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State, local officials confirm no issues at Halcon well
LORDSTOWN
There have been no problems reported at the Halcon Operating Co. well in the village even as the company has started the process of flaring natural gas at the site.
Flaring is a typical part of the process to test the pressure of the gas after a well has been fracked, said Mark Bruce, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The well is located on Brunstetter Road.
Fracking is the process in which water, chemicals and sand are blasted into rocks thousands of feet below the ground to unlock natural gas and oil.
“There are two options once the natural gas is released [after fracking]. It either has to go into a tank or be flared,” Bruce added.
In a lot of cases, the gathering lines haven’t been completed at the site, so flaring is done. When the natural gas is burned, there is a minimal environmental impact, he said.
Lynn Anderson, an anti-fracking activist, sent an email to The Vindicator alleging that emergency responders had arrived at the Halcon site Tuesday afternoon, and she questioned if there had been some type of problem at the well.
But Lordstown Police Chief Brent Milhoan said there were no calls of any type or emergency responders sent to the Halcon well that day.
The company doing the flaring at the Halcon well, FESCO Oil, had called the police department the previous day to inform them flaring would begin, he said.
There have been complaints about the well due to its proximity to the Westwood Lake Park, a mobile- home park, Milhoan said.
Bruce said it was possible that fire officials had come to the site to watch, but there had not been a call for any problem at the well.
Further, there had been no problems reported at the site, Bruce said. The company also contacted ODNR before starting flaring.
Flaring at the Lordstown site should be completed in about two weeks, said Vince Bevacqua, spokesman for Halcon.