Tuesday PA Environment & Energy Articles/ NewsClips - 7.1.25

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

-- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution  [It’s Not A Suggestion]

House Voting Schedule

July 1, 2

September 22, 23, 24, 29, 30

October 1, 6, 7, 8, 27, 28, 29

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

No Session Days Scheduled

September 8, 9, 10

October 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

WARNING: This Is Budget Season, Watch Out For Anything!

TODAY 6:30: In-Person. DEP Hearing On State Plan To Implement Federal Rule Requiring Methane Emissions Reductions From Conventional Oil & Gas, Shale Gas Facilities.  Crawford County. 6:30 p.m.

TODAY Noon: Virtual. Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar On Private Water Supply Education & Water Testing [Free Water Test], Noon to 1:00 p.m.

July 2-- DCNR Webinar To Review Findings, Recommendations For Establishing An Outdoor Recreation Statewide Industry Organization. Noon to 1:00  p.m.  

July 7-- In-Person. DEP Hearing On State Plan To Implement Federal Rule Requiring Methane Emissions Reductions From Conventional Oil & Gas, Shale Gas Facilities. Harrisburg. Noon

July 8-- CANCELED. Environmental Quality Board meeting. Next scheduled meeting August 12.  Contact: Laura Griffin, laurgriffi@pa.gov  or (717) 772-3277. 

July 8-- Agenda Posted. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building.  12:30 p.m. Check webpage for options for joining the meeting remotely.  Contact: Ian Irvin, Executive Director, iirvin@pa.gov or (717) 787-8171

July 9-- In-Person. DEP Hearing On State Plan To Implement Federal Rule Requiring Methane Emissions Reductions From Conventional Oil & Gas, Shale Gas Facilities. Williamsport. 6:30 p.m.

-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Request To End Appeal Of Catalyst Energy, Inc. Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit In McKean County  [PaEN] 

-- Warren Times Editorial: Pennsylvania Needs A New Plan For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Increasing Bond Amounts Only Part Of Solution  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Seeks $395,000 Penalty Against UGI Utilities For 2022 Natural Gas House Explosion In Suburban Harrisburg; $50,000 Penalty Against Contractor  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: PUC Files Complaints Against UGI, Plumber For 2022 Dauphin County House Explosion

-- KYW: Deadly Explosion In Philadelphia’s Nicetown Neighborhood Could Be Natural Gas-Fueled, Source Says 

-- TribLive Letter: Air Pollution And Dementia - By Dr. Marti Haykin 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Drain The Swamp, Bring DOE's Fossil Energy Office To Pennsylvania  - By Athan Koutsiouroumbas, Long Nyquist Lobbying Firm

-- Mountain Watershed Association Files EHB Appeal Of DEP's Approval Of The 1,452 Acre Expansion of the Rustic Ridge #1 Coal Mine In Fayette, Westmoreland Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Guest Essay: Remembering Ryerson Station State Park's Duke Lake, Lost To Damage Caused By Underground Coal Mining In Greene County 20 Years Ago - By Sarah Sweeney, Center for Coalfield Justice  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: Federal Mine Safety Office To Close In August After Years Of Investigating Deaths, Injuries Of Miners 

-- The Derrick: PennDOT Opens 2 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations In The Area

-- DEP Launches New Streamlining Permits For Economic Expansion & Development (SPEED) Permit Review Program  [Release + Video] 

-- Bucks County Beacon - Naomi Weiss: ‘Regulatory Sandbox’ Bill Proposed By PA Republican Senator Would Allow Businesses To Sidestep State Environmental Regulations 

-- Call For Presentations: Pennsylvania Brownfields Conference March 23-25, 2026 [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front: National Water Utility Conference Coming To Pittsburgh July 8-11 

-- PennLive: Financial Reasons Suggested As Cause For Scrapping Plastics Recycling Plant In Northumberland County, Not Permitting Issues 

-- Scranton Times: Improved Scranton Recycling Collection Begins Next Week

-- WHYY: William Penn Foundation Puts Up $5 Million To Spark Innovation Around Legal Dumping

-- Williamsport Sun: Wyoming Valley Sanitation Authority Completes Streambank Restoration Project ON Mill Creek

-- Help Wanted: Ursinus College Conservation Stewardship Coordinator  [PaEN]

-- Williamsport Sun: Nature Adventures Can Support Kids Health

-- Altoona Mirror: Sept. 11 National Memorial Trail Project Receives Grant From Appalachian Regional Commission

-- WNEP: Boy, 17, Drowns At Seven Tubs Recreation Area In Luzerne County

-- The Center Square: Bill To Lift Sunday Hunting Ban On Way To Governor

Storms/Power Outages

-- LancasterOnline: Overnight Flooding Impacts Thousands In Lancaster County

-- PennLive: More Than 10,000 Without Power After Storms Rip Through Central PA

-- Pennsylvania Power Outages [17,817 as of 6:51 a.m. July 1]

