PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP - Day 221: HR McClure Fails To Plug 3 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells It Abandoned In Greene County; Fails To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports For 5 Years

On August 25 & 26, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection continued and issued violations for HR McClure for failing to plug three conventional oil and gas wells it abandoned in Greene County.

Abandonment violations for two of the wells originally issued on Jan. 15, 2026 and violations issued on March 11, 2025 for failing to submit required production, waste generation and well integrity reports for the past five inspection years.

The wells include--

-- Franklin Township: Gordon Heirs 1, Gordon Williams 2

-- Jefferson Township: A.Sharpnack 19 (new violations issued for abandonment, not reporting)

DEP said-- “This inspection found that the well remains in a similar condition/ configuration as the previous inspections.”

DEP sent copies of the inspection reports to the well owner and requested a response to the violations by September 8.

HR McClure holds 19 permits and is based in Westmoreland County.

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:

-- Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Snapshot - August 29 to September 4 [PaEN]

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Pays Another $15 Million In Penalties For Latest Air Pollution Violations In Beaver County; Air Pollution Penalties Total $27.6 Million Since Plant Opened [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Energy Transfer/Sunoco Files Lawsuit To Preempt Criminal Charges By PA Attorney General In Bucks County Jet Fuel Pipeline Spill, Asks For State Clean Streams Law To Be Declared Unconstitutional [PaEN]

-- DEP: An Estimated 336,000 Gallons Of Fracking Flowback Water Was Released During An Uncontrolled Shale Gas Well Incident At The INR OPR LLC Cooper Well Pad In Young Twp., Indiana County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 1,331: Big Dog Energy LLC Shale Gas Well Pad Lacks Secondary Containment To Contain Spills, Has No Emergency Response Plan In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 2,447: American Natural Resources LLC Fails To Comply, Does Not Respond To Order To Plug 6 Conventional Wells It Abandoned In Allegheny County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 221: HR McClure Fails To Plug 3 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells It Abandoned In Greene County; Failed To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports For 5 Years [PaEN]

-- DEP: Contaminated Reuse Water Used In Fracking Overtopped Containment; Tank Truck Carrying Contaminated Water Rolls Over At Range Resources Appalachia Shale Gas Well Pad In Lycoming County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 545: Oil & Gas MGMT Inc Failed To Finish Cleanup Of Conventional Oil Well Spills Or Respond To DEP Violations In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Wilmoth Interests Inc. Improperly Disposed Of Oil-Contaminated Soil From A Spill At An Allegheny National Forest Conventional Well Site In Warren County [PaEN]

-- 88 Abandoned Conventional Wells Inspected For Federal Well Plugging Program