Wednesday, February 28, 2024

EPA Appeals Board Allows Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper Appeal Of Penneco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit In Allegheny County To Move Forward

On February 28, the US Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Appeals Board allowa appeal by Protect PT and Three Rivers Waterkeeper of the Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC oil and gas wastewate
r injection well in Plum Borough, Allegheny County to move forward.

The Board denied a motion by Penneco to dismiss the appeal because it was not filed in a timely manner.

The Board also ordered EPA Region III to provide proper notice of appeal procedures to commenters in the Underground Injection Well Program as required by EPA regulations.  

The Board noted the language in EPA’s notice with the Penneco injection well permit was also “inaccurate.”

“We have concluded that the [EPA] Region’s failure to provide the regulatorily required notice mandates denial of the motion to dismiss. In order to help ensure that proper notice is given going forward, we note that the Region mischaracterized or misstated the appeal procedures in several places.”

In addition, the Board said, “The appeal procedures were also incorrectly state on EPA’s website.”

“The notice the Region sent to Petitioners was incomplete and did not meet the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 124.15(a); accordingly, the thirty-day time period for filing an appeal was never triggered.”

The Board required the EPA Region II to provide notice of the issuance of the final Penneco injection well permit in compliance with EPA regulations on or before March 11, 2024.

It also required Penneco to file a response to the appeal by April 15 and the petitioners to respond 15 days later.

Click Here for a copy of the Board’s decision.

(Photo: Existing Penneco injection well facility.)

NewsClip:

-- JD Surpra: Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper Appeal Penneco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit In Allegheny County

Related Articles - Penneco:

-- EPA Approves Permit For Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County; 30 Days To File Appeal [PaEN]

-- Protect PT: Commonwealth Court Vacates Penneco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit, Remanding It To Plum Boro For Additional Fact Finding In Allegheny County [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 24 to March 1 - 11 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Field Of Leaking Wells; Voluntary Plugging; No Cleanup Progress In Reno Spill [PaEN]

-- Latest DEP Inspection Shows No Progress By Petro Erie In Cleaning Up The Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County 6 Months Ago  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Clay-Like Material Polluting Marsh Creek Is Not Bentonite From Mariner East Pipeline Construction, But Naturally Occuring; Sunoco Cleanup Operation Finished  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 2 [PaEN]

-- 40 Individuals File Appeals, Most Handwritten, Of DEP’s Permit For Catalyst Energy Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In McKean County  [PaEN]

-- EPA Appeals Board Allows Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper Appeal Of Penneco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit In Allegheny County To Move Forward  [PaEN]

-- Incomplete Application For CNX Midstream Slickville Fracking Wastewater, Natural Gas Pipelines Project In Westmoreland County Withdrawn By DEP  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 64 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 2 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week - Gas:

-- DEP: Oil & Gas Regulatory Program Will Be In The Red By Fall; All Sectors Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program No Go; Update On Permitting Reform  [PaEN]

-- PA Utility Law Project March 15 Webinar On Impacts Of LNG Gas Exports On Energy Costs For Pennsylvania Families; LNG Export Capacity To Double, Even With Permit Pause  [PaEN] 

-- Bloomberg: Gov. Shapiro Calls On Biden To Keep Pause On Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities Short  [PaEN] 

-- PA Environmental Groups: New PUC Rules, DEP Guidance Victory For Increased Safety In Pipeline Construction And Operation  [PaEN]

-- Chemstream Chemical Maker Agrees To Disclose Information About Its Proprietary Chemicals Used In Natural Gas Drilling  [PaEN]

-- IFO Reports 2023 PA Natural Gas Production Up 1.0% Over 2022, Thanks To Strong Q4 Production; Fewest New Wells Drilled In Last Decade  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Spotlight PA: Federal Money Supercharged PA’s Plugging Of Dangerous Conventional Oil & Gas Wells, But Critics Want More Oversight

-- Guest Essay: The Conventional Oil And Gas Industry Isn't Taking Responsibility For Their Wells - By Rep. Greg Vitali, Majority Chair, House Environmental Committee  [PaEN]

-- Q/A With House Environmental Committee Majority Chair Greg Vitali

-- Q/A With Senate Environmental Committee Majority Chair Gene Yaw

-- WESA: Republican US Senate Candidate Says Less Red Tape, More Natural Gas Are Key To PA’s Economic Future

-- Q&A With Michael Huwar, Peoples Gas - ‘Regulatory And Legislative Efforts Must Support The Natural Gas Industry

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: Permit Application For CNX Pipeline Project In Westmoreland County Withdrawn, Lacked Wildlife Permits

-- PA Business Report: Chemstream Announces Radical Transparency Fracking Chemical Compliance Initiative

-- TribLive: Murrysville Officials OK Olympus Energy Project For 2 Fracking Water Pipelines, 2 Natural Gas Pipelines In Westmoreland 

-- MCall: Gas Leak Reported In Hellertown, Northampton County Prompting Evacuations  

-- PUC Reminder Of Opportunities To Comment On Proposed 18.7% Peoples Natural Gas Rate Increase 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Panel: Washington County State Of The Economy Explores Impacts Of ARCH2 Hydrogen Projects

-- Reuters: European Union Receives Bids For Nearly 3 Times The Volume Of Gas They Need 

-- Bloomberg: Qatar Has Eyes On More Long-Term Deals As It Bets Big On LNG Gas

-- Financial Times: Oil And Gas Industry Profits Triple Under Biden, Even As Industry Decries Him

[Posted: February 28, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

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