DEP Issued Violations To Chesapeake Appalachia For Casing/Cementing Failures In 4 Shale Gas Wells At The Linski Well Pad In Bradford County

On November 13, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection issued Chesapeake Appalachia LLC new violations for casing/cementing failures in four shale gas wells at the Linski well pad in Tuscarora Township, Bradford County.

There are 11 shale gas wells on the pad.

Testing on the 4H [DEP inspection report], 24H [DEP inspection report], 25H [DEP inspection report] and 101H [DEP inspection report] shale gas wells found natural gas was detected outside the surface casing or in one case the intermediate casing.

The 4H well was spud (drilling began) in December 2011.  The 24H and 25H wells were spud on the same day-- July 19, 2021-- and the 101H well was spud on March 28, 2025.

Violations were issued for failing to notify DEP of the casing/cement failures and for failing to prevent the flow of gas in the well annulus.

DEP requested a response to the violations from Chesapeake Appalachia by January 2.

In these cases, the well owner prepares a schedule for doing a detailed analysis on the wells to identify the cause of the failure and then suggest remedies, if they are available.

Long-term monitoring and retesting of the wells is usually part of the proposed plan.

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: The 4H, 24H, 25H and 101H shale gas wells and the Linski well pad.)

[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 Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 29 to Dec. 5 - Eight New Shale Gas Well Casing/Cementing Failures; 329,900 Gallons Of Pipeline Drilling Fluid Lost To Mine Voids; Violations Sent For Not Reporting On 988 Conventional Wells  [PaEN]   

     -- DEP: CNX Gas Suffers Shale Gas Well Casing Failure While Zipper Fracking 3 Wells In West Finley Twp., Washington County; CNX Waited Over 10 Hours To Notify DEP  [PaEN]  

     -- DEP Issued Violations To Repsol Oil & Gas For Casing/Cementing Failures In 4 Shale Gas Wells After A 34-Hour Uncontrolled Wastewater Release At The Broadleaf Well Pad In Bradford County  [PaEN]  

     -- DEP Issued Violations To Chesapeake Appalachia For Casing/Cementing Failures In 4 Shale Gas Wells At The Linski Well Pad In Bradford County  [PaEN]

     -- DEP: MarkWest Liberty Midstream Pipeline Construction Results In 36,000 And 29,000 Gallon Spills Into Coal Mine Voids Under Washington County; Total Of 329,900 Gallons Lost So Far On This Project  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP Issued 13 Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Violations Covering Up To 988 Wells For Failing To Submit Annual Production, Waste Generation/Disposal Or Well Integrity Reports; A Step To Well Abandonment  [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] 

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - December 8  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- PA Capital-Star: Watchdog For PJM Electric Grid Wants A Pause On A.I. Data Centers

-- The Guardian: Cooking With Natural Gas Gets More Expensive As Americans Face Rising Prices Into 2026: 4% For Residential Users, 21% For Industrial, 37% For Power Generators 

-- 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 7, 2025]  PA Environment Digest