DCED Conventional Oil & Gas Well Advisory Council Meets Aug. 21 On Road Dumping Wastewater, Abandoned Wells, Plan To Reduce Methane Emissions, More

DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council is scheduled to meet on August 21 in State College to discuss a variety of issues, including how to dispose of millions of gallons of conventional oil and gas wastewater. 

The agenda includes-- 

-- Call To Order

-- Public Comment Period

-- Approval of Minutes  [Draft Minutes]

-- President’s Report

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater: Discuss the formation of a Produced Water Workgroup to include the stakeholders necessary to fulfill the duties of CDAC. Preliminary items of discussion to include--

     -- Increase the currently limited number of viable treatment/disposal options to manage oil and gas produced water

     -- Treatment solutions using NPDES water quality permitting for using treated wastewater

     -- Management of oil and gas production water as a commercial product

     -- Update on DEP’s Internal Road Spreading Workgroup [Read more here]

     -- Explore potential PennVEST opportunities to fund treatment plants

-- Abandoned/Orphan Wells Issues

     -- Attainable Bottom

     -- Conventional Well Site Restoration Forums

     -- Cement Types

     -- US Dept. Of The Interior presentation on orphan well plugging program

-- Discussion of Undertaking an Economic Impact Analysis of Conventional Oil & Gas Industry

-- State Plan For Reducing Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Operations--

     -- PIOGA comments to DEP on State Plan  [Read more here.]

     -- Review April CDAC Resolution and DEP Response 

     -- Future Collaboration Between DEP Bureau of Air Quality and CDAC

-- Federal Well Plugging Program Progress

-- Federal Methane Emissions Reduction Grant Program Status  [Read more here]

-- Underground Injection Control Regulatory Overview  [Click Here for Presentation]

-- Legislative Report

-- Regulatory Update

-- New Business

Click Here for more information on the meeting.

Public Comment Period

Members of the public interested in making a comment at the meeting should contact Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov.

Join The Meeting

The meeting will be held at the Technology Center, Room 243, 200 Innovation Blvd, State College starting at 10:00 a.m. 

Click Here to join the meeting via Microsoft Teams or via the app at: Meeting ID: 274 896 265 706 Passcode: GfvsJL.

The meetings is also available via conference phone at: 1 267 332 8737  Conference ID: 377 402 179# 

Visit DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council webpage for more information on available handouts. Questions should be directed to: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov.

Resource Links:

-- DEP: Widespread Non-Compliance With Environmental Laws Continues In Conventional Oil & Gas Industry; 3,108+ Abandoned Wells; At Least 85% Conventional Well Owners Fail To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports  [PaEN] 

-- Warren Times Editorial: Pennsylvania Needs A New Plan For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Increasing Bond Amounts Only Part Of Solution  [PaEN] 

-- House Committee Moves Bill To Restore Authority For Setting Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Bond Amounts To Help Protect Taxpayers From Billions In Plugging Costs; Republicans Oppose  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: 768 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells May Be Plugged In Next Year; Over 27,000 New Abandoned Wells May Have Been Found; Alternatives To Well Plugging Bonds  [PaEN] 

-- House Hearing: Shapiro Administration Supports Bill Banning Road Dumping Oil & Gas Wastewater, Prohibiting Its Use As Coproduct Under Residual Waste Regulations

-- House Hearing: Penn State Expert Says ‘Pennsylvania Should Ban Road Spreading Of Oil & Gas Wastewater;’ Contaminants Exceed Health, Environmental Standards

-- Late Night Road Dumping: Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Continues To Be Dumped On Dirt, Gravel, Paved Roads; DEP Expected To Provide Update At April 24 Meeting

-- Late Night Dumping II: Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumping Continues On Roads, This Time With Bigger Trucks; New Research On Harmful Wastewater Impacts

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Continue To Push DEP To Legalize Road Dumping Their Wastewater

-- Daily Grind Living Next To Oil & Gas Industry: Spills, Polluted Water Supplies, Smells Like Gas, Noise, Air Pollution, Explosions, Truck Traffic, Erosion, Radioactive Waste, Gas Flares, Dust, Lights, Road Dumping Waste, Abandoned Wells

