DEP: XTO Energy Failed To Restore 5 Multi-Million Gallon Shale Gas Water Impoundments In Butler County

On May 20, the Department of Environmental Protection issued notices of violations to XTO Energy, Inc.-- an ExxonMobil Company-- for failing to restore five multi-million gallon shale gas water impoundments it used to support fracking operations in Butler County.

The impoundments are required to be restored-- liners removed and the area regraded to the original contours-- within nine months of their last use.

XTO Energy missed that deadline by more than five years in one case and nearly 2 years in others.

The impoundments include--

-- Butler Township

-- Hinch Smith Unit Centralized Freshwater Impoundment: Last use not found  DEP inspection report.

-- Connoquenessing Township

-- Guiher Centralized Freshwater Impoundment: Last use November 13, 2022, Deadline for restoration August 2023  DEP inspection report.

-- Penn Township

-- Spang Freshwater Impoundment: Last use 26, 2018, Deadline for restoration July 2019  DEP inspection report.

-- Summit Township--

-- Kozik Centralized Freshwater Impoundment: Last use was Nov. 14, 2022, Deadline for restoration August 2023  DEP inspection report.

-- Ambrose Freshwater Impoundment: Last use Nov. 13, 2022, Deadline for restoration August 2023  DEP inspection report.

Each of the impoundments were fenced, but retaining water at the time of the inspections. 

DEP requested a response to the violations by June 12.

Not The First Water Impoundments Left Behind

-- DEP: Abandoned Shale Gas Water Impoundment Not Used For 7 Years Cited For Not Being Restored In Clarion County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Shale Gas Driller Failed To Restore 3 Million Gallon Water Impoundment, Well Site For Nearly 8 Years In Clinton County [PaEN] 

-- Southwestern Energy Prod Co. Failed To Comply With Act 2 Cleanup Standards At The Greenzweig Shale Gas Wastewater Impoundment In Bradford County After 5 Years  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Nucomer Energy LLC Fails To Restore Shale Gas Well Pad, Water Impoundment In Forest County For More Than 12 Years After Drilling Was Completed  [PaEN]

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: Row 1-- Hinch Smith Unit Centralized Freshwater Impoundment; Guiher Centralized Freshwater Impoundment; Row 2-- Spang Freshwater Impoundment; Kozik Centralized Freshwater Impoundment; Row 3- Ambrose Freshwater Impoundment.)

[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 - May 24 to 31 -- Failed To Restore 5 Shale Gas Water Impoundments In One County; 5 New Cases Of Defective Shale Well Cement; More Abandoned Shale, Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- DEP:  XTO Energy Failed To Restore 5 Multi-Million Gallon Shale Gas Water Impoundments In Butler County  [PaEN] 

-- Inside Climate News: PennEnergy Surrenders Water Withdrawal Approval/Permit Saying Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County Could Not Provide Enough Water For Shale Gas Operations  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 31 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On State Plan To Implement Federal Rule Requiring Methane Emissions Reductions From Conventional Oil & Gas, Shale Gas Facilities; 7 Hearings Set  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 45 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In April; 187 In 2025  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 67 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 31 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- Gov. Shapiro Provides Update On The Fight To Lower Energy Prices, Calls On General Assembly To Move His Commonsense Lightning Energy Plan  [PaEN] 

-- PA Elected Officials, Consumer, Clean Energy Advocates Demand Electric Grid Operator PJM Act To Hold Down Electricity Costs  [PaEN] 

-- Bloomberg: US DOE Orders 760 MW Eddystone Peaking Power Plant In Delaware County To Remain Open Due To The Energy ‘Emergency’ Declared By The President  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Doubling Down On Pennsylvania's Fossil Fuel Extraction Is A Direct Threat To Public Health And Ecological Stability - By Pamela Darville, Co-Chairperson of Climate Justice and Jobs Team at POWER Interfaith  [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center Hosts June 5 Lodestar Awards To Recognize 20 Business, School, Farm, Church Solar Energy Projects; Featuring DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn  [PaEN]

