PA Environment Digest Blog: CNX Gas Company Reports It Did Not Stop Pumping Shale Gas Wastewater Through A Punctured Pipeline For 24+ Hours During An Incident In Morris Township, Greene County In May

CNX Gas Company reported to DEP it did not stop pumping shale gas wastewater through a pipeline for 24+ hours after an excavator punctured an “unmarked” wastewater pipeline at the Coarse Coal Refuse Disposal Area 7 in Morris Township, Greene County.

On May 21, 2024, CNX notified DEP of a spill related to the McQuay to Morris 2 and 3 shale gas wastewater pipeline, as reported in PA Environment Digest. DEP May 21 inspection report.

The McQuay pipeline is near CNX’s MOR9 shale gas well pad on CONSOL’s underground Bailey Coal Mine surface property.

CNX initially reported that “more than a barrel” [42 gallons] of wastewater was released from a pipeline damaged by a contractor for CONSOL when an excavator doing earthwork at the coal refuse disposal area punctured an “unmarked” pipeline that runs under the disposal area.

In a June 21, 2024 response to DEP’s May 21 inspection report, CNX included a timeline of actions related to the incident that were known up until that time.

According to the timeline, the incident puncturing the wastewater pipeline happened on May 20 at 8:30 a.m.

On May 21 at 9:15 a.m., a CNX foreman received a voicemail that a contractor punctured the wastewater pipeline.

On May 21 at 9:34 a.m., CNX ceased all pumping of wastewater through the pipeline-- more than 24-hours after the pipeline was punctured.

On May 21 at Noon, CNX reported the incident to DEP Oil & Gas Program and CONSOL reported the incident to DEP’s Mining Office.

CNX said in its June 21 response, it had repaired 450 feet of damaged wastewater pipeline and excavated contaminated material was stockpiled for later removal.

CNX estimated removal of the contaminated soils would happen by July 5, 2024.

There was no estimate of the amount of wastewater released in the response.

The company said it would use the Act 2 Land Recycling Program standards for cleaning up the site.

Initial DEP Inspections

. On May 21, DEP inspected the incident site in response to the CNX notification that same day and found “elevated conductivity” in “pooled water and substrate” at the impacted area.

At the time of this initial inspection, “CNX representatives noted that CONSOL had not called to check for buried lines in their work area since November of 2023,” according to DEP.

DEP requested CNX to submit a response to the violations resulting from the incident by June 18, 2024 with a description of how they would bring the site into compliance and an estimate of the amount of wastewater released. DEP May 21 inspection report.

In a follow-up inspection on May 28, DEP reported remediation work was continuing, but there were still areas with elevated conductivity.

DEP also found two new seeps of an “oil-like substance” in the spill area. DEP May 28 inspection report.

DEP said the wastewater pipeline was reburied and flagged at the time of this inspection.

No further inspection reports were posted by DEP’s Oil and Gas Program on this incident.

DEP’s Southwest Region Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program in Pittsburgh now has responsibility for overseeing the cleanup.

CNX Response To Violations

The June 21, 2024 response CNX Gas Company, Inc. sent to DEP took issue with the violations included in the May 21 inspection report.

CNX said it “disputes the allegation that it violated the provisions” of law and regulation cited in the notice of violation.

“This was an accidental line strike on CNX’s [wastewater] line committed by contractors engaged by CONSOL for land clearing and excavation work.”

CNX said its “investigation into the incident is ongoing, as of this date, CNX understands there were deficiencies in Pennsylvania 811 OneCall procedures undertaken by the contractors performing” the work in the months and weeks preceding the incident.

Click Here for a copy of the CNX response.

Notice Of Act 2 Cleanup

On October 17, 2024, CNX said it published a notice, as required, in the Observer-Reporter newspaper that it intended to use the Act 2 cleanup process at the incident site and submitted a Notice of Intent to remediate the site to DEP on November 14, nearly six months after the incident. (PA Bulletin-November 30, page 7704)

CNX said in the notice an “unknown volume” of wastewater was released.

The notice published in the PA Bulletin did not say which of the Act 2 cleanup standards the company planned to use.

Under Act 2, companies must submit documentation to DEP in a Final Report providing proof the cleanup they undertook met one or more of the Act 2 cleanup standards.

For more information on the cleanup of this CNX Gas Company release, contact DEP’s Southwest Region Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program in Pittsburgh. Contac 412-442-4000 or Janelle Hromyak at 412-442-4091.

Visit DEP’s Act 2 Land Recycling webpage for more information on this program.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. 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.

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 and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.

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.

Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports.

(Photos: Top- Exposed wastewater pipeline (May 21); Area of wastewater release (May 21); Bottom- Pooled contaminated water (May 28); Conductivity testing (May 28). From DEP inspection reports.)

[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.]

Resource Links - Wastewater Pipelines:

-- No One Warned A Cameron County Family Their Water Well Was Contaminated By A Seneca Resources Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Rupture [PaEN]

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

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 2 to 8 - 8,800 Gallon Shale Gas Wastewater Spill; Failure To Comply With Plugging Order; Spills, Releases, Gas Leaks [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 20 to 26 - Abandoned Well Violations To Owner Of 727 Conventional Wells ‘Returned To Sender,’ More Wastewater Pipeline Spills; 2nd Attempt To Plug Shale Gas Well [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 6 to 12 - Double Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Failure; 19 + 12 Abandoned Conventional Wells; Draining Water Impoundment By Spraying [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Wastewater Release At Bear Lake Properties Injection Well In Warren County Went Unreported For 109 Days; More Contamination Discovered Along Related Wastewater Pipeline Route [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Dec. 9 to 15 - 500 Conventional Abandoned Well Violations; 25 Days Of Shale Gas Water Withdrawals Without Permission; Wastewater Pipeline Spill [PaEN]

-- Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper Appeal DEP Permits For CNX Slickville Natural Gas, Shale Gas Wastewater Pipelines Project In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard- Nov. 24 to 29 [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - November 30 [PaEN]