Friday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 8.14.26

“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 

August 19-- Agenda Posted. DEP Aggregate Advisory Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 10:00 a.m.

August 19-- Solarize Greater Philadelphia, Partners Host Webinar For Municipalities On How To Take Advantage Of Solar Energy To Make Energy Costs More Predictable. Noon to 1:00 p.m.

August 20-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting.  Penn State, State College. Room 243 Technology Center, 200 Innovation Blvd., State College. 10:00 a.m.  Remote Option To Be Available.  Contact: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov.   Read more here on the agenda.

August 20-- DEP Meeting/hearing On Water Quality Permits For Carbon Node East Data Center Proposal In Nesquehoning Boro, Carbon County.  Panther Valley Jr./Sr. High School located at 912 Coal Region Way, Lansford. 5:00 p.m. meeting, 7:00 p.m. hearing.

August 20-- Virtual. South Mountain Partnership Science Summit, 11:00 a.m. to Noon

August 25-- CANCELED. DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting.  Next scheduled meeting October 29.

August 25-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar For Forestland Owners On Opportunities Available In Forest Carbon Credit Programs

August 27-- CANCELED. DEP Public Water System Technical Assistance Center Board meeting. Next scheduled meeting Nov. 12.  (formal notice)

September 1-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson. 12:30 p.m. 

September 2-- Agenda Posted. DEP Storage Tank Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson. 10:00 a.m.

-- 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] 

-- DEP: Trinity Mineral Partners Report Release Of Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells From A 44,100 Gallon Battery Of 5 Storage Tanks In Warren County; Inspection Of 2nd Trinity Spill Site Shows No Cleanup Progress  [PaEN] 

-- WPSU - Anne Danahy: One Possible Solution To High Fertilizer Prices Caused By President’s War With Iran - Long-Discussed Keystate Natural Gas Plant With Possible Completion In 2031

-- PA Capital-Star: United Mine Workers Call For ‘Immediate’ Enforcement Of Federal Coal Mine Silica Rule As Black Lung Hits New High In PA, Appalachia; 143,000 Claims Filed In PA Alone

-- TribLive: Fairfield Twp. OKs 12 MW Solar Energy Facility In Westmoreland County 

-- Erie Times: Another $3.3 Million Set Aside For Further Cleanup At Ironworks Square Brownfield Site

-- DEP Highlights $112,000 Grant To FaithCentre Food Back In Centre County To Prevent Food Waste  [PaEN] 

-- WFMZ: Officials In Lehigh Valley Raise Air Quality Concerns After EPA Rollbacks

-- Penn State Extension Hosting 5 Safe Drinking Water Well Clinics In Cameron, Cumberland, Potter, York Counties  [PaEN]   

-- Penn State Extension: Sept. 17 Tap Talks - Mill Dams & Legacy Sediment, Collusion Tap Works, York.  6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  

-- August 15 - Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

-- Tribune-Democrat: Preliminary On-Road ATV Trail Proposal In Somerset County Draws Questions, Concerns

-- The Guardian: 8-Year-Old PA Boy Lands Piranha In Ridley Park Lake, Delaware County

-- PennLive: PA Game Commission Eliminates All 145 Deputy Game Wardens, Ending A 123-Year Tradition 

 A.I. /Data Centers

-- Public Utility Commission Notices Of Oct. 29 Prehearing Conference On Transource PA, LLC Project 9A West Electric Transmission Project In Franklin County [To Take Power Out Of PA]

--  WITF: Lancaster County Officials Call For A Pause, More Local Control To Regulate A.I. Data Centers

-- Republican Herald: PUC Administrative Law Judges Put Water Use Request For Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center On Hold While Legal Challenge To Hazle Twp. Land Use Decision Is Considered In Luzerne County Court

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: A.I. Data Center Developer Files Application For 3 Building Campus At Former Raceway Site In Big Beaver Boro, Beaver County

-- Inquirer: 5 Million Square Foot A.I. Data Center Complex Proposed By Brian O’Neil Rejected By Upper Merion Twp. Officials In Montgomery County

-- Scranton Times: A.I. Data Center Developer Proposing To Build 4 Data Centers Files New Appeals Against Dickson City 

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Hollenback Twp. Landowners Embrace A.I. Data Centers On Their Farm Land In Luzerne County 

-- TribLive: Buffalo Twp. Pauses A.I. Data Center Proposals While it Establishes An Ordinance To Deal With Them In Butler County 

-- TribLive: Allegheny Twp. Looks To Draft A.I. Data Center Ordinance In Butler County

-- ABC27: Midstate Evacuation Plan For The Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant Restarting In 2027

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: NextEra Secures First Funding Under US-Japan Deal For Data Center Natural Gas Plant Somewhere In Southwest PA 

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Opposition To A.I. Data Center Construction Is Rising Sharply, Penn Poll Says  

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Updated Map Of Data Center Projects In Pittsburgh Region 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh-Area Suppliers Tapping Into A.I. Data Center Business

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- 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] 

-- DEP: Trinity Mineral Partners Report Release Of Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells From A 44,100 Gallon Battery Of 5 Storage Tanks In Warren County; Inspection Of 2nd Trinity Spill Site Shows No Cleanup Progress  [PaEN] 

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- August 14: PA Average AAA Gasoline Down 1 Penny From Yesterday To $4.08/Gallon - $.97/Gallon Higher Than On Feb. 27 [Pike County Average Price Highest at $4.32]

-- August 14: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.07  Ohio- $4.27  PA- $4.08

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

Other States/National/International

-- Inside Climate News: Utility Scale Solar Energy Facilities Leads US Power Plants Going Online This Year By A Mile, Followed By Batteries, Fossil Fuels Not So Much

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- The Center Square: Man Accused In Threat Against PA Rep. Gillen Misses Berks County Court Date; Arrest Warrant Issued

-- Post-Gazette: ‘We Will Follow The Facts:’ PA Keeps Childhood Vaccination Schedule Despite President’s Order 

-- Erie Times/USA Today: One In Four Rural PA Hospitals Lost Money Last Year

-- PennLive Column: Our Bhutanese Neighbors Are Crying Out For Help 

-- University Of Pittsburgh, The Dick Thornburgh Forum For Law & Public Policy: Sept. 17 - The Iran War And The Most Dangerous Elections In Our Lifetime, 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.  

-- Spotlight PA: New Owners Of Bethlehem Steel Hire Lobbyists To Help Resurrect Brand

Click Here for latest PA Environmental News

Like PA Environment Digest on Facebook

Follow PA Environment Digest on Twitter  

Read Weekly PA Environment Digest

Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

[Posted: August 14, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

DEP: Trinity Mineral Partners Report Release Of Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells From A 44,100 Gallon Battery Of 5 Storage Tanks In Warren County; Inspection Of 2nd Trinity Spill Site Shows No Cleanup Progress

On August 12, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection reported Trinity Mineral Partners LLC notified the agency of a release of an unknown quantity of contaminated water from conventional oil and gas wells at the Brown Hill Road Storage Tank Battery of five tanks with a total capacity of 44,100 gallons in Sugar Grove Township, Warren County. DEP inspection report.

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