Follow these links to spreadsheets showing the violations and inspections occurring between March 8 to 14--
Click Here for violations issued between March 8 to 14.
Click Here for inspection entries between March 8 to 14
Enforcement Actions Taken Last Week
So far this year, DEP took these actions as of March 7--
-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 37 conventional, 44 unconventional
-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 487 conventional and 237 unconventional
-- Enforcements 2025: 66 conventional and 27 unconventional (orders, agreements)
-- Inspections Last Week: 290 conventional and 431 unconventional
-- Year To Date - Inspections: 3,271 conventional and 5,261 unconventional
Dimock Residents Have Waited 20+ Years For Permanent Clean Water
On March 12, Pennsylvania American Water announced it has completed drilling on two test wells as potential drinking water sources as part of its efforts to develop a public groundwater supply for a new drinking water system to serve residents in Dimock, Susquehanna County.
The project is moving forward on schedule for completion in 2026.
Residents of Dimock Township have been waiting for reliable, permanent replacement water for their well water contaminated by shale gas fracking more than 20 years ago in the largest groundwater contamination event caused by shale gas development in Pennsylvania history.
Beginning January 1, 2005, DEP started receiving drinking water complaints related to the shale gas drilling over a nine square mile area. Read more here.
State Attorney Criminal Investigates Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Leak
On March 14, the Bucks County Courier Times reported the Pennsylvania Attorney General has opened an investigation into potential environmental crimes related to the Energy Transfer/Sunoco pipeline that leaked petroleum into household wells in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County.
“Bucks County Assistant District Attorney Edward Louka made the announcement at a Tuesday meeting about the leak in Washington Crossing, where elected officials criticized representatives from Energy Transfer, the parent company of Sunoco, for declining to answer questions as the number of household wells testing positive for jet fuel-related contamination rises to 14.”
“The Bucks County District Attorney's Office had referred the pipeline leak to the state attorney general's office, which is now in the early stages of its investigation, Louka said. Attorney General Dave Sunday's press secretary, Brett Hambright, confirmed Friday that Sunday's office is investigating.”
Energy Transfer/Sunoco has already been convicted of criminal charges for its pipeline operations in Pennsylvania and paid penalties of over $48.1 million for environmental and other violations of state law. Read more here.
Governor Marks Plugging 300th Abandoned Conventional Well
On March 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Department of Environmental Protection officials joined Penn Mechanical Group and local leaders in Washington County to plug the 300th orphaned or abandoned well under the Shapiro Administration.
The milestone was achieved as a result of a major influx of federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Unfortunately, since January 1, 2023, DEP has issued 1,426 notices of violation to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging wells they own-- including 54 so far in 2025. Read more here.
9 Abandoned Conventional Wells
Diversified Production LLC - Violations: Abandoned Conventional Well
March 10, 2025 inspection of the Ellinger 4597 conventional well in Winslow Township, Jefferson County found the well abandoned and not plugged. The owner also failed to restore the site and remove unneeded production equipment. Response requested by March 25. DEP inspection report. Diversified Prod LLC holds 21,674 permits, 37 listed as abandoned (but there are many more).
Diversified Production LLC - Violations: Abandoned Conventional Well
February 21, 2025 inspection of the M Henckel 1 conventional well in Wharton Township, Fayette County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Violations issued. Response requested by March 21. DEP inspection report.
Stockman LLC - Violations: 3 Abandoned Conventional Wells
March 5, 2025 inspections of the Pipher 1, 2, 3 conventional wells in Parker Township, Butler County found them abandoned and not plugged. Also failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Violations issued. Response requested by March 21. DEP inspection report example. Stockman holds 8 permits.
Crude A Co - Randy L. Larkin - Violations: Abandoned Conventional Well
March 5, 2025 inspection of the O Thomas 2Q conventional well in Parker Township, Butler County found it abandoned and not plugged. Owner failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Violations issued. Response requested by March 21. DEP inspection report. Crude A holds 42 permits.
Vessels Coal Gas Inc. - Violations: Abandoned Conventional Well
March 3 & 4, 2025 inspection of the Gergley 1 conventional coal gas wells in Munster Township, Cambria County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Violations issued, continued for failure to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Response requested by April 4. DEP inspection report. Vessels holds 14 permits.
