. What Went Wrong at Porter Ranch? 22 December 2015. Website. 3 May 2016.
