Diesel fuel fire on well pad destroys 8 trucks, etc.

From an Article by Kathie Warco, Washington (PA) Observer Reporter, June 28, 2018

The director of Washington County’s Department of Public Safety is praising the quick reaction of the first firefighters on the scene of a fire at a CNX well pad Wednesday night on Newland School Road in East Finley Township.

Crews from numerous departments were called about 10:10 p.m. to the Morris 31 pad, with the first fire truck arriving five minutes later, said Jeff Yates, county public safety director.

Yates said a worker was refueling frack trucks with high-pressure pumps when there was an ignition and fire. Seven of the frack trucks caught fire and were destroyed, along with the truck being used for refueling and a man lift, Yates said. There also was some damage to an acid tanker.

“When the fire started, the well crew shut the wells off and went to the muster point, where they were all present and accounted for,” Yates said. “Most well sites have a primary and secondary spot where they meet during an emergency. They practice this.”

“The firefighters did a great job stopping the fire quickly and keeping it away from the well pad,” Yates said. “The well pad was never in danger.” Yates said crews from West Finley and Morris Township fire departments were the first to arrive.

“It was a big ball of fire,” said Steve Emery, West Finley fire chief, of the scene as he and his crews were the first to arrive at the scene. “When we got there, there were four or five trucks on fire. Then there were explosions from tires and maybe some tanks.”

Emery said it is a major loss. “We are probably talking a million dollars,” the fire chief said.

About 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel ignited, said Lauren Fraley, DEP community relations coordinator. The DEP team did not observe runoff or fluids leaving the site, she added.

DEP staff returned Thursday to gather information on the cause and to get estimates on the volume of material lost, Fraley added. She said they will also be getting information on remediation by CNX and how they prevent similar incidents in the future. She also said the actual wells were not compromised.

Also assisting were members of the county’s public safety department, along with firefighters from Claysville, West Alexander, Lone Pine and Amwell, Canton, Hanover and South Strabane townships in Washington County. Also responding were firefighters from Richhill and Morris Township in Greene County and Dallas Pike in West Virginia.

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Consol, CNX and affiliates donate property for bat conservation area in Greene County

From an Article by Bob Niedbala, Washington (PA) Observer Reporter, July 22, 2018

Consol Energy, CNX Resources and affiliated companies have donated more than 1,500 acres of property in Richhill Township to the PA Game Commission to expand existing state game lands and develop a bat conservation area.

About 1,236 of the 1,536 acres of land adjoin State Game Lands 302 in the northwestern corner of Greene County. The properties are bisected by Consol Energy’s overland coal conveyor belt that runs between Crabapple and Enon and are known as an Indiana bat habitat, according to the game commission. The remaining 300 acres are just southeast of the game lands.

As part of the transaction, the companies also agreed to donate $580,000 to the commission for a stewardship fund for the perpetual management of the land, including payment in lieu of taxes on the property.

“The companies are glad to be part of such an important project and be afforded the opportunity to provide a perpetual conservation area in Greene County,” Consol spokesman Zackery Smith said in an email explaining the donation.

“The combined coordination with the local, state and federal agencies was focused on a common goal: to protect our threatened and endangered species and allow for future public enjoyment of natural areas within our beautiful state,” he said.

The transaction is a good deal for the game commission, said Dennis Neideigh, game commission chief of real estate. The commission “looked at it from the perspective of future hunting opportunities and wildlife management,” he said. With the acquisition, “about 1,500 acres will be open to public hunting and wildlife management,” he said.The area is also known to be an Indiana bat roosting and foraging area, Neideigh said. It’s management as a bat conservation area coincides well with the game commission’s roll in managing wildlife.What the commission is always looking to expand games lands where it is possible.