A DEP inspection of a second Trinity Mineral Partners spill site the same day in Sugar Grove Township at the Akins Lease Akins 1 conventional well found no progress in cleaning up a spill there discovered on June 8, 2026. DEP inspection report.
Brown Hill Tank Battery
Trinity Mineral Partners reported that “lightning from recent thunderstorms must have struck the tanks, ignited combustible contents, and caused an explosion that expanded and ruptured four out of the five tanks.
“The released fluid flowed through the ruptures and into the secondary containment area.
“It was reported that at the time of the release, the stock tanks were mostly empty but did contain some sludge from prior storage of produced fluids.”
Trinity said an estimated 168 gallons of contaminated water was released, however, the DEP inspection found the release was large enough to rise above and over secondary containment and spill downslope from the tanks into a pipe storage area and into two groundhog holes.
Field conductivity measurements confirmed the flow path.
Violations were issued and a response requested by Aug. 28. DEP inspection report.
[Note: An online search for fire company response calls in Warren County in July and August found none involving oil or gas well-related storage tanks, including the local Sugar Grove Township Volunteer Fire Company.
[Please send reports/photos of this fire to: paenvirodigest@gmail.com. ]
Akins 1 Conventional Well Site
A DEP follow-up inspection on August 12, 2026 of the Akins Lease Akins 1 conventional well site found no action had been taken to remediate the release of contaminated water at that site discovered on June 8, 2026 in Sugar Grove Township. Read more here.
Violations were continued, no specific action requested of owner. DEP inspection report.
Two Other Spill Sites
DEP also recently inspected two other Trinity Mineral Partners LLC spill sites in Warren County--
-- June 8, 2026: The Loomis Lease Loomis 4 well site with two contaminated groundwater storage tanks, inspectors found “evidence of a concentrated flow of fluids was observed just beyond the secondary containment diking” in Sugar Grove Township.
“Bare soils outside of containment were observed to have been eroded in a manner consistent with the channelized flow of a large volume of fluid.”
“The total observed path of stressed/dead vegetation and elevated conductivity readings was approximately 750 feet in length and up to 30 feet in width.” Read more here.
-- 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.
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.
(Photos: Release flowing down from ruptured tanks; Dead vegetation and field conductivity tests document flow path; Dead trees further down the hill.)
[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.]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council Meets Aug. 20 On Conventional Contaminated Water Disposal, Well Plugging Program, Methane Emission Reduction Regs [PaEN]
-- More Than 99% Of Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To Comply With DEP’s 2022 Methane Emission Reduction Regulations; How Will It Be Any Different Under DEP’s New Methane Regulations? [PaEN]
-- DEP: Keystone Crude LLC Making Progress On Spills, Releases At 3 Conventional Gas Well Sites In Allegheny County Dating Back To 2024 [PaEN]
-- DEP - Day 632: Seneca Resources Installs Trench, Concrete Catch Basin To Collect Continuing Releases Of Contaminated Water From The Taft Shale Gas Well Pad In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County [PaEN]
-- DEP Nucomer Energy LLC Making Progress Reclaiming Shale Gas Water Impoundment In Forest County Nearly 14 Years After It Was No Longer In Use, 981 Days After A DEP Order Requiring Restoration [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Inside Climate News: Neighbors Of Energy Transfer Pipeline Leak In Bucks County Live In Fear And Regulatory Neglect In An Era Of ‘Unleashed’ Energy
-- Observer-Reporter: Greene/Washington County Labor Leaders Plan Launch Of New Initiative To Plug Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Their Owners
-- Spotlight PA: General Assembly Quietly Passed, Gov. Shapiro Signed Law Undermining PA Supreme Court Decision On Lucrative Oil & Gas Rights
[Posted: August 14, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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