From April 1 to 7, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database shows oil and gas inspectors filed 488 inspection entries that resulted in reporting 34 violations of environmental regulations-- 31 violations by the conventional oil and gas industry and 2 violations by the unconventional shale natural gas industry.

So far this year-- as of March 31-- DEP issued 1,078 formal notices of violation to conventional operators and 445 to unconventional shale gas operators based on 3,797 inspections of conventional facilities and 6,758 inspections of unconventional shale gas facilities.

4 New Abandoned Wells

Three conventional oil/gas drillers were issued notices of violation for failure to plug four  wells before abandoning them-- Alpha Wells Inc. (Clarion County); Armac Resources, LLC (Warren County); and Timberline Energy, Inc. (2- Venango County).

Venting Natural Gas

During an April 4 routine inspection, the Department of Environmental Protection found two Repsol Oil and Gas USA LLC shale gas wells in Apolacon Township, Susquehanna County venting natural gas to the atmosphere through the well annulus at the Kropp Well Pad.

The DEP inspection found defective well casing and cementing the operator failed to report to the agency and failed to correct within 30 days.

The inspection reports note these violations at this location for these two wells have continued since they were first discovered on May 23, 2017.  Read more here.

Leaking Game Lands Gas Well Fixed

The leaking conventional natural gas well found last week on State Game Lands #87 in Jefferson County near Punxsutawney has been fixed after a hiker reported it to the Game Commission and DEP.

The person reporting the leaking gas well to the Game Commission and DEP said it isn’t unusual to find abandoned natural gas gathering pipelines, brine tanks and wells on the Game Lands as well as smell leaking gas.

Failure To Submit Well Integrity/Production/Waste Reports

Timberline Energy, Inc. failed to submit well integrity reports for two natural gas wells in Venango County.  On one of those wells DEP also found no production and waste generation report.

The production and waste report is critical to understanding how much wastewater and other waste those wells generated and where it was disposed of.

The annual integrity report is critical because it helps ensure the operator is taking the steps needed to prevent natural gas, oil or contaminated water leaks from oil and gas wells.

Report Violations

To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

Check These Resources

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database webpage to search their compliance records by date and operator.

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.

Violation Details

Violations Reported - Conventional

4 -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

1 -- Drilling, Altering, Operating A Well Without A Permit

1 -- Discharged Waste Into Waters Of Commonwealth

1 -- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

1 -- Failed To Contain Wastes Or Regulated Substances In Tanks Or Other Storage Structures

1 -- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

2 -- Failed to design, implement and maintain erosion and sedimentation BMPs

1 -- Failed to stabilize site to prevent erosion and sedimentation

2 -- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

1 -- Failed To Submit Well Production & Waste Management Report

Company/Location/Violations - Conventional

Butler County

-- Osterling Owen M. - Center Twp. - OSCHE 1

     -- Discharged Waste Into Waters Of Commonwealth

     -- Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater

     -- Failed To Contain Wastes Or Regulated Substances In Tanks Or Other Storage Structures

     -- Operated A Residual Waste Processing Or Disposal Facility Without A Permit

Clarion County

-- Alpha Wells Inc. - Monroe Twp. - TW Phillips 1

     -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

     -- Drilling, Altering, Operating A Well Without A Permit

Jefferson County

-- Diversified Prod LLC - Oliver Twp. - SS Jordan 200A 1

     -- Failed to design, implement and maintain erosion and sedimentation BMPs

-- Diversified Prod LLC  - Young Twp. - Fetterman TWP 1

     -- Failed to design, implement and maintain erosion and sedimentation BMPs

-- Diversified Prod LLC - Gaskill Twp. - Paul W & Jeannette Craft 1

     -- Failed to stabilize site to prevent erosion and sedimentation

Venango County

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - OSTROSKE 2

     -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

-- Timberline Energy Inc. - Cranberry Twp. - OSTROSKE 3

     -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

     -- Failed To Submit Well Integrity Report

     -- Failed To Submit Well Production & Waste Management Report

Warren County

-- Armac Resources LLC - Warren City - Warren Rail Car 2

     -- Failure To Plug The Well Upon Abandoning It

Violations Reported - Unconventional Shale Gas

2 -- Failed to notify DEP of defective well casing/cementing

2 -- Operator Vented Natural Gas Into The Atmosphere

Company/Location/Violations - Unconventional Shale Gas

Susquehanna County

-- Repsol Oil & Gas USA LLC - Apolacon Twp. - Kropp 1H  [Read more here]

     -- Failed to notify DEP of defective well casing/cementing

     -- Operator Vented Natural Gas Into The Atmosphere

-- Repsol Oil & Gas USA LLC - Apolacon Twp. - Kropp 7H  [Read more here]

     -- Failed to notify DEP of defective well casing/cementing

     -- Operator Vented Natural Gas Into The Atmosphere

[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 Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 1 to 7; Leaking Gas Well On State Game Lands #87 Fixed  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - April 8  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 67 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In April 8 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’  [PaEN]

-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Ohio Research Confirms Health, Environmental Hazards In Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater Dumped On Roads, Just Like In PA  [PaEN]

-- New University Of Chicago Medical Study Connects Natural Gas Development In PA To Real, Serious Human Health Outcomes And Should Be A Call To Action For Policy Makers - By Alison Caldwell, PhD,  University of Chicago News  [PaEN]

-- House Bill Would Expand Safety Zones Around Oil/Gas Wells, Infrastructure To Reduce Adverse Health, