PA Environment Digest Blog: House Committee Moves Bills To Prohibit Road Dumping Contaminated Groundwater Released By Conventional Oil & Gas Well Drilling; Setting Minimum Standards For Power Plant Community Benefit Agreements; Encouraging Native Insect Habitats

On June 8, the House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection voted to report bills to the full House prohibiting the road dumping of contaminated groundwater from conventional oil and gas wells, setting minimum standards for power plant community benefit agreements and encouraging the construction of habitats for monarch butterflies and native insects at state-owned facilities.

The bills include--

-- House Bill 84 (Vitali-D-Delaware) prohibiting the spreading of contaminated groundwater released by conventional oil and gas wells and shale gas oil and gas wastewater on roads and by land application was reported out by a vote of 14 to 12-- Republicans opposing;

-- House Bill 1567 (Mullins-D-Lackawanna) requires public consideration of host community benefit agreements for power plants between communities and school districts and establishes minimum requirements for those agreements was reported out by a vote of 14 to 12-- Republicans opposing; and

-- House Bill 426 (Pielli-D-Chester) encouraging the construction of new habitats for monarch butterflies and native insects at Commonwealth-owned facilities was reported out unanimously.

Road Dumping

Conventional oil and gas well owners generate a lot of contaminated groundwater; by industry estimates they release about 184.8 million gallons a year from underground geologic formations.

But, conventional oil and gas well owners only reported generating about 93.4 million gallons of contaminated groundwater a year to DEP (2017 reference).

That’s because 85% of conventional well owners fail to report the amount of waste and contaminated groundwater they generate for about 23,708 wells (2024). Read more here.

A white paper by the PA Independent Oil and Gas Association in 2017 estimated the average conventional oil and gas well produced 2,146 gallons of contaminated groundwater a year.

Just counting the 23,708 wells that didn’t report in 2024 yields at least 50.8 million gallons of contaminated groundwater unaccounted for a year.

DEP has never audited the numbers reported so no one knows if they are accurate.

Overall, with an estimated 86,125 active conventional well permits, the math says the industry should generate about 184.8 million gallons a year.

So, where did the other 91.4 million gallons of contaminated groundwater go? Read more here.

Answers range from allowing it to just drain out on the well sites and road dumping on dirt, gravel and even paved roads.

Contaminated Groundwater

Contaminated groundwater produced by conventional oil and gas wells (“brine” or “production wastewater”) is groundwater contaminated with large amounts of chloride (salt) and other chemicals that exist in oil and gas geologic formations, not from the drilling process itself.

Drilling conventional wells releases this contaminated groundwater from geologic formations and it travels to the land surface along with oil, or natural gas or both.

Multiple Penn State studies have found contaminated groundwater is contaminated by excessive amounts of salt (2.5 times the salt found in seawater) and at least 25 chemicals that exceed environmental and health standards. Read more here.

A 2023 Penn State study of intentionally produced contaminated groundwater from played out conventional wells clearly shows it is chemically and physically the same as contaminated groundwater coming from conventional wells producing oil and gas.

It should be, because it comes from the same geologic formations.

Another Penn State study concluded there were not a lot of differences in the chemical and physical make-up of conventional and unconventional shale gas contaminated water, according to Penn State Professor Dr. William Burgos, the author and participant in several studies of oil and gas wastewater. Read more here.

DEP banned the road spreading of contaminated groundwater from unconventional wells in regulations adopted in 2016, but not contaminated groundwater from conventional wells. Read more here.

House Bill 84 (Vitali-D-Delaware) would ban the road dumping and land application of contaminated groundwater from conventional wells and close a loophole in DEP’s Residual Waste Regulations that would have allowed the practice.

“This liquid, this so- called brine has been found to contain toxic chemicals, including certain radioactive elements,” said Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) Majority Chair of the Committee.

“There has been a practice in drilling areas of disposing of this sometimes all hours of the night in secrecy on gravel roadways as a cheap way of getting rid of it.

“This causes problems both with human health. We've had at least one witness testify at our hearing with regard to health benefits she suffered.

“It also impacts stream health adding salinity to nearby streams in addition to the chemical content.

“The purpose of this bill is to make it abundantly clear that this practice should not be conducted,” Rep. Vitali said.

Reaction

Earthworks Policy Advocate Charlie Palladino issued this statement on efforts to block road dumping oil and gas wastewater--

“Pennsylvanians don’t want industry waste dumped onto their roads. No one wants potentially radioactive and cancer-causing chemicals near them or their kids.

“This may seem to be a cheap waste disposal practice for the oil and gas industry, but it is all costs for Pennsylvanians.”

