On September 11, Joe Kelly, DEP Bureau of Oil & Gas Planning & Program Management, gave a 14-minute presentation to the Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board on the changes proposed in the Guidance.
Kelly said, “I don't really see it as a radical departure from the current policy or how the program is currently being implemented. There are a handful of changes. Most of them are housekeeping type changes.”
That being said, he noted one of the most significant changes is increasing the distance for requiring support facilities near shale gas well pads to be included in a permit.
Kelly said in the current policy, “There's a reference to support facilities that are within 900 feet of a well site need to be considered substantially connected and part of that project.
“Now, the new draft policy, that 900 feet has been pushed back to a quarter mile or 1,320 feet, and the reason that change is included is because we were working to be more consistent with PAG-O2 and the general permit from the Chapter 102 program.”
“We also added more clear details about when a deed instrument needs to be filed with the recorder of deeds for PCSM, stormwater control measures after a project is done and when it does not.”
He said the language is familiar because DEP first included it in the ESCGP-3 permit when it was published in 2018, and then that carried over to the current ESCGP-4 permit.
The draft policy also includes references generally to Chapter 78a Unconventional Drilling Regulations because they were adopted in 2016 after the original policy was adopted.
“We also added language to address the MSC [Marcellus Shale Coalition] lawsuit and settlement agreement, which also occurred after the current policy was published in 2012.
“And specifically here, that essentially states that if an operator does not request an extension in the post-drilling situation, they are not required to restore the site to approximate original conditions, even though they still need to stabilize the site to permanent stabilization requirements in Chapter 102.
“What we added here is consistent with a Chapter 78a.65 FAQ that was added to the oil and gas website in July of 2021.”
Click Here to hear the audio of that presentation [starts at 13:00 mark].
Copy Of Draft & Existing Guidance
Click Here for a copy of the draft Guidance.
Click Here for existing 2012 Guidance.
Public Comments
The deadline for comments on the draft Guidance is January 20.
Read the entire PA Bulletin notice for instructions on how to submit comments and other background.
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.
]PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard- Nov. 29 to Dec. 5 [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - December 6 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Revised Oil & Gas Erosion & Sedimentation, Stormwater Management Technical Guidance [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Air Quality Permit For Hill Top Energy Center Natural Gas Power Plant In Greene County To Feed A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Permit To Uprate 3 Natural Gas Turbines At Hummel Station Power Plant In Snyder County To Feed A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]
-- DEP Proposes To Renew Air Quality Permit For Constellation Energy Oil-Fired Falls Generation Station In Bucks County [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 76 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In September & October; 398 In 2025 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 75 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In December 6 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Article This Week:
-- Registration Open! PA League Of Women Voters, Duquesne University Host Shale Gas & Public Health Conference Feb. 19 In Pittsburgh, Online [PaEN]
-- PA Trout Unlimited, Keystone Trails Assn., Responsible Drilling Alliance Request DEP To Hold Hearing On Permit For PA General Energy 3.9 Mile Shale Gas Access Road/Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- EPA's Delay Of Oil & Gas Industry Methane Emissions Reductions Harms Pennsylvanians; Reactions From PA, Related Groups [PaEN]
-- Independent Fiscal Office: Quarterly PA Natural Gas Production Up 5.1% From Last Year; Natural Gas Price Up 51.4% [PaEN]
-- PUC Approves Reduced Columbia Gas Rate Hike Of 6.05%, And A Per Month Residential Customer Charge Increase Of 33% [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- PA Capital-Star: Watchdog For PJM Electric Grid Wants A Pause On A.I. Data Centers
-- Reuters Opinion: High And Rising Natural Gas Costs May Spur Fresh Climb In US Coal Use
-- Bloomberg: There’s Too Much Oil: Who Are The Winners And Losers?
-- Broad & Liberty Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Needs More Energy And Sensible Regulation To Lure A.I. Data Centers - Gordon Tomb, Commonwealth Foundation [PA Is Already Flooded With Proposals, Electric Bills, Natural Gas Bills Surging As A Result]
-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio Landfills Take Shale Gas Drilling Waste, But Don’t Track Or Test Much Of It [PA Info Included]
[Posted: December 5, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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