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - August 16 to 22 - Conventional, Shale Gas Wastewater Spilling All Over, Seeping From Hillsides; 4th Pipeline Construction Spill; Where Did You Put That Waste?  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP: Leatherwood LLC Issued Violations For Illegally Disposing Of 43,176 Gallons Of Conventional Gas Well Plugging Wastes At Coal Refuse Disposal Area In Greene County  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP: An Estimated 16,000 Gallons Of 'Black Goop' Spills From Closed Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant In Williamsport, Reaching Susquehanna River  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP Issues Violations For Failing To Report How Waste Was Disposed Of Safely From 133 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells, Including 50 Owned By CNX Gas Company  [PaEN]

     -- DEP: 3rd & 4th Spills From Horizontal Drilling At EQM Gathering Pipeline Project In Washington County; Overflowing Tanks; Water Supply Complaint Investigated  [PaEN] 

    -- DEP: Contaminated Wastewater Found Seeping From Saturated Shale Gas Well Pad Fill Slope In Great Bend Twp., Susquehanna County  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP: Day 38 Of Cleanup: Borehole Found Under Stormwater Basin During Continuing Cleanup Of Repsol Shale Gas Well Pad After A 34-Hour Uncontrolled Wastewater Release In Bradford County  [PaEN]  

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - August 23 [PaEN]

     -- DEP Now Accepting Bids To Plug 7 Conventional Gas Wells In Washington County [PaEN] 

     -- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 57 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In June/July; 282 In 2025  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Posted 61 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In August 23 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

Related Articles This Week:

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Pushing 3 More Ways To Legalize Road Dumping Their Wastewater; Not Clear How The Public, Put At Risk By Dumping, Will Be Involved  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna River Basin Low Flow Water Conditions Trigger Water Withdrawal Restrictions On 47 Shale Gas Development Water Withdrawal Points In PA  [PaEN] 

-- Joint State Government Committee Identifies 382 Potential Sites For Geothermal Facilities Using Abandoned Mine Pools; Geothermal Energy Could Reduce A.I. Data Center Energy Demand By 30-40%  [PaEN] 

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles & NewClips From Last Week - August 24  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: More Than 1.3 Million Gallons Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Stored At Eureka Resources Facility In Williamsport Without Required Alarms Among Violations DEP Issued 10 Days Prior To River Spill

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: Initial Radioactivity Scan Show No Elevated Levels From Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Spill In Williamsport

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Volunteers Find Persistent Oily Waste From Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant Spill In Williamsport; Advise Public To Avoid Recreational Use Of River For Now 

-- PennLive - John Beauge: DEP Issued Violation 10 Days Before Tank At Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Facility Leaked Oily Discharge Into Susquehanna River

-- PennLive - John Beauge: Oily Substance From Tank In Closed Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant Leaks Into Susquehanna River  [PDF of Article]

-- Williamsport Sun: Extensive Cleanup Underway After Oil Substance Leaks Into River In Williamsport  [PDF of Article]

-- The Derrick: Leak Found In Service Station Underground Gasoline Tank In Downtown Titusville, Crawford County

-- Post-Gazette/Inside Climate News: Pennsylvania Lured The Shell Petrochemical Plant To The State With A $1.65 Billion Tax Break, Now The Company Wants To Sell The Plant 

-- PA Capital-Star/Inside Climate News: Pennsylvania Lured The Shell Petrochemical Plant To The State With A $1.65 Billion Tax Break, Now The Company Wants To Sell The Plant

-- The Allegheny Front/Inside Climate News: Pennsylvania Lured The Shell Petrochemical Plant To The State With A $1.65 Billion Tax Break, Now The Company Wants To Sell The Plant

-- WITF: Military, A.I. Investments To Undergird PA Economy Says State’s Republican Congressional Delegation; Natural Gas Part Of Plan To Support A.I., Industry 

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Natural Gas Remains ‘Keystone’ Of Future Economic Growth  [PDF of Article]

-- Reuters: Drop In Natural Gas Demand Signals 2 Top LNG Gas Exports Facilities May Have Outages

-- The Guardian: US Pipeline Protester’s Obstruction Conviction Overturned By Minnesota Appeals Court Finding ‘Pervasive’ Prosecutorial Misconduct

[Posted: August 19, 2025]  PA Environment Digest