Well pad generating mud and limestone
Mud and limestone migrating from a Range Resources well pad coats Route 136 at Brownlee Road in Somerset Township.
Limestone migrating from a Range Resources well pad in Somerset Township coats Route 136 west near Brownlee Road.
A Marcellus Shale natural gas driller will increase its efforts to remove mud and limestone that is being tracked by trucks coming from a well pad onto Route 136 in Somerset Township.
The state Department of Transportation received that response from Southpointe-based Range Resources after the township called state police about the problem last week.
“They are going to ramp up their cleaning efforts,” PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen said Thursday.
The township also notified PennDOT and Range last week after it received a complaint about the condition of Route 136 near the company’s Rowland pad, which is just east of Brownlee Road.
The limestone has coated Route 136 west from Brownlee to Route 519, along with weeds and guardrails along the right berm.
“We will continue to monitor it and work with the driller,” Petersen said.
Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella said the work at the site is expected to be completed Saturday and that the rainy weather has contributed to the problem.
“We’ve spoken with some residents who had also contacted us and we’ve had street sweepers working in that area,” Pitzarella said.