Mid East Oil Co. - Violations: 2 Abandoned Conventional Wells
February 24, 2025 inspection of the Harry Polansky ET UX 1 and First Pilgrim Holiness C 1 conventional wells in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Violations issued. Response requested by March 24. Mid East Oil holds 573 permits, two listed as abandoned and many “never materialized” and inactive.
Ronald Wise - Violations: 4 Abandoned Conventional Wells
March 12, 2025 notices of violation sent to the owner of record for the Vanderzer 2, 3, 5 and Ron Wise 1 conventional wells in Summit Township, Butler County were returned in the mail. DEP was notified Wise passed away on May 16, 2012. The son of Ronald Wise said the wells have not been pumpted since 2004. DEP inspection report example. Wise held 4 permits.
1 Abandoned Shale Gas Well
Apex Energy (PA) LLC - Violations: Abandoned Shale Gas Well
March 6, 2025 inspection of the Marian Laskowski 6 shale gas well in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Drilled in 2007. No emergency plan on site. Violations issued. Response requested by March 26. DEP inspection report. Apex holds 98 permits.
Methane Reduction Plugging Grants
Howard Drilling Inc.
March 11, 2025 inspection of the Yohe 1 and Collins Pine Howard 2 conventional wells in Washington and Hamlin Townships, Jefferson County related to MERP Well Plugging Grant Program. Howard Drilling Inc. holds 616 permits, 5 listed as abandoned.
Maxson Gas Corp
March 11, 2025 inspection of 11 conventional oil and gas wells in Sharon and Oswayo Townships, Potter County related to MERP Well Plugging Grant Program. Maxson holds 171 permits, 11 listed as abandoned.
Roulette OIl & Gas LLC
March 13 & 14, 2025 inspections of conventional oil and gas wells in Hebron and Keating Townships, Potter County related to MERP Well Plugging Grant Program. Roulette holds 347 permits, 19 listed as abandoned.
54 Abandoned Conventional, 32 Abandoned Shale Gas Well Violations 2025
Abandoned Conventional: So far in 2025, DEP issued or continued 54 violations to 31 conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells- [WB Anderson; Apollo Resources LLC; Baird Oil Co.; Crude A Co - Randy L. Larkin; Randy A. Dietterich; Diversified Production LLC; Equitrans LP; EQT Production Co.; Kiski Valley Gas Co. ; Manufacturers Light & Heat Co; Mid East Oil Co.; MTN Energy; Charles E. Myers; Myers Gas; Oil & Gas MGMT Co. LLC, PA Mineral SVCS LLC; Pillar Energy PA, LLC; Pin Oak Energy Partners, LLC; Red Lion Gas Coop Assn; Reel Resources, Inc; Raymond Sawyer; Fred C. Scheel; SK Opr Inc.; Stockman LLC; Stonehaven Energy MGT Co. LLC; Andrew F. Suchko; Thomas Thurma Jean; Timberline Energy, Inc.; Vessels Coal Gas Inc.; Washington Energy Co LLC; Ronald Wise; Mary A. Woodring].
In 2024, DEP issued 860 new or continued violations to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells.
In 2023, DEP issued 512 violations to conventional well owners for abandonment.
Abandoned Shale Gas: So far in 2025, DEP issued or continued 32 violations to 8 shale gas drilling companies for abandoning and not plugging their wells-- [Anegada Energy LLC; Apex Energy (PA) LLC; Diversified Production LLC; Diversified Production LLC, EQT Chap LLC; EQT Production Co.; Rice Drilling B LLC; Roulette Oil & Gas LLC; Taft Operating LLC].
In 2024, 47 violations were issued or continued to 12 shale gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells.
In 2023, DEP issued or continued 20 violations to 10 shale gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells. Read more here.
Spills & Releases
EQT ARO LLC - Violations: Shale Gas Wastewater Release
March 11, 2025 inspection of the DCNR Tract 231 shale gas Pad A in Snow Shoe Township, Centre County in response to a notification of a spill found one or more wastewater dump line failures on the well pad resulted in a release of an unknown quantity of wastewater. Assessment of the extent of the contaminated area was ongoing during the inspection. Violations issued. Response requested by April 1. DEP inspection report.
