PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP Reports It Has No Idea How Many Shale Gas Water/Wastewater Pipelines There Are, The Spills They’ve Had Or Their Impacts

On June 25, the Department of Environmental Protection reported it has no idea how many shale gas well development water and wastewater pipelines are installed, how many spills they’ve had or what their environmental impact has been.

Given the extent of shale gas well development in Southwest and Northcentral Pennsylvania-- 3,927 well pad-- there are no doubt hundreds of miles of water and wastewater pipelines servicing many of these pads in addition to natural gas gathering pipelines.

CNX alone completed a $20 million water pipeline in Westmoreland County in 2024 to serve its future shale gas drilling operations and potentially serve local communities. Read more here.

David Yoxtheimer, PhD., PG, the Chair of Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board, asked DEP to report on the status of shale gas well development pipelines under the oil and gas regulations [25 PA Code Chapter 78a.68b]-- how many pipelines have been installed, the number of water releases or leaks, the relative volume of fluids released and their environmental impacts.

Dan Counahan, Director of DEP’s Bureau of District Oil and Gas Operations, told the Board-- “The bad news is that we don't track this information in this manner. We know that we have well development pipelines.

“There have been some releases at those well development pipelines. Well development pipelines existed well before this [25 PA Code Chapter] 78A rulemaking.

“And when releases do occur, they're remediated consistently with any other release at an oil and gas facility under the oversight of the Office of Oil and Gas Management.

“I believe this was a Dr. Yoxtheimer question, so I can't really ask for any more clarification, but if anybody has any questions, I'd be more than happy to try to address them.”

There were no questions from Board members.

DEP’s Pipeline Regulations

25 PA Code Chapter 78a.68b establishes very basic requirements for “temporary” aboveground and underground water and wastewater pipelines used in shale gas development, mostly related to stream crossing and erosion and sedimentation requirements during construction.

Some pressure testing is required as well as shut off and check values that prevent the discharge of more than 42,000 gallons of fluid.

The regulations say the pipelines must be inspected prior to and during each day the pipeline is not emptied and depressurized.

Pipeline owners must keep records of the inspections, the location of the pipelines, the types of fluids transported and the period of time the pipeline was installed.

Those records must be retained by the operator and made available only upon request from DEP for at least a year after the pipelines are removed.

[According to DEP’s report to the Advisory Board, apparently they haven’t asked.]

These “temporary” water and wastewater-- mostly plastic-- pipelines snake across open ground between water sources-- streams, storage tanks and impoundments- and well pads.

Significant Water/Wastewater Releases

The weekly reviews of DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database by PA Environment Digest reported significant water and wastewater spills and releases affecting water supplies and streams.

DEP reported on one incident where a plastic water pipeline suffered a blowout and whipped around like a garden hose in a farmer’s field.

Here are some examples--

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

-- CNX Gas Company Reports It Did Not Stop Pumping Shale Gas Wastewater Through A Punctured Pipeline For 24+ Hours During An Incident In Greene County [PaEN]

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

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 6 to 12 - Double Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Failure [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 25 to 31 - Shale Wastewater Pipeline Spill [PaEN]

-- Range Resources Shale Gas Water Pipeline Suffers Blowout In Washington County [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Chapter 105 Permit Correcting Violations By PA General Energy In Constructing The Shawnee Water Intake On The Exceptional Value Loyalsock Creek, Lycoming County [PaEN

-- CNX Completing $20 Million Fresh Water Pipeline To Serve Future Shale Gas Drilling, And Potentially Local Communities As An Alternative To The Westmoreland Municipal Authority [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]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 38 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In May; 225 In 2025 [PaEN]

Shale Gas Pipelines Most Penalized Part Of The Industry

Pipelines related to the shale gas development in Pennsylvania have been the most penalized part of the industry in terms of criminal charges and fines.

Of the over $158.3 million in penalties assessed against the shale gas industry, one pipeline company accounts for over $48.1 million in penalties and criminal charges. Read more here.

For available handouts and more information, visit DEP’s Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board webpage. Questions should be directed to Todd Wallace at twallace@pa.gov or (717) 783-6395.

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; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

(Photos: Top- Seneca Resources wastewater pipeline rupture in Cameron County; Range Resources water pipeline blowout in Washington County; Bottom-- PA General Energy Shawnee water withdrawal and double pipeline construction on Loyalsock Creek in Lycoming County with multiple violations during construction and failure to comply with Chapter 105 permit.)

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 7 to 27 - Finding 27,000 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Not Tracking Water/Wastewater Pipelines; Failure To Comply With DEP Orders; Inadvertent Pipeline Construction Returns - Again [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 28 [PaEN]

-- DEP Publishes Notices On Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company Northeast Supply Enhancement Quarryville Pipeline Loop, Compressor Station Permits/Approval In Chester, Lancaster Counties [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 81 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 28 PA Bulletin [PaEN]