PA Environment Digest Blog: Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 18 to 24; Continuing Violations At Equitrans Gas Storage Area; 6 More New Well Abandonments

From March 18 to 24, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database shows oil and gas inspectors filed 582 inspection entries that resulted in reporting 66 violations of environmental regulations-- 42 violations by the conventional oil and gas industry and 24 violations by the unconventional shale natural gas industry.

So far this year-- as of March 17-- DEP issued 927 formal notices of violation to conventional operators and 342 to unconventional shale gas operators based on 3,121 inspections of conventional facilities and 5,705 inspections of unconventional shale gas facilities.

Abandoning Wells

DEP issued six notices of violations last week to conventional oil and gas well operators for failure to plug a well upon abandoning it to-- Alpha Wells Inc. (Clarion County), BCD Prop Inc. (Erie County) and Timberline Energy Inc. (4 wells in Venango County).

Equitrans Gas Storage Area

On March 22, DEP did another inspection of access wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Natural Gas Storage Area and again found continuing environmental violations like failure to dispose of wastes and fluids on the site and discharging wastes into waters of the Commonwealth. Click Here for DEP inspection report.

In November, this Equitrans facility had an uncontrolled leak of an estimated 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Spills, Releases, Improper Waste Disposal

Both conventional and unconventional shale gas operators again received notices of violation for spills, discharges, improper waste disposal, operating a well without a permit, failure to collect wastewater, failure to fill in pits and restore sites after drilling.

See companies and counties below.

Failure To Submit Integrity, Waste Reports

DEP issued seven notices of violation to conventional operators for failure to submit well integrity reports to-- Benko Edward W. (Beaver County) and BCD Proper Inc. (6 wells in Erie County).

Benko Edward W. also failed to submit an annual waste generation/disposal report for a well in Beaver County.

The production and waste report is critical to understanding how much wastewater and other waste those wells generated and where it was disposed of.

The annual integrity report is critical because it helps ensure the operator is taking the steps needed to prevent natural gas, oil or contaminated water leaks from oil and gas wells.

Report Violations

To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

Check These Resources

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database webpage to search their compliance records by date and operator.

Sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE service which sends you information on oil and gas and other permits submitted to DEP for review in your community.

Violation Details

Violations Reported - Conventional

6 -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

1 -- Drilling, altering or operating a well without a permit

1 -- Discharged Waste Into Waters Of Commonwealth

1 -- Failed to report defective well casing or cementing

1 -- Failure To Prevent Substances From Reaching Waters of Commonwealth

3 -- Failed To Properly Dispose Of Fluids, Wastes, Drill Cuttings

3 -- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

1 -- Failed to fill all pits used to contain industrial wastes

1 -- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

7 -- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

1 -- Failed To Submit Well Production & Waste Management Report

1 -- Failed to temporarily stabilize site to prevent erosion and sedimentation

Company/Location/Violations - Conventional

Beaver County

-- Benko Edward W. - Economy Boro - Buhl Farm 1

-- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

-- Failed To Properly Dispose Of Fluids, Wastes, Drill Cuttings

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- Failed To Submit Well Production & Waste Management Report

Cambria County

-- Equitrans Rager Mountain Natural Gas Storage Area - Jackson Twp.

-- Discharged Waste Into Waters Of Commonwealth

-- Failed To Properly Dispose Of Fluids, Wastes, Drill Cuttings

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

-- Failure To Prevent Substances From Reaching Waters of Commonwealth

Clarion County

-- Alpha Wells Inc. - Monroe Twp. - TW Phillips 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

-- Drilling, altering or operating a well without a permit

Erie County

-- BCD Prop Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Aloysiuss J. Rinderle 2

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

-- Failed to fill all pits used to contain industrial wastes

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- BCD Prop Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Doris & Paul Wester Son 1

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- BCD Prop Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Pearly & Warren Willey 1

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- BCD Prop Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Williams Rodger Scott 1

-- Failed to report defective well casing or cementing

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- BCD Prop Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Marian Lopus 1

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- BCD Prop Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Beavers 1 Well

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

Greene County

-- Diversified Prod LLC - Dunkard Twp. - McCoy 2

-- Failed To Properly Dispose Of Fluids, Wastes, Drill Cuttings

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

Jefferson County

-- Diversified Prod LLC - Gaskill Twp. - Paul & Jeanette Craft 1

-- Failed to temporarily stabilize site to prevent erosion and sedimentation

Venango County

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 2

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 3

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 7

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

Violations Reported - Unconventional Shale Gas

1 -- Failure To Prevent Substances From Reaching Waters of Commonwealth

1 -- Failed To Properly Dispose Of Fluids, Wastes, Drill Cuttings

1 -- Failed to fill all pits used to contain industrial wastes

3 -- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

1 -- Failed To Contain Wastes Or Regulated Substances In Tanks Or Other Storage Structures

2 -- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

1 -- Failed to restore site restore drilling sites

1 -- Failed to restore water impoundment

Company/Location/Violations - Unconventional Shale Gas

Bradford County

-- Repsol Oil & Gas USA LLC - Columbia Twp. - Haralambous 10H

-- Failed To Contain Wastes Or Regulated Substances In Tanks Or Other Storage Structures

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

Clinton County

-- Frontier Natural Resources - East Keating Twp. - Winner Well Pad/Water Storage Impoundment

-- Failed to fill all pits used to contain industrial wastes

-- Failed to restore site restore drilling sites

-- Failed to restore water impoundment

Greene County

-- EQT Prod Co. - Wayne Twp. - Drift Ridge Well Pad

-- Failure To Prevent Substances From Reaching Waters of Commonwealth

-- Failed To Properly Dispose Of Fluids, Wastes, Drill Cuttings

-- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

Tioga County

-- Repsol Oil & Gas USA LLC - Hamilton Twp. - OMR 02-188-03-3H

-- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

[Note: If you believe your company was listed in error, contact DEP’s Oil and Gas Program.]

[Note: These may not be all the NOVs issued to oil and gas companies during this time period. Additional inspection reports may be added to DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database.]

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 18 to 24; Continuing Violations At Equitrans Gas Storage Area; 6 More New Well Abandonments [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 25 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 67 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 25 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions [PaEN]

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’ [PaEN]

-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts [PaEN]