DEP Issued NOVs To Conventional Oil & Gas Companies For Abandoning 55 Wells Without Plugging Them During September Alone, A Dramatic Increase In New Well Abandonments

The Department of Environmental Protection issued notices of violation to conventional oil and gas companies for abandoning 55 wells without plugging them during September alone, according to DEP’s Oil and Gas Program Compliance Database.

That brings the total number of NOVs issued by DEP for abandoning wells without plugging them in the Third Quarter of 2022 to 163 conventional wells and three unconventional shale gas wells.

That’s more NOVs issued for abandoning conventional wells than in the first six months of 2022-- 163 from July through September versus 159 from January through June. Read more here. 

So far in 2022 a total of 322 notices of violation were issued for conventional wells and 32 for unconventional shale gas wells for abandoning without plugging them for a total of 354 wells.

And these were only the wells DEP inspectors caught companies abandoning during their regular inspections.

Every oil and gas well abandoned by the oil and gas industry means taxpayers have to pick up the cost of plugging and cleaning up those sites.

Background

Conventional oil and gas well companies have so far shifted over $5.1 billion in well plugging costs to taxpayers because they are required to put up zero bonds to cover plugging costs for wells they drilled before April 1985-- which is most of them-- and only limited bonding for wells since then that does not begin to cover taxpayers’ plugging costs.  Read more here. 

The conventional industry also passed legislation in July that Gov. Wolf allowed to become law blocking any attempts to increase the bonding amounts for 10 years.  Read more here.

To put the 322 notices of violation for abandoning conventional oil and gas wells so far this year in perspective, that’s many more than the number of wells DEP plans to plug-- 249-- with the initial $25 million from the new, highly touted, federal taxpayer-funded Bipartisan Infrastructure Law conventional oil and gas well plugging program.  Read more here.

It’s also important to understand, notices of violation are DEP’s first step in trying to get a driller’s attention that a violation has occurred and they need to take steps to resolve the issue.

DEP’s Oil and Gas Program Compliance Database has incomplete information on how  these violations were resolved.

In terms of past enforcement actions, DEP only assessed monetary penalties against 15 of the 256 conventional oil and gas operators who received notices of violation for abandoning wells without plugging them over the last six years, according to DEP’s response to a Right to Know request to the Oil and Gas Management Program for penalty information covering conventional operators from 2016 through 2021.   Read more here.

During those same six years, DEP issued over 4,270 notices of violations for abandoning wells.  Read more here.

It is clear abandoning wells without paying the cost of plugging them is a pervasive part of the way conventional oil and gas industry’s operate.  Read more here.

Counties With Newly Abandoned Wells

In July, August and September, conventional operators were given NOVs for abandoning wells without plugging them in these 12 counties-- Butler (7), Cambria ( 7), Crawford (1), Elk (2), Erie (8), Forest (3), Greene (1), McKean (7), Mercer (3), Venango (103), Warren (4) and Westmoreland (17).

DEP issued NOVs for abandoning three unconventional shale gas wells-- two in Wyoming County and one in Westmoreland County.

Companies Abandoning Wells

In July, August and September, these 41 conventional operators were given NOVs for abandoning wells without plugging them--  All American Energy (1); Allshouse Excav. (9); Allshouse, Terrance L. Jr. (4); Apex Energy (1); Apollo Resources LLC (8); AZCO OPR (1); BV Gas LLC (1); C&D Gas Co. (2); Champion Bolt Corp (2); Cobra Resources (5); Dannic Energy Corp (1); Diversified Prod (2); Dorso LP (1); Energy Exploration & Dev. (1); Equitrans LP (1); Five Star Investment Group (1); FM Sloan Inc. (2); Fyrerols Reservoir Consulting (3); Grace M. Marzalen (1); Hartstown OIl & Gas Explor (1); Horizontal Exploration (6); HypePark Foundry & Mach Co. (1); Lazy Oil Co. LLC (2); Lendrum Energy LLC (40); LT OIl Co LLC (9); Magi Oil (1); Marvin Sanders Oil (1); Michael Harju (1); Mid East Oil (1); Millcreek Twp. School District (1); Nucomer Energy (1); PA Mineral Services (1); Pierce & Peterson (2); Pin Oak Energy Partners (1); Questa Petro Co. (2); Redfoot Daniel A (1); Reel Resources (2); Repasky Christopher S. (27); STK Investments LLC (1); Timberline Energy (9); Titus Energy (1); West Silas (1); and Wilmoth Interests (1).

The number of conventional oil and gas operators give NOVs for newly abandoned wells clearly continues to show well abandonment is pervasive in this industry.  Read more here.

