PA Environment Digest Blog: Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 15 to 21; 10 Abandoned Well NOVs; New Crude Oil Leak; Defective Casing/Cementing

From April 15 to 21, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database shows oil and gas inspectors filed 465 inspection entries that resulted in reporting 50 violations of environmental regulations-- 46 violations by the conventional oil and gas industry and 4 violations by the unconventional shale natural gas industry.

So far this year-- as of April 14-- DEP issued 1,292 formal notices of violation to conventional operators and 491 to unconventional shale gas operators based on 4,473 inspections of conventional facilities and 7,575 inspections of unconventional shale gas facilities.

10 Abandoned Well NOVs

DEP issued 10 new notices of violation to conventional well operators for failure to plug a well upon abandoning it last week-- Stedman Energy, Inc. (4 in Erie County); Timberline Energy, Inc. (4 in Venango County); ARMAC Resources LLC (Warren County); Unknown Operator [formerly Yost Drilling] (Washington County).

All of these violations are continuing violations, which means they are unresolved violations cited at some point in the past.

Cameron Energy

A citizen complaint to DEP's 800-541-2050 Emergency Telephone Number resulted in an April 14 inspection of the Haight 6P conventional oil well site owned by Cameron Energy that found an unreported leaking crude oil gathering pipeline affecting over 2,400 feet of streams in Howe Township Forest County. Read more here.

The DEP inspection report noted violations for--

-- Failure to notify DEP of the spill/release

-- Discharging industrial waste into waters of the Commonwealth

-- Failed to control and dispose of fluids and residual waste to prevention pollution

-- Failing to collect brine and other fluids produced during the operation of a well

Cameron Energy had a similar release due to a crude oil gathering pipeline failure at the USFS KL2 Well [U.S. Forest Service] in Mead Township, Warren County on March 23, 2023. [DEP inspection report with photos.] Read more here.

Defective Well Casing/Cementing

DEP issued two new NOVs for failure to report defective well casings and/or cementing in unconventional shale gas wells.

Chesapeake Appalachia LLC was cited for failure to report defective casing and/or cementing for the Rosalie S WYO 1H well in Wyoming County. The original NOV was issued on June 18, 2015 and a new NOV issued citing the current regulations on April 21, 2023.

SWN Prod Co. LLC was cited for the Fields 4H well in Bradford County. The original NOVs were issued on May 15, 2013 and July 25, 2013 and updated with a new NOV issued citing the current regulations on April 18, 2023.

Report Violations

To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

Check These Resources

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database webpage to search their compliance records by date and operator.

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.

Violation Details

Violations Reported - Conventional

10 -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

1 -- Failure to obtain a permit from DEP for drilling or altering a well

1 -- Discharged Waste Into Waters Of Commonwealth

2 -- Dumped Solid Waste on the ground, Into Waters Of Commonwealth

1 -- Failure To Report A Release That Caused Or Threatens To Cause Pollution

2 -- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

1 -- Failed To Contain Wastes Or Regulated Substances In Tanks Or Other Storage Structures

4 -- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

3 -- Failed to implement and maintain erosion control BMPS

1 -- Failed to comply with corrosion control requirements for tanks

1 -- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

Company/Location/Violations - Conventional

Clinton County

-- Capital Oil & Gas Inc. - Beech Creek Twp. - COP Tract 653 15

-- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

Erie County

-- Stedman Energy Inc. - Le Boeuf Twp. - Malacarne 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

-- Stedman Energy Inc. - Le Boeuf Twp. - Belt 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

-- Stedman Energy Inc. - Le Boeuf Twp. - Sauers 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

-- Stedman Energy Inc. - Waterford Twp. - Zimmerly 4

-- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report (continuing)

Forest County

-- Cameron Energy Co. - Howe Twp. - Haight 6P. [Read more here.]

-- Failure to notify DEP of the spill/release

-- Discharging industrial waste into waters of the Commonwealth

-- Failed to control and dispose of fluids and residual waste to prevention pollution

-- Failed to collect brine and other fluids produced during the operation of a well

-- PennHills Resources LLC - Howe Twp. - Warrant 2850 Lot 1

-- Failed to collect brine and other fluids produced during the operation of a well

-- Dumped Solid Waste on the ground, Into Waters Of Commonwealth

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

Jefferson County

-- Diversified Prod LLC - Young Twp. - Fetterman TWP G&O

-- Failed to implement and maintain erosion control BMPS (continuing)

-- Diversified Prod LLC - Oliver Twp. - SS Jordan 200A

-- Failed to implement and maintain erosion control BMPS (continuing)

-- Diversified Prod LLC - McCalmont Twp. - Eugene Catalano WN1563

-- Failed to implement and maintain erosion control BMPS (continuing)

Venango County

-- Cobra Resources LLC - Frenchcreek Twp. - L. Stone 1

-- Failed to comply with corrosion control requirements for tanks (continuing)

-- Failed to collect brine and other fluids produced during the operation of a well (continuing)

-- Dumped Solid Waste on the ground, Into Waters Of Commonwealth (continuing)

-- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit (continuing)

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 2

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 3

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - Ostroske 7

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

Warren County

-- ARMAC Resources LLC - Warren City - Warren Rail Car 2

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It (continuing)

Washington County

-- Unknown Operator [formerly Yost Drilling, LLC]- Washington City - Gary Kelley 1

-- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

-- Failure to obtain a permit from DEP for drilling or altering a well

Violations Reported - Unconventional Shale Gas

2 -- Failed to report defective Well Casing, Cementing

1 -- Failed to prevent gas flow in the annulus

1 -- Failed to prevent gas, oil, brine, servicing fluids from entering fresh groundwater

Company/Location/Violations - Unconventional Shale Gas

Bradford County

-- SWN Prod Co. LLC - Herrick Twp. - Fields 4H

-- Failed to report defective Well Casing, Cementing

-- Failed to prevent gas, oil, brine, servicing fluids from entering fresh groundwater

-- Failed to prevent gas flow in the annulus

Wyoming County

-- Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC - Windham Twp. - Rosalie S WYO 1H

-- Failed to report defective Well Casing, Cementing (First cited 6.18.15, continuing)

[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 Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 15 to 21; 10 Abandoned Well NOVs; New Crude Oil Leak; Defective Casing/Cementing [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - April 22 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 75 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In April 22 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions [PaEN]

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’ [PaEN]

-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts [PaEN]