The agenda for the meeting includes--
-- Oil & Gas Wastewater Disposal: Update, Next Steps. Read more here.
A December 15 meeting was scheduled between DEP and members of the conventional oil and gas industry on the issue of disposing of wastewater, but the meeting was not open to the public and any solutions discussed or commitments to follow-up actions are unknown at this time.
-- Status of Methane Emission Reduction Plan (EPA OOOOb-c). Read more here.
-- Injection Well Regulation Update
-- Presentation by Kristin Carter, Assistant State Geologist
-- Regulatory Development Overview
-- Gas Storage Area Regulations Update
-- Federally-Funded Well Plugging Programs - Cut In Federal Funding. Read more here.
-- State Of Global Energy Supply and impact on Pennsylvania
Other Pending Issues
-- Conventional Oil & Gas Regulations Not Updated In Nearly 39 Years: DEP regulations covering conventional oil and gas wells were last adopted in 1987. An attempt to update them ffailed in 2016, when the General Assembly/Gov. Wolf killed the package to allow the shale gas regulations to move forward. The 2016 conventional regulations update represented a significant improvement in environmental protections, but still had gaps.
-- Conventional Well Owners Continue To Abandon Wells: While DEP has made significant progress in plugging abandoned conventional wells thanks to federal funding, DEP issued over 700 violations to conventional well owners in 2025 for abandoning wells and 860 violations in 2024. DEP has stepped up enforcement activities with its limited staff, but it has not put a dent in those numbers.
-- Millions Of Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Unaccounted For: Today, no one knows how much wastewater conventional well owners generate because of widespread non-reporting. Conventional well owners reported generating 93.4 million gallons of wastewater in 2017. A white paper by the PA Independent Oil and Gas Association in 2017 estimated the average conventional oil and gas well produced 2,146 gallons of wastewater a year. With an estimated 86,125 active conventional well permits, the math says the industry generates about 184.8 million gallons a year. Where did the wastewater go?
-- Conventional Well Owners Push To Legalize Road Dumping Wastewater: The illegal disposal of conventional oil and gas wastewater by dumping it on paved and dirt and gravel roads continues unabated in Pennsylvania as are efforts to legalize the practice. Read more here.
-- “Widespread Non-Compliance” In Conventional Industry The Norm: Last June, DEP said it continues to see “widespread non-compliance with laws and regulations in the conventional oil and gas industry, particularly regarding improper abandonment of oil and gas wells, but also not reporting hydrocarbon and waste production [and disposal] and conducting mechanical integrity assessments.” Read more here.
As DEP noted, well owners fail to comply with the most basic requirements: 85% failed to submit annual production and waste generation/disposal reports and 87% failed to submit annual well integrity reports for 2024. Read more here.
A December 2022 first-ever report by DEP on conventional industry compliance said until the industry’s “culture of non-compliance” changes, there will be no meaningful improvement in compliance. Read more here.
Public Comment Period
Anyone interested in making comments during the public comment period should contact Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov.
Join The Meeting
The meeting will be held in Room 243 of the Technology Center, 200 Innovation Blvd in State College starting at 10:00 a.m.
Click Here to join the meeting using Microsoft Teams. It is also available by conference telephone-- 1 267 332 8737, Conference ID: 377 402 179#
For available handouts and more information, visit DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council webpage. Questions should be directed to: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov.
[Posted: April 13, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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