So far this year, DEP took these actions as of July 5--
-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 82 conventional, 13 unconventional
-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 4,731 conventional and 559 unconventional
-- Enforcements 2024: 279 conventional and 69 unconventional
-- Inspections Last Week: 198 conventional and 297 unconventional
-- Year To Date - Inspections: 8,550 conventional and 12,690 unconventional
-- Wells Drilled Last Week: 3 conventional and 6 unconventional
-- Year To Date Wells Drilled: 78 conventional and 169 unconventional
19 Abandoned Conventional Wells + 12 Others
On July 3, 2024, DEP inspected the Orndorff L2574 conventional well in Center Township, Greene County owned by EQT Gathering of PA LLC and found it to be abandoned and not plugged.
The original abandonment violation was issued on October 4, 2023 and a notice to plug the well was received on May 15, 2024, but it has since expired with no plugging activity at the well.
DEP’s inspection report requested the owner to submit a plan-- again-- by August 3, 2024 on how the well will be brought into compliance.
On July 11-12, 2024, DEP inspected 18 conventional wells in Cornplanter State Forest in Harmony Township, Forest County owned by North Amer Oil & Gas Drilling Inc. to evaluate them for plugging under Phase 3 of the plugging initiative in this forest.
The wells included Allender 1, X1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, 22, 25, 26, 33, 34, 35, 43, 44, 45, 51; and Bingman B26.
DEP’s inspection report for the Allender 45 well declared it to be potentially hazardous to the safety of humans and wildlife and caution tape was installed around the well.
No violations were issued to the owner.
On July 10, 2024, DEP inspected four conventional wells in Irwin Township, Venango County owned by Quaker State Corp. and found they continued to be abandoned and not plugged.
The wells included Surrena 6, 19, 31 and 32 whose coordinates were identified by Arcadis.us which is attempting to locate wells abandoned by Quaker State when the company left the state.
DEP’s inspection reports [Surrena 6 as an example] said the purpose of the inspections were to locate the wells that in some cases had been covered with fill or strip mined through.
On July 10, 2024, DEP inspected the HBrooks 2792 abandoned conventional well related to a coal mine in Washington Township, Greene County owned by Consol PA Coal Co. LLC in response to a notification of a spill during well plugging operations on July 10.
Approximately 100 gallons of drilling mud spilled out of the plugging hole onto the secondary containment around the plugging rig.
DEP inspection report said cleanup was underway at the time of the inspection and no water resources were impacted by the spill.
Violations were included in the report, but marked corrected/abated.
On June 26, 2024, DEP inspected the Cunningham 1 conventional well in Pinegrove Township, Venango County owned by Baron Crest Energy Co. in response to a notice of intent to plug the abandoned well.
The original violation for abandonment of the well was issued on January 17, 2024-- nearly 7 months before-- along with failure to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. None of the violations were addressed by the owner.
DEP’s Inspection Report found no activity related to plugging at the well site and no equipment was removed. It noted violations will be cleared when the well is successfully plugged.
On July 11, 2024, DEP inspected this well site again and found work was beginning to clear the site to get ready for plugging operations. [DEP inspection report]
On July 9-12, 2024, DEP did inspections of abandoned conventional wells with Unknown owners in--
-- Greene County, Concord Township: Alltel 1
-- Potter County, Coudersport Borough: Saulter 71
-- Potter County, Hebron Township: Penn Stave #1 P-664
-- Potter County, Eulalia Township: Gooch 1
-- Washington County, Deemston Borough: Huffman 1 (leaking gas)
-- Washington County, Smith Township: William Russell 2
3 Abandoned Shale Gas Wells
On July 9, 2024, DEP inspected the Triana Young shale gas well pad in Hector Township, Potter County owned by M4 Energy and found wells 2H, 4H and 6H to be abandoned and not plugged.
DEP had previously inspected these wells on May 15, 2024 and found them in the same condition. Read more here.
The original violations for abandonment were issued on August 7, 2023 and there is no record of the well owner doing anything to address the violations.