-- DEP Begins Accepting Applications For Grid Resilience Grants June 2  [PaEN]

-- DEP Seeking Qualified Contractors To Deliver Energy-Saving Upgrades Across PA As Part Of Penn Energy Savers Program  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- WHYY: Electricity Bills In PA, NJ, DE To Rise Starting June 1; Advocates Say More Renewables Would Lower Future Costs

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Electric Bills In PA Are Going Up Next Month, Your Utility Can’t Help It

-- WVIA: Bradford, Northumberland, Tioga And Union Utility Customers Face Rate Hikes

-- PUC Reminder Of June Hearings On Proposed 11% Columbia Gas Rate Increase

-- PennFuture: PJM Interconnection Admits Its Bias For Fossil Fuel Power Plants, Rather Than New, Cheaper Shovel-Ready Clean Energy Projects

-- Erie Times: Nearly 15,000 Penelec Customers In Erie, Millcreek Without Power For A Time

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Watt Home System Starts Offering No Combustion Fuel Cell Backup Power Solutions In Peoples Natural Gas Territory

-- WHYY Wins Edward R. Murrow Award For Reporting On Shale Gas Drilling In PA  - Fracking In Pennsylvania Hasn’t Gone As Well As Some May Think 

-- Martins Ferry Times Leader: PA’s Austin Master Services Abandoned Frack Waste Plant Cleanup In Martins Ferry, OH Slated For Completion

-- AP: Oil And Gas Have Boomed In New Mexico, Its Schools Are Contending With Pollution’s Effects 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Natural Gas Isn’t Southwest Pennsylvania’s Future - By Lou Tierno III, PA & Appalachian Sustainable Business Networks

-- Warren Times: Instead Of ‘Drill, Baby, Drill,’ US Rig Counts Falling, Layoffs Increasing [Due To Falling Oil/Gas Prices]

-- Financial Times: US Shale Oil/Gas Companies Cut Spending, Idle Drilling Rigs Due To Falling Prices  

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Solar Energy Savings For Clairton, Other PA Schools At Risk From Proposed Federal Cuts

-- Inquirer: These 26 Philly-Area Schools Getting State-Paid Solar Energy Facilities And Taxpayers Could Benefit

-- Reuters: Clean Power Produces More Electricity Than Fossil Fuels In US For 3rd Month In A Row  [Not In PA Or PJM ]

-- MCall Letter: Republican Cong. Mackenzie Needs To Fight For Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits

-- MCall Guest Essay: Congress Can’t Protect Us Without Protecting Clean Energy - By Tinku Khanwalkar

-- Reuters: US Electricity Generation Capacity Additions To Slow Sharply If Federal Clean Energy Tax Incentives Repealed

-- AP: $14 Billion In Clean Energy Generation Projects Canceled In US This Year Due To Federal Policy Changes

-- TribLive: Prospect Of Springdale Data Center On Old Cheswick Power Plant Site Meets Mixed Reactions Among Neighbors In Allegheny County

-- Scranton Times: Jessup Borough To Hold Hearing For Stricter Data Center Rules

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA’s Potential Data Center Mirage And Your Electric Bill - By Athan Koutsiouroumbas, Long Nyquist And Associates [Lobbying Firm] 

-- Protect PT June 11 Webinar - Is Pennsylvania Ready For Data Centers?  7:00 p.m.

