The release was discovered at about 8:30 p.m. by the landowner’s relative who noticed hay bales were under water and water was flowing from the impoundment’s stanchions.
In a follow-up DEP phone call to Coterra, the company said an “unknown issue” caused a valve to open for the impoundment and initially reported computer hacking or a software glitch may be the reason.
DEP arrived onsite April 6 about 9:46 a.m. to begin its investigation tracing the path of the release off the well pad and away from the impoundment, through a pasture to the point where the release entered Meshoppen Creek, according to the landowner’s relative.
DEP did initial field conductivity testing and found no elevated levels indicating a wastewater discharge.
Coterra said the 10 million gallon impoundment is fed by Meshoppen Creek, the Susquehanna River and other water impoundments.
In a follow-up inspection on April 8 by DEP, Coterra was able to clarify the timeline of the release. Click Here for additional photos.
At 8:02 a.m. on April 5 [Easter] all six valves on each impoundment stanchion opened simultaneously. The pumps were not on and water flowed by gravity until the landowner’s release reported the release and the valves were closed between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m.
Coterra said it does not trust the data from the stanchions, but between 400,000 and 704,000 gallons could have been released.
The stanchions allow water trucks to fill up from the impoundment. A water truck pulls up, types in information and the stanchion gives them the water they need, similar to a gas station.
All the data gets recorded and notifies Coterra, if the withdrawal is over 7,000 gallons. However, the system never notified Coterra of this release.
The company said they usually have an operator at the site three times a day checking on things, but since it was the Easter holiday, no one was checking.
Coterra said it believes a configuration software file was corrupted, but the reason for the corruption is still unknown.
Since the file was corrupted, Coterra was unable to close the valves remotely.
In addition, other safety features for the stanchions did not activate and Coterra was not notified electronically because the pumps were not on.
Coterra said they will “brainstorm” additional safety features to prevent a release in the future.
DEP requested Coterra to sample the impoundment and provide the results, provide a summary of the sources of water for the impoundment and repair erosion and other damage caused by the release.
No violations have been issued as of April 8.
[Note: On April 14, the US Department of Homeland Security issued an urgent cybersecurity advisory to the petroleum industry that cyber attacks have targeted automatic tank gauging systems. Read more here.
[It is not known whether the systems used by Coterra and other shale gas drillers may have a similar vulnerability.]
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: Top- 10 million gallon impoundment; stanchion showing release area; Below- path of release thru hay bales, entry point into Meshoppen Creek; Aerial photo with red line showing estimated path of release.)
[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 Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - April 18 [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues 2nd Air Quality General Permit For Diesel-Fired Nonroad Engines At Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County
-- DEP published notice in the April 18 PA Bulletin announcing the rescission of the Standards and Guidelines for Identifying, Tracking and Resolving Oil and Gas Violations technical guidance and posting a Standard Operating Procedure with the same name and posted on DEP’s website.
-- DEP published notice in the March 28 PA Bulletin announcing the rescission of a technical guidance document Civil Penalty Assessments in the Oil and Gas Management Program and posting with separate Civil Penalty Assessment Standard Operating Procedures for conventional oil and gas well owners and shale gas well owners that have now been posted on DEP’s website.
-- DEP Posted 76 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In April 18 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Renewal Of Wastewater Permit For Restart Of Constellation Energy’s Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant In Dauphin County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Encroachment Permit For Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission, LLC Project To Rebuild Power Lines To Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant In Dauphin County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Stormwater Permit For SNA North LLC/QTS A.I. Data Center Project In Salem Twp., Luzerne County [PaEN]
-- DEP published notice in the April 18 PA Bulletin inviting comments on an Individual Stormwater permit covering 25.87 acres of the Keystone Appalachian Transmission Company (FirstEnergy) Stoney Springs Junction 138kV transmission line project located in Salem Twp., Westmoreland County. (PA Bulletin, page 2143)
Related Articles This Week - Energy:
