Follow these links to spreadsheets showing the violations and inspections occurring between February 21 to 27--
Click Here for violations issued. Click Here for inspection entries.
[Note: There were many more violations issued by DEP than PA Environment Digest can highlight here.]
Enforcement Actions Taken Last Week
So far this year, DEP took these actions as of February 20--
-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 26 conventional, 6 unconventional
-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 517 conventional and 137 unconventional
-- Enforcements 2025: 42 conventional and 32 unconventional (orders, agreements)
-- Inspections Last Week: 260 conventional and 286 unconventional
-- Year To Date - Inspections: 2,330 conventional and 3,700 unconventional
19 Abandoned Conventional Well Violations
Butler County - S R Star O&G LLC [713 Days]
On February 24, 2026, DEP issued violations for failing to comply with an October 2025 DEP order to plug 11 abandoned conventional oil and gas wells in Slippery Rock Township, Butler County.
The October 9, 2025 order required the well owner to plug at least one of the 11 conventional wells by December 31, 2025.
The owner also failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports for each of the wells by November 28, 2025.
S R Star holds 45 permits. Read more here.
Butler County - Carol E. & Guy R. Daubenspeck
February 19, 2026 inspection of the Stevenson 1 & Stevenson 2 conventional wells in Connoquenessing Township found the wells abandoned and not plugged. Owner also failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Response requested by March 11. Daubenspecks hold 2 permits.
Erie County - Grandview Alliance Church [26 Days]
February 4, 2026 administrative review of the Missionary All 1 conventional well in Millcreek Township found the well continued to be abandoned and not plugged. Owner also failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports for five years. Original violations Jan. 9, 2026. The church responded to the January violations by saying no one in the church knows the history of or can produce paperwork on the well. They will be exploring whether to plug the well or seeing if it can be returned to production. DEP inspection report. The church holds one permit.
Indiana County - Oil & Gas SVC Inc.
February 17, 2026 inspection of the Dee F. Bennett 1 conventional well in East Wheatfield Township found the well abandoned and not plugged. Owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Written violation issued with response requested by March 11. DEP inspection report. Oil & Gas SVC holds 52 permits, including one abandoned well (not this one).
McKean County - Allegany Resource Dev. LLC
February 27, 2026 inspection of the Mott Farm 2 and Mott Farm 3 conventional wells in Keating Township found them abandoned and not plugged. Response requested by March 13. Allegany Resource holds 3 permits.
Venango County - Stonehaven Energy MGT Co
February 13, 2026 inspection of the Finletteer & Buam 181 conventional well in Cranberry Township found the well abandoned and not plugged. Owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Well was never inspected. Violations issued. No response requested from owner. DEP inspection report. Stonehaven Energy holds 529 permits, including 7 abandoned wells (not this one).
Westmoreland County - Amer Exploration Co.
February 10, 2026 inspection of the Rhodes 1 conventional well in South Huntingdon Township found the well continues to be abandoned and not plugged and leaking gas. Owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports for 15+ years. Original violations issued Jan. 21, 2026. Violations continued, new one issued. Owner requested to respond by Feb. 25. No response in the database. DEP inspection report. Amer Exploration holds 30 permits, including 2 abandoned wells (not this one).
97 Abandoned Conventional Well Violations In 2026
So far in 2026, DEP issued or continued 97 notices of violation for conventional oil and gas well abandonment.
Conventional Spills/Releases
Crawford County - OWS Energy LLC [105 Days]
February 20, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Bradley Berkey 1 conventional well in Sparta Township found the well still leaking contaminated fluid and gas. Original violation issued Nov. 7, 2025. Violation continued. No response requested from owner. DEP inspection report. OWS Energy holds 2,623 permits, including 1 abandoned well.
Erie County - Niche Energy LLC
February 19, 2026 inspection of the Troyer Potato Prod Profit Sharing Trust 1 conventional well in Wayne Township found evidence of production wastewater release and dump line corroded off storage tank. Violations issued. Inspection report sent to owner for “review.” DEP inspection report. Niche Energy holds 191 permits, including 9 abandoned wells.
Westmoreland County - Oil & Gas MGMT Inc. [95 Days]
February 24, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Mary Kunkle 5 conventional well in Mount Pleasant Township found the owner made no effort to clean up areas of soil contamination underneath a wastewater storage tank since they were discovered on Nov. 21, 2025. No response from the owner to previous inspection report and violations received. No request made of owner. DEP inspection report. Oil & Gas MGMT holds 163 permits.
Shale Gas Spills/Releases
Butler County - XTO Energy Inc.