Chesapeake Appalachia was issued notices of violation by DEP for abandoning two unconventional shale gas wells without plugging them in Wyoming County and Diversified Prod. LLC for one unconventional shale gas well in Westmoreland County.

DEP Conventional Drilling Compliance Review

On July 30, Gov. Wolf directed the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct an evaluation of how it regulates conventional oil and gas wells to prevent new abandoned wells, tighten review of permit transfers, review compliance with environmental safeguards and make recommendations for changes and actions, including criminal sanctions.

The evaluation was due to the Governor’s Office by September 1, but no information from the report has been released as of this writing.  Read more here.

On August 18, Kurt Klapkowski, Acting DEP Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, told DCED’s  PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council the conventional oil and gas driller compliance review will evaluate at least the last five years of compliance.

When asked whether DEP’s evaluation and accompanying recommendations would be in a public document, Klapkowski said, “... don’t know the answer to that question.  All I can say is what was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the instructions that we were given in terms of preparing a report for the conventional industry's record of compliance.”

To track oil and gas facility compliance with Pennsylvania’s laws and regulations, visit DEP’s  Oil and Gas Program Compliance Database and search by company.

You will be shocked at what you find.

NewsClip:

-- WSJ: Nationwide Work Starts To Plug Abandoned Conventional Gas & Oil Wells [In PA Newly Abandoned Wells Outnumber Wells The State Plans To Plug]

Related Articles - New Abandoned Wells:

-- Only 15 Out Of 256 Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Who Abandoned Wells Without Plugging Them Were Fined By DEP; Small Penalties No Deterrent To Future Abandonments  [PaEN]

-- Bay Journal: New Abandoned Wells - More Concerns Emerge Over Pennsylvania’s Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal  [8.25.22]

-- New Abandoned Wells: DEP Records Show Abandoning Oil & Gas Wells Without Plugging Them Is Pervasive In Conventional Drilling Industry; Who Is Protecting Taxpayers?  [PaEN]

-- 12 Unconventional Shale Gas Drillers Issued DEP Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them At 35 Well Pads In 17 Counties [PaEN]

-- Quarterly Report: DEP Issued 77 Notices Of Violations To Conventional Drillers, 8 To Shale Gas Drillers For Attempting To Abandon Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues 20% More NOVs To Oil & Gas Well Drillers For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them In 2nd Quarter [PaEN]

-- U.S. Dept. Of Interior Awards PA $25 Million In Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Funding From Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law [PaEN]

-- DEP: Wastes Generated By The New Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Program Will NOT Be Exempt From Hazardous Waste Regulations, Unlike Wastes From Active Wells  [PaEN]

-- Creating New Brownfields: Oil & Gas Well Drillers Notified DEP They Are Cleaning Up Soil & Water Contaminated With Chemicals Harmful To Human Health, Aquatic Life At 272 Locations In PA  [PaEN]

-- New Penn State Study Finds Runoff From Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumped On Unpaved Roads Contains Pollutants That Exceed Human-Health, Environmental Standards  [5.27.22]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Reported Spreading 977,671 Gallons Of Untreated Drilling Wastewater On PA Roads In 2021  [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Natural Gas Drilling: An Industrial Machine Moving Across The PA Countryside Leaving Behind Big Liabilities & Spreading Pollution Everywhere It Goes  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: Body Of Evidence Is 'Large, Growing,’ ‘Consistent’ And 'Compelling' That Shale Gas Development Is Having A Negative Impact On Public Health; PA Must Act  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: PA’s Natural Gas Boom - What Went Wrong? Why Does It Matter?  What Can We Do Better To Protect Public Health?  [PaEN]

PA Environment Digest:

-- Recent Articles Posted On Oil & Gas Drilling Impacts

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP Collects $147,250 Penalty From Rice Drilling B LLC For Erosion & Sedimentation Violations In Greene County; DEP Found Rice Had Hundreds Of Other Violations, Including Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- DEP: PA Fracking Operations Sent Nearly 236,000 Cubic Feet Of Radioactive TENORM Waste To Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facilities For Disposal In 2021 - 811,070 since 2016  [PaEN]

-- Fall Visitors To Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Areas Urged To Report Illegal Road Dumping Of Drilling Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups Raise Serious Compliance Issues With Olympus Energy-- Over 600 Violations On 13 DEP Permits-- In Comments On Proposed Shale Gas Drilling Pad In Allegheny County  [PaEN]

-- Washington County Community Meeting Updates Residents On PA Health & Environment Studies, Discusses Health Impacts Of Shale Gas Development  [PaEN]

[Posted: October 5, 2022]  PA Environment Digest