PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets Dec. 5 On Methane Reduction Program; Spill Policy; Chapter 78 Update; Certified Inspector Program; Injection Well Primacy

DEP’s Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board is scheduled to meet on December 5 with a very full agenda.

Among the topics are--

-- DOE Methane Emission Reduction Grant Program: Pennsylvania has been allocated $33.6 million to develop a program to monitor and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas wells and related facilities with a focus on low-producing conventional wells.

-- Update On Chapter 78 Conventional Oil & Gas Regulation Changes and PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council comments

-- Proposed Certified Oil & Gas Inspector Program: Possible development of a program modeled on certified storage tank inspector program. Read more here.

-- Update On Oil/Gas Wastewater Underground Inspection Well Primary

-- Spill Policy and Remediation

-- Update On Acid Producing Rock FAQ

-- Update On Trenchless Pipeline Construction Technologies Technical Guidance

-- Well Plugging Costs

Click Here for the full agenda.

Public Comment Period

Individuals interested in providing public comment during the meeting should contact Todd Wallace at least 24-hours in advance of the meeting at twallace@pa.gov or by telephone at 717-783-6395.

Join The Meeting

The meeting will be held in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg starting at 10:00 a.m.

To join the meeting remotely through Microsoft Teams Click Here: meeting ID: 268 715 872 827 Passcode: EDyntN or by conference call: 267-332-8737 Passcode: 672 138 374#

For more information, visit DEP’s Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board webpage. Questions should be directed to Todd Wallace by calling 717-783-6395 or send email to: twallace@pa.gov.

Recent Oil & Gas Articles:

-- DEP Issued At Least 472 Violations To 90 Conventional Oil & Gas Operators; 20 NOVs To 10 Shale Gas Operators For Abandoning Their Wells Without Plugging Them So Far In 2023 [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Record 5,653 Notices Of Violation To Conventional Oil & Gas Operators So Far In 2023; ‘Culture Of Non-Compliance’ Continues [PaEN]

-- Shale Gas Operators On Track To Have More Violations In 2023 - Frozen Gas Infrastructure; Explosion; Pad Fire; Uncontrolled Gas Venting; Frack Outs; Major Spills; Pipeline Crashing Thru A Home Highlight 2023 So Far [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 18 to 24 - 5 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; 2nd Spill At Same Shale Gas Pad This Month; Village Of Reno Wastewater Cleanup Slow Going [PaEN]

-- The Derrick: DEP: Little Headway In Reno Oil Well Wastewater Cleanup In Venango County [PaEN]

-- State Dept. Of Health Pushing For Changes To Reduce Adverse Health Impacts From Natural Gas Development [PaEN]

-- House Committee Hearing On Increasing Safety Setbacks Zones Around Natural Gas Facilities Heard About First-Hand Citizen Experiences On Health Impacts, From Physicians On Health Studies And The Gas Industry On Job Impacts [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw, Republican Chair Of Senate Environmental Committee, Calls Bill To Reduce Shale Gas Industry Impacts On Health, Environment ‘Stupid’ [PaEN]

-- The Daily Item Guest Essay: State Senator Calls Natural Gas infrastructure Public Health And Safety Bill 'Stupid' - By Scott and Jessica Mathias, Health Care Providers [PaEN]

-- New NERC Winter Reliability Assessment Finds Elevated Risk Of Blackouts In Extreme Weather Conditions; Natural Gas Supplies Still Vulnerable To These Conditions With 'Devastating Consequences' [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Winter Storm Elliot’s Natural Gas Infrastructure Failures Not An Isolated Event; Report Says Electric Grid Still Vulnerable: ‘Winter Is Coming’