DEP Issues Violation To Apex Energy (PA) LLC For Failure To Submit List Of Fracking Chemicals For 37 Shale Gas Wells Over 6 Years In Westmoreland County

On September 9, 2024, the Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice of violation to Apex Energy (PA) LLC for failing to submit a list of fracking chemicals used to frack 37 shale gas wells in Salem and Hempfield Townships, Westmoreland County between March 20, 2018 and February 17, 2024.

DEP’s notice of violation includes the list of 37 wells violating these requirements by well numbers on these pads, according to DEP’s Oil & Gas Mapping tool--

-- Salam Twp.: McIlvaine Central Pad

-- Hempfield Twp.: Graham Pad; Norah Pad; Potts Pad; Eisaman South Pad

DEP’s regulations-- 25 Pa. Code § 78a.122(b)(6)(iv)-- requires Apex to provide a list of the chemicals intentionally added to the stimulation [fracking] fluid, by name and chemical abstract service number (by either directly providing this information or by providing a registered code that would allow the Department to determine the chemical name and CAS#), in its Completion Report.

“Instead, Apex listed “Proprietary” or “Trade Secret” in the CAS# field. 

“Apex may designate proprietary information, as allowed by regulation, but in that case, the chemical information, though under a confidential cover, must still be submitted.”

DEP’s notice of violation requires Apex to submit a reply to the notice within 10 business days.

DEP’s eFACTs database shows Apex holds 98 permits for shale gas wells, pads and associated pipelines.

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.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - September 7 to 13 - 12,600+ Gallon Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Release; 1,000 Gallon+ Subsurface Conventional Wastewater Spill; 28+ Abandoned Wells; Stray Gas Investigation In Elk Viewing Area  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Finds Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Sprayed & Leaked 12,600+ Gallons For Nearly 3 Hours In Gilmore Twp., Greene County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Reports Subsurface Release Of An Estimated 1,000 Gallons Of Wastewater At Hebron Gas Storage Field Conventional Well In Hebron Twp., Potter County; Water Supplies Impacted, Report Well Problems To DEP Near This Facility  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues Violation To Apex Energy (PA) LLC For Failure To Submit List Of Fracking Chemicals For 37 Shale Gas Wells Over 6 Years In Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Declares 21 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Owned By Schreiner Oil & Gas Inc. Abandoned, Not Plugged In Erie, McKean Counties; 747 Violations For Conventional Well Abandonment This Year  [PaEN]  

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - September 14 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 82 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 14 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

Related Articles This Week:

-- Cecil Township Supervisors Direct Solicitor To Prepare Ordinance Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads By At Least 2,500 Feet; Another Hearing, Vote Expected Nov. 4   [PaEN] 

-- WESA: New Freeport, Greene County Residents File Lawsuit Against EQT Gas Drilling Company Over Contaminated Water Supplies  [PaEN]

-- Southwestern PA Community, Health Organizations To Hold Sept. 17 Online Press Event - One Year After Pitt Shale Gas Health Impacts Studies And The Failure To Fulfill Essential Promises Made To Residents  [PaEN]  

-- Susquehanna River Basin Conditions Trigger Low-Flow Water Use Restrictions At 7 Shale Gas Water Withdrawals In Bradford, Susquehanna, Tioga Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves Water Withdrawal Requests - Including 8 For Shale Gas Development; Total Of 23 In 2024  [PaEN] 

-- Senate Hearing: Landowner Concerns About Liability For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells May Be Impediment To Plugging Leaking Wells; Need To Make Plugging Programs More Effective To Deal With ‘Growing Problem’  [PaEN] 

-- Groundbreaking Initiative Using Drones To Locate Orphan, Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Pennsylvania Kicks Off  [PaEN] 

