Shell's Tioga County Methane Geyser Captured On Video

A group called the Responsible Drilling Alliance has obtained video of the geyser of water and methane that shot out of the ground last week near a Shell natural gas drilling site in Union Township, Tioga County. Due to the geyser, methane bubbling into a nearby creek and gas spotted in a private water well, Shell issued a vol­un­tary evac­u­a­tion request to people living within a mile of the well. The Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the incident.


 
The video was taken on Tuesday, June 19^th. RDA’s Ralph Kisberg said the person who filmed the footage wants to remain anonymous, but identified one of the men speaking in the video as Canton Fire Chief Kim Jennings.  In a brief phone interview with StateImpact Pennsylvania, Jennings confirmed that fact.
“I’ve never seen a geyser like that,” he said.
The flume gradually decreased in size over the course of the week, as Shell flared off gas at three nearby well clusters to bring down subsurface pressure. Company spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh said the flow has now completely stopped.

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