DEP Says Specialized Natural Gas Emergency Responders Locating in
PA, Improving Response Times
Recent Industry Accidents Underscore Need for Quicker Response,
Severance Tax to Offset Additional Costs to Taxpayers, Communities
PA-DEP Release
9 August 2010
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
CONTACT: Helen Humphreys, Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
HARRISBURG -- Recent high-profile accidents at natural gas wells in
Pennsylvania have prompted the Department of Environmental Protection
to arrange emergency response services with a leading company that is
opening a new operation in the state, DEP Secretary John Hanger
announced today.
CUDD Well Control will locate a new facility in Canton Township,
Bradford County, which means a highly specialized, well-equipped
emergency response crew will be approximately five hours from any
natural gas well in Pennsylvania.
By comparison, it took 16 hours for out-of-state crews to address a
June 3 blowout in Clearfield County and 11 hours to extinguish a July
23 fire in Allegheny County. In both cases, well operators had to wait
for response crews to fly in from Texas.
“CUDD Well Control’s presence in our state will ensure fast and expert
response to emergency situations at well sites,” said Hanger. “Recent
accidents in our state have shown that the natural gas industry lacks
the training and equipment to respond quickly to accidents. This
creates a tremendous danger to the public and the environment.
“When an accident occurs, we cannot wait 10 or more hours for a crew to
fly in from halfway across the country. Pennsylvanians must be
confident that highly trained emergency services are available nearby
to respond to a gas well emergency as quickly possible.”
The director of Pennsylvania’s Emergency Management Agency, Robert P.
French, echoed Hanger’s comments, saying CUDD’s decision to locate in
Pennsylvania brings much-needed expertise to the state.
“Our priorities during a well emergency are the safety and security of
the first responders and the public, as well as the environment and
property,” said French. “In certain well incidents, specialized
equipment and technical advice is needed and this arrangement with CUDD
Well Control will certainly enhance our ability to mitigate an incident
in Pennsylvania.”
CUDD’s new operation will give Pennsylvania 16 specially trained
well-control responders and a senior well-control responder in the
state at all times. Senior responders can provide an initial assessment
of emergency situations, advise local first responders, and coordinate
emergency response measures with other well control specialists.
Equipment at CUDD’s new Bradford County facility also will include:
• A 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump;
• Heat shields, which will protect responders as they work near a well
fire;
• Pneumatic cutting devices that clamp onto damaged pipe to allow
responders to cut it at a safe distance; and
• A “hot tap,” which will drill a hole into damaged pipe to either
relieve the pressure or allow responders to pump material into the well
to kill it.
The commonwealth will employ CUDD’s services as needed through
emergency contracts on a case-by-case basis, meaning there is no cost
to taxpayers until CUDD personnel are mobilized. If that happens, the
state will work aggressively to recoup those costs from the well
operator.
DEP plans to enter into a formal contract with a well control specialty
company through a competitive bid process by Oct. 15.
Hanger noted that emergencies at natural gas wells pose a considerable
challenge and cost to local emergency response crews, but said that
enacting a severance tax can offset those additional expenses.
“Local fire and police departments are usually the first ones on the
scene when the worst happens. These emergency responders are our first
line of defense in a community and natural gas wells are creating new
burdens and costs for them,” said Hanger.
“When accidents happen, the natural gas industry should be bearing
those costs, not the public or our fire, EMT and police departments.
That’s one of the main reasons we need a severance tax: so taxpayers
aren’t shouldering this financial burden and emergency response crews
have the funds they need to respond appropriately, as well as get
proper training and equipment.”
While finalizing the 2010-11 state budget, lawmakers agreed to vote on
a severance tax by Oct. 1 with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2011.