February 20, 2026 inspection of the Kozik Bros Construction 2 shale gas well in Summit Township in response to a notification of a spill found an estimated 420 gallons of contaminated fluid was “expelled” during well plugging operations and some traveled a few feet off the well pad. A water truck managed to collect most of the fluid as it was being released. Additional erosion and sedimentation control issues were identified. Violations issued. Response requested from owner by March 14. DEP inspection report.
Washington County - Diversified Oil & Gas LLC [391 Days]
February 10, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Cowden 9H shale gas well in Hopewell Township again found soil contaminated with an oily substance around the plugged well that dates back to Jan. 15, 2025 and found in six following inspections. Violations continued. Response requested by March 13. DEP inspection report.
Shale Gas Casing/Cement Failures
Bradford County - Expand Oper LLC [133 Days]
February 19, 2026 inspection of the State Game Lands South Unit 2HX shale gas well in Leroy Township as part of routine monitoring of casing/cementing failure found gas in annulus. Original violations Oct. 9, 2025. Violations and monitoring will continue. DEP inspection report.
Bradford County - Expand Oper LLC [1,948 Days]
February 19, 2026 inspection of the Jacobson 3HX shale well and 4HX shale well in Franklin Township as part of routine monitoring of casing/cementing failure detected gas. Gas originally detected on Oct. 20, 2020 in both wells. Violations and monitoring will continue.
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:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 21 to 27 - 19 More Abandoned Conventional Well Violations: Casing/Cementing Failures; Shale Gas/Conventional Well Spills & Releases [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - February 28 [PaEN]
-- DEP Publishes Corrected Notice Of Shell Petrochemical Plant Air Quality Plan Approval March 19 Meeting, April 7 Hearing In Beaver County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 72 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In February 28 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For CDE Acquisitions, LLC 412 Acre, 6 Building, 5 Million Square Foot A.I. Data Center Campus In South Whitehall Twp., Lehigh County [PaEN]
-- DEP Sets March 31 Hearing On Air Quality Permit For The BASF Corp Monaca Plant In Beaver County [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Sen. Santarsiero Introduces Bill To Define Obligations Of Pipeline Owners, Anyone Discharging Hazardous Substances To Clean Up Spills, Releases [PaEN]
-- PA Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: Supervisor Cindy Fisher - How Cecil Township Adopted 2,500 Foot Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads With Extensive Public Involvement Facing Threats And Intimidation [PaEN]
-- PA Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: Dr. Lauren Minsky - People’s Cancer Incidence Screening Tool Reports Cancer Rates In Washington County Up To 16 Times Higher Than PA Averages [PaEN]
-- Ohio Senate Committee Hearing I: Penn State Professor Testifies In Support Of A Ban On The Disposal Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater By Road Dumping [PaEN]
-- Ohio Senate Committee Hearing II: Studies By Ohio State Agencies Document Environmental, Health Hazards Of Disposing Of Oil & Gas Wastewater By Road Dumping [PaEN]
-- Ohio Senate Committee Hearing III: Ohio Farmers Union Supports Ban On Disposal Of Oil & Gas Wastewater By Road Dumping To Protect Soil, Livestock, Farm Products From Contamination [PaEN]
-- DEP: S R Star O&G LLC Violates Order To Plug 11 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Butler County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Bids On Plugging 11 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Howe Twp., Forest County
-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports 2025 PA Natural Gas Production Up 5.1% Over 2024; Average Natural Gas Prices Up 70.9% From 2024 [PaEN]
-- TribLive - Jack Troy: 71% Natural Gas Price Increase In PA Could Mean Higher Utility Bills
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - March 2 [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Boil Water Advisory Now Lifted For Venango Water Company Customers In Reno, Venango County [Water System Impacted By 2023 Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill] [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Erie Times: Natural Gas Pipeline Company Wood Group USA Removes $18.9 Million In Liens On Erie County Property Owners In Dispute
-- TribLive Guest Essay: 10 Years Of US LNG Gas Exports - Why Pennsylvania Matters More Than Ever - By Jim Welty, Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition [To Keep Prices High]
-- PennLive Guest Essay: Steelton Natural Gas Pipe Factory To Benefit Entire Commonwealth - By Jim Snell, Steamfitters Local Union 420
-- Reuters: US EIA: US Oil Output Fell In December To Lowest Since June 2025
-- Reuters: Hundreds Of Crude Oil, LNG Gas Ships Drop Anchor In Middle East Due To US/Israeli Strikes On Iran Showing Supply Line Vulnerabilities [Again]
-- Bloomberg: Iran Strikes Threaten Worst Natural Gas Market Disruption Since Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
-- The Economist: War In Iran Could Cause The Biggest Oil Price Shock In Years [PDF of Article]
[Posted:March 1, 2026 ] PA Environment Digest
