Produced Water and Condensate had Been Leaking for Months or Years - Groundwater Contaminated According to COGCC Reports

In a nutshell: Produced water and condensate had been leaking from and oil and gas dump-line underground for possibly months and or years. Nobody knows just how long the 'toxic' leak had been ongoing. According to COGCC reports, groundwater was confirmed contaminated.

Question for COGCC: Why was this report received 7 months after the incident occurred?

According to the COGCC Rules:For all reportable spills, operators shall submit a Spill/Release Report, Form 19, within ten (10) days after discovery. An 8 1/2 x 11 inch topographic map showing the governmental section and location of the spill shall be included. Such report shall also include information relating to initial mitigation, site investigation, and remediation. The Director may require additional information.

It appears that the operator may have failed to comply by Rule 906 b (5)

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Date of Incident:

12/6/2011

Date Rec'd:

7/17/2012

COGIS - Spill Reports

Form 19/19A                                                                     Doc
Date Rec'd:	7/17/2012	Report taken by:	JOHN AXELSON
DocNum:	2229647	API number:	05-123 -22756	Facility ID:	276280

Operator Information

Operator:	PDC ENERGY INC	Oper. No.	69175
Address:	1775 SHERMAN STREET - STE 3000 ATTN: SCOTT REASON DENVER , CO 80203
Phone:	(303 )860-5800	Fax:	(303 )860-5838
Operator Contact:	BRANDON  BRUNS

Description of Spill:

Date of Incident:	12/6/2011
Type of Facility:	TANK BATTERY
Well Name/No.	CLARK  11-27	Fac. Name/No.
County Name:	WELD
qtrqtr: NWNW section: 27 township: 7N range: 65W meridian: 6

Volumes spilled and recovered (bbls)
Oil spilled:	Recvrd:
Water spilled:	Recvrd:
Other spilled:   0	Recved:  0
GW Impact? Y Surface water impact? N Contained within berm? N
Area and vertical extent of spill:  18-FT X  25 -FT
Current land use:  O&G PRODUCTION FACILITY/AGRICULTURE
Weather conditions:  0-10 DEG F
Soil/Geology description  HAVERSON LOAM, 1-3% SLOPES
Distance in feet to nearest surface water:  90
Depth to shallowest GW:  4
Wetlands:	Buildings:  215
Livestock:	Water Wells:  545
Cause of spill:
EQUIPMENT FAILURE
Immediate Response:
SEE COMMENTS.
Emergency Pits:
NA
How extent determined:
SEE COMMENTS.
Further Remediation
~67 CU YDS OF IMPACTED SOIL EXCEEDING COGCC TABLE 910-1 CONCENTRATION LEVELS HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO THE WASTE MANAGEMENT LANDFILL IN AULT, COLORADO, FOR DISPOSAL. ACTIVATED CARBON WAS APPLIED AS AN AMENDMENT TO TREAT RESIDUAL IMPACTS FROZEN IN GROUNDWATER ADN WAS MIXED IN WITH THE EXPOSED SMEAR ZONE SOILS IN THE EXCAVATION BEFORE IT WAS BACKFILLED. PDC SCHEDULED INSTALLATION OF MONITORING WELLS TO DELINEATE GROUNDWATER IMPACT AT THE SITE. RESULTS WILL BE SUBMITTED IN A FUTURE FORM 27.
Prevent Problem:
PDC REPLACED THE LEAKING DUMP LINES.
Detailed Description:
RELEASE OCCURRED AT THE TANK BATTERY RELATED TO THE CLARK 11-27 (API 123-22756) AND CLARK 12-27 (API 123-23100). THE TANK BATTERY IS LOCATED IN THE NWNW OF SEC. 27 AS DEPICTED ON FIGURE 1. DURING EQUIPMENT UPGRADES AT THE FACILITY, PDC DISCOVERED A LEAK IN THE DUMP LINES THAT RELEASED AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY OF CONDENSATE ADN PRODUCED WATER TO THE SUBSURFACE. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Data Compiled by: Shane Davis Source: COGCC .