-- House Energy Committee Reports Out GeoThermal Energy, Advanced Transmission Technology, Energy Financing Authority Bills [PaEN]
-- PA House Passes Bills To Develop Model Zoning Ordinance To Help Local Governments Regulate, Mitigate The Impacts Of A.I. Data Center Developments; Report Water, Energy Use [PaEN]
-- PA House Blue-Green Labor, Environmental Caucus Endorses 9-Bill Package To Expand Clean Energy Generation, Strengthen Workforce [PaEN]
-- Spotlight PA: Gov. Shapiro Repeats Threat To Pull Pennsylvania Out Of PJM Regional Grid Operator, If Electricity Costs Keep Rising
-- Shapiro Administration Secures $14 Million From US DOE For Enhanced GeoThermal Systems Pilot Demonstration Project In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- US Dept. Of Energy Announces $14 Million To Support DEP Project For Enhanced Shale Gas Well GeoThermal Demonstration In Pennsylvania [PaEN]
-- Report: President Canceled 28.2 Gigawatts Of US Electric Generation- Funding For 13 Gigawatts Lost In Pennsylvania- In Face Of Unprecedented A.I. Data Center Demand, Grid Reliability Concerns [PaEN]
-- TheDerrick.com: Who Will Pay The Water Bill? Aqua Pennsylvania Is 'Evaluating Its Options’ For Recovering Money It Spent Operating The Venango Water Company From Oil & Gas Well Owner After Wastewater Spill [PaEN]
-- Residents Around MarkWest Harmon Creek Natural Gas Cryogenic Processing Plant In Washington County Urge DEP To Deny A New Air Quality Permit Because Of Frequent, Ongoing Black Smoke, Incomplete Combustion Violations At The Plant’s Natural Gas/Chemical Flare [PaEN]
-- DEP Linkedin: Oil & Gas Program Sets Inspection Record In 2025, Including 5,213 Wells Never Inspected Before, Responded To 674 Complaints, Incidents [PDF of Article]
-- Susquehanna River Watershed Low-Flow Conditions Trigger Stop To Shale Gas Drilling Water Withdrawals At 19 Locations, 13 More Approaching Restrictions [PaEN]
-- PA House Passes 3rd Natural Gas Safety Bill After Fatal Reading Chocolate Factory Explosion [House Bill 1522]
-- PECO Withdraws Proposed 12.5% Electric, 11.4% Natural Gas Rate Increases From PUC Consideration [PaEN]
-- PUC Opens Investigation Into UGI Electric Proposed 12.8% Rate Increase [PaEN]
-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 13.1% Rate Increase Request by Peoples Natural Gas [PaEN]
-- PUC Modifies UGI Gas Settlement To Require More Direct Support To Customers Impacted By Improper Service Terminations
-- PUC Marks April As Safe Digging Month
-- Mountain Watershed Association Appeals 90% Reduction In Mine Subsidence Damage Bond For Rustic Ridge Coal Mine In Westmoreland, Fayette Counties From $3.1 Million To $292,679 [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts Anaerobic Digestion On The Farm Conference, June 9-11 [PaEN]
-- PennFuture June 4 Energy Dialogue 2026 - Growing A Sustainable Energy Economy In Pennsylvania To Be Held In Hershey [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Energy Essentials News: Data Centers Q/A; National Biogas Conference; Tips For Picking Reputable Solar Developer
NewsClips:
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Philadelphia Gas Works Proposed LNG Natural Gas Plant Replacement In Port Richmond Neighborhood Now In Limbo
-- Reuters: Williams CEO Says PA-NY Constitutional Natural Gas Pipeline Could Be Online In 2027
-- EPA, DOE, DOI Break Ground On Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Natural Gas Pipeline Taking PA Gas Into New York City
-- The Guardian: Top Oil, Natural Gas Companies Set To Make An Extra $234 Billion By End Of 2026
-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: As Tech Groups Predict Huge Pennsylvania A.I. Data Center Growth, Critics Say Some Bills Would Reduce Local Control; One State Senator Plans 3-Year Moratorium
-- PennLive/LehighValleyLive: Republican Sen. Coleman Calls For Giving Local Governments Authority To Put A Moratorium On A.I. Data Centers While They Revise Zoning Ordinances
-- WESA/The Allegheny Front: Electric Transmission Line Company Wants Authority To Condemn Property From PA PUC For Proposed Power Line In SW PA To Feed A.I. Data Centers In Virginia
-- Gov. Shapiro Demanded, And PECO Withdrew Its 12.5% Electric, 11.4% Natural Gas Rate Increase Saving PA Consumers $510 Million
-- WHYY: PECO Withdraws Its Rate Hike Case After Backlash From PA Governor, Lawmakers
-- Inquirer: PECO Withdraws Request For Double-Digit Rate Hike, After Facing Backlash
-- Post-Gazette: Solar Energy Facility To Help Offset Energy Costs Of 4 Pittsburgh Schools
-- LancasterOnline: Muddy Run Pump Storage Hydroelectric Plant To Test Warning Sirens In Lancaster, York Counties April 23
-- Center For Rural Pennsylvania April 17 Hearing On A.I. Data Centers, Coolidge Theatre At The Deane Center, Wellsboro, Tioga County
-- Breathe Project - April 20 Webinar On When Air Kills - Pittsburgh’s Hidden PM2.5 Particulate Toll, 7:00 p.m.
-- Better Path Coalition To Host May 13 A.I. Data Centers Virtual Town Hall Meeting, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
-- The Hill: US DOE Secretary Predicts Energy Prices May Rise, Hit Peak In ‘Next Few Weeks’
[Posted: April 18, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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