-- AP: States Are Rolling Out Red Carpets For Data Centers, But Some Lawmakers Are Pushing Back  [PA Included]

-- MCall Guest Essay: Congress Can’t Protect Us Without Protecting Clean Energy - By Tinku Khanwalkar

-- Inside Climate News: Alabamians Want Answers About A 4 Million Square Foot A.I. Data Center Coming To Their Backyards

-- YaleEnvironment360: The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions

-- Reuters: Williams Working With Federal, State Regulators To Revive Pennsylvania To NY Natural Gas Pipelines

-- Bloomberg: Williams To Revive Disputed Natural Gas Pipeline Projects In New York

-- WSJ: Developers Of Constitution, Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipelines To File FERC Paperwork To Revive The Projects

-- Martins Ferry Times Leader: PA’s Austin Master Services Abandoned Frack Waste Plant Cleanup In Martins Ferry, OH Slated For Completion

-- AP: Oil And Gas Have Boomed In New Mexico, Its Schools Are Contending With Pollution’s Effects 

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Orders Michigan Coal-Fired Power Plant To Stay Operating Without A Request From The Plant Owner, Or Grid Operator Which Both Said They Have Sufficient Capacity To Meet Demand 

-- Detroit Free Press: Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Says There Is No Energy Emergency To Justify US DOE Order To Keep Coal-Fired Michigan Power Plant Open, Will Only Increase Customer Costs

-- Utility Dive: President Aims For 400 GW Of Nuclear Power By 2050, 10 Large Reactors Under Construction By 2030  

-- AP: $14 Billion In Clean Energy Generation Projects Canceled In US This Year Due To Federal Policy Changes

-- AP: Lawsuits Aim To Hold Fossil Fuel Companies Responsible For Climate Change, Here’s A Look At Some

-- AP: Get Ready For Several Years Of Killer Heat, Top Weather Forecasters Warn

[Posted: May 31, 2025]  PA Environment Digest

Saturday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 5.31.25

"The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

-- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution  [It’s Not A Suggestion]

House Voting Schedule

June 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30

September 22, 23, 24, 29, 30

October 1, 6, 7, 8, 27, 28, 29

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

June 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

September 8, 9, 10

October 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

June 2-- NEW. Senate Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 682 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) changing the name of the Dept. of Environmental Protection to the Dept. of Environmental Services.  Rules Room [No video coverage]. Off the Floor.

June 2-- NEW. House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee meets to consider House Bill 501 (Otten-D-Chester) which would establish the PA Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard to modernize Pennsylvania’s outdated renewable energy standards, incentivizing innovation in nuclear and renewable energy, including battery storage, to remain competitive with other states, create jobs and help diversify energy sources and make energy more affordable (part of Gov. Shapiro’s Lightning Energy Plan) [Read more here];  Senate Bill 349 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) establishing minimum decommissioning bonding and other requirements for solar energy facilities; House Bill 589 (Kinkead-D-Allegheny,  Gaydos-R- Allegheny) establishing a state landslide and sinkhole insurance program (sponsor summary).   Room 205 Ryan Building. 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

June 3-- NEW. Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee meets to consider nominations of Darryl A. Lawrence as PA Consumer Advocate and Stephen M. DeFrank to Public Utility Commission. Hearing Room 1 North Office Building. 10:30 a.m. Click Here to watch live.

June 4-- NEW. House Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 948 (Ciresi-D- Montgomery) prohibiting the blocking of electric vehicle charging stations; House Bill 1239 (Hanbidge-D-Montgomery) preventing owners’ association from blocking installation of solar energy. Room 523 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

June 4-- Agenda Posted. Susquehanna River Basin Commission meeting. 4423 North Front Street in Harrisburg. 2:30 p.m.  (formal notice)

June 10-- Agenda Posted.  DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building.  12:30 p.m. Check webpage for options for joining the meeting remotely.  Contact: Ian Irvin, Executive Director, iirvin@pa.gov or (717) 787-8171.  Read more here on agenda.