Blackhill Energy, Inc. - Violations: Shale Gas Wastewater Spills
March 11, 2025 inspection of the Black Sam Bellamy shale gas well pad in Springfield Township, Bradford County found several areas of pooled wastewater outside of containment areas and next to storage tanks. Samples taken. Violations issued. Response requested by March 26. DEP inspection report.
Oil & Gas MGMT Inc. - Violations: Leaking Wastewater Tank
February 27, 2025 inspection of the Mary Kunkle 4 conventional well in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County found a storage tank leaking wastewater. Violations issued. Response requested by March 14. DEP inspection report.
2025 Act 2 Oil & Gas Facility Pollution Cleanups
So far in 2025, DEP received or acted on 29 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups. Read more here.
Emergency Access To Gas Storage Area Well
Columbia Gas Transmission LLC - Violations: No Emergency Access To Well
March 7 & 14, 2025 inspection of the Sylvia Mealy L4564 conventional well servicing the Donegal Gas Storage Reservoir in Donegal Township, Washington County found a collapsed culver and access road that prevents access to the well in the case of an emergency. Additional erosion and sedimentation violations. Violations issued. Response requested by March 26. DEP March 7 inspection report. DEP March 14 inspection report.
Erosion & Sedimentation
Range Resources Appalachia LLC - Violations: Erosion & Sedimentation On Pipeline Construction
March 10, 2025 inspection of the Bedillion Day To Folly Hollow Water Pipeline construction right-of-way in Amwell Township, Washington County found the owner still had not complied with multiple erosion and sedimentation violations originally found on March 5, 2025. Failure to constructed practices in compliance with the permit, failure to prevent erosion and sedimentation from the construction site. Violations continued and new ones added. Response requested by March 28. DEP inspection report.
Archaea CCS LLC - Violations: Erosion & Sedimentation Continued
March 6, 2025 follow-up inspection of the Phoebe Snow 1 conventional carbon sequestration well site in Throop Borough, Lackawanna County found progress had been made in addressing the February 5 erosion and sedimentation violations, however, work is not yet complete or adequate. All but one violation continued. No response requested. DEP inspection report.
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: Row1- Blackhill Energy, Inc. shale gas wastewater spills outside of containment; EQT ARO LLC release of wastewater from dump lines; Apex Energy (PA) LLC abandoned shale gas well; Row 2- Columbia Gas Transmission LLC collapsed road, culvert not allowing emergency access to conventional well serving the Donegal Gas Storage Area; Work continues to try to address month-old erosion and sedimentation violations at the Archaea CCS LLC conventional carbon sequestration well site; Mid East Oil Co. abandoned conventional well; Oil & Gas MGMT Inc. leaking conventional wastewater tank; Diversified Production LLC abandoned conventional well.)
