Removal of contaminated materials on the well pad is mostly complete and contaminated soil is still being removed from the south and west berms of the pad.
Trees were removed from the first tree line downslope from the pad and the INR cleanup contractor has installed a filter sock to control sedimentation from the excavation area along the second tree line.
The consultant was onsite collecting soil samples to determine if any other areas need to be remediated and which area were clean.
INR asked for and received a two week extension to respond to the original violations issued for this incident to September 25.
DEP continued all the violations originally issued and noted the agency has not received an updated Spill Response and Pollution Prevention and Control Plan for the site it had requested on April 15, 2026.
Click Here for the DEP inspection report + photos.
Incident
An August 17, 2026 inspection report posted by the Department of Environmental Protection documents how “copious quantities” of fracking water came “gushing” from an uncontrolled shale gas well at the INR OPR LLC Cooper well pad in Young Township, Indiana County contaminating a large area and polluting nearby Whiskey Run. Read more here.
On August 31, 2026 DEP reported an estimated 336,000 gallons of fracking flowback water was released during the incident and an undetermined amount went into Whiskey Run. Read more here.
The incident resulted in a major response from firefighters in Indiana, Armstrong, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties to support a specialized gas well response crew that worked to bring the well under control. Read more here.
What’s In Fracking Water
A fact sheet from the Environmental Health Project, fracking water is a mixture of water, chemicals (such as methanol, ethylene glycol, and biocides), and proppants (fine sand) used in shale gas drilling operations.
Fracking water is forced down the wellbore at high pressure in order to fracture the shale and free the gas.
As pressure is released, some of the HFF returns to the surface along with contaminated water from the gas formations, radioactive materials, gases, and metals.
This combination of materials is called flowback and “produced” (contaminated) water. It is considered highly toxic.
Some of the injected fluids are proprietary, so we don’t even know what they are.
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: Excavation of west berm of well pad; Staging area for contaminated soil.)
[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 Weekly Compliance Snapshot - September 12 to 18
-- DEP - Day 23: Cleanup Of 336,000 Gallon Spill Of Fracking Flowback Fluid From An Uncontrolled Shale Gas Well Continues At INR OPR LLC Pad In Young Twp., Indiana County [PaEN]
[Posted: September 15, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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