PA Environment Digest Blog: Shapiro Marks Plugging 200th Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Well: These Companies Will Do Anything To Avoid Paying For Plugging; It’s Not Okay Some In The Legislature Are Shielding Them; Text Well Locations

On March 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Department of Environmental Protection Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley, and local legislative and environmental leaders joined the Penn Mechanical Group crew in Butler County to plug the 200th orphaned or abandoned well under the Shapiro Administration.

The 200th well plugged today surpasses the total of the last 9 years combined after just 14 months in office – and represents a continued increase in the pace of well plugging efforts.

“When I took office, I directed the Department of Environmental Protection to move aggressively to draw down as much federal funding as possible to make a meaningful impact plugging orphaned and abandoned wells,” said Gov. Shapiro. “And so today – thanks to federal investments and the good work of the folks at DEP and contractors like Penn Mechanical – I’m proud to announce that this well will be the 200th well plugged during my time as Governor.

“By plugging orphaned and abandoned wells, we’re tackling a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the process,” said Gov. Shapiro. “This is a smart, commonsense way to combat climate change, promote public health, and create jobs.

Gov. Shapiro added, “In the coming days, I’ll be announcing a commonsense energy policy that further protects the public, creates energy jobs, and grows our energy economy so that we can lower costs for consumers and build on our Commonwealth’s legacy of energy leadership.”

Holding Companies Accountable

In remarks at the press event, Gov. Shapiro said--

“Today, Pennsylvania is facing the consequences of a legacy left by an industry that made a buck off our natural resources and then got away with abandoning these gas wells without properly plugging them.

“That to me is unacceptable.”

“While we move quickly to plug more wells, I want you to know DEP is also working hard to hold companies accountable and aggressively push them to pay what they owe the good people of Pennsylvania.

“And wherever it's possible we will make sure that those responsible for these wells pay for the plugging, not the taxpayers of Pennsylvania or the taxpayers of this nation.

“And to be clear, a lot of these companies, especially those who are out of business, they'll do anything to avoid paying their legacy costs and paying their bill.

“And, I know there's some in the legislature, present company excluded, who shielded them from paying their bills in the past.

“That is not okay.

“We have work to do together to hold them accountable, while at the same time we're out plugging these wells.

“We can walk and chew gum at the same time in our administration, and that's exactly what we're doing here.

“Accountability and advancing the cause of plugging these wells.”

[651 New Conventional Well Abandonments In 15 Months

[In the last 15 months, DEP issued 651 violations for conventional oil and gas well abandonments-- 271 in 2023 and 380 so far in 2024.

[In 2023, DEP penalized six conventional oil and gas well operators for abandoning and not plugging wells in 2023 by either forfeiting their bonds or collecting a monetary penalty.

[DEP said a total of 93 conventional operators were found to be in violation of state law prohibiting well abandonment without plugging for 271 individual conventional oil and gas wells.

[This list of 93 operators and 271 wells was compiled from the Right To Know information DEP provided and information from the weekly PA Oil & Gas Compliance Dashboard published by PA Environment Digest based on weekly reviews of DEP’s oil and gas inspection reports Read more here].

[Click Here for the list of 93 operators and their wells in violation. Read more here.

[DEP issued a total of 380 violations for conventional oil and gas well abandonments so far in 2024. Read more here]

Text Abandoned Well Locations To 717-788-8990

Gov. Shapiro also reminded the public they can text abandoned well locations and photos to 717-788-8990.

“If you're out on the hike and you walk past one of these wells, you stumble upon it, take a picture, send a text, send us your coordinates or an address if you have it.

“And then our oil and gas team at DEP puts our staff resources together in the mapping and plugging the wells that you report to us. This is a direct way citizens can participate in our government and citizens can participate in improving the quality of life here in our communities.”

Federal Funding Support

“For centuries, our coal mines and oil fields have made Pennsylvania an energy and economic leader around the world,” said DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Pennsylvania is embracing that leadership role while addressing the threat these wells pose.

“Orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells represent over a billion-dollar liability for the Commonwealth that DEP is tackling head on – and the Shapiro Administration is approaching this moment as a major opportunity to create jobs and improve public health and the environment, and we are going to continue to build on this success.”

Through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), DEP has completed an unprecedented number of well plugging projects with a goal to plug the most wells and eliminate the worst environmental and public health and safety hazards.

With approximately $28 million in plugging projects contracted by the Shapiro Administration to date, small businesses like the contractor for this project – Penn Mechanical Group – can hire more staff, purchase equipment, and project their business operations into the future.

Penn Mechanical, a family-owned and operated business headquartered in Indiana, PA, employs 150 Pennsylvania workers.

The Milton W. Campbell 6 well is one of 24 wells in this IIJA plugging contract.

“This event reflects the tireless work of the Department of Environmental Protection and Governor Shapiro’s administration to maximize federal investment and help address Pennsylvania’s pollution legacies,” said PA Environmental Council president Tom Gilbert. “The scale of orphaned wells across our Commonwealth serves as a reminder that there is enormous opportunity to create jobs and improve public health and safety while reducing harmful emissions. We are pleased to have the strong partnership of the governor as we all work toward these goals.”

Click Here for the complete announcement. Click Here for Video/Photos from the event.

Visit DEP’s Federal Well Plugging Project Tracker and Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act webpages for more information.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 9 to 15 - Home Explosion; 140 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Methane In Water Supply; Porcupine Causes Wastewater Spill [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 16 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 76 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 16 PA Bulletin [PaEN]