From WTRF News 7, Wheeling, WV, April 01, 2015 11:32 AM EDT

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (AP) – An emergency official says no one was injured when a storage tank fire broke out at a drilling well pad in Marshall County.

Marshall County Emergency Management director Tom Hart says the fire was reported around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday at Gastar Exploration’s Armstrong pad near the Wetzel County line. (Note: This is the Mason-Dixon Line, as extended to the Ohio River, where much more Marcellus drilling and fracking are planned).

Hart says four to five tanks were burning when firefighters arrived. The fire was extinguished in about an hour and the well pad wasn’t damaged.

Hart didn’t know what the tanks contained.

Note: Because the tanks were burning, there was flammable material inside. So, this would likely be “natural gas liquids” (NGL), a mixture of hydrocarbons say from propane and butane up to iso-octane, for example. These are common in this “wet-gas” region.

http://www.wtrf.com/story/28694085/no-injuries-in-tank-fire-at-well-pad-in-marshall-county

Posted: Sep 12, 2014 11:41, Updated: Oct 12, 2014 11:41

By Sarah Tincher, Energy Reporter
 
At about 4:15 p.m. Sept. 11, a Spirit Services tanker truck carrying 4,500 gallons of condensate from a well pad went through a guardrail and over an embankment on Interstate 79 southbound mile marker 53 in Braxton County.

The tanker was punctured and most of the condensate spilled, posing a threat of entering a tributary of the Elk River, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. But following the spill, an on-site DEP inspector determined that none of the spilled material reached the stream. However, booms were put in place and an underflow dam — which allows water beneath the surface to flow through the dame while the material floating on top is trapped — was constructed as a precautionary measure.

A representative from the company told the DEP that the spilled material was from a dehydration unit — the water is removed from the natural gas and distilled before it is transported — and there could be some hydrocarbons and chlorides in the material; however, the hazardous material level in the spilled matter is less than would be typically found in brine because it is mostly water.

The material from the truck that didn’t spill was removed, and crews are working today to remove the wreckage and begin soil remediation. The truck spilled approximately 80 gallons of diesel fuel as well, according to the DEP, but it was contained to the site.

The driver sustained some bruises and needed stitches but DEP was informed his injuries did not appear to be serious.