Friday, March 19, 2010

UPDATE: Flow Back/Frack Fluid Spill at Williams Prod site in Flower Mound

This is an update to a previous post on the spill that occurred on Wednesday. The Flower Mound Star report confirms that 80 barrels of flowback water spilled. The problem was a bad seal on the clean out hatch on the fracturing tank.

Williams spokesperson Tim Colwell stated it was mostly saltwater with chemical additives in small amounts. Just exactly what those chemicals are we will never know because they don't have to tell us thanks to the "Halliburton Loophole". Colwell stated that the amount of fluid that leaked could fill an above ground swimming pool.

Following the incident, town staff members went to the site, the TRC and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) were notified, and later the TRC inspected the site.

The product loss report stated that no surface water was affected in the incident. It stated that following the leak, a vacuum truck was used to contain the free liquid. The affected soil was delineated and removed to roll-off containers for temporary storage. It stated that storm water collection devices were installed to prevent potential runoff during remediation.

It went on to state that removed soil and clean soil will be mixed together to provide the proper level of chloride and then will be returned to the excavation. Then, before and after cleanup, excavated soil samples will be taken to ensure proper remediation.

Click here to read Flower Mound Star article.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

80 barrels spilled, big difference

FMCAUD said...

David, Thanks for catching that one!