Cabot Oil and Gas fined $120,000 for explosion and spill
Lindsay Lazarski/WHYY
A Cabot fracking site in Harford Township, Susquehanna County.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has fined Cabot Oil & Gas $120,000 for a storage tank explosion and spill.
The incident occurred January 11 at the Reynolds well pad in Jessup Township, Susquehanna County.
“This was a serious incident that injured an employee and resulted in a spill of approximately 2,835 gallons of production fluid from a 21,000-gallon storage tank,” DEP Director of District Oil and Gas Operations John Ryder said in a statement. “Some of this fluid escaped containment and impacted soil off the well pad.”
The DEP cited the company for violations of the Oil and Gas Act and regulations, Solid Waste Management Act, and Clean Streams Law. Cabot has since remediated the spill.
“Fortunately, the injured contractor returned to work shortly after this incident,” said Cabot spokesman George Stark in an email. “We undertook a detailed investigation. We have implemented additional safeguards into our design and construction practices across our operations, and we continue to work toward our goal of zero incidents.”
The company ranks fifth among operators in overall wells drilled, but it’s second in the state in DEP violations.
