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A
special truck comes out to service wells with storage tanks
at least once and sometimes twice a year. It's called a vac
truck because it sucks the liquid (crude petroleum and brine)
from the tank. Storage tanks vary in size. A steel tank can
hold 50 or 100 barrels (a barrel is equal to 42 gallons).
Problems
with the transfer of petroleum and brine from the tank to
vac trucks are usually minimal. We've seen one instance of
a large spill that occurred during transfer of liquid from
a tank to a truck but that is generally rare. If the well
tender hasn't been paying attention or the truck is late,
it's possible for a tank to overflow, and again we've only
come across that happening once.
The
biggest problem with vac trucks is that they are very heavy
and wreak havoc with earth roads in the wrong season. In the
interest of keeping the road usable for all property owners,
we never use our truck on the road unless the road is dry
or frozen solid. Last year a vac truck was pulled to the existing
well that is halfway between our home and the state road.
This was in February during a thaw after a hard freeze and
a bulldozer was used both to pull the truck in and also to
pull the truck out after it had removed the fluids in the
tank. In the process the truck and the bulldozer tore up the
road making extremely deep ruts. The company finally graded
the road in September and added gravel in a few of the worst
spots.
We
didn't take photographs in February 2008 but it's happened
again -- a bulldozer and a vac truck during a thaw -- and
we had our camera.
A
month earlier, with the subzero temperatures, the road was
hard as rock. Friday it was so mushy that we had problems
even using our ATV. It was the worst time for using the road
for vac truck travel.
As
a good neighbor, the gas company would give us prior notice
that the road would be a mess and let us know how soon they
will fix it, then follow through. If they wished to, company
decision makers could become good neighbors.
See
the photographs.
15
March 2009 update: We received an email on 5 March that the
company"agreed to do some work on the road. The work
will be done as soon as the weather permits." We'll note
here when the road is repaired. The road dried out with warmer
weather and we've been able to drive the ATV back and forth
to our place -- off to the side of the road in one area, one
wheel in a rut and another on a high spot in another bad area.
4
April 2009 update: The company still has done nothing to repair
their damage to the road. Last year we were told in February
and again in July that the road would be repaired, but it
wasn't until we made a complaint with the state's Office of
Oil and Gas in early September that something was done. It's
not just us that got the runaround last year, all the property
owners that use the road did.
July
2009 update: It took another round of emails but work was
finally done on the road on 16 July. Work on the road included
spreading gravel over the portion that had not previously
been graveled and the also on part of the pad. For parts of
the road the gravel was spread too lightly to be entirely
effective, but we have hopes that next winter the road won't
be destroyed as it has been in the past.
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