The oil and gas industry refers to dumping oil and gas wastewater to reduce dust on unpaved roads as “road spreading.” It is a scientifically unsound, ineffective practice that poses significant, documented environmental and public health risks.

Oil and gas waste contains varying amounts of heavy metals, radioactive materials, and other pollutants, some of which are carcinogenic and threaten human health and the environment.

In 2018, the Department of Environmental Protection agreed to pause permitting the practice after Pennsylvania resident Siri Lawson challenged the legality of the permitting process, but the agency stopped short of issuing a formal ban.

As a result, the dumping continued. Between 2018 and 2021, as documented in the Better Path Coalition’s report “Moratorium Morass,” operators self-reported dumping 3,259,405 gallons of wastewater on Pennsylvania roadways.

A 2022 report commissioned by DEP found the wastewater is only about as effective as rainwater as a dust suppressant and can even destabilize roads, leading to more dust than an untreated road.

The report also found that runoff from roads treated with wastewater contained radium, a known carcinogen.

The report’s co-author ultimately concluded, “While we must be willing to accept the tradeoffs between the benefits of dust suppression and the drawback of the environmental impacts, this research has found that oil and gas wastewaters only provide drawbacks.”

“We applaud the Committee’s decision to support an outright ban,” Palladino continued. “We look forward to the full House considering the bill and prioritizing the health and safety of all Pennsylvanians.”

Community Benefit Agreements

Republicans on the Committee viewed House Bill 1567 (Mullins-D-Lackawanna) setting minimum requirements on community benefit agreements as a tax on the energy industry and opposed the bill.

Rep. Michael Stender (R-Montour) said-- "Here we go again with another tax proposal from the majority party on the energy industry.

"We finally got rid of the specter of RGGI [Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on power plants] when up springs this piece of legislation that would impose a wide range of fees on power generation within our state.

"We've heard a lot in our districts about energy affordability from all the members on all sides, but make no mistake, this is the House majority party's energy plan for more fees and taxes all the way around."

[Note: It is common now for power plants, A.I. data centers and even casinos and landfills to negotiate community benefit agreements with their host communities.]

Click Here for more background on this issue.

Click Here to watch a video of the meeting.

Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7647 or sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net. Rep. Jack Rader, Jr. (R-Monroe) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7732 or click here to send an email.

(Photos: Row 1-- Late night road dumping on March 21, 2025, note triangular spray pattern; Row 2-- Morning-after March 21 dumping fingerprint; Row- 3 Telltale bluish sheen from road dumping on paved road, water collected after road dumping on Scranton Hollow Road on September 17, 2024)

Resource Links - Conventional Wastewater Road Dumping:

-- New Penn State Study: Brine Water Pumped From Played-Out Conventional Oil & Gas Wells And Used As Dust Suppressants, Winter Road Treatments Exceed Environmental, Health Standards, Just Like Conventional Oil & Gas Brine Water [PaEN]

-- Late Night Road Dumping: Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Continues To Be Dumped On Dirt, Gravel, Paved Roads; DEP Expected To Provide Update At April 24 Meeting [4.9.25]

-- Late Night Dumping II: Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumping Continues On Roads, This Time With Bigger Trucks; New Research On Harmful Wastewater Impacts [5.22.25]

-- Senate Hearing: Penn State Expert: ‘No More Research That Needs To Be Done’ To Justify A Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater [4.17.24]

-- House Hearing: Penn State Expert Says ‘Pennsylvania Should Ban Road Spreading Of Oil & Gas Wastewater;’ Contaminants Exceed Health, Environmental Standards [6.10.24]

-- House Hearing: Penn State Center For Dirt & Gravel Road Studies Says Road Spreading Oil & Gas Wastewater Is Not An Effective Dust Suppressant, Does Not Meet Environmental Testing Standards [6.10.24]

-- Moody & Associates Study Finds Discharge Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater To The Ground Surface ‘Not A Viable Management Practice'; Supports Ban On Road Dumping; Onsite Disposal [5.13.24]

-- The Science Says: Spreading Conventional Drilling Wastewater On Dirt & Gravel Roads Can Harm Aquatic Life, Poses Health Risks To Humans - And It Damages The Roads [10.25.21]

-- How The Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Industry Eliminated Any Restrictions On The Disposal Of Millions Of Gallons Of Its Wastewater On PA’s Dirt & Gravel Roads [10.21.21]

-- Senate Hearing: First-Hand Account Of Health, Environmental Impacts From Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater - ‘Inhaling Oil & Gas Wastewater 24-Hours A Day’ [4.17.24]

-- House Hearing: A First-Hand Account Of How Repeated, Unlimited Road Dumping Of Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater Is Tearing Apart Dirt Roads And Creating Multiple Environmental Hazards [6.10.24]