-- In Memoriam: DCNR State Park Ranger Alec Campbell  [PaEN]  

-- In Memoriam: DCNR Mourns The Death Of Dave Warfel, Weiser State Forest, Wildland Fire Academy Instructor  [PaEN] 

-- In Memoriam: Gerry Kaufman Founder Of The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership In Montgomery County And Philadelphia  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 31 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 67 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 31 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Celebrates Path Of The Flood Trail In Cambria County As PA's 2025 Trail Of The Year  [PaEN] 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Stakeholders Celebrate Path Of The Flood Trail’s Recognition As 2025 Trail Of The Year: A ‘Remarkable Day’ 

-- Altoona Mirror: Path Of Flood Trailed Honored As PA Trail Of The Year

-- Chesapeake Bay Stormwater Network Honors Lancaster County Project To Capture And Treat Over 16 Million Gallons Of Stormwater In Long's Park  [PaEN] 

-- Master Watershed Steward Christine Boyle Makes A Splash In Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front Wins Edward R. Murrow Award, Golden Quills For Stories On Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- Lakeshore Towing & Marine Services, Inc. Recognized With Keep PA Beautiful Community Pride Award For Helping To Install 2 Litter Control Booms In Presque Isle Bay, Erie  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Provides Update On The Fight To Lower Energy Prices, Calls On General Assembly To Move His Commonsense Lightning Energy Plan  [PaEN] 

-- Bloomberg: US DOE Orders 760 MW Eddystone Peaking Power Plant In Delaware County To Remain Open Due To The Energy ‘Emergency’ Declared By The President  [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: US DOE Emergency Order Halts 2nd Power Plant From Closure [PA Eddystone Peaking Plant]

-- AP: States Are Rolling Out Red Carpets For Data Centers, But Some Lawmakers Are Pushing Back  [PA Included]

-- PennFuture: PJM Interconnection Admits Its Bias For Fossil Fuel Power Plants, Rather Than New, Cheaper Shovel-Ready Clean Energy Projects

-- Centre Daily Times - Climate Watch: Why Congress Must Not Pull The Plug On PA’s Clean Energy Progress - By Lisa Richardson,  Citizens’ Climate Lobby, State College Chapter

-- Observer-Reporter: Senate Bill Would Cut Drilling Impact Fee Funding From Communities That Restrict Oil, Gas Activity  

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 45 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In April; 187 In 2025  [PaEN] 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: PA’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Renaissance - A Model For Economic Growth - By Diana Polson, Keystone Research Center

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: Delaware City Refinery Has Released Toxic Air Pollutants For Several Days Due To ‘Boiler Failure’

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Are Allegheny County Elected Officials Abandoning Us In The Fight Against Air Pollution? - By Howard Rieger, Southwestern PA Grassroots Town Halls

-- TribLive: Canadian Wildfires Again Bring Smoke, Haze To Western PA 

-- Beaver Times: Pennsylvania Remembers Outbreak Of Deadly Tornadoes 40 Years Later 

-- Inquirer: 40 Years Ago A Rare And Deadly Tornado Outbreak Struck Pennsylvania; Are More In Our Future?

-- City Life: Climate Change Is Here, Philadelphia Isn’t Ready

-- EPA Completes Final Cleanup Actions At Reading Drum Site Following Fires At The Lincoln Chemical Company  [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Avina Unveils More Details On Proposed 100 Million Gallon Ethanol To Jet Fuel Plant At Pittsburgh Airport

-- Inside Climate News  - Kiley Bense: US Steel A Major Source Of Pollution In PA; Will Its Sale Lock In Emissions For Another Generation?

-- Inquirer: US Dept. Of Justice ‘Not Ready To Proceed’ With Agreement Over Federal Investigation Of Asbestos Management Process In Philly Schools  

-- Courier Times: These Dams Look Harmless, But They’re Deceptive, Dangerous And Deadly 

-- MCall - Anthony Salamone: Easton Loses Nearly $1 Million Federal Grant For Trail Extension, But City Officials Hope Project Will Continue 

-- Cumberland County Master Gardeners: June 12 In-Person Trees For Climate Change Workshop  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension June 25 Pennsylvania Harmful Algal Blooms Webinar  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts In-Person Pest Biocontrol School Oct. 15 In Lancaster County [PaEN]

