LINE CREEK VALLEY, Wyo. (AP) — A gas well blowout in the shadow
of Yellowstone National Park spewed a cloud of explosive natural
gas, forced evacuations for miles around and polluted the
drinking water — and the people who live in Wyoming's Line Creek
Valley still wonder four years later if their lives will return
to normal. Days of panic after the Aug. 11, 2006, blowout at the
well have been replaced by lingering uncertainty about a
pollution plume 225 feet underground. Now Windsor Energy is
applying to drill a new well even though the blowout's cause, to
this day, remains a mystery. Last year's Deepwater Horizon
disaster focused international attention on offshore blowouts.
But they happen more often onshore, with dangerous effect:
release of toxic gases, spills of oil and plumes of groundwater
pollution. © Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights
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