Ohio Department of Natural Resources and PDC are investigating the cause of the failure of the well head and release.  In addition to the drilling mud and wet gas, natural gas was released causing an explosive atmosphere leading to dangerous working conditions and the evacuation of 7 residents from 3 homes adjacent to the site. The release was stopped and the evacuation was subsequently lifted. PDC does not anticipate any further releases.

Please see earlier POLREPs for information prior to this reporting period.

Incident Command Structure (ICS) Forms 202, 207 and 214 continue to be utilized each operational period (currently 24 hour operational period).

General Notes
Accessibility and topography have impeded response operations.

Some product remains throughout the system that will need to be flushed out or collected over time, however the vast majority of product appears to have been collected from the release, at Containment Dam 1. Product does not appear to have made it as far as (former) Containment Dam 2 as a result if this release. Flushing and targeted high volume low pressure washing techniques will continue to be applied throughout the impacted riverine waterbodies, to direct product down to Containment Dam #1. Rain will likely also help to move product through the system to the containment points. Several subsurface seeps that are releasing small amount of product have been discovered along the riverine channels, indicating that some oil has migrated subsurface. The extent of this is currently being evaluated. 

1. Weather
Rain and thunderstorms occurred over the operational period. Fortunately, less rain was received than the expected 2 inches in 24 hours. 

There is a small chance of additional rain predicted for the next 3 days.

2. Report by Geographic Division. For organizational purposes, the site has been divided geographically as detailed below, and shown in the well pad and waterway maps located in the documents section of the website. These maps are being revised to add updated nomenclature. 

During May 14-16, further work was done to develop and implement strategies to address these areas:

Well- No further releases occurred. Further work on the well was on a standdown May 11-14, for drilling pad cleaning. On May 15, work on the well was successfully restarted. On May 16, equipment that was lost down the well was successfully retrieved. Drilling operations are scheduled to begin again on May 17. Drilling is not anticipated to affect clean up activities.

Drilling Pad- Free product remains present on pad and in the pad's stormwater drainage system. Seeps of product downgradient of the pad into the lateral channels also indicate that product has migrated subsurface through the gravel base of the pad. According to PDC's consultant the a shale layer is about about 7 feet below ground surface, and 2 feet of gravel was installed just below the surface. 

Four catch basins are located on the pad. Some surface flow also drains to catch basins, while in other areas, surface flow drains through swales to the sedimentation basins. Catch basins have been plugged, and are being kept pumped down 24 hours a day to reduce discharges from the pad to the sedimentation basins. The pad is drained by a subsurface french drain system that drains to the catch basins. A new french drain was installed on May 14 at at the catch basin 3 outlet in an attempt to intercept a product seep, but this did not slow or stop product migration at this seep and additional work to address it is needed. Geologists are on site, test pits have been dug and investigations are ongoing to determine the extent of contamination. Absorbents were installed at the seeps to collect discharging product until corrections can be made.

Due to the extensive nature of contamination in the pad, the challenges associated with cleaning it while the rig is in place, and the therefore high potential for additional release from the pad, plans are being developed to hydraulically isolate the pad and product on the pad from the surrounding environment, and permanently prevent discharges, until the pad is fully remediated.  

East swale (stormwater drainage feature of pad)- Free product remains present. Area drains to ST#2. Area was impacted by spray and overland flow of oil. Because this swale drains to a sediment trap that has been plugged and should not readily discharge, flushing of this swale was designated as a secondary priority. 

East Sediment Trap (ST2) - Pond/trap receives storm water from pad. Some free product remains present in ST2 (and upstream). Plans are to pump out water/product that accumulates in the basin so that it will not overflow. Pumping effectively prevented overflow for the majority of this reporting period. Absorbents were installed and maintained. Additional sediment removal using the super sucker is planned for the weekend.

Sediment Trap #2 Outfall channel (tributary to east lateral) - A flush and a wash of rock were completed on on May 14. Some free product remains present. Area was impacted by spray and overland flow of oil. Flow from this drainage feature eventually drains to Containment Dam 1. 

East lateral channel (tributary to unnamed creek) - Segment remains oiled, with some free product present in pockets, and sheen.  This tributary drains to Containment Dam 1. Two washes were conducted on May 16. Small seeps containing product were observed on the drill pad side of the East Lateral channel. Pocket excavations were installed on May 14 as part of the investigation to assess the extent of subsurface product presence. The amount of flow and product accumulation was monitored over this reporting period.

West Sediment Trap (ST1) -  Pond/trap receives storm water from pad. Some free product remains present in ST2 (and upstream). Plans are to pump out water/product that accumulates in the basin so that it will not overflow. Pumping effectively prevented overflow during this reporting period. Absorbents were installed and maintained. Additional sediment removal using the super sucker is planned for the weekend.

