During the inspection, Moody and associates had a team on site collecting samples from the three clean-out standpipes from the monitoring trenches draining the well cellars.
There are four active wells on site staged for production, along with one plugged well and one that is in the process of being plugged.
Temporary compost filter socks remain installed below the excavated/remediated areas, but ice and snow cover the restored area.
DEP recommendations are the same as they were in October: continue monitoring for contamination, remediate as necessary and continue collecting contaminated fluids.
DEP continued the May violations for the “release of an unknown amount of produced water to the unprotected pad surface, to the unprotected grassy field below the fill slope and flowing offsite during plugging operations.”
DEP inspection report and photos.
Original Spill
A May DEP inspection found two large areas of distressed vegetation with evidence of a wastewater release in one area 50 feet wide extending down the well pad slope about 120 feet and another area 20 feet wide and stretching 65-70 feet down slope as a result of what Seneca said were leaking valves and wastewater flowing from an open pipe during well plugging operations. Read more here.
You can chart the progress in cleaning up this wastewater spill through DEP’s inspection reports: July 17, 2025; July 24, 2025, August 6, 2025; August 20, 2025; August 26, 2025; and September 18, 2025.
Criminal Charges
On October 31, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced criminal charges against Seneca Resources, LLC, following multiple violations of Pennsylvania’s environmental protection laws in several counties, as recommended by the 48th and 51st Statewide Investigating Grand Juries.
Three separate criminal complaints were filed regarding the natural gas company’s violations related to improper waste management practices and policies.
Prominent in the Attorney General’s announcement of the charges was the fact that DEP repeatedly warned Seneca that their practices were not in line with Pennsylvania law, but those warnings were ignored or disputed. Read more here.
In all, Seneca is charged with 64 counts of violations of the Solid Waste Management Act and 36 counts of violations of the Clean Streams Law in Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga Counties. Read more here.
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.
[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.]
Resource Links - Seneca Resources:
-- Attorney General Sunday: Criminal Charges Filed Against Seneca Resources For 64 Counts Of Illegal Dumping Of Shale Gas Waste In Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga Counties [PaEN]
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 17 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 63 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 17 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold Feb. 17 Meeting/Hearing On Revised Water Quality Permit For 1,300 Acre Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Project In Hazle Twp., Luzerne County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Federal Coastal Zone Consistency Determination For The Canada-US Lake Erie Electric Transmission Line Project, Landfall Erie County, PA [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Jan. 29 Hearing On Water Withdrawal Requests, Including Amazon Data Center; And Statement Of Investment Policy [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Air Quality Permit For 176 - 3.25 MW Backup Diesel Generators For A.I. Data Center Project In City Of Lancaster
Related Article This Week:
-- DEP: Rice Drilling (EQT) Failed To Plug Abandoned Shale Gas Well For Over 5 Years In Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP: MarkWest Liberty Midstream Reports 5 More Drilling Fluid Losses Into Mine Voids In Washington County; Total Losses Now 1,241,500 Gallons [PaEN]
-- DEP: Truck Loses Load Of Shale Gas Wastewater On Access, Local Road To EQT Sarah Well Pad In Union Township, Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP Day 239: Seneca Resources Wastewater Cleanup, Monitoring Efforts Continue At Vandergrift Shale Gas Well Pad In Charleston Twp., Tioga County [PaEN]
-- PennLive - John Beauge: DEP: Eureka Resources Is Not Complying With Order To Safety Dispose Of Millions Of Gallons Of Oil & Gas Wastewater At Closed Facilities In Lycoming, Bradford Counties
-- Action Needed Now! Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Urging Pennsylvanians To Contact PA US Senators And Oppose Raid On Abandoned Mine Reclamation Funds [And Abandoned Oil & Gas Well Plugging Funding] [PaEN]
-- PUC Approves $35,000 Penalty Against Pronto Plumbing For 2022 Natural Gas Home Explosion In Dauphin County [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Secures Federal Support To Extend PJM Electric Generation Auction Price Cap; Call For Emergency PJM Auction To ‘Build Big Power Plants Again’ [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Board Proposes Its Own New Plan To Integrate A.I. Data Centers, Large Loads Into Grid To Maintain Reliability [PaEN]
-- House Energy Committee To Consider Bill Giving PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Jan. 26; Hearings On Related Bills Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 [PaEN]
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - January 16 [PaEN]
-- Utility Dive: PJM Updates 20-Year Forecast Of Electricity Demand Growth, Reducing Short Term Growth Estimates By Up To 2.6%, Increasing 2035 Estimate By 3.3% [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Cold Weather Alerts For Jan. 19 - Western Region; Jan. 20 Entire Regional Electric Grid [PaEN]
-- Penn State, USC Partner On Center For CO2 Storage To Develop Practical Strategies For Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- E&E News/Politico: Energy Set To Dominate State Politics In Runup To Midterm Elections [PA Highlighted] [PDF of Article]
-- AP: How The White House And Governors Want To Fix A.I.- Drive Power Shortages, Price Spikes
-- Reuters: White House Seeks Emergency Power Auction For Largest US Electric Grid [PJM]
-- Bloomberg: President Says He’ll Make Tech Firms Pay For Power; Calls For Emergency Electricity Auction In PJM
-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Budget Bill Would Raid Fund For Cleaning Up Abandoned Coal Mines, Plug Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - Pennsylvania Would Be Hardest Hit By Cuts
-- Reuters: US Shale Producers Devon Energy, Coterra Energy In Merger Talks, Sources Say
-- Marcellus Drilling News: US EIA Predicts Price Of Natural Gas To Dip 2% In 2026, Increase 33% In 2027 Driven By LNG Gas Exports [PDF of Article]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Expand Energy CEO: Natural Gas Drillers Won’t Add New Production At $3.50 Gas Price-- $4.00 to $4.50 Is Needed To ‘Activate Supply Growth’ [PDF of Article]
-- YaleEnvironment360: US LNG Gas Exports Are Pushing Energy Bills Higher, Report Finds
-- E&ENews/Politico: Pipeline Safety Enforcement Cut In Half In President’s First Year
-- Post-Gazette: How Will President’s Actions In Venezuela Impact Pennsylvania?
-- NYT: President’s Plans For Venezuelan Oil Run Headlong Into Reality
[Posted: January 13, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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