Governor’s Regulatory Agenda Includes Update Of Regulations For Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; New Injection Well Controls; Shale Gas Application Fee

The Governor’s Office published its latest agency-by-agency Regulatory Agenda in the January 31 PA Bulletin showing the status of regulations in development and an approximate schedule for consideration. 

For the Department of Environmental Protection, the Agenda includes these Oil and Gas Program regulations--

-- Update of Chapter 78 Environmental Performance Standards for Conventional Oil and Gas Wells - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3rd Quarter 2026;

-- Update of  Chapter 78a Shale Gas Permit Fee - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026;

-- New Chapter 78 Injection Control Well Regulations (Act 87 of 2024) - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026;

-- Update of Chapter 287 Coproduct Waste Regulations - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026; and

-- Update of Chapter 78 Waste Management Standards for Conventional Oil and Gas Wells - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 4th Quarter 2026.

Note: Updates to the regulations covering conventional oil and gas wells have been included on the Governor’s Regulatory Agenda and DEP’s Regulatory Agenda since February of 2017, a year after the General Assembly killed a 2016 update to these regulations.

An update to the shale gas permit application fees has been on the Governor’s Regulatory Agenda since July 2022, just two years after the last fee increase in August 2020.

The Governor’s Agenda also includes these other DEP regulations--

-- Update to Chapter 252 Environmental Lab Accreditation Fees - Proposed Rule To Be Considered in 2nd Quarter 2026; 

-- Update to Chapters 218 & 240 Radiological Health & Radon Certification Fees - Proposed Rule To Be Considered in 2nd Quarter 2026; 

-- Update to Chapter 109 to incorporate federal PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Drinking Water MCL - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026;

-- Update to Chapters 71-73 related to Onlot Septic Systems - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026;

-- Update to Chapter 105 Dam Safety & Encroachment Regulations - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026;

-- Rescinding Chapter 126 Heavy-Duty Vehicle Diesel Emission Controls - Proposed Rule To Be Considered By EQB In 3th Quarter 2026; and

-- Revisions to Chapter 83 Nutrient Management For Animal Feeding Operations - Proposed Rule To Be Considered in Fall 2026 by State Conservation Commission.

Click Here for the Governor’s Regulatory Agenda.

DEP Regulatory/Non-Regulatory Agendas

DEP publishes its own Regulatory Agenda showing the status of regulations in development.

DEP also publishes a Non-Regulatory Agenda showing the status of technical guidance in development.

The purpose of these agendas is to give the public and potentially affected individuals and companies in the regulated community notice so they have the opportunity to become involved in the development process.

Visit DEP’s Regulatory and Non-Regulatory Agendas webpage to learn more.

Visit DEP’s Advisory Committees, Boards & Commissions webpage for information on advisory committees that typically have the opportunity to review regulations and technical guidance in development.

Unlike most state agencies, a 20-member Environmental Quality Board has the authority to propose and adopt DEP’s regulations through a public process, rather than just the agency Secretary.

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.

Resource Link:

-- On Transparency: What If The Senate And House Had To Adopt Laws Like DEP Adopts Regulations?  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- Highlights Of Shale Gas, Conventional Oil & Gas Compliance Actions During 2025  [PaEN]  

-- Major Challenges Faced By DEP’s Oil And Gas Enforcement Program In 2026  [PaEN]  

-- DEP: Day 455 And Counting: Seneca Resources Continues To Release Wastewater, Frack New Shale Gas Wells At Taft Well Pad In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Owner Of At Least 43 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Issued Violations For 6 More On State Game Lands In Venango County; Efforts To Locate The Owner Have Been Unsuccessful  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Eureka Resources Has Until Jan. 31 To Remove All Wastewater From Its 3 Closed Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants; About 1.5 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Remains In Bradford County Facility  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Seneca Resources Failed To Submit Area Of Review Reports To Identify Possible Conflicts With Other Wells Prior To Start Of Drilling 4 Shale Gas Wells In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County. 

-- DEP Hosts April 15 Webinar On Trenchless Pipeline Construction Guidance After Major Inadvertent Return Incidents In 2025, Including Release Of 1.2 Million Gallons Into Abandoned Mine Voids In Washington County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Eliminates Longstanding Permitting Backlog In 2025, Launches New Bureau of Permitting Coordination  [PaEN] 

NewsClips: 

-- Williamsport Sun: DEP Conducts Follow-Up Inspection Of Closed Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Facility In Williamsport  [PDF of Article]

-- Courier Times: Cong. Fitzpatrick, Officials Still Seek Answers To Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Rupture In Upper Makefield Twp. Bucks County A Year Later  [PDF of Article]

-- AP: Natural Gas Smell At Bucks County Nursing Home Was Reported Hours Before Deadly Explosion, Report Says 

-- Republican Herald: House Passes Legislation To Address Natural Gas Safety After Fatal Reading Chocolate Factory Blast Killed 7 People [PDF of Article]

-- WNEP: Homes Evacuated After Natural Gas Pipeline Hit In Scranton

-- TribLive: Feb. 1 Citizens Meeting Set To  Air Concerns About Proposed Homer City Natural Gas Power Plant, A.I. Data Center Campus  

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Can’t Accept Oil And Gas Companies’ Self-Reporting - By Chris DiGiulio, Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA 

-- UGI Gas Seeks 8.7% Increase To Base Delivery Rate 

-- National Fuel Gas Requests 7.4% Increase To Base Delivery Rate  

-- Independent Fiscal Office Mid-Year Revenue Update: Energy Costs Up 10.6%

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Winter Storm Fern Stops Nearly All Natural Gas Going To Maryland’s Cove Point, Elba Island, Georgia  LNG Gas Export Facilities Fed By Appalachian States Shale Gas [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Winter Storm Fern Freeze-Off Leads To 10-12% Drop In Shale Gas Supply  [PDF of Article]

-- Reuters: PJM Suffers 21 GW Of Power Plant Outages Representing 16% Of Demand Amid Restricted Natural Gas Supplies, Frigid Weather 

-- Bloomberg: Winter Storm Tests US Power Grids As Natural Gas Price Breaks $6 For First Time Since Russia Invaded Ukraine In 2020 - 90% Increase In Last Week

-- Reuters: New PJM Rules Favor On-Site Natural Gas Power Plants Over Renewables For A.I. Data Centers

-- Reuters Commentary: When The US Freezes, LNG Natural Gas Market Prices Spike Over 70%

-- Reuters: US Energy Sector Reels After Winter Storm Knocks Out 2 Million BPD Of Crude Output

-- Reuters: Oil Prices Rise As Harsh Winter Disrupts US Output

-- The Allegheny Front: Fracking Produces A Lot Of Wastewater, Millions Of Gallons Are Stored Under Eastern Ohio Thru Injection Wells 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: America Needs Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas - Jim Welty, Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Energy Future Depends On Balance, Not Absolutes - We Need To Grow Renewables, Lead In Protecting Workers, Consumers, Health & Safety Of Our Communities - By Eugene Depasquale, Chair, PA Democratic Party

[Posted: January 30, 2026]  PA Environment Digest