Follow these links to spreadsheets showing the violations and inspections occurring between June 13 to 19 --
Click Here for violations issued. Click Here for inspection entries.
[Note: There were many more violations issued by DEP than PA Environment Digest can highlight here.]
Enforcement Actions Taken Last Week
So far this year, DEP took these actions as of June 12--
-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 151 conventional, 3 unconventional
-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 2,660 conventional and 536 unconventional
-- Enforcements 2025: 232 conventional and 94 unconventional (orders, agreements)
-- Inspections Last Week: 329 conventional and 333 unconventional
-- Year To Date - Inspections: 9,423 conventional and 12,219 unconventional
Contaminated Groundwater Releases Found At Trinity Mineral Partners Conventional Well Site In Warren County
On June 8, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection did routine inspections of two conventional oil and gas wells owned by Trinity Mineral Partners, LLC and found large contaminated groundwater releases from the wells had killed vegetation, soaked into soil and polluted road ditches at both sites in Sugar Grove Township, Warren County. Read more here.
Large Contaminated Groundwater Releases Found At 2nd & 3rd Trinity Mineral Partners Conventional Well Sites In Warren County
On June 15, 2026, a routine inspection of the Trinity Mineral Partners LLC Conklin Lease C1 conventional oil and gas well site in Brokenstraw Township, Warren County found evidence of a significant release of contaminated groundwater around aboveground and buried storage tanks. Read more here.
Failed To Clean Up Contaminated Groundwater From Conventional Well For 936 Days
On June 11, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection did a follow-up inspection of the McCown 1 conventional oil well in Cecil Township, Washington County owned by the CC Wharton Estate and found no action had been taken since the last inspection to clean up contaminated groundwater from the well released on the site.
The last inspection of the site was on May 13, 2025. The original violations for the spills were issued on Nov. 17, 2023 in response to a citizen complaint and re-issued on May 13, 2025. Read more here.
27 Abandoned Conventional Well Violations
Crawford County - Penta Oil Corp
May 27, 2026 follow-up inspections of the Robert Hitchcock 1 and R. Hartenbach 1 conventional wells in Cussewago Township found the wells were still abandoned and not plugged, and owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Original violations issued on March 25, 2021. Violations continued. DEP inspection reports sent to owner.
Fayette County - William Sadowski [766 Days]
June 12, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Lot 140 6 conventional well in Washington Township found the well continued to be abandoned, not plugged, the owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation, well integrity reports and the well was leaking gas. Original violations issued May 7, 2024. Violations continued. Response requested by July 2. DEP inspection report.
Venango County - Daniel L. Heath
June 15, 2026 routine inspection of the 11 conventional wells-- Farren 3, Farren 8, Farren 9, Farren 10, Farren 11, Kenneth Green 1A, O’Neil 1, O’Neil 4, O’Neil 6, O’Neil 7 , O’Neil 12-- in Cranberry Township found the wells abandoned, not plugged and the owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. These wells were never inspected before. DEP noted the owner was “recently deceased.” Violations issued. DEP issued abandonment violations for 6 other Heath wells last week.
Warren County - Delta Inland Oil Res LLC
June 9 & 15, 2026 inspections of 6 conventional wells-- A. Mortenson 7, A. Mortenson 8, A. Mortenson 9, A. Mortenson 11, William & Sarah Wigren 2-- in Sugar Grove Township found them all abandoned and not plugged. Written violations issued. DEP issued Delta total of 27 violations since May for abandoning wells. Response requested by July 1.
Washington County - EQT Production Co.
June 11, 2026 inspection of the LB Huffman 989 (West Bethlehem Twp.) and J.A. Hufford 1014 (Amwell Twp.) found them abandoned and not plugged. Violations issued. Response requested by July 3.
72 - Abandoned Well Inspections
DEP inspected 72 abandoned conventional wells in Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Venango, Warren, Washington and Westmoreland counties to monitor ongoing plugging operations and evaluate the wells for future plugging.
5 - Unknown Owner Inspections
DEP inspected 5 conventional oil and gas wells with Unknown Owners in Allegheny, Warren, Washington and Westmoreland counties and found them abandoned and not plugged.
300 Violations For Conventional Abandoned Well Violations In 2026
So far in 2026, DEP issued or continued 300 notices of violation for conventional oil and gas well abandonment.
