Friday, August 31, 2018

September 3 PA Environment Digest Now Available

The September 3 PA Environment Digest is now available.


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[ Appointments - Transitions ]



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DEP Has Storm Recovery Information Available, Time For Real Investment In Green Infrastructure Solutions With Multiple Benefits

The Department of Environmental Protection has available a resource for understanding the permit and notification requirements affecting those working in or adjacent to streams impacted by flooding called Guidelines For Maintaining Streams In Your Community.
The guide is a first step in determining what regulatory requirements may apply before beginning a project.
It contains a "green, yellow, and red light” list of potential stream activities to indicate whether permits are likely to be required, and additional sections titled “Good Rules of Thumb” and “Myth vs. Reality.”
Stream work that is not properly designed and permitted can inadvertently cause conditions to worsen in the next flood event, also impacting downstream neighbors.
The new guide is intended to proactively share information with the public so that stream work is done in an environmentally-sensitive manner, and in a way that reduces the likelihood of future problems.
Click Here to download a copy.
Mosquito Precautions
Be sure to take precautions from West Nile Virus carrying mosquitoes.  All this rain and warm weather has provided near-perfect breeding conditions.
DEP has scheduled mosquito spraying operations for Columbia, Lycoming and Schuylkill counties on September 4 and 5.  Click Here for more.
Other upcoming spraying events are listed on the West Nile Virus Program homepage (lower right) or Click Here to check on spraying in other parts of the state.
For more information about West Nile Virus and the state's surveillance and control program, please visit the West Nile Virus website
Much More Info
DEP has other information available in dealing with storm-related impacts to drinking water wells, water testing, flood recovery, managing debris, problems with flood-damaged storage tanks and much more.
Visit DEP’s Storm-Related Information webpage.
The Future Is Green….. Infrastructure
Why invest $1 in one solution when you can invest that same $1 to help solve 3 problems?
With the heavy rainfall events over the last few weeks, green infrastructure is proving to be a cost-effective solution to stormwater management and flood reduction as well as improving water quality.
Every dollar invested in green infrastructure like restored floodplains and wetlands, forest buffers, infiltration areas, rain gardens and recreation areas with built in stormwater benefits yields triple benefits, not like single purpose cement and cinder block structures.
Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, as well as Lycoming, Monroe and York counties and groups of communities like in the Wyoming Valley have already turned to green infrastructure with its multiple benefits to meet water quality goals with a single investment.
Pennsylvania’s initiative to develop the state’s Phase III Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan covering half the state is focused on developing county by county list of green infrastructure policies and practices needed to fulfill the state’s Chesapeake Bay obligations.
To learn more about green infrastructure see the articles below and read Meeting The Challenge Of Keeping Pennsylvania Clean, Green And Growing.
It’s time we get away from single purpose solutions, especially where taxpayers money is invested, and invest in the triple benefits of green infrastructure to keep Pennsylvania Clean, Green and Growing.
(Photo: Flooding in Lancaster County outside Manheim on Route 772, PennLive.com.)
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Updated: DEP: Mosquito Spraying Set For Columbia, Lycoming, Schuylkill Counties On September 4 And 5

The Department of Environmental Protection Friday announced it will conduct mosquito control operations to reduce high populations of mosquitoes on September 4 in Columbia and Schuylkill counties and September 5 in Lycoming County.
Mosquito control operations will begin late in the evening in recreational and residential areas of the municipalities where high populations of nuisance mosquitoes and those capable of transmitting West Nile virus have been detected.
September 4 - Columbia County
Mosquito control operations will be conducted in portions of Bloomsburg Borough and Mifflin Township, Columbia County.
DEP will utilize truck-mounted, Ultra Low Volume (ULV) spray equipment to apply DeltaGuard, a public health mosquito control product registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at a rate of 1.0 oz/acre.
This product is designed to provide effective control of adult mosquito populations. Due to treatment technique and risk classification of the active ingredient, the application is not expected to have any impact on people or pets.
Weather conditions or other unexpected events could cause a delay or cancellation of the spray operation.
September 4 - Schuylkill County
Mosquito control operations will be conducted in parts of Cressona and Schuylkill Haven boroughs in Schuylkill County.
Truck-mounted, Ultra Low Volume (ULV) spray equipment will be utilized to spray AquaDuet at a rate of 1.0 oz/acre. This product is designed to provide quick, effective control of adult mosquito populations.
Weather conditions and other unexpected events (such as lowered mosquito populations) could delay or cancel this spray operation. The rain date for this application is September 5.
September 5- Lycoming County
Mosquito Control Operations will be conducted in portions of Old Lycoming Township, Lycoming County.
DEP will utilize truck-mounted, Ultra Low Volume (ULV) spray equipment to apply DeltaGuard, a public health mosquito control product registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at a rate of 1.0 oz/acre.
This product is designed to provide effective control of adult mosquito populations. Due to treatment technique and risk classification of the active ingredient, the application is not expected to have any impact on people or pets.
Weather conditions or other unexpected events could cause a delay or cancellation of the spray operation.
Other Spraying Events
Other upcoming spraying events are listed on the West Nile Virus Program homepage (lower right) or Click Here to check on spraying in other parts of the state.
For more information about West Nile virus and the state's surveillance and control program, please visit the West Nile Virus website.

