DEP was notified by HG Energy of an underground shale gas contaminated water pipeline failure in West Finley Township, Washington County resulting in a release of up to an estimated 42,000 gallons of wastewater.
The release was discovered at 5:45 p.m. via drone near shale gas well pad WFN-6. A cleanup was onsite at the time of the notification, but the release was “not secured/contained” at that time.
The initial cause of the release reported by the company was the failure of equipment in a cement vault that was part of a pipeline system owned by Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Series 2021 NG-1.
The initial report was the vault reportedly overflowed sending between 21,000 and 42,000 gallons of contaminated water downslope approximately 100 yards toward an old logging road and an unnamed tributary of Robinson Fork Creek.
The size of the release was revised upward to a maximum of 88,410 gallons in a July 29 response from Loan Asset Issuer, LLC that occurred at some point over a five day period from July 3 to July 8.
DEP and the company said the pipeline transfers contaminated water from six shale gas well pads in Pennsylvania to an aboveground storage structure at a collection facility in West Virginia once or twice a week.
The August 3 inspection report said excavation of impacted soil continues at the site and field measurements continue to show elevated levels of conductivity in multiple areas, including in and around an infiltration basin.
A new cofferdam was constructed below a new access road to catch contaminated water from a ground seep.
Cofferdams and a collection tank was also constructed in an unnamed tributary on the site to collect contaminated water.
Distressed vegetation was observed downstream of the unnamed tributary.
Click Here for the August 3 inspection report + photos.
Response To Initial Violations
On July 29, 2026, Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Series 2021 NG-1 provided a response to DEP’s initial violations issued on July 8 providing an incident summary and timeline.
The response included a revised estimate of the amount of contaminated water released during the incident to a maximum of 88,410 gallons from the earlier 42,000 gallons.
The response said-- “This is considered to be a worst-case estimate and assumes all water pumped from the Pennsylvania [shale gas well] pads (WFN 1, WFN 3, WFN 4, WFN5, WFN 6, and WFN 10) from the day of the last pipeline inspection (July 3rd), to the time the release was identified (July 8th) could potentially have been lost.
Click Here for a copy of the response.
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: Row 1-- Contaminated infiltration basin; Excavation of contaminated soil along flow path; Row 2-- Excavation of contaminated soil along flow path; coffer dams to collect contaminated water for disposal.)
[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.]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PennLive: Attorney General Sunday Files More Criminal Charges Against Eureka Resources, This Time For Releasing Oily Oil & Gas Wastewater From Its Williamsport Plant Last August [PaEN]
-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: Nearly 1 Year Since Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Spill, Company Sold Its Operations, Wastewater Still At All 3 Facilities [PaEN]
-- DEP - Day 26: Loan Asset Issuer, LLC Fails To Comply With Order To Prevent Migration Of Contaminated Shale Gas Water Spill Of Up To Now 88,410 Gallons From A Shale Gas Pipeline Failure In Washington County [PaEN]
[Posted: August 5, 2026] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment