Environmental Economics

The state is investigating a fish kill in an eastern Ohio creek near where a fire occurred at a
shale-well fracking site on Saturday.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources learned yesterday of the fish kill in Possum Creek in
Monroe County, said Jason Fallon, an agency spokesman. Fallon said he did not have details about
the extent of the kill. “I can’t confirm if it’s related to the gas-well fire,” he said.

Phillip Keevert, director of the Monroe County Emergency Management Agency, said Division of
Wildlife agents were inspecting the creek yesterday and confirmed that a kill occurred.

The Eisenbarth well pad caught fire on Saturday because of a malfunction in hydraulic tubing,
authorities said. Fire spread to about 20 trucks lined up on the well pad,
triggering explosions that spewed clouds of black smoke.

The trucks that caught fire are used in hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking.
Statoil North America operates eight wells on the pad.

At the height of the fire, 20 to 25 families that live within a mile of the site were evacuated.
They were allowed to return home on Saturday evening.

A number of area residents reported the fish kill yesterday. Jack Shaner, deputy director of the
Ohio Environmental Council, said he has been told that the kill stretched for a few miles.

Shaner said he suspects that chemicals used in fracking ran into the creek when firefighters
extinguished the blaze.

“It sounds like it was not just smoke and not just fire, but a major fish kill,” he said. “Both
the company and state agencies owe the public a full public accounting of what went wrong and how
they are going to prevent future occurrences.”

Statoil North America officials could not be reached for comment.

All 17 of the company’s Ohio wells are in Monroe County, state records show.

via www.dispatch.com