-- Beaver Times - Paul Zavolta, Master Gardener: Embracing Moss In Your Yard

-- TribLive: Laurel Caverns Proposed As PA’s First Underground State Park 

-- May 30 Take Five Fridays With Pam, PA Parks & Forests Foundation  [PaEN]

-- WNEP: Upgrades Coming To Sunbury Wetland Ecological Education Park

-- Berks Nature Announces Retirement Of President Kim Murphy  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front: River Otters In Western PA Are An Environmental Success Story

-- LehighValleyLive: Easton Joins Statewide Bird Town, Nature Conservation Effort

-- Warren Times - Audubon Community Nature Center: Spring Is A Time To Nerd Out Over Nature 

Train Derailments

-- The Allegheny Front Wins Edward R. Murrow Award, Golden Quills For Stories On Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Restart/Data Centers

-- AP: States Are Rolling Out Red Carpets For Data Centers, But Some Lawmakers Are Pushing Back  [PA Included]

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.15  Ohio- $2.94   PA- $3.26

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Up 1 to 18 Again

-- Gov. Shapiro Provides Update On The Fight To Lower Energy Prices, Calls On General Assembly To Move His Commonsense Lightning Energy Plan  [PaEN] 

-- Bloomberg: US DOE Orders 760 MW Eddystone Peaking Power Plant In Delaware County To Remain Open Due To The Energy ‘Emergency’ Declared By The President  [PaEN]

-- PennFuture: PJM Interconnection Admits Its Bias For Fossil Fuel Power Plants, Rather Than New, Cheaper Shovel-Ready Clean Energy Projects

New Federal Administration

-- MCall - Anthony Salamone: Easton Loses Nearly $1 Million Federal Grant For Trail Extension, But City Officials Hope Project Will Continue 

-- US Dept. Of Labor Pauses Job Corps Workforce Training Centers To Phase Out Their Operations Nationwide

-- The Citizens Voice: 2 Labor Dept. Job Corps Centers To Be Closed In Luzerne County

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- TribLive Editorial: Pennsylvania Needs A Solution For Senior Care

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Does Shapiro Have A Secrecy Problem? - By Oliver Bateman

-- Observer-Reporter: Long Branch, Washington County Poised To Elect First Openly Gay Mayor In Western PA 

-- TribLive: President Promises To Raise Tariffs On Imported Steel To 50%, Praises US Steel Deal

-- The Center Square: President: No ‘Shoddy Steel From Shanghai’

-- Tribune-Democrat: Proposed Food Stamp Cuts Could Impact Resident’s Access To Local Food Options, Advocates Say

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal ICE Bail Funds In PA Help Undocumented Immigrants Fight Deportations 

-- Inquirer: Adams, Moutour, Clairon Counties On President’s List Of ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ They Say It Has To Be A Mistake 

-- PennLive: County Commissioner ‘Mystified’ Why Dauphin County Is On President’s ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ List 

-- York Daily Record: York And Gettysburg On President’s List Of ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ 

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Officials Push Back On ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ Designation: ‘Blatant Distortion Of Fact’ 

-- TribLive: Dept. Of Homeland Security Threatens Federal Funding For Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Over Immigrant Stance 

-- The Center Square: Feds Put 16 Pennsylvania Jurisdictions On ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ List

-- TribLive: CMU, Pitt Students Speak Out As Chinese Student Visas Are Threatened 

-- MCall: Revoking Chinese Student Visas Could Affect Hundreds In Lehigh Valley, Lehigh University Could Be Hit Hard  

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Why President’s Attacks On International Students Hurt Pennsylvania’s Future - By Mark Singel

-- US Dept. Of Labor Pauses Job Corps Workforce Training Centers To Phase Out Their Operations Nationwide

-- The Citizens Voice: 2 Labor Dept. Job Corps Centers To Be Closed In Luzerne County

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Now Is The Moment To Pressure Putin, Not Appease Him 

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[Posted: May 31, 2025]  PA Environment Digest