Firm to pay $35,000 for sprayed fracking fluid

GREELEY, Colo. — A company whose oil well sprayed out 84,000 gallons of hydraulic fracturing flowback water in February has agreed to pay $35,000.

The Greeley Tribune reports the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission could have fined PDC Energy around $9,000, but company officials said it was the “appropriate thing to do” to go beyond that.

In entering into an administrative order by consent, PDC Energy also agreed to arrange for classes in Weld County on how emergency workers can respond to oil and gas well situations.

Commission director Matt Lepore said at a commission meeting Monday that the company’s response is exemplary.

A mechanical failure led to the fluid spraying from one of PDC’s well sites north of Windsor in February. Soil and groundwater testing indicated little to no contamination.

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