EQT said the incident was the result of a high volume of truck traffic and freeze/thaw cycles destabilizing the access road before a series of precipitation events.
DEP inspected the site on December 29 and found the gravel and sediment washed over the access road into a rip rap apron down slope from the road.
Crews had worked to remove the gravel and straw bales were installed downslope to prevent further impacts.
EQT said they would have a vacuum truck remove turbid/sediment laden water in an unnamed tributary to Lyons Run.
EQT told DEP they would assess the area of the access road and implement additional preventive measures as needed to ensure another event like this would not occur.
Violations were issued. A response was requested by January 14.
Click Here for DEP’s inspection report and photos.
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: Aphrodite shale gas well pad access road; Location where gravel and sediment washed off road; Rip rap apron, drainage way the gravel and sediment washed into.)
[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 - Dec. 27 to Jan. 2 - Shale Gas Well Casing Failure/Loss Of Control; Shale Gas Well Pad Spills Continue For 426 Days; Abandoned Conventional Well Violations Reach 688 [PaEN]
-- DEP: Range Resources Suffers Casing Failure/Loss Of Control Incident During Fracking At Burkett Shale Gas Well Pad Triggering Area Of Review Report On Any Offsite Impacts In Jefferson Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP: Seneca Resources Still Experiencing Spills, Releases While New Well Development Continues At Taft Shale Gas Well Pad In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County For 426 Days And Counting [PaEN]
-- DEP: High Volume Of Truck Traffic, Freeze/Thaw Destabilized EQT Prod Shale Gas Well Pad Access Road Allowing Gravel, Sediment To Wash Off Road In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 3 [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold Feb. 3 Virtual Hearing On Chapter 105 Permit For PA General Energy 3.9 Mile Shale Gas Well Pad Development Access Road, Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold Feb. 4 Hearing On First Title V Air Quality Permit For The Tenaska Natural Gas Power Plant In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permit For A 3.7 Mile Natural Gas Gathering Pipeline Route In Elk And Forest Counties [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Tentative Decision To Not Renew NPDES Wastewater Permits For 3 Fluid Recovery Services Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Indiana, Venango Counties [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Air Quality General Permit For Diesel-Fired Nonroad Engines At Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 57 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 3 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Proposed Consent Decree Resolving Outstanding Cleanup Cost Recovery Claims With The Remaining Defendants In Swimming Pool Doctor Hazardous Waste Site In Beaver County [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP Publishes Final Environmental Justice Permit Review And Public Participation Policy, Update To PennEnviroScreen EJ Tool [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies DEP Motion To Dismiss BCD Properties Appeal Over Its Illegal Disposal Of Oil And Gas Wastewater By Road Dumping; Case To Proceed On Its Merits [PaEN]
-- Protect PT Hosts Jan. 17 Living Near Shale Gas Facilities Community Workshop In Pittsburgh [PaEN]
-- Protect PT, FracTracker Alliance Host Jan. 27 Online Program Providing The Latest On Shale Gas Development And Information Tools [PaEN]
-- Solar United Neighbors, Protect PT Host Jan. 22 Solar Energy In Southwest PA Community Meeting In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part I - Operations Improvement See Regional Electric Grid Through Record Peaks, Growing Demand [PaEN]
-- PA House Committee Approves Legislation Giving Local Officials Greater Say Over Regional-Scale Developments Like A.I. Data Centers, Warehouses [PaEN]
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - January 5 [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pittsburgh’s A.I. Skepticism Isn’t Ignorance, It’s Memory [Collapse Of Steel] - People Have ‘Every Right To Be Furious’ - By Desmond Daley, Physician and Pittsburgh Resident [PDF of Article]
NewsClips:
-- Bucks Courier Times: Residents Smelled Natural Gas Days Before Nursing Home Explosion In Bucks County; No 911 Calls For Gas Odor
-- Bucks Courier Times: Lawyer: PECO, Nursing Home Were Aware Of Natural Gas Leak For 2 Hours Before Deadly Blast
-- PennLive Letter: Cleaner Than Coal Isn’t Clean Enough For Pennsylvania’s Future - By Robert Little, Harrisburg
-- National Fuel Gas Projects 2026-27 Natural Gas Costs To Increase 6.82%
-- WTAJ: National Fuel Natural Gas Prices Set To Rise For Over 200,000 Pennsylvanians In 2026
-- AAA Average Gasoline Prices: National- $2.83 Ohio- $2.60 PA- $3.03
-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs - 18 - Same For 6 Weeks
-- Altoona Mirror: PA House Moves Legislation Giving Local Governments Authority Over Projects Of Regional Significance [House Bill 1764]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: New CNX Resources CEO Takes The Helm Following Rapid Rise Through Company Ranks [PDF of Article]
-- Wall Street Journal: Be Prepared To Keep Paying More For Electricity - A.I. Data Center Demands, Rising Natural Gas Prices, Grid Infrastructure Costs [PDF of Article]
-- TribLive/AP: US Plans To Tap Oil Reserves In Venezuela President Says After Operation To Pluck Maduro From Power
-- Reuters: Venezuelan Oil Industry: World’s Largest Reserves, Decaying Infrastructure [Venezuela- 303 Billion Barrels, Saudi Arabia- 267 Billion Barrels, US- 48.3 Billion Barrels]
-- The Guardian: US Oil Giants Silent On President’s Claim They Will Spend Billions On Venezuelan Oil
-- Reuters Commentary: Five Energy Market Trends To Track In 2026 - The Year Of The Oil, LNG Natural Gas Glut
-- Reuters Commentary: The 2025 Energy Transition In 8 Charts - Clean Wins, Dirty Setbacks
[Posted: January 1, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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