PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP: Report Submitted By CNX Gas Company/ Consol Coal Company On Cleanup Of A Major Shale Gas Wastewater Spill In Morris Twp., Greene County Failed To Show It Met Act 2 Cleanup Standards

On December 5, 2025, DEP sent a technical deficiency letter to CNX Gas Company, LLC/CNX Midstream Operating Company, LLC and Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company saying its Draft Cleanup Report failed to prove the cleanup of groundwater at the site of a major shale gas wastewater spill in Greene County met Act 2 Land Recycling Program remediation standards.

The report covers a May 20, 2024 rupture of the 12-inch McQuay shale gas wastewater pipeline involving 14.3 acres at the Coarse Coal Refuse Disposal Area 7 in Morris Township, Greene County. Read more here.

The pipeline was punctured by an excavator moving dirt around the disposal site. CNX said the pipeline was “unmarked.”

After the rupture, CNX Gas failed to stop pumping wastewater through the pipeline for more than 24 hours due to an apparent failure of communication with Consol Coal Company who operates Disposal Area 7. Read more here.

CNX Gas initially reported to DEP “more than a barrel” [42 gallons] of wastewater was released by the rupture. No estimate of the amount of the release after 24 hours of pumping by the pipeline was included in the Draft Cleanup Report submitted to DEP [page 1].

Initial cleanup of the site involved excavation of about 2,930 cubic yards of impacted materials which were placed in an HDPE plastic-lined portion of Coarse Coal Refuse Disposal Area 8.

CNX installed two groundwater monitoring wells to sample groundwater at the site.

DEP’s deficiency letter said additional groundwater monitoring wells would be needed in order to demonstrate the site cleanup met the Site-Specific Standard under the Act 2 Land Recycling Program.

It also noted the groundwater sampling results from the initial wells did not indicate a wastewater impacted groundwater aquifer.

DEP also said the report was marked as a draft and not a final report as required by Act 2 and a licensed professional geologist did not put their official seal on the document indicating the report met professional standards.

CNX/Consol have 60 days-- until February 3-- to respond to and/or correct the deficiencies identified in the letter.

DEP said it was not necessary to resend an Act 14 notice to the municipality and county or republish a public notice of the report, if CNX/Consol submits a response to the letter within 60 days.

Laina Aquiline, DEP Southwest Regional Communications Manager, said CNX/Consolidated have not yet responded to the deficiency letter.

Click Here for a copy of the letter. Click Here for a copy of the report.

[Note: CNX Gas Company and Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company were originally one company-- CNX Resources Corp. or CONSOl Energy -- until the natural gas-related businesses were separated in 2017.]

Resource Links - CNX Resources:

-- CNX Gas Company Reports It Did Not Stop Pumping Shale Gas Wastewater Through A Punctured Pipeline For 24+ Hours During An Incident In Morris Township, Greene County In May [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 Issues Violations For Failing To Report How Waste Was Disposed Of Safely From 133 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells, Including 50 Owned By CNX Gas Company [PaEN]

-- Environmental Hearing Board Agrees There Is ‘Acute’ Danger In CNX Misusing A Deposition In An Appeal Before The Board To ‘Punish’ An Environmental Advocate For Her Advocacy Against CNX [PaEN]

-- On Feb. 13 Dept. Of Health, Penn State Project ECHO Held A Webinar To Educate Medical Professionals, Public On Exposures To Natural Gas Facility Pollution; Real Washington County CNX Facility Case Study Used [PaEN]