Wednesday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 8.5.26

“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

September 9, 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

​​September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 17, 18

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

TODAY 1:00: Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar On Forested Headwaters And Drinking Water Quality, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

TODAY 1:30: Delaware River Basin Commission virtual hearing. 1:30 p.m.  (formal notice) Read more here.

TODAY 6:00: In-Person. Center For Coalfield Justice Hosts In-Person Shale Gas Fracking And Public Health 101 -  The People's Cancer Incidence Screening Tool In Washington County 

August 6-- Agenda Posted. DEP Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson. 9:15 a.m.  [Oil & Gas Methane Reduction Regulations On Agenda: Read more here.]

August 6-- Agenda Posted. DEP Agricultural Advisory Board meeting. DEP Southcentral Regional Office, Harrisburg. 1:00 p.m. (formal notice)  [Biosolids Changes]

August 11-- Agenda Posted. Environmental Quality Board meeting. 9:00 a.m. Contact: Laura Griffin, Regulatory Coordinator, laurgriffi@pa.gov,  (717) 772-3277.  [Radiological Health/Radon Fees, Fiberglass Storage Tanks Petition]

August 11-13--  In-Person. Penn State Ag Progress Days

August 12-- Agenda Posted. DEP Environmental Justice Advisory Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson. 10:00  a.m.  [Data Center Discussion With Governor’s Office Representative]

-- PennLive: Attorney General Sunday Files More Criminal Charges Against Eureka Resources, This Time For Releasing Oily Oil & Gas Wastewater From Its Williamsport Plant Last August  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 26: Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Fails To Comply With Order To Prevent Migration Of Contaminated Shale Gas Water Spill Of Up To Now 88,410 Gallons From A Shale Gas Pipeline Failure In Washington County  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro Signs Executive Order Directing State Agencies To Prepare To Fill The Gaps In Disaster Response And Recovery Left By Changes In Federal Emergency Disaster Response Policies  [PaEN]

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Healthy Waters News: DEP Renews County Clean Water Funding Agreements With Bay Watershed Counties  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Drought Conditions Update: 3 Counties Return To Normal Status; 8 Counties Remain In Drought Warning  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Sept. 18 Webinar On First Investigation Of Stream Health Tool To Track Stream Health  [PaEN] 

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Pittsburgh Water Authority Lead Pipe Replacement Expands To 4 More Neighborhoods As Project Nears End

-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Show: Aug. 7 - Sustainability Efforts Of Youth In Our Cities, 4:00 p.m. 

-- DEP To Conduct Mosquito Control Spraying Aug. 6 In Ridley Twp., Ridley Park Boro In Delaware County 

-- TribLive Editorial: 6-Year Old Teaches Lesson On Citizenship Asking Ligonier Twp. Officials In Westmoreland County To Make Building a Splash Pad In A Local Park A Priority

-- Centre Daily Times: Kids Helped Design A New Ferguson Twp. Playscape, Volunteers Now Needed To Build It

-- Tribune-Democrat: Section Of Ghost Town Trail Gets New Topcoat To Prevent Washouts

 A.I. /Data Centers

-- PA Capital-Star/Inside Climate News: A.I. Data Centers - Coming To Some Of Pennsylvania’s Most Picturesque Places 

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Rising Electric Bills Cause Concern, Legislators Need To Prioritize This Issue

-- Observer-Reporter: Today Hanover Twp. Holds Hearing On Proposed Starpointe A.I. Data Center Application In Washington County 

-- PennLive: A.I. Data Center Developer Indefinitely Pauses 2 Proposed Centers In South Hanover Twp., Dauphin County  

-- Morning Call: Another Lower Mount Bethel Twp. Supervisor Resigns Ahead Of Vote Sept. 14 and Hearing Aug. 17 On Proposed A.I. Data Center Ordinance In Northampton County

-- TribLive/Pittsburgh Public Source/AP: How Federal ICE Immigration Policy And An A.I. Data Center Turned Springdale, Allegheny County Into A Civic Battleground

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: ​​Jared & Ivanka Kushner Spotted In Scranton Diner; Why Would They Come To Ground Zero Of A.I. Data Center Development?

-- Pittsburgh Business Times/National Observer: The A.I. Data Center Tsunami Is Coming, But One Critical Factor Is Missing - Permanent Jobs Supported By The Millions In Public Tax Subsidies 

-- Wall Street Journal: UK Researchers Found Two A.I. Systems Just Went Rogue Again, This Time It Turned To Deception 

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- PennLive: Attorney General Sunday Files More Criminal Charges Against Eureka Resources, This Time For Releasing Oily Oil & Gas Wastewater From Its Williamsport Plant Last August  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 26: Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Fails To Comply With Order To Prevent Migration Of Contaminated Shale Gas Water Spill Of Up To Now 88,410 Gallons From A Shale Gas Pipeline Failure In Washington County  [PaEN] 