DEP’s inspection report [2H as an example] shows other potential violations but no violations were included and no requests were made to the owner to correct the violations
563 Conventional, 9 Shale Gas Abandoned Well Violations In 2024
So far in 2024, DEP issued 563 new or continued violations to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging wells; and 9 violations were issued to five shale gas well owners [Atlas Resources, LLC; Repsol Oil & Gas, EQT Chap LLC; M4 Energy; M4 Energy (follow-up inspection); EQT (Rice Drilling B LLC); and Roulette Oil & Gas LLC)] for abandoning wells and not plugging wells.
Double Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Failures
On July 11, 2024, DEP inspected the NITMH009 shale gas drilling wastewater pipeline project in Franklin and Whiteley Townships, Greene County owned by EQM Gathering OPCO LLC in response to a July 10 notification that spills occurred at two booster pumps along the pipeline minutes apart.
The first notification at 14:50 in Franklin Township for the NITM-S006/NITM-H009 Pipeline Project said a hose blew out at a booster pump, resulting in approximately 2,500 gallons of wastewater being released into the air and on the ground overwhelming the secondary containment around the pump and flowing away from the site.
DEP’s inspection report said no water resources were impacted and excavation of the contaminated material was underway and violations were issued related to the spill.
The second notification at 14:58 in Whiteley Township for the NITMS015 - NITMH015 Pipeline Project said a hose blew out at a booster pump resulting in approximately 2,000 gallons of wastewater being released on the ground overwhelming the secondary containment flowing down a ditch along the access road away from the site.
DEP’s inspection report said no water resources were impacted and excavation of the contaminated material was underway and violations were issued related to the spill.
The owner was requested to submit a plan by August 2, 2024 on how both locations will be brought into compliance and assess the impacts to water resources from the spills.
On July 2, 2024, DEP inspected the Walker 1 conventional well in Cumberland Township, Greene County in response to a notification by the owner Greylock Conventional LLC that a wastewater spill occurred.
The inspector found an estimated 2,520 gallons of wastewater had leaked out a large crack in a plastic storage tank and were contained on the well site. Remediation efforts were underway at the time of the inspection.
DEP inspection report included violations for the spill and requested the owner to submit a plan by July 23, 2024 on how the site will be brought into compliance.
2024 Land Recycling/Brownfield Cleanups
So far in 2024, DEP received or acted on 166 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups. Read more here.
Shale Gas Wells Still Leaking Gas
On July 3, 2024, DEP did an inspection of shale gas well Delhagen 5H in Rush Township, Susquehanna County owned by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC.
This well has been in violation of well casing and cementing regulations causing gas leaks since June 16, 2016 and the owner has been trying to correct the problem ever since.
DEP’s inspection report shows they were making another attempt on the day of the inspection, but the violation was continued, meaning the problem has not yet been corrected.
On July 8, 2024, DEP updated inspection reports related to the Hunter shale gas well pad-- 5H, 6H, 21H, 22H and 23H-- in Meshoppen Township, Wyoming County owned by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC.
These wells have all been in violation of well casing and cementing regulations causing gas leaks since May 29, 2020 and there is an active gas migration investigation underway in the area.
DEP’s inspection reports [5H as an example] said violations will continue until the issues are confirmed resolved.
Failure To Restore Shale Gas Well Pad
On July 9, 2024, DEP inspected the Infante Anthony 12289 shale gas well pad in Smith Township, Washington County owned by Range Resources Appalachia LLC in response to a notification the owner had completed site restoration and was terminating the Chapter 102 permit for the site.
DEP’s inspection report found multiple instances where erosion and sedimentation controls were not installed properly and failed to stabilize the site.
The report included multiple violations and requested the owner to submit a plan by July 25, 2024 for bringing the site into compliance.
Dewatering Shale Gas Water Impoundment
On July 10, 2024, DEP did a routine inspection of the Cole Farm Impoundment Reclamation Project in Center Township, Greene County owned by Equitrans Water SVC (PA) LLC.
DEP’s inspection report said the dewatering of the impoundment was proceeding through two of the three approved discharge points and Equitrans was field screening the discharge water every 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Dewatering is accomplished by spraying the water over a vegetated area.