Penn State Extension: Update On Shale Gas Rule Of Capture Court Decision Webinar Sept. 20

On September 20 Penn State Extension is holding another it is series of Shale Gas Legislative and Regulatory Update Webinars, this one focused on the PA Superior Court decision on the rule of capture.  The webinar will be held from 1:00 to 2:00.
On April , the Pennsylvania Superior Court stated it is possible that hydraulic fracturing resulting in natural gas extraction from adjoining land may constitute a claim for trespass.
In Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Company, a two-judge panel questioned the common understanding that the rule of capture applies to current shale drilling operations.
The defendant, Southwestern Energy, hydraulically fractured a well on land adjacent to the Briggs property, for which the company did not have a lease. The Plaintiff filed a complaint asserting claims of trespass and conversion. The trial court granted Southwestern’s motion, agreeing that the rule of capture applied.
The case was appealed to the Superior Court, with the Plaintiff stating there were significant differences between fracking and the conventional process of drilling into a reservoir of fluids, and gas in shale formations would be trapped if not forced out by hydraulic fracturing methods.
The Superior Court held that, in Pennsylvania, “the rule of capture does not preclude liability for trespass due to hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, hydraulic fracturing may constitute an actionable trespass where subsurface fractures, fracturing fluid and proppant cross boundary lines and extend into the subsurface estate of an adjoining property for which the operator does not have a mineral lease, resulting in the extraction of natural gas from beneath the adjoining landowner’s property.”
The court reversed and remanded the case, to determine if the Defendant’s operations had in fact resulted in subsurface trespass, noting it could be difficult to prove.
Ross Pifer, Director of the Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, stated that there are two critical flaws that will muddy the waters in the Superior Court’s decision.
One is that the court draws a distinction between hydraulic fracturing and conventional gas drilling, when basically all wells in the Commonwealth, both conventional and unconventional, are hydraulically fractured.
The court has called shale gas ‘non-migratory in nature’ when in fact shale gas does naturally escape and gather in shallower rock formations over eons of time.
“I think this case could have an impact on shale development because it’s opening the door for trespass liability. There still would have to be proof of trespass, but this court is saying that it’s possible for a company to be held liable for trespass,” said Pifer.
Join Pifer as he discusses in detail the law, rule of capture, and what changes may mean for landowners and industry.
Click Here to register or for more information.
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DEP: Conventional Oil & Gas Well Violations More Than Triple Between 2015-2017

The 2017 Oil and Gas Annual Report released Friday by the Department of Environmental Protection shows the number of conventional oil and gas well violations more than tripled between 2015 and 2017 from 1,024 to 3,273 last year.
Of the conventional well violations in 2017, 1,803 were environmental health and safety-related violations and 1,470 were administratively-related violations.  In 2016, of the 1,804 violations-- 870 were environmental health and safety and 960 were administrative.
The number of violations found with unconventional (shale gas) wells also increased from 404 in 2015 to 821 in 2017.
Of the 821 unconventional well violations in 2017, 754 were environmental health and safety-related violations and 67 were administratively-related violations.  In 2016, of the 465 violations-- 438 were environmental health and safety and 18 were administrative.
Since 2010 DEP has collected about $35.5 million in penalties as a result of noncompliance with oil and gas regulations, including $3.5 million in 2017.
DEP reported site inspections increased 2 percent over 2016, for a total of 36,288 inspections-- 16,296 conventional well inspections, 15,243 unconventional well inspections and 4,749 administrative/well site inspections.
Through the first three years of the Wolf administration, DEP has averaged 35,483 total inspections per year, up from an average of 26,230 in the prior four years, in keeping with the Wolf administration’s commitment to provide consistent, fair and timely enforcement of Pennsylvania’s environmental regulations.
Development of a tablet-based electronic tool in 2017 has greatly streamlined the process for field and office staff and for operators and made inspection results more quickly available to the public-- in days rather than weeks.
“As the production of natural gas in Pennsylvania reached record volume last year, DEP continued to work hard on program developments that improved customer service to industry and strengthened environmental protection,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.
DEP issued 2,028 unconventional well permits last year, 707 more than in 2016.
An interactive map shows the locations. Operators produced 5.36 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, about a quarter-trillion increase over 2016.
DEP issued 203 conventional oil and gas permits in 2017, 45 more than in 2016.
DEP said the agency made significant progress in upgrading its current well-drilling online permit to be part of the new department-wide e-permitting system for enhanced functionality. Work also progressed on converting the Erosion and Sediment Control General Permit from a paper application to an e-permit.
Both e-permits are expected to launch in fall 2018.
DEP expanded electronic form submission options for operators, enabling well records, pre-drill survey sample results, site restoration reports, and other forms to be submitted online.
These upgrades save operators time and increase the public transparency of the regulatory process. A 2017 update of the DEP compliance and enforcement tracking database to show the number of days a company is in violation also increased public transparency.
New tools and initiatives were launched last year to step up efforts, in the face of great funding need, to address the statewide problem of orphan and abandoned wells left by oil and gas drilling operations before regulations were put in place in the 1980s.
DEP has now located 11,359 orphan and abandoned wells through its Legacy Well Initiative.  DEP estimates there are between 100,000 and 560,000 of these wells, with most unaccounted for.
DEP increased inspections of these potentially hazardous wells; created online mapping and video educational tools; and started a Good Samaritan Program to encourage and train the private sector to help plug them.
The interactive, multimedia annual report offers several levels of data: the year in review; deeper detail and historical data; and educational overviews of drilling and the regulatory process statewide.
For example, users can see how much gas was produced in Pennsylvania in 2017, compare this to production since 2010, or drill down to see production by individual wells.
The annual report also features a section on the many ways the public can stay up-to-date on regulations, for example, by signing up for email notifications or attending Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board Meetings in person or by webinar.
Click Here for a copy of the 2017 Annual Report.
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