Follow these links to spreadsheets showing the violations and inspections occurring between May 16 to 29--
Click Here for violations issued. Click Here for inspection entries.
[Note: There were many more violations issued by DEP than PA Environment Digest can highlight here.]
Enforcement Actions Taken Last Week
So far this year, DEP took these actions as of May 22--
-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 16 conventional, 3 unconventional
-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 2,143 conventional and 458 unconventional
-- Enforcements 2025: 175 conventional and 89 unconventional (orders, agreements)
-- Inspections Last Week: 327 conventional and 224 unconventional
-- Year To Date - Inspections: 8,067 conventional and 10,573 unconventional
-- Workload report as of May 15.
4 Violations Issued For Abandoning Shale Gas Wells
Greene County - Rice Drilling B LLC [EQT]
On May 12, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection issued violations for abandoning and not plugging two shale gas wells at the Anthony Petraitis well pad in Washington Township.
Permits for the Petraitis 1H and Petraitis 2H wells were issued on May 9, 2014 and expired on May 9, 2015 and were only ever partially drilled and not completed for 11 years. Read more here.
Susquehanna County - Expand Operating LLC [1,645 Days]
May 21, 2026 follow-up inspection of the 1H shale gas well at the Epsilon Blanche Poulsen well pad in Auburn Township found a fourth attempt at plugging this well to resolve cement/casing failure violations issued on Nov. 18, 2021 did not succeed. The well was still leaking gas. This well was considered abandoned before the plugging efforts started.
DEP said the owner attempted to plug the week in March 2022, June 2022, August 2024 and the well was reentered on May 17, 2026 in hopes of stopping the leaking gas.
DEP said the leaking gas may be residual gas trapped in the cement and recommended the wellhead be removed to vent remaining gas before a final cement plug is placed in the well.
DEP is evaluating recent work done on the well as well as the results of testing during the May 21, 2026 inspection. Violations continued. DEP inspection report. Expand Operating holds 1,106 permits.
Tioga County - STL Resources LLC [350 Days]
May 18, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Unit 2 Marshlands shale gas well in Gaines Township found efforts to plug this abandoned well failed. Gas was still leaking from the well. Original violation for abandonment issue June 2, 2025. The owner requested to provide a plan to address the continued presence and gas and pressure within 30 days. Violations continued. DEP inspection report. STL Resources holds 36 permits.
12 Violations For Abandoned Shale Gas Wells In 2026
So far in 2026, DEP issued or continued 12 notices of violation for shale gas well abandonment.
20 Violations For Abandoning Conventional Wells
Erie County - Penta Oil Corp [1,882 Days]
May 18, 2026 follow-up inspections of the George E. Kirik 1 and Neal L. Emmons 1 conventional wells in Union Township found the wells were still not plugged and abandoned, no action taken to correct any of the violations. A storage tank on one site collapsed at some point after the last inspection. The owner failed to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Original violations issued March 23, 2021. Violations continued. Inspection reports sent to owner.
May 15, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Perry Davids 1 conventional well in Amity Township found the well is still not plugged and abandoned. The owner failed to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Owner failed to take any action to address violations issue on March 22, 2021. Inspection report sent to owner.
May 15, 2026 follow-up inspection of the S. Morvay 1 conventional well in Amity Township found the well is still not plugged and abandoned. The owner failed to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Owner failed to take any action to address violations issue on March 22, 2021. Inspection report sent to owner.
May 15, 2026 follow-up inspection of the John McNulty 3 conventional well in Union Township found the well is still not plugged and abandoned. The owner failed to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Owner failed to take any action to address violations issued on March 22, 2021. Inspection report sent to owner.
May 14, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Francis Richards 1 conventional well in Amity Township found the well is still not plugged and abandoned. The owner failed to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. No action taken to address violations issued June 3, 2025. Inspection report sent to owner.
Penta Oil holds 28 permits, including 1 abandoned well (Perry Davids 1)..
Erie County - Niche Energy LLC
May 13, 2026 follow-up inspection of the Arlo & Vivian Potter 4 conventional well in Conneaut Township found the well was still abandoned and not plugged. [Violation for abandonment issued May 7, 2026] A wastewater storage tank leak was discovered to have saturated a large area of ground at the well side. Multiple violations were issued. A copy of the inspection report was sent to the owner. DEP inspection report. Niche Energy holds 191 permits, including 9 abandoned wells (not this one)..
Erie County - MKP Enterprises Inc.
May 7, 2026 inspection of the Erie Petro Inc 1 conventional well in the City of Erie found the well abandoned and not plugged. Inspector met with the owner onsite to discuss well plugging options. The owner also failed to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports. April 9, 2026 iolations continued. DEP inspection report. MKP Enterprises holds 28 permits.