Conventional Well Spills/Releases
Washington County - CC Wharton Estate [936 Days]
June 11, 2026 follow-up inspection of the McCown 1 conventional well in Cecil Township and found no steps taken to remediate release of contaminated groundwater from the well, repair or replace corroded storage tanks. “It appears a release of [contaminated groundwater from the well] has migrated into a nearby pond [pool of water]” Original violations issued on Nov. 17, 2023 in response to a citizen complaint, re-issued on May 13, 2025 and continued with this inspection. DEP said no response has been received from the owner during this entire time. Response requested by June 30. DEP inspection report + many photos.
Shale Gas Spill/Release
Bradford County - Repsol Oil & Gas USA LLC
June 16, 2026 inspection of the Bense shale gas well pad in Troy Township in response to a notification of a spill of an unknown quantity of drilling mud on June 15 while drilling a well. The mud escaped the 61H well, spilled out of containment and into a nearby well cellar. About 420 gallons of the water-based mud have been recovered so far. The owner plans to excavate the drilling mud impacted pad material after drilling is complete in late August. Response requested by July 2. DEP inspection report.
2026 Act 2 Oil & Gas Facility Pollution Cleanups
So far in 2026, DEP received or acted on 100 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups. Read more here.
Shale Gas Cement/Casing Failures
Susquehanna County - Expand Operating LLC
June 17, 2026 inspection of the Cannella 6H shale gas well in Auburn Township as part of routine monitoring of cement/casing failures found the continued presence of gas in the well annulus. Original violation issued on August 14, 2025. Violation continued. DEP inspection report.
Failure To Submit Monthly Production/Waste Reports
On June 17, 2026, DEP issued violations to these shale gas drillers for failing to submit monthly production, waste reports [not available online]--
-- Apollo Resources LLC - Holds 1,890 permits
-- Frontier Natural Resources - Holds 7 permits
-- Monona LLC - Holds 3 permits
-- MTN Energy - Holds 44 permits
Report Violations
To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.
Text photos and the location of abandoned wells to 717-788-8990.
Check These Resources
Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.
Sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE service which sends you information on oil and gas and other permits submitted to DEP for review in your community.
Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports.
[Note: If you believe your company was listed in error, contact DEP’s Oil and Gas Program.]
[Note: These may not be all the NOVs issued to oil and gas companies during this time period. Additional inspection reports may be added to DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database.]
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 13 to 19 - 4 Contaminated Groundwater Releases From Conventional Wells; Abandoned Conventional Well Violations Hit 300 [PaEN]
-- DEP Finds Large Releases Of Contaminated Groundwater From 2 Trinity Mineral Partners Conventional Oil & Gas Well Sites In Sugar Grove Twp., Warren County; That’s 3 Spill Sites This Week [PaEN]
-- DEP Finds Releases Of Contaminated Groundwater From Trinity Mineral Partners Conventional Oil & Gas Well Site In Brokenstraw Twp., Warren County, 3rd Site This Week [PaEN]
-- DEP Finds No Action Taken To Cleanup Contaminated Groundwater From Conventional Oil Well At A Site In Washington County For 936 Days [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 20 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 51 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 20 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PUC Announced Distribution Of $243.8 Million In Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fees For PA Communities, State Environmental, Other Programs [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Rolling Stone/DeSmog - Justin Nobel: Her Son Died Of A Rare Bone Cancer, Could Unsecured Oil & Gas Equipment Waste Facility In Cecil Twp., Washington County Be To Blame?
-- ProPublicia: President Plans To Protect Methane-Leaking Conventional /Stripper Oil & Gas Wells, Hilcorp Oil & Gas Company Owner To Benefit [Hilcorp Operates In PA]
-- In Case You Were Wondering: Breathe Project Cams: ‘Emergency’ Flares Still Burning At MarkWest Harmon Creek, Energy Transfer Revolution Natural Gas Processing Plants In Washington County 6.17.26
-- TribLive: New Shale Gas Wells, Higher Natural Gas Prices Raise State’s Drilling Impact Fee Distribution To $243.8 Million
-- The Center Square: PA’s Energy Future A Defining Issue In Gubernatorial Race
-- Institute For Energy Economics & Financial Analysis: Pennsylvania’s Shrinking Fossil Fuel Footprint Leaves A Widening Fiscal Gap To Support Tax Credits For Fossil Fuel Industry
-- Utility Dive: US EIA: Natural Gas Generation Down 60% From 2024 On Same Capacity In California As Cheaper Solar, Power Imports Surge
[Posted: June 20, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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