Investigation into XTO Well Blowout Continues; New Video Released with Footage of Explosion Aftermath

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From The Herald Star:
Belmont County is slowly returning to normalcy in the aftermath of a well pad explosion on Feb. 15 near Powhatan Point, but the cleanup process continues. 
XTO Energy spokeswoman Karen Matusic spoke to the Belmont County commissioners during a Wednesday meeting and commended the people of Belmont County, the elected officials and first responders, as well as charities such as the Salvation Army. 
“Now what we’re working on is the investigative phase. The regulators are out there with our guys. Nobody wants to get to the bottom of this more than us, to see what went wrong and what were the lessons learned,” Matusic said. 
At this point, there is no timetable for when the investigators might have details about what went wrong. She added that spring will provide further opportunity to determine any long-term environmental impact of the incident. 
“The good news is, any water testing and air testing has shown nothing that would be harmful to the environment or to people and animals,” she said, adding state regulators have looked at water and air samples and found no evidence of contamination.
Click here to read the rest of that article.

Anti-fracking organization FracTracker Alliance wasted no time filing a Freedom of Information Act request for the release of video shot by the Ohio State Highway Patrol following the explosion at the well.  It is embedded below, and you can read more by clicking here on how anti-drillers are covering this incident.


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