Other States/Nations

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Core Natural Resources Delays Reopening Of Underground Longwall Coal Mine In WV After Fire Due To High Carbon Dioxide Levels 

New Federal Administration

-- Reuters - Commentary: US Power Plant Pollution Climbs On Higher Coal Use

-- TribLive/AP: US Senate Republican Tax Bill Could Crush Wind, Solar Power, Advocates Say

-- EPA Announces It Will Revise Power Plant Wastewater Standards To Support Electric Reliability And Unleash American Energy [Again] 

-- US Dept Of Energy Announces Updated NEPA Procedures To End Permitting Paralysis, Unleash American Energy

-- AP: EPA Employees Put Names To ‘Declaration Of Dissent’ Over Agency Moves Under President

-- AP: NOAA Delays Cutoff Of Key Satellite Data For Hurricane Forecasting 

-- Michigan Advance: Michigan Joins 14 Other States In Challenging President’s Energy Emergency Executive Order [Not Pennsylvania] 

-- Reuters: US Supreme Court Dealt Blows To EPA And Environmental Protections

-- Wall Street Journal: New EPA Leader Shakes Up Agency With A ‘Drill Baby Drill’ Mandate

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: PA Governor Anticipates A Budget Deal ‘Very Soon’ As Lawmakers Blow Through Budget Deadline 

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Gov. Shapiro Says State Budget Deal ‘Very Close’

-- PennLive: PA Budget Deadline Slips By, As Shapiro, Legislature Continue To Negotiate

-- WESA: Gov. Shapiro, State Democrats Warn Of Federal Cuts In Congressional Republican Spending Bill 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Uncertainty In Congress Clouds PA Budget Negotiations; Democrats Rail Against Federal Medicaid Cuts

-- Inquirer: Federal Budget Bill Poised To Cut Medicaid, Here’s What’s At Stake For 5 Philly-Area Families

-- Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Said He Not Sure Food Stamps Will Be Able To Exist In PA Under President’s Budget Bill

-- MCall: Farmers Market Program For Senior Squeezed By Federal Cuts: ‘It’s Raining On Our Older Adults’

-- TribLive: Long Day Of US Senate Budget Votes Made Fetterman Miss A Trip To Beach With His Family 

-- Inquirer: As DOGE Cuts Take Effect, Philly-Area Small Nonprofits Trying To Adapt

-- KYW: PA Democratic Congressman Dwight Evans Announces He Won’t Seek Re-Election 

-- TribLive Editorial: Does PA Chamber Video Sell Pennsylvania As A State For Business Or Just Roast New York City? 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Federal ICE Must Release Detained Georgia Journalist  

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[Posted: July 1, 2025]  PA Environment Digest

Warren Times Editorial: Pennsylvania Needs A New Plan For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Increasing Bond Amounts Only Part Of Solution

The following editorial first appeared in the Warren Times on July 1, 2025--

According to a recent state legislative hearing, the state has seen 1,154 more oil and gas wells abandoned since 2020 while, over the past two and a half years, plugging only 308 abandoned wells. 

This comes after the state received $76 million from the federal government to speed up the process of capping abandoned wells.

The 1,154 abandoned in that time represent just a fraction of the total unplugged wells across the state.

Reports from the Department of Environmental Protection estimate there are up to 560,000 of the wells statewide. The average cost to plug a well, per the DEP, was about $110,000 in 2024.

Obviously, money alone isn’t the only issue the state faces dealing with uncapped wells. 

House Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Havertown, chair of the Environmental and Natural Resource Protection committee, has reintroduced a bill to give the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Quality Board the authority to set bonds for drillers that are closer to the cost of plugging a well. 

The higher bonds would act as a deterrent and compensation for abandoning newer wells.

It’s not a bad idea, Companies drilling now should be required to cap wells before abandoning them so that the cost doesn’t fall back on taxpayers. 

But simply increasing the bond requirements on oil and gas companies only slows the gap between new abandoned wells and the number of wells being capped. 

Corporate responsibility alone won’t solve the orphaned wells problem in Pennsylvania. 

State lawmakers and the Department of Environmental Protection need to come up with a plan to deal with orphaned wells. 

The federal government’s $76 million of help is appreciated, but at the state’s current average cost of $110,000 to plug an abandoned well in 2024, Pennsylvania has a $61.6 billion problem on its hands. 

The state can’t continue to lose ground as it deals with orphaned wells – and in our opinion that means the state is going to have to find additional resources to deal with orphaned wells and find a way to lower the average cost to plug an orphaned well.

New bond requirements only nibble around the edge of the orphaned well problem. 

A bigger shift in state policy and procedure is needed. 

