PUC To Seek Public Comment On Proposed $100,000 Penalty Settlement With Mifflin Energy Corp. For Natural Gas Explosion Destroying Home/Business In Greene County

On September 21, the Public Utility Commission moved to seek public comment on a Joint Petition for Approval of Settlement between the PUC’s independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement and Mifflin Energy Corp. related to a 2020 natural gas explosion on Water Dam Road in Waynesburg, Greene County, that injured one person and destroyed a residence. 

The Commission voted 5-0 today to publish the proposed settlement and seek public comment before issuing a final decision.  

The proposed settlement follows an investigation by I&E’s Safety Division which identified the suspected cause of the explosion as a leak on a service line delivering natural gas from a production gas well previously owned and operated by Mifflin Energy to a home at 169 Water Dam Road.  

The gas leak led to an explosion that destroyed a neighboring residence at 134 Water Dam Road, injuring the homeowner.

The proposed settlement would require Mifflin Energy to pay a non-deductible $100,000 civil penalty.  

Following the publication of this proposed settlement in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, interested parties will have 25 days to submit written comments.

(Photo: KDKA: Woman Hospitalized After Explosion Levels Greene Co. Home, Business)

NewsClips:

-- What It’s Like To Raise A Family In The Most Fracked County In PA - Washington County: PA Physicians For Social Responsibility [Video]

-- Uncontrolled Natural Gas Emissions From Equitrans Steelhead Compressor Station, Washington County: PA Physicians For Social Responsibility [Video]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Sept. 16 to 22 -  2nd Abandoned Shale Gas Well Pad?  5 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Failure To Comply With Order  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues NOVs To Roulette Oil & Gas LLC For Abandoning Another Conventional Well In Potter County; Roulette Applying For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit  [PaEN]

-- Petro Erie, Inc. Appeals 2nd DEP Order Requiring The Operator To Restore The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply Contaminated By A Spill Of Conventional Oil Well Wastewater In Venango County  [PaEN]  

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - September 23 [PaEN]  

-- DEP Posted 73 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 23 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

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-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Senators To Introduce Bill To Increase Setbacks On Gas Drilling

-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Lobbyist Responds To Health Concerns Raised In Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial - ‘Fracking Is Making Pennsylvanians Sick, Lawmakers Must Act’

-- Tribune-Democrat Guest Editorial: Natural Gas Development Making Pennsylvanians Sick, Lawmakers Must Act

-- What It’s Like To Raise A Family In The Most Fracked County In PA - Washington County: PA Physicians For Social Responsibility [Video]

-- Uncontrolled Natural Gas Emissions From Equitrans Steelhead Compressor Station, Washington County: PA Physicians For Social Responsibility [Video]

-- The Allegheny Front: ‘Ezell: Ballad Of A Land Man’ Performance About Fracking And Belonging Coming To Pittsburgh

-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: Petro Erie Appeals DEP July Order To Clean Up Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County  [PDF of Article]

-- Inside Climate News: EPA Approves Permit For Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County

-- TribLive Guest Essay: EPA/DOE Money Should Be Spent Wisely On Plugging Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - By Russell Zerbo, Clean Air Council

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: IFO Report: PA Natural Gas Prices Down, Shale Gas Drilling Falls

-- Reuters: US Energy Regulator Recommends Revising Reliability Standards For Natural Gas, Power Grid Infrastructure During Extreme Weather

-- Utility Dive: Record 13% Of Eastern US Electric Generation Capacity Failed - 63% Natural Gas-Fired During Winter Storm Elliott  [70% In PJM Were Natural Gas Failures]

-- PUC Responds To NTSB Actions Regarding Reading Factory Natural Gas Explosion

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: NTSB Kicks PUC Out Of Investigation Into Deadly Natural Gas Explosion At A Chocolate Factory In Reading

-- Reading Eagle: West Reading Chocolate Factory Explosion: Feds Demand PUC Hand Over UGI Inspection Reports

-- AP: NTSB Investigators Subpoena PUC Records Related To Reading Factory Natural Gas Explosion

-- PennLive: Lancaster County House Explosion Leaves 1 Man Dead: Police

-- MCall: Natural Gas Leak In Lehigh Valley Prompts Brief Shelter-In-Place Order Wednesday

-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio Commission Delays Vote On Shale Gas Fracking Under State Parks During Raucous Meeting

-- TruthDig - Justin Nobel: Abandoned Radioactive Oil, Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility Has Become A Party Spot In Marion County, West Virginia

-- WTRF: Marshall County, WV Emergency Director Confirms Oil Well Pad Fire Has Been Extinguished

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-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 8 Shale Gas Drilling Water Withdrawals - 1 In Exceptional Value Loyalsock Creek, Home To The Hellbender  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 34 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In  Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Game Commission Board OKs More Shale Gas Drilling In Lycoming County, Home To The Hellbender, And Sullivan County  [PaEN]

-- EPA Approves Permit For Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County; 30 Days To File Appeal  [PaEN]

-- DEP To Increase Monitoring, Develop Surface Water Standard For PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' After Study Shows 76% Of Streams, Rivers Contained At Least One Of These Chemicals  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Widespread Presence Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fresh Water Leading Shale Gas Operators To Use Contaminated Water In Fracking Operations; DEP Doesn’t Require Routine PFAS Testing  [PaEN]

-- DEP Hears Concerns, Some Support From Water Resources Committee On Draft Reg. On Reporting Unauthorized Spills, Releases  [PaEN]

-- House Environmental Committee Meets Sept. 26 On Cryptocurrency Mining Moratorium Bill [PaEN]

-- Dickinson College Will Host An Evening With Environmental & Indigenous Rights Advocate Tara Houska On Her Groundbreaking Advocacy Work Oct. 4  [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance Now Accepting Nominations For 2023 Community Sentinel Award  [PaEN] 

-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, NERC Final Report On Winter Storm Elliott Says Legislative Action Needed To Establish Reliability Rules For Natural Gas Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- PUC To Seek Public Comment On Proposed $100,000 Penalty Settlement With Mifflin Energy Corp. For Natural Gas Explosion Destroying Home/Business In Greene County  [PaEN]

[Posted: September 21, 2023]  PA Environment Digest