-- Baker Hughes: PA Shale Gas Drilling Rigs Drop Another 2 From Last Week To 14 - On Aug. 23 There Were 21 - 33% Drop [Effort To Raise Natural Gas Prices Continues]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Coterra Energy Pulling All Active Marcellus Drilling Rigs From Susquehanna County Until Natural Gas Price Recovers  [PDF of Article]  [Dimock Is In This County] 

-- WITF StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Shale Gas Drilling Slowed In 2024, Prices Expected To Rise This Winter

-- US DOE Now Accepting Applications For $15 Million In Funding To Reduce  Methane Emissions From Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells

-- House Committee Sets Sept. 17 Hearing On PA One Call Underground Utility Notification Program Reauthorization; Almost All Conventional Gas/Oil Pipelines Specifically Excluded  [PaEN]

-- PUC Publishes Final Public Utility Owned Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards In Sept. 14 PA Bulletin  [Read background here ]

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: $55 Million Federally-Funded Tenaska Carbon Geologic Sequestration Project Expected To Permanently Employ 4 People, According To A WV University Study  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- WESA: New Freeport, Greene County Residents File Lawsuit Against EQT Gas Drilling Company Over Contaminated Water Supplies 

-- PublicSource.org: New Freeport, Greene County Residents In Federal Court Demanding Clean Water From EQT Natural Gas Company After Frack-Out  

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Fracking Loopholes Remain, With More Sick Families In Communities [Includes Pennsylvania Examples] 

-- TheDailyClimate.org: PA’s CNX Resources Gas Drilling Company With More Than 2,000 Environmental Violations Selected For Federal Hydrogen Hub Environmental Justice Funding 

-- TribLive Letter: Between 2016-2023 PA Households Paid 51% More For Natural Gas As LNG Gas Exports Surged; Shale Gas Drillers Accumulate 81,289 Environmental Violations - By Jan Milburn, Westmoreland County

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Coterra Energy Pulling All Active Marcellus Drilling Rigs From Susquehanna County Until Natural Gas Price Recovers  [PDF of Article]

-- The Derrick - John Barlett: An Eye In The Sky Will Seek Old Oil, Gas Wells  [PDF of Article]

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: State’s $100,000+ Cost To Plug Abandoned/Orphan Wells ‘Outrageously Enormous;’ Taking Care Of Problem No Simple Task  

-- WITF StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Shale Gas Drilling Slowed In 2024, Prices Expected To Rise This Winter

-- RealClearEnergy.org: EQT Gas CEO Says Gas Reserves Could Sustain A 50% Increase In Production, Leaving ‘Enough Resources For Over 30 Years Of Supply;’ [Natural Gas Prices Would Be Lower If We Had More Pipelines, Storage] 

-- Governing Magazine: Oil & Gas Towns Don’t Need Help Now, But They Will As World Shifts To Clean Energy 

-- Bloomberg: Europe At Peak LNG Gas Consumption; LNG Overcapacity Heightens Risk Of Stranded Assets, IEEFA Says

-- Bloomberg: China’s LNG Gas Imports May Suffer As Caverns Are Filled To The Brim

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Markets Point To Steep Price Rise In 2025; Prices Drop In Anticipation Of Latest Hurricane Hitting LNG Gas Export Facilities In Louisiana    

-- Reuters: Transco Applies For FERC Emergency Certification To Keep Operating Regional Energy Access Expansion Natural Gas Pipeline Project After Court Threw Out Permit 

-- Bloomberg: NextDecade LNG Gas Export Project Paying Price For ‘Wrist Slap” Putting Thousands Of Jobs At Risk [Federal Court Ruling Striking Down FERC Permit Sending It Back For Required Environmental Review] 

-- WITF StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Methane Emissions Much Higher Than Gas Industry Targets, EDF Study Says  

-- AP: Pollution Of The Potent Climate Warming Gas Methane Soards, People Mostly To Blame

-- US DOE Now Accepting Applications For $15 Million In Funding To Reduce  Methane Emissions From Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells

[Posted: September 11, 2024]  PA Environment Digest