PA Environment Digest Blog: Better Path Coalition: June 22 Virtual Brown Bag Briefing With Laurie Barr On Abandoned Conventional Oil/Gas Wells

Monday, June 5, 2023

The Better Path Coalition will host another in its series of virtual Brown Bag Briefings June 22 with Laurie Barr, a citizen scientist who has spent the last decade hunting for orphaned and abandoned conventional wells and researching stream health in Pennsylvania as part of Save Our Streams PA.

Laurie’s work has been used by state and federal regulators, oil and gas well plugging companies, a slew of reporters, and has led to breaking, influential studies on the link between abandoned wells and methane emissions.

Her tireless reporting to officials has led to changes in regulatory policy and administrative practice, helped residents finally get wells leaking for 20 years or more plugged (sometimes twice), influenced legislative agendas, and inspired academic study in the too-often neglected and economically depressed northern tier of Pennsylvania, as well as the southern tier of New York.

She will discuss the state of the massive legacy issue of well abandonment and the management of federal funds the state has recently received to plug priority wells.

Click Here to register. The Briefing will start at Noon.

This event is the latest in a series of legislative tours and briefings organized by the coalition. All elected officials, regulators, staffers, members of the press, and members of the public are invited to attend.

Visit the Better Path Coalition website for more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events. Questions should be directed to: karen@betterpathcoalition.org.

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- MarkWest Liberty Midstream Files To Clean Up 10,000 Gallon Natural Gas Condensate Spill Caused By December’s Winter Storm Elliot Freeze In Washington County [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 3 to 9: Plugged Conventional Well Frack-Out; 10 More NOVs For Abandoning Conventional Wells [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - June 10 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 51 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 10 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Abandoned Conventional Oil/Natural Gas Wells Emit Carcinogens, Other Harmful Pollutants In PA, Study Shows [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance Announces 7 Winners Of 2022 Community Sentinel Award For Environmental Stewardship; Including PA’s Laurie Barr [PaEN]

-- EDF: Pennsylvania Has 55,000 Oil/Gas Wells At High Risk Of Being Abandoned; 51,000 Wells At Risk Of Being Transferred To Low Solvency Owners; Current Conventional Well Owners Abandon 561 Wells A Year, On Average [PaEN]

-- House Hearing: Let’s Work Together To Make Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Practices Cleaner, Respect Property Rights, Protect Taxpayers And Prevent New Abandoned Wells [PaEN]