NewsClip:

-- Warren Times Editorial: Need New Plan For Orphaned Wells

Resource Links - Abandoned Wells:

-- DEP: Widespread Non-Compliance With Environmental Laws Continues In Conventional Oil & Gas Industry;  3,108+ Abandoned Wells; At Least 85% Conventional Well Owners Fail To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports  [6.12.25] 

-- DEP: 768 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells May Be Plugged In Next Year; Over 27,000 New Abandoned Wells May Have Been Found; Alternatives To Well Plugging Bonds [PaEN]

-- House Committee Moves Bill To Restore Authority For Setting Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Bond Amounts To Help Protect Taxpayers From Billions In Plugging Costs; Republicans Oppose  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 7 to 27 - Finding 27,000 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Not Tracking Water/Wastewater Pipelines; Failure To Comply With DEP Orders; Inadvertent Pipeline Construction Returns - Again  [PaEN]  

-- House Hearing: Let’s Work Together To Make Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Practices Cleaner, Respect Property Rights, Protect Taxpayers And Prevent New Abandoned Wells  [4.24.23]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 28 to July 4 - 30+ Days Of Cleanup Continues At Shale Gas Pad;  Failure To Comply With Plugging Order For 67 Months;  Failure To Install E&S Controls For 68 Months  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Active Wastewater Spill Remediation Efforts Have Continued For 30+ Days At The Seneca Resources Vandergrift Shale Gas Well Pad In Charleston Twp., Tioga County [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 5 [PaEN]  

-- DEP Posted 65 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 5 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

Related Articles This Week:

-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Request To End Appeal Of Catalyst Energy, Inc. Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit In McKean County  [PaEN] 

-- CNX Resources Challenges Environmental Hearing Board Authority To Add Conditions To Permits For Shale Gas Wells At The Drakulic Well Pad In Penn Twp., Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- Warren Times Editorial: Pennsylvania Needs A New Plan For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Increasing Bond Amounts Only Part Of Solution  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension Adds McKean County Workshop To Promote $100/Well Bounty To Find Previously Unknown Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Their Owners; Workshops Set In Clarion, Crawford, Mercer Counties  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: The Real Story Behind The Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fee - It's Not Funding, It's Cleanup Money - By Mary Jo Simmen-Gray, Hempfield, Westmoreland County Resident  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental Integrity Project: DEP Made Changes To Permit For MarkWest Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County To Reduce Air Emissions, Improve Accountability  [PaEN]  

-- Environmental Health Project To Launch Compounds Of Concern Online Tool During July 16 Webinar  [PaEN] 

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light Launches New Faith & Fossil Fuels Initiative; Invites Congregations, Individuals To Share Your Lived Experiences With Pollution  [PaEN]

-- PUC Approves $750,000 Penalty Against UGI Utilities For 2020 Natural Gas Main Eruption In Monroe County Killing 1 Person  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Seeks $395,000 Penalty Against UGI Utilities For 2022 Natural Gas House Explosion In Suburban Harrisburg; $50,000 Penalty Against Contractor  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Grid Operator Issues Hot Weather Alert For July 6 In Its Western Region, July 7 In Its Mid-Atlantic & Southern Regions, Including Areas In PA  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: Commonwealth Court Rules Elizabeth Twp., In Allegheny County Violated Its Own Zoning Ordinance To Allow Shale Gas Well Pad, Pipeline To Be Built In A Residential Area 

-- TribLive: Residents Ask Upper Burrell Twp. To Adopt More Stringent Rules For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Wells In Westmoreland County

-- Observer-Reporter: EQT Shale Gas Driller Sues Morgan Twp., Greene County In Federal Court Over Limits On Heavy Equipment Hauling On Local Roads To Prevent Damage  [PDF of Article] 

-- WNEP: Lithium On Oil & Gas Wastewater Gives Legislators Hope For Another ‘Boom’ In Susquehanna County’s Economy

-- PennLive: PUC Files Complaints Against UGI, Plumber For 2022 Dauphin County House Explosion

-- MCall - Anthony Salamone: UGI Fined For Christmas Day 2020 Natural Gas Leak That Killed 1 Person

-- KYW: Deadly Explosion In Philadelphia’s Nicetown Neighborhood Could Be Natural Gas-Fueled, Source Says 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Natural Gas Leak Results In Power Being Cut To Much Of Downtown Wilkes-Barre, Turning Off Street Lights Throughout The City

-- WHYY: PUC Judge Denies Philadelphia Gas Works Request For Internal Emails, Texts, Memos From Climate Groups Participating In Its Rate Case, It Would Violate The First Amendment 

-- Spotlight PA: Costs Of Amazon’s $20 Billion Promise To Build Data Centers In PA Unknown: Impact On Electricity Supply, Power Costs To Consumers, Tax Revenue Forfeit 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Summer’s Triple Threat - Energy Bills Rising, Grids Straining, Help Shrinking - By Destenie Nock, Peoples Energy Analytics  

-- EPA To Open Public Comment Docket, Host Listening Sessions On Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Implementation  

-- Reuters: US Energy Firms Eye New Northeast Natural Gas Pipelines, Buoyed By President, Demand Outlook

-- Bloomberg: Electronic Warfare During Iran Strikes Crashes Global Shipping’s Navigation System, Including Oil, LNG Natural Gas Ships

[Posted: July 1, 2025]  PA Environment Digest