“To be eligible for this funding, an operator must be in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, including those related to the submission of well production, waste, and mechanical integrity assessment reports to DEP.
“Additionally, failure to submit these reports subject operators to enforcement by DEP that includes civil penalty liability.
“If you are interested in obtaining this funding and are currently not in compliance with these requirements, you should submit this information to DEP as soon as possible.”
“The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides new authorities under Section 136 of the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from the petroleum and natural gas sector through the creation of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP).
“Nationwide, MERP will provide more than $1 billion in financial funding for grants and other activities to reduce methane.
“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be receiving more than $44 million of this funding.
“Part of Pennsylvania’s funding will be used to provide grants to conventional well operators to plug marginal conventional wells in their inventory.
“A marginal conventional well (MCW) is defined as a conventional vertical or slightly deviated oil and/or natural gas well with a known operator, producing less than or equal to 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOED) and/or 90 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) gas per day (1 BOE = 6 Mcf) over the prior 12 month period.
“Most conventional wells, for which production data has been reported to the DEP, meet the definition of an MCW.”
Submitting Annual Reports
Operators can find information regarding the production, waste, and mechanical integrity assessment report submission process and requirements on DEP’s website (Electronic Submission Guides).
Home use well operators can satisfy all three reporting requirements through the submission of a single form for each well (8000-FM-OOGM0001).
Visit DEP’s Methane Emission Reduction Program webpage for more information. Questions should be directed to RA-epOilandGas@pa.gov.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog, Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 16 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 76 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 16 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles - Gas:
-- DEP Cites Conventional Oil & Gas Well Operators For Abandoning, Not Plugging 140 More Wells Last Week; Total Now 380 Wells This Year [PaEN]
-- Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid Is Dependent On One Fuel To Generate 59% Of Our Electricity; Market Moving To Renewables + Storage [PaEN]
-- US EIA Report Shows How Winter Storms Have Reduced US Natural Gas Production, But Disruptions Can Happen Any Time Of The Year [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: Public Utility Commission Starts Investigation Into Possible Order For Another Utility To Permanently Acquire Venango Water Company Impacted By Conventional Oil Well Spill [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Violation To CNX Gas Company For Withdrawing Over 1.8 Million Gallons Of Water For Fracking For 22 Days Without Permission [PaEN]
-- Clean Air Council, Moms Clean Air Force, Earthworks Host March 20 Webinar On Federal Waste Oil & Gas Emission Charges [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 30 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In Bradford, Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA Plugs 200th Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Well
-- TribLive: Friends, Neighbors Remember Victims Of Crescent Twp. House Explosion In Allegheny County
-- TribLive: Crescent House Explosion Marks 3rd In Western PA Since Summer
-- WTAE: 3 Allegheny County Home Explosion Investigations Launched In Past 2 Years Remain Open
-- WTAE: Firefighters Return To Scene Of Crescent House Explosion After Fire Rekindles
-- WTAE: Crescent Twp. Police Thank Columbia Gas Worker Who Rushed To Shut Off Gas On Scene Of Home Explosion
-- Post-Gazette: 2 Killed In An ‘Absolutely Extreme’ Home Explosion In Crescent Twp., Allegheny County
-- AP: ‘Very Significant’ Explosion Kills 2 And Destroys House In Allegheny County
-- WPXI: DEP Acknowledges Presence Of Unregistered Conventional Gas Wells Near Site Of Tuesday Explosion
-- KDKA: Fmr DEP Officials Says It’s ‘Nearly Impossible’ To Identify All Unregistered Conventional Gas Wells
-- WPXI: Peoples Natural Gas Pipeline Has Been Leaking Gas Since October In Verona, Allegheny County
-- Scranton Times: Gas Leak Evacuates Downtown Olyphant For 2 Hours In Lackawanna County
-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: Natural Gas Is A Winner For Pennsylvania And The Whole Country - By Dan Weaver, PA Independent Oil & Gas Association
-- Public News Service: PA Advocates Push For Swift Update Of Federal Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Rules
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Environmentalists Clash With Gov. Shapiro At Hydrogen Energy Meeting In Northeast Philly
-- Inside Climate News: Delaware RiverKeeper, Activists Want More Public Participation In Proposed Hydrogen Hub In Southeastern PA
-- TribLive: Water Use Restrictions Lifted As Beaver Run Reservoir Levels Return To Normal In Westmoreland
-- Environmental Defense Fund: New Study Quantifies Health Impacts From Oil & Gas Flaring In US
-- AP: US Energy Industry Gas Leaks Are Triple The Official Figures, Study Finds
-- Bloomberg: Oil & Gas Industry Methane Emissions Near Record Despite Pledges
-- Environmental Health News: Participation In Oil & Gas Line Development Harms Mental Health And Creates Distrust In Government, Study
-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Report: Billions In PA Taxpayer Subsidies Go To Polluting Shell Petrochemical Plant Without Regard To Environmental Compliance
-- Post-Gazette/NYT: US Taxpayers Have Subsidized Fossil Fuels For 111 Years, And Counting
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT Gas Driller To Acquire Equitrans Midstream [Mountain Valley Pipeline; Cambria County 1.1 Billion Cubic Foot Gas Leak; Abandoned Wells; PA Criminal Charges]
-- EQT Gas Company Announcement Of Equitrans Midstream
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Why EQT Gas Is Acquiring Equitrans Midstream Corp
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Mountain Valley Gas Pipeline Could Be Sold After Equitrans Acquisition
-- Bloomberg: Natural Gas Prices Jump As EQT Slashes Output To Fight Glut
-- Reuters: Chinese Company Wants Say In Louisiana LNG Gas Export Facility Permit Extension
[Posted: March 13, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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