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.]
PA Oil & Gas Industry, Public Notice Dashboards:
-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Snapshot Aug. 1 to 7:
-- 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]
-- DEP - Day 47: Equitrans Water SVC [EQT] Remediation Of Richter Shale Gas Water Impoundment Release Appears To Be At A Stand Still In Greene County [PaEN]
-- DEP - Day 1,450: Blackhill Energy Fails To Fix Or Plug 3 Shale Gas Wells With Casing/Cement Failures In Bradford County First Discovered In August 2022 [PaEN]
-- Greene County - Rice Drilling B LLC [EQT] - Accelerate Erosion From Shale Site
July 13, 2026 inspection of the Irish Pug shale gas well site in Wayne Township in response to a July 10 “emergency notification” by the Fish & Boat Commission found evidence of accelerated erosion and heavy sediment deposits down hillside from road going to well pad. Multiple violations issued. Response requested by Aug. 14. DEP inspection report.
-- McKean County - Howard Drilling Inc. - Conventional Fracking Fluid Release
July 16, 2026 routine inspection of the Lot 221 52 conventional well in Wetmore Township found a release of contaminated water pooled in a roadside ditch and stressed trees dropping their leaves near a reclaimed contaminated water pit. Multiple violations issued, but not failure to notify DEP of a release. Owner responded saying the release of an unknown amount of contaminated water and fracking fluid occurred and initial cleanup completed under DEP supervision on July 27 (although no inspection report filed). Response requested by Aug. 11 DEP inspection report.
-- Westmoreland County - Oil & Gas MGMT Inc. - Fail To Cleanup Spill 517 Days
July 29, 2026 follow-up inspection of Mary Kunkle 5 conventional oil well in Mount Pleasant Township found owner failed to remediate spill, other violations first discovered Feb. 27, 2025. No response from well owner. Violations continued. Response requested by Aug. 14. DEP inspection report.
-- Federally-Funded Conventional Well Plugging Program: 81 inspections of projects underway, wells to include in program. No violations issued for abandoned wells.
-- DEP Oil & Gas Inspection Reports - August 1 to 7
-- DEP Oil & Gas Violations Issued - August 1 to 7
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - August 8 [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Chapter 105 Permit For A 3rd Expand Operating LLC 16-Inch Shale Gas Water Pipeline In Wysox Twp., Bradford County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 58 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In August 8 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For New US Steel Hot Strip Mill With Special Conditions In Braddock Boro, Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For PPL Hauto Frackville Transmission Line Project To Serve A.I. Data Center In Schuylkill County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission Bushkill Falls To Birchwood Lakes Electric Substations In Pike County [PaEN]
-- DEP published notice in the August 8 PA Bulletin it has received a Notice of Intent under the Act 2 Land Recycling Program from 1000 Main St. Prop/Archbald Data and Energy Center, LLC to remediate soil impacted by volatile organic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, lead and arsenic at a site located in Archbald Boro, Lackawanna County. (PA Bulletin, page 5291)
Related Article This Week:
-- PPL Electric Reports 31.8 GW In A.I. Data Center Demand Pipeline, Including 11 GW Under Signed Agreements; Its Joint Venture With Blackstone Has Secured Sites To Build Up To 14 GW Of Generation In PA [PaEN]
-- PJM Accepts 715 Projects With 201.4 GW Of New Electric Generation For 1 to 2-Year Review; 39.8 GW Of Projects In PA; PJM Also Accepting State Identified Projects For Expedited Process [PaEN]
-- PJM Issues Hot Weather Alert Aug. 9 - 11 For Mid-Atlantic - Including PA - Southern Regions Of Service Area [PaEN]
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - August 10
NewsClips:
-- Williamsport Sun: More Criminal Charges Filed Against Eureka Resources For 2025 Oil & Gas Wastewater Spill
-- PennLive Guest Essay: Why Your Electric Bill Keeps Rising, And How Pennsylvania Can Fix It By Pairing Solar Energy With Energy Storage - By Tim Pawlenty, Solar Energy Industries Assn.
-- PennFuture Blog: Bring Your Own Generation Isn’t The Solution - Homer City 3,200 Acre A.I. Data Center Case Study - Bring Your Own CLEAN Energy Is
-- Inside Climate News: Natural Gas Dominates PJM’s First Reformed Grid Connection Queue, Driven By A.I. Data Center Demand
-- Ohio River Valley Institute: Jobs, Wages Falling Behind In PA's Fracking Counties; New Data Center, Natural Gas Development Will Fail To Deliver Long-Term Economic Growth, Report Suggests
-- Pittsburgh Business Times/National Observer: The A.I. Data Center Tsunami Is Coming, But One Critical Factor Is Missing - Permanent Jobs Supported By The Millions In Public Tax Subsidies
-- Wall Street Journal Editorial: Everyone Knows The President Plays The Role Of Political Populist, But All You Can Do Is Laugh When He Lashes Out At Oil Companies For ‘Making Too Much Money’ As A Result Of His War With Iran
-- Reuters: President Blasts Exxon, Chevron For Making ‘Too Much Money,’ Demands Lower Gasoline Prices
-- The Guardian: Greenland Issues ‘Strong Warning’ As Oil Company Linked To US President Prepares To Drill Without Approval
[Posted: August 5, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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