The pH was observed to be 8.68-- higher than 7 is basic, pure water is 7 (neutral). Water temperature was over 84 degrees F and conductivity was 119 us/cm (fresh water is less than 1,500).
No violations were issued.
Conventional Well Transfer Not Approved
On July 11, 2024, DEP inspected the John Krieger 1 conventional gas well in Waterford Township, Erie County owned by John Krieger Jr. in response to a request to transfer the well to the landowner.
DEP’s inspection report found the well to be for home use. Gas was bubbling from the packing around a well pipe and a 2,100 gallon wastewater storage tank was corroded and not within secondary containment.
The current owner had also failed to submit production, waste generation and mechanical integrity reports for the well for 2023.
DEP explained the responsibilities and liabilities of being a gas well owner to the landowner.
No violations were issued.
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 webpage to search their compliance records by date and owner and the Inspection Reports Viewer.
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.
(Photos: Row 1-- Greylock Conventional LLC crack in plastic conventional wastewater storage tank; Baron Crest Energy Co. abandoned conventional well; Consol PA Coal Co. LLC abandoned well spill during plugging; Range Resources Appalachia LLC failure to properly construct erosion controls- not allowing flow from the detention basin (note sheen on water); Row 2-- EQM Gathering OPCO LLC double wastewater pipeline booster pump failures resulting in 4,500 gallon spills- Whiteley, Franklin Twp. pumps; John Krieger Jr. leaking conventional gas well proposed for transfer; Row 3-- Equitrans Water SVC (PA) LLC dewatering a water impoundment by spraying; M4 Energy abandoned shale gas wells.)
[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 Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 13 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 77 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 13 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Final State Budget Includes $50 Million For Clean Streams Fund; New SPEED Permit Review Program; Support For DEP Oil & Gas Program [PaEN]
-- House, Senate Send Bill Authorizing Geologic Sequestration Of Carbon Dioxide To The Governor [PaEN]
-- State Health Plan Identified Oil & Gas Development As Health Risk Last Year; Environmental Health Indicators Map Is Now Available To Show Potential Risks Near You [PaEN]
-- Federal Court Again Says Groups Have A Right To Appeal Permits For Gas Pipelines To State Environmental Hearing Board, Overruling Transco, DEP Objections [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Encroachment Permit For A Beech Resources, LLC Project To Construct 3 Pipelines On A Right-of-Way Impacting An Exceptional Value Stream, EV Wetlands In Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: PUC To Hold Second Hearing July 15 On Venango Water Company [Impacts Continue From Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Contamination Of Water Supply] [PaEN]
-- Now On Demand: PublicSource.org - Learn The Story Behind The Story - EQT's Gas Play In Pennsylvania, West Virginia [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Environmental Groups Warn Fast-Tracking Carbon Capture A Mistake In Pennsylvania
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Bill Would Regulate Carbon Capture, Storage In Wells Underground, But Environmentalists Are Pushing Back
-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: New Book Investigates What Happens To The Mountains Of Waste Generated By Oil & Gas Industry [Including Road Dumping]
-- Post-Gazette: 2.5 Mile Segment Of Great Allegheny Passage Trail In Fayette County To Closure Due To Gas Pipeline Project Through Mid-October
-- Delaware Valley Journal: PA Energy Advocates Ecstatic After Judge Blocks Biden Pause In Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities [PA Gas Industry Wants To Send More Gas To China Because It Means Higher Prices For Them And Us]
-- Clean Air Council: Federal Court Rejects Attempt To Block EPA Oil & Gas Methane Pollution Reduction Regulation
-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Fall 3% Due To Storage, Rising Output Less Gas Flowing To LNG Export Facilities
-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Ease On Rising Production, Drop In Gas Flowing To LNG Gas Export Facilities
-- Bloomberg: US Natural Gas Price Forecasters Say Prices Set To Rise By Over A Third In Second Half Of The Year
-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Output To Decline In 2024, While Demand Rises To Record High, EIA Says
[Posted: July 14, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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