PA Environment Digest Blog: Petition To Extend Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells May Be Back On The Table At Environmental Quality Board Sept. 9 If Motion Succeeds

On September 9, Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Majority Chair of the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee, plans to make a motion to bring a petition to increase setbacks from shale gas wells up for discussion at the Environmental Quality Board meeting.

If successful, the Board will then debate whether it should accept the petition for study and direct DEP to come back to the Board with a recommendation, which could include whether to adopt the increased setbacks suggested in the petition, some other variation or take no action.

“I want to be supportive of the efforts of the Clean Air Council and the Environmental Integrity Project to increase setbacks for unconventional oil and gas wells,” said Rep. Vitali. “These proposed increased setbacks are consistent with the then Attorney General Shapiro's 2003 grand jury recommendations.

“Numerous studies have indicated that increased setbacks are necessary to protect public health and the environment,” Rep. Vitali added.

Petition Background

On October 22, 2024, the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project-- as part of the Protective Buffers PA Coalition-- filed a 358-page rulemaking petition with the Environmental Quality Board asking it to increase setback distances from shale gas wells from a minimum now of 500 feet to at least 3,281 feet. Read more here.

Specifically, the petition proposes--

-- 3,281 feet from any building;

-- 3,281 feet from any drinking water well;

-- 5,280 feet from any building serving vulnerable populations (e.g., schools, daycare centers, hospitals); and

-- 750 feet from any surface water of the Commonwealth.

In November, 2024, DEP announced it had determined the petition meets the initial criteria to be considered by the Board for study, including that the Board has the statutory authority to adopt a regulation setting more protective setbacks from shale gas wells.

In March, 2025, DEP said it would recommend the Board accept the petition for study, but at the same time said, “the recommendation does not infer a rulemaking ultimately will be developed.” Read more here.

The gaps in the consideration of the petition were caused by the lack of Environmental Quality Board meetings.

April EQB Meeting

On April 8, 2025, the Environmental Quality Board voted 16 to 3 to table a vote on whether to accept a rulemaking petition for study to increase setbacks from shale gas wells until comments submitted at the last minute to the Board can be reviewed. Read more here.

Commissioner Kathryn Zerfuss, representing the Public Utility Commission on the Board, made the motion and was seconded by Matt Osenbach, representing Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming).

“There has been some additional information that has been submitted to the board, to the board members, as early as this morning, and it seems considerable and it's in relation to the petition,” said Commissioner Zerfuss. “There have been letters being submitted by industry the past couple days, up to and including late last night or yesterday evening. It's a lot of information. So suffice it to say there's a lot of passion on the topic and on the petition.

“My humble opinion is that I would like more time to review this additional information so I am better prepared to ask questions of the petitioners and of the department. I think it behooves us to take some extra time to review these materials, so therefore I move that we lay this petition on the table,” Commissioner Zerfuss said.

The motion to table consideration was not supported by Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) and John Walliser from DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council.

2 Other Oil & Gas Petitions

There are two other oil and gas-related rulemaking petitions on the September 9 EQB agenda it will consider accepting for study--

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Rulemaking Petition On Setting Attainable Bottom Well Depth During Well Plugging. DEP determined the petition met criteria to be considered for study.

-- Shale Gas Industry Rulemaking Petition On Onsite Processing Of Production Wastewater. DEP determined the petition met criteria to be considered for study.

This second petition would amend Chapter 78a.58(a) to change the current requirement of allowing production wastewater from development, drilling, stimulation, alteration, operation or plugging of oil or gas wells or mine influenced water to be stored for reuse on the well site where it was generated or at the well site where it will be used.

If the change was adopted, the regulation would allow the driller to set up oil and gas wastewater and mine influenced water processing and storage facilities at any well site taking wastewater from any other well site to be processed and/or stored and then taken to any other well site for reuse.

The other provisions of 25 PaCode Chapter 78a.58 (b through h) would remain the same.

Oil and gas wastewater processing and storage facilities on a well site are exempt from permitting under the state Solid Waste Management Act by a provision in the state Oil and Gas Act.

DEP is scheduled to discuss this second petition on September 11 at a meeting of the agency’s Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board. Read more here.

Join the EQB Meeting

The September 9 meeting will be held in Room 105 Rachel Carson Building starting at 9:00 a.m. Click Here to join the meeting via Microsoft Teams - Meeting ID: 218 129 893 130 9 Passcode: Dw3xf6eH or by telephone: 267-332-8737 Phone Conference ID: 900 040 376#

Questions for the EQB should be directed to Laura Griffin, laurgriffi@pa.gov or (717) 772-3277.

(Photos: top- Range Resources Augustine Drill Pad in Cecil Township; Augustine Drill Pad showing scale of operation; bottom- Map of Shale gas wells (red dots), conventional oil and gas wells (blue/green dots) in Cecil Township (DEP Oil & Gas Program); 523 feet from nearest house; Well pad gas flare from bedroom window near Augustine well pad (WTAE). Other photos Courtesy of The Energy Age Blog.)

Resource Links - Setbacks:

-- Environmental Health Project Releases New White Paper: PA's Shale Gas - What We Can Do Now To Better Protect Public Health [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: Lois Bower-Bjornson Shares Her First-Hand Experiences With Shale Gas Health, Environmental Impacts In Washington County [PaEN]

-- 7 Years Ago, People From Over 70 Households Gave First-Hand Accounts Of How The PA Shale Gas Industry Impacted Their Health, Lives And Communities To A State Grand Jury Describing The ‘Sometimes Harsh Reality’ Of These Operations [PaEN]

-- State Dept. Of Health Apologizes For Not Listening To Communities Suffering Health Impacts From Shale Gas Development; New Health Study Results ‘Just The Tip Of The Iceberg’ [August 2023]

-- University Of Pittsburgh School Of Public Health Studies Find Shale Gas Wells Can Make Asthma Worse; Children Have An Increased Chance Of Developing Lymphoma Cancer; Slightly Lower Birth Weights [August 2023]

-- State Dept. Of Health Invites Citizens To File Environmental Health Complaints Related To Natural Gas Development; Health Will Also Review Environmental Test Results [September 2023]

-- State Dept. Of Health Pushing For Changes To Reduce Adverse Health Impacts From Natural Gas Development [November 2023]

-- Part I - Environmental Impacts: State Dept. Of Health, Penn State Medical Webinars On Caring For Persons Living & Working In Communities With Oil & Natural Gas Extraction [January 2025]

-- Part II - Health Impacts: State Dept. Of Health, Penn State Medical Webinars On Caring For Persons Living & Working In Communities With Oil & Natural Gas Extraction [March 2025]

-- New State Health Plan Identifies Health Issues Related To Natural Resource Extraction, Climate Change In Top 5 Threats To Health Outcomes [April 2023]

-- 2025 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 [February 2025]