The decision means Catalyst Energy may open the injection well and accept wastewater for disposal during the Board's consideration of the citizens' appeal.
The temporary supersedes issued by the Board on November 12 was lifted. Read more here.
The order follows a Board hearing on the supersedeas request which began on December 4. Follow-up briefs were due on December 24.
Click Here for a copy of the December 27 order. EHB Docket #2024016.
DEP’s most recent inspection of the facility was on November 26 when the owner conducted a mechanical integrity test of the injection well. DEP inspection report.
Background
In February, approximately 40 individuals appealed the injection well permit issued by DEP to Catalyst Energy, Inc. in January, 2024. Read more here.
Residents said both DEP and the US Environmental Protection Agency ignored the history of significant conventional oil and gas well drilling in the area, pointing to more than 100 wells around the proposed injection well site they felt would not provide a secure disposal area for the wastewater. Read more here.
Residents are concerned about potential impacts to their water supplies and many other issues. Read more here.
In October, the Bradford Era did a seven-part series on the concerns the residents of Cyclone have with the injection well and its potential impacts to water supplies and their health. Read more here.
An example of the potential impacts was a major investigation started by DEP in May in response to an incident where a resident of Keating Township within 2,500 feet of the injection well had her water well catch on fire as a result of contamination by conventional oil and gas wells. Read more here.
Visit DEP’s Underground Injection Control Wells webpage for background documents on the Catalyst Energy, Inc. injection well.
(Photos: Top-- Unfinished containment area; Injection well site generally; Bottom-- Injection well receiving area; Seismic monitor at nearby conventional well-- from DEP inspection reports; Original conventional well site.)
Resource Links:
Prepare For Winter Weather:
-- PUC Urges Pennsylvanians To Prepare Now For Winter Storms [PaEN]
-- Reuters: US Winter Storms Could Cause Power Outages, Cut Natural Gas Supplies
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboard - December 28:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - December 28 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 81 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In December 28 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboard - January 4:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 4 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Draft Guidance For Land Application Of Excess Water From Shale Gas Well Development Impoundments [PaEN]
-- DEP Sets Feb. 11 Hearing On Renewal Of Title V Air Quality Permit For Energy Transfer Marketing’s Marcus Hook Terminal, Delaware County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 103 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 4 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles Last 2 Weeks:
-- Physicians For Social Responsibility- PA: Jan. 22 Webinar On How To Talk To Your Doctor About Environmental Threats To Your Health [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Draft Guidance For Land Application Of Excess Water From Shale Gas Well Development Impoundments [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 18 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In November; 292 General Permits So Far In 2024 [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Supersedeas, Allows Operation Of Catalyst Energy, Inc. Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In McKean County During Appeal [PaEN]
-- Attorney General-Elect Dave Sunday Announces Transition Committee Members, Including An Energy & Environment Committee [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- DeSmog - Justin Nobel: PA Needs To Set Construction, Operating Standards For Hundreds Of Miles Of Unregulated Fracking Wastewater Pipelines
-- WSJ: America’s Big Natural Gas Footprint Is About To Get Even Bigger: ‘Build Baby Build’ [PDF of Article]
-- The Energy Age Blog: EQT Reveals Latest Shale Gas Drilling Plans In Southwest PA
-- The Energy Age Blog: EQT Executes New Shale Gas Drilling Plan In Union Twp., Washington County
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: 2024 In Review: EQT, Consol Highlight Energy Industry Upswing
-- PublicSource.org: Scrutiny Of EQT Fracking Likely To Shift In 2025 With Gas-Friendly Washington
-- PublicSource.org: Protect PT Challenges Fracking Permits In Westmoreland County
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Shale Gas Industry Consent Agreements Set Groundwork For Future Methane Regulations
-- “World-Class Standards” Of Shale Gas Production In PA
-- TribLive Guest Essay: What PA Has Been Doing On Energy Generation Is Simply Not Working, Renewable Energy Reliable, Economical - By Sharon Pillar, PA Solar Center
-- Utility Dive: Pennsylvania Asks FERC To Lower PJM Capacity Price Cap To Prevent ‘Runaway’ Costs
-- Inside Climate News: Elevated Levels Of Radium Found In Western PA Freshwater Mussels Downstream Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Discharge Points
-- Protect PT/Three Rivers Waterkeepers Jan. 16 Plum Boro Community Meeting On Pennaco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Wells, Plum Borough Community Center, Allegheny County 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
-- Protect PT: Jan. 22 How To Run For Local Public Office Training Webinar, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Same As Last Week - 15; Aug. 23 Was 21 [1.3.25]
-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Same As Last Week - 15; Aug. 23 Was 21 [12.27.24]
-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.06 Ohio- $3.15 PA- $3.26 [1.3.25]
-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.02 Ohio- $2.99 PA- $3.21 [12.27.24]
-- WTAJ: 200,000+ PA Residents Could See 18% Increase In National Fuel Gas Natural Gas Bills In 2025
-- WFMJ: National Fuel Gas Customers Could See 17% Increase In Gas Costs Starting Aug. 1
-- Altoona Mirror: Peoples Gas Natural Gas Rates To Increase Jan. 1
-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp. Issues Electric Grid Reliability Warning Ahead Of Expected Winter Storm In Eastern US Starting Jan. 4
-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition: Preparing For Winter - How The Natural Gas industry Ensures Safety And Reliability
-- Financial Times: US Gas, Heating Oil, Energy Markets On Edge As ‘Polar Vortex’ Set To Deliver Deep Freeze In Northern US
-- FoxNews: Natural Gas Prices Spike As Forecasts Of Colder Than Expected Winter
-- Bloomberg: US Natural Gas Prices Surge 16% As Forecasters Warn Of Artic Blast In January
-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Up 2.4% With One Week Left On Ukraine-Russian Pipeline Transit Deal
-- Marcellus Drilling News: NYMEX Natural Gas Price Up 14% Last Week To $3.75; Heading For $4.30? [Cold Weather, LNG Demand Push Prices Higher] [PDF of Article]
-- Reuters: US LNG Gas Demand Hits Record High, Prices Increase On Last Day Of The Year
-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Increase As Norway LNG Gas Export Outage Adds To Loss Of Russian Flow
-- Bloomberg: Russia, Ukraine End 5 Decades Of Natural Gas Transit To Europe
-- Reuters: What Happens When Russian Natural Gas Supply To Europe Via Ukraine Ends Jan. 1?
-- FXEmpire: 2025 Natural Gas Forecast: LNG Exports, Domestic Demand Push Upward Price Potential
-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Rise With Clock Ticking Toward Expiring Ukraine, Russia Pipeline Transit Deal Jan. 1
-- The Allegheny Front/WPSU: Worried About Gas Stoves? An Induction Cooking Class Explores An Alternative
-- WHYY - Zoe Read: Eastern Hellbender May Get Federal Protections
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: 2024 In Review: EQT, Consol Highlight Energy Industry Upswing
-- ABC6: Dozens Forced Out Of Their Homes After Natural Gas Leak In Bethlehem
-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: 5 Years After Philadelphia Refinery’s Closure, Pollution Concerns Persist
-- Financial Times: Methane Pollution At US’s Biggest Oilfield Plunges 26% After Biden Crackdown
[Posted: December 31, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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