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- August 5: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Down Another 2 Pennies From Yesterday To $4.17/Gallon - $1.06/Gallon Higher Than On Feb. 27 [Pike County Average Price Highest at $4.34]

-- August 5: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.08  Ohio- $4.01  PA- $4.17

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98  Ohio- $2.79  PA- $3.11

-- Wall Street Journal Editorial: Everyone Knows The President Plays The Role Of Political Populist, But All You Can Do Is Laugh When He Lashes Out At Oil Companies For ‘Making Too Much Money’ As A Result Of His War With Iran

Federal Administration

-- NPR: Appalachia’s Black Lung Disease Rates Among Coal Miners Highest In Nearly 50 Years As Miners’ Protections Stall

-- AP: Divided Federal Appeals Courts Says President’s Administration Was Wrong To Terminate Climate Funds

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- WPSU/WHYY: Democrats Haven’t Held The PA Senate In Nearly 50 Years, Philly’s Suburban Swing Districts May Change That

-- Inquirer:  Routine Voter Roll Update In PA Prompted Misinformation From Conservative Activists, Here’s What The Numbers Actually Mean

-- WHYY: PA Joins States Asking US Supreme Court To Block President’s Administration’s Mail Ballot Rules

-- City & State PA: Understanding The Debate Over 2nd Degree Murder Felony Sentencing In PA 

-- TribLive/Pittsburgh Public Source/AP: How Federal ICE Immigration Policy And An A.I. Data Center Turned Springdale, Allegheny County Into A Civic Battleground

-- Post-Gazette: Federal Medical Research Grant Cancellations Continue Piling Up At The University Of Pittsburgh

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Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

[Posted: August 5, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

DEP - Day 26: Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Fails To Comply With Order To Prevent Migration Of Contaminated Shale Gas Water Spill Of Up To Now 88,410 Gallons From A Shale Gas Pipeline Failure In Washington County

An August 3, a compliance evaluation by the Department of Environmental Protection found Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Series 2021 NG-1 continues to fail to comply with a July 15, 2026 order to immediately prevent the migration of up to now 88,410 gallons of contamination water from reaching or impacting surface water or groundwater from a shale gas pipeline failure that occurred on July 8.

DEP was notified by HG Energy of an underground shale gas contaminated water pipeline failure in West Finley Township, Washington County resulting in a release of up to an estimated 42,000 gallons of wastewater.

The release was discovered at 5:45 p.m. via drone near shale gas well pad WFN-6.  A cleanup was onsite at the time of the notification, but the release was “not secured/contained” at that time.

The initial cause of the release reported by the company was the failure of equipment in a cement vault that was part of a pipeline system owned by Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Series 2021 NG-1.

The initial report was the vault reportedly overflowed sending between 21,000 and 42,000 gallons of contaminated water downslope approximately 100 yards toward an old logging road and an unnamed tributary of Robinson Fork Creek.

The size of the release was revised upward to a maximum of 88,410 gallons in a July 29 response from Loan Asset Issuer, LLC that occurred at some point over a five day period from July 3 to July 8.

DEP and the company said the pipeline transfers contaminated water from six shale gas well pads in Pennsylvania to an aboveground storage structure at a collection facility in West Virginia once or twice a week.

The August 3 inspection report said excavation of impacted soil continues at the site and field measurements continue to show elevated levels of conductivity in multiple areas, including in and around an infiltration basin.

A new cofferdam was constructed below a new access road to catch contaminated water from a ground seep.

Cofferdams and a collection tank was also constructed in an unnamed tributary on the site to collect contaminated water.

Distressed vegetation was observed downstream of the unnamed tributary.

Click Here for the August 3 inspection report + photos.

Response To Initial Violations

On July 29, 2026, Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Series 2021 NG-1 provided a response to DEP’s initial violations issued on July 8 providing an incident summary and timeline.

The response included a revised estimate of the amount of contaminated water released during the incident to a maximum of 88,410 gallons from the earlier 42,000 gallons.

The response said-- “This is considered to be a worst-case estimate and assumes all water pumped from the Pennsylvania [shale gas well] pads (WFN 1, WFN 3, WFN 4, WFN5, WFN 6, and WFN 10) from the day of the last pipeline inspection (July 3rd), to the time the release was identified (July 8th) could potentially have been lost.

Click Here for a copy of the response.

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-- Contaminated infiltration basin; Excavation of contaminated soil along flow path; Row 2-- Excavation of contaminated soil along flow path; coffer dams to collect contaminated water for disposal.)

[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:

-- PennLive: Attorney General Sunday Files More Criminal Charges Against Eureka Resources, This Time For Releasing Oily Oil & Gas Wastewater From Its Williamsport Plant Last August  [PaEN]

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: Nearly 1 Year Since Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Spill, Company Sold Its Operations, Wastewater Still At All 3 Facilities  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 26: Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Fails To Comply With Order To Prevent Migration Of Contaminated Shale Gas Water Spill Of Up To Now 88,410 Gallons From A Shale Gas Pipeline Failure In Washington County  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 5, 2026]  PA Environment Digest