There’s been another Marcellus accident, this time in northeast PA. The DEP is working to contain the toxic water (and press).

Here are the basics, from the Post Gazette:

The state Department of Environmental Protection said this morning that a Marcellus Shale natural gas well that blew out Tuesday night is “stable but not killed.”

The Chesapeake Energy well in Bradford County had an equipment failure that allowed thousands of gallons of chemically laced hydraulic fracturing fluid to flow from the site for at least half a day. Seven families who live near the well site were evacuated as a precaution.

It is about 16 miles from the well pad to the Susquehanna River, Mr. Spadoni said. A field check yesterday revealed no impacts to the river, he said.

In response to the situation, the environmental group PennFuture called on DEP Secretary Michael Krancer to immediately shut down all of Chesapeake’s drilling operations while an investigation is conducted.

PennFuture President and CEO Jan Jarrett also called for an immediate end to the pilot policy that prohibits DEP inspectors from citing drillers for violations, putting citations in the hands of top DEP officials.

Senator Casey is also responding to the accident.

“My office has been in contact with state and local officials to see if any federal assistance is needed after the blowback in Bradford County,” said Senator Casey.  “I will continue to monitor the situation as the investigation continues and more details are known.  Natural gas drilling offers Pennsylvania a great economic opportunity.  However, incidents like this blowback are a reminder that there are dangers and that precautions must be taken to protect the health and well-being of Pennsylvanians.”

Casey’s well safety legislation would provide several stipulations that would improve the safety of gas well drilling workers. It would require that one employee knowledgeable in all safety procedures be present at all times at the well during exploration and drilling. It would also require that a certified response team be ready and available. It would provide stipulations that a local emergency response team be notified within 30 minutes, as well as notifying OSHA and the National Response Center within an hour of the commencement of an emergency situation. Communication technology must be present at the site. Additionally, local first response teams should be trained to deal with well emergencies. Finally, the legislation requires that an annual report be filed with OSHA that assigns a certified response team to each well.

Nicole Houck contributed to this report.