(AP) -- Michigan officials say operations at a natural gas well being drilled in the northwestern Lower Peninsula with a technique called hydraulic fracturing were shut down after a leak was detected earlier this week.
The state Department of Natural Resources and Environment says Thursday that the leak at the well in Benzie County's Joyfield Township was detected late Monday or early Tuesday, and the leak was contained Tuesday. The department says there's no imminent danger from the leak and an initial review found any environmental impacts limited to the immediate area of the well.
The department says it's the first time such a hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operation has experienced a leak in Michigan. The state says about 12,000 wells in Michigan have been drilled using the technique since the 1960s.
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