[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 - March 15 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permits, 401 Certification For National Fuel Gas Tioga Pathway Natural Gas Pipeline Project In McKean, Potter, Tioga Counties [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 103 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 15 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PA American Water Identifies Water Source For New Public Water System To Replace Water Wells Contaminated By Shale Gas Fracking 20 Years Ago In Dimock Twp., Susquehanna County [PaEN]
-- Community Speaks Out Against Expansion Of Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- Washington County Resident To DEP: Harmon Creek Natural Gas Plant Expansion Will Result In A Huge Increase In Air Pollution, It Should Be Required To Have A Major Air Quality Permit, It Is Not A ‘Minor’ Source [PaEN]
-- Moms Clean Air Force To DEP: Families In Washington County Are Already Living In The Middle Of Major Natural Gas Industrial Sites - Do Not Expand The Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant And Make It Worse [PaEN]
-- PA Shale Gas & Public Health Conference Attended By Nearly 480 People Featured Health Experts, Scientists, Advocacy Groups On Health, Environmental Impacts Of Shale Gas Development [PaEN]
-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Marks Milestone Of Plugging 300 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Over 2 Years; New Technology Finding More Abandoned Wells [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: FrenchCreek Twp., Venango County Commissioner Said They Were Not Aware Of NOVA Cryptocurrency Data Mining Operation Using Natural Gas Well Until It Started [They Did Receive Act 14 Notices] [PDF of Article]
-- PA Council Of Trout Unlimited: Millions In Trout Unlimited Watershed Projects Improve The Environment, Local Economies Across The US; Federal Funding Freeze, Office Closures, Staff Cuts 'Sacrificing Our National Conservation Legacy' [PaEN]
-- Pocono Record - Brian Whipkey: Trout Unlimited Officials Worry Over Potential Impacts From Reduced Federal Funding In PA [PDF of Article]
-- Gov. Shapiro Launches Legislative Push for 'Lightning Plan’ To Build More Energy Projects, Speed Up Permitting, Lower Costs, Create Jobs For Pennsylvanians [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Geothermal Might Have The Answer For Pennsylvania's Clean Energy Needs - By John Walliser, PA Environmental Council & Kevin Sunday, McNees Wallace & Nurick [PaEN]
-- EPA Pulls Back Regulations Setting Methane Emission Limits, Regulating Wastewater From Oil & Gas Operations, Risk Management Rule At Petrochemical Plants [PaEN]
-- EPA Launches Biggest Deregulation Action For Industry In US History, 'Driving A Dagger Straight Into The Heart Of The Climate Change Religion,’ Unleashing The American Energy Industry [PaEN]
-- Clean Air Council: EPA To Reverse Life-Saving Finding Carbon Pollution Is Endangering Public Health By Driving Climate Change [PaEN]
-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: EPA Deregulation Bombshell A Blow To The Chesapeake Bay [PaEN]
-- Evangelical Environmental Network: EPA Announces Plan To Put Pollution Before Our Health [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Scranton Times: PA American To Provide Clean Drinking Water In Dimock To Replace Fracking-Contaminated Private Wells [PDF of Article]
-- WVIA: PA American Water: Dimock Twp. Residents Will Have Drinkable Water By 2026
-- Community Speaks Out Against Expansion Of Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette: Chester, Delaware County Leading The Fight For Environmental Justice [LNG Export Facility]
-- Courier Times: PA State Attorney General Investigates Potential Environmental Crimes Amid Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Leak In Bucks County
-- Marcellus Drilling News: New Federal Administration Considers Strategies To Overturn Delaware River Basin Commission Fracking Ban [PDF of Article]
-- The Allegheny Front - Kara Holsopple: New Tool Help Beaver County Residents Evaluate Air Quality
-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Philadelphia Gas Works Decaying Infrastructure A Ticking time Bomb Beneath Our Streets - POWER Interfaith Climate Justice And Jobs Team
-- Frederick News-Post: FEMA Cancels In-Person, Most Virtual National Fire Academy Training For First Responders In Emmitsburg, MD, Disrupting Training
-- York Daily Record: DOGE Closure Of National Fire Academy In Emmitsburg, MD Alarms York County Fire Chiefs
-- Erie Times/Reuters: EPA To Roll Back Regulations On Power Plant Emissions, Tailpipe Pollution
-- Utility Dive: EPA Aims To Roll Back Power Sector Regulations In Broad Deregulatory Push
-- Post-Gazette Editorial: As Washington Unwinds Its Commitments, State And Local Governments Will Have To Step Up
-- Observer- Reporter: Project Aims To Increase Geothermal Energy Use In State [PDF of Article]
-- Pocono Record - Brian Whipkey: Trout Unlimited Officials Worry Over Potential Impacts From Reduced Federal Funding In PA [PDF of Article]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Anti-Drilling Trout Unlimited Crying Over $180 Million In Frozen Federal Funds [PDF of Article]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: NYMEX Natural Gas Price Hits 2-Year High Of $4.491/MMBtu [PDF of Article]
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: America Needs The Energy Pennsylvania Can Supply - By American Petroleum Institute
-- Financial Times: US DOE Secretary Says US Shale Can ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ At Low Oil, Gas Prices; Industry Says No
-- Reuters: President’s Tariffs On Steel, Aluminum To Raise Costs For US Oil, Gas Firms, Experts Say
[Posted: March 15, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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