Fayette County - Blackrock Enterprises LLC [706 Days]
May 7, 2026 inspection of the Smith 2 conventional well in Georges Township found the well was still not plugged and abandoned and leaking gas. The owner failed to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports. Original violations issued May 31, 2024. Response requested by May 28. DEP inspection report. Blackrock holds 32 permits.
Warren County - Delta Inland Oil Res LLC
On May 20 & 27, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection issued 8 more violations to Delta Inland Oil Res LLC for abandoning and not plugging 12 conventional oil and gas wells in Warren County, Sugar Grove Township. Read more here. Delta Inland holds 363 permits.
Washington County - Rice Drilling B LLC [EQT]
May 4 & 8, 2026 inspections of the Dague 1 (North Bethlehem Township) and 1 Harris 1 (California Borough) were both found to be abandoned and not plugged. Response requested by June 10.
Westmoreland County - Diversified Production LLC
May 7, 2026 compliance evaluation of the Paul Graff / Wyatt Seanor Coal 4 conventional well in Salem Township found the well plugging effort failed and the well was venting gas. Fresh violations issued for well abandonment and unlawful conduct. Response requested by May 28. DEP inspection report.
Abandoned Well Inspections
DEP inspected 197 abandoned conventional wells in Allegheny, Butler, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Venango, Warren and Washington counties to monitor ongoing plugging operations and evaluate the wells for future plugging.
Unknown Owners Of Abandoned Wells
DEP inspected 26 conventional oil and gas wells with Unknown Owners in Allegheny, Butler, Forest, Greene, Venango and Washington counties and found them abandoned and not plugged, in addition to the 197 other abandoned wells. Example DEP inspection report.
249 Violations For Conventional Abandoned Well Violations In 2026
So far in 2026, DEP issued or continued 429 notices of violation for conventional oil and gas well abandonment.
Failure To Submit Conventional Well Plugging Bond
May 8, 2026 DEP issued a violation to Yellowbird Energy LLC for failure to submit well plugging bonding (not online). The violation was immediately corrected. Yellowbird holds 7 well permits.
15-Year Shale Gas Well Integrity Problems Contaminates Another Water Supply
On May 11, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice of violation to Expand Operating LLC for methane contamination of a second private water supply by faulty shale gas wells at the Delhagen well pad in Rush Township, Susquehanna County.
As described in the violation notice, this action is part of an ongoing gas migration investigation that began in October 2011 when a complaint was received about methane contamination in a private water supply. Read more here.
Sandstone Development Issued Violations For Illegal Wastewater Injection Well
On May 14, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection issued a violation to Sandstone Development LLC for operating the McKay 7A conventional well as an oil and gas wastewater injection well in Lafayette Township, McKean County without a DEP permit.
DEP said records at the well showed 191,982 gallons of oil and gas wastewater had been disposed of at the well. Read more here.
Blackhill Energy Issued Violations For 6 Pipeline Drilling Inadvertent Returns
Between March 23 and May 15, the Department of Environmental Protection received notifications of six separate inadvertent return spills from horizontal drilling operations for the Blackhill Energy LLC Sultana Pipeline Project in Springfield Township, Bradford County.
The initial spills occurred while drilling under Mill Creek and Big Pond Road and impacted areas on the permitted pipeline route, but also ran off the permitted area into a nearby woods and surfaced in wetlands. Read more here.
Complaint Raises Issue Of Not Having Noise Standards For Oil & Gas Operations
On May 26, 2026, the Department of Environmental did an inspection of the Expand Operating LLC Williams-Aeppli shale gas well pad in Herrick Township, Bradford County in response to a complaint from a neighbor about constant noise from a natural gas compressor at the site.
The complainant has been impacted by compressor noise for seven years.
The complainant hired an expert acoustical engineer to document the problems and taking Expand Operating to court, but no action has been taken and he hoped DEP could help.
DEP took out noise performance standards from a 2016 regulation update promising to return to the issue, but no action has been taken. Read more here.
Shale Gas Spills/Releases
Armstrong County - Pennenergy Resources LLC
May 14, 2026 inspection of the area around the PER W47 shale gas well pad in North Buffalo Township resulted from a complaint filed with DEP. The complainant documented a release of wastewater that entered a tributary to Buffalo Creek (High Quality) during an investigation of a water supply contamination complaint. The owner is disassembling a large aboveground storage tank to determine if that is the source of the release. Response requested from owner. DEP inspection report.
Shale Gas Cement/Casing Failure
Bradford County - Expand Operating LLC [668 Days]
May 21, 2026 inspection of the 5H shale gas well on the Hopson well pad in Asylum Township as part of regular monitoring of cement/casing failure first discovered on July 22, 2024 found there was still gas venting outside the casing string. Monitoring to continue. Violations continued.