West swale (stormwater drainage feature of pad)- Some free product remains present. Area drains to ST#2. Because this swale drains to a sediment trap that has been plugged and should not readily discharge, flushing of this swale was designated as a secondary priority. 

Sediment Trap #1 Outfall channel (tributary to unnamed creek) - A flush and a wash of rock were completed on on May 14. Free product remains present. Area was impacted by spray and overland flow of oil. Flow from this drainage feature drains to Containment Dam 1. Vegetation clearing is complete.  

West lateral (tributary to unnamed creek) - Segment remains oiled, with some free product present in pockets, and sheen. Area was impacted by spray and overland flow of oil. The seep at the headwaters from the drill pad (described above) is likely the seep of highest concern on site due to its flow rate and amount of product that it is carrying. The output from the seep is currently contained by a plastic structure that is being kept full of fresh absorbents. An experimental oil water separator is being installed on May 17 as another short term containment structure while the source and extent of contamination is assessed. 

Unnamed tributary (Area between confluence with west lateral and dam 1)‎- Segment remains oiled, with some free product present in pockets, and sheen. Further flushing of this segment is planned.

Containment Dam 1‎- The majority of free product that had collected behind this dam so far was removed on May 13 with the rope skimmer. As additional oil migrates from the upstream tributaries it continue to be collected at this dam. Some of the oil that is accumulating at this dam appears to be submerged, but floats to the surface with agitation. Agitation and collection via pumping are currently the primary methods being used to recover oil at this point. PDC plans to continue to collect and treat all water/fluid that accumulates behind this dam. Large pumps are staged to assist with this effort. A pump management company was hired to ensure that all pumps function effectively. This dam is being manned 24 hours a day to ensure that water levels are kept at a manageable level. 

On May 10, a seep was discovered on the downstream side of the dam that is carrying product into the sump. The source of this product is currently be investigated. It may be product that was trapped under the dam during construction, it may be migrating through subsurface gravel or bedrock fractures. the seep is not contributing a huge amount of oil to the sump at this time. The sump is being pumped continuously and monitored 24 hours a day. Geologists plan to conduct further evaluation of this area on May 17.

Downstream of Dam 1 to Dam 2 on Cow Run - Some absorbents remain in place in this section. Over this reporting period small amounts of regularly flowing clear clean oil continued to be observed in this section, possibly due to oil mobilization during channel opening, or possibly due to fractured bedrock as detailed above. A wash was conducted in one bedrock outcrop area on May 15 to try to dislodge any trapped oil. The area is being assessed to evaluate the source of this product. 

Containment Dam 2‎- Two containment booms are in place at this former dam location and are not accumulating product. This area is being monitored 24 hours a day currently.

3. EPA Air Monitoring 
Benzene concentrations remained low on the pad and in the work areas during this reporting period. Offsite perimeter monitoring for benzene is also conducted daily. There were no off site detections during this reporting period. A summary of current benzene monitoring results and a map of monitoring locations are available in the documents section of the website.

VOCs were generally lower this operational period. VOCs ranged up to 1.8 ppm near Containment Dam 1.

Gamma radiation has remained at background levels during this reporting period. 

4. EPA Water Sampling Water
Sampling results that have been received back to date do not show detections above levels of concern downstream of Containment Dam 2 for any parameters. 

5. PDC Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT)
PDC is completing SCAT surveys of riverine waterbodies before and after flushing/ high pressure low volume rinsing when possible.

6. PDC Air Monitoring
PDC is conducting roving air monitoring throughout the site making one rotation every 30 minutes, and working with an industrial hygenist, has established the following action levels:

VOCs- at 70 ppm upgrade to Level C PPE; at 700 ppm upgrade to Level B PPE

Benzene - at 2.5 ppm upgrade to Level C PPE

LEL - at 10% evacuate area

H2S - evacuate area if detected

7. Waste Generation/Storage/Treatment
A large amount of waste management is ongoing on site. EPA and USCG are doing periodic passes by waste storage areas to check for leaks or other concerns. 

PDC is working to generate an updated total fluid recovered to date. Available data is included in the table below. Total fluids recovered through May 14 are estimated to be 13,448 barrels (564,816 gallons). The fluid total includes oil, drilling fluids, water, and does include water that was introduced into the system naturally and through flushing/washing activities.

PDC set up a multiphase wastewater treatment system on May 15, and began discharging treated water to surface waters under NPDES permit. A detailed description of the treatment processes is included in the documents section of the website.