Wyoming County - Expand Operating LLC [2.176 Days]
May 14, 2026 follow-up inspection of the 5H shale gas well and 22HC shale gas well at the Hunter well pad in Meshoppen Township as part of regular monitoring of cement/casing failure first discovered on May 29, 2020. Remedial work was done all all five shale gas wells on the pad in October 2020 and follow-up monitoring has continued. Violations continued. Monitoring continues.
Shale Gas Companies Failed To Submit Production, Waste Reports
These shale gas companies failed to submit monthly production and waste generation and disposal reports--
-- Amer Oil & Gas LLC
-- Apollo Resources LLC
-- John E. McCool
-- Medina Res Dev Co LLC
-- Seneca Mineral Co Inc.
-- Wilmoth Interests Inc.
Erosion & Sedimentation Control Failures
Fayette County - Diversified Production LLC [33 Days]
May 18-20, 2026 follow-up inspections of 3 conventional well sites found multiple erosion and sediment control failures and failure to restore conventional drilling sites in follow-up inspections. Violations were continued. DEP investigating whether failure to restore well sites was a violation of a March 7, 2019 Consent Order and Agreement. The wells included-- German Township: CFR USX 5 and Luzerne Twp.: Debord 5, Stewart 9. Response requested by June 10.
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.
[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:
-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard- May 16 to 29 [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 23 [PaEN]
-- DEP Sets June 25 Hearing On Air Permit For ETC Northeast Pipeline Cryo II Project At The Revolution Cryogenic Natural Gas Processing Plant In Smith Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Air Quality Operating Permit Authorizing The Expansion Of MarkWest Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 33 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In April; 133 In 2026 [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 30 [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Air Quality Operating Permit Authorizing The Expansion Of MarkWest Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 60 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 23 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For PPL Electric Tek Park Transmission Line Project To Connect To Proposed A.I. Data Center In Upper Macungie Twp., Lehigh County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On PECO Brandon Shores Retirement 500 kV Transmission Line Reconstruction Project Stormwater Permit In York County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Stormwater Permit For The Mid Atlantic Interstate Transmission LLC Ashtabula-Erie West 345kV Rehabilitation Project In Erie County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 62 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 30 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP: Sandstone Development LLC Operating Illegal Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In McKean County; Disposed Of 191,982 Gallons Of Wastewater, So Far [PaEN]
-- DEP: Expand Operating Delhagen Shale Gas Wells Contaminate 2nd Water Supply, Part Of Ongoing Well Integrity Problems For Last 15 Years In Rush Twp., Susquehanna County [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues 8 More Violations To Delta Inland Oil Res LLC For Abandoning, Not Plugging Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Warren County [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Rice Drilling [EQT] Violations For Abandoning, Not Plugging 2 Shale Gas Wells Left Partially Drilled For 11 Years In Greene County [PaEN]
-- DEP: Blackhill Energy To Start Permanent Remediation Of Areas Impacted By Six Inadvertent Return Spills From Horizontal Drilling Of Sultana Pipeline In Springfield Twp., Bradford County [PaEN]
-- DEP: Complaint By Neighbor Experiencing Impacts From Compressor Noise For 7 Years From Shale Gas Well Pad In Bradford County Again Raises The Issue Of Why There Are No Noise Standards For Oil & Gas Operations [PaEN]
-- Citizen Science: Penn State Geographers Need Help Testing Interactive Natural Gas Infrastructure Mapping Tools On May 29-30 At Penn State Beaver Campus, Beaver County [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 33 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In April; 133 In 2026 [PaEN]
-- PUC Schedules In-Person, Telephonic Public Hearings On 13.1% Rate Increase Proposed By Peoples Natural Gas Starting June 2 [PaEN]
-- PUC PaOneCall Damage Prevention Committee Announces $183,750 In Penalties For Underground Utility, Pipeline Violations; Next Meeting June 9
NewsClips:
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Calfrac Fracking Services Company Based In Canada Closing Fayette County Office, Cutting 75 Jobs
-- Scranton Times: A.I. Data Center 400 MW Gas Power Plant Hearings To Continue This Week In Archbald
-- WPSU: Companies Want To Develop Natural Gas-Powered Data Center In Cameron, Potter Or Tioga Counties
-- WGAL: Nearly 50 Homes Evacuated After Contractor Hits Natural Gas Line In East Donegal Twp.
-- PUC Schedules In-Person, Telephonic Public Hearings On 13.1% Rate Increase Proposed By Peoples Natural Gas Starting June 2 [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Peoples Gas Customers Can Tell The PUC What They Think About A Proposed 13.1% Rate Increase
-- WESA/WHYY - Susan Phillips: PA Lawmaker’s Bill Would Rein In Utility Profits: ‘The Entire System Is Out Of Whack’
-- Bloomberg: European Power Prices Turn Negative Due To Renewable Generation As Heat Wave Breaks Records [Natural Gas Can’t Do That]
-- Reuters: Four US LNG Gas Vessels Sailing To China After President’s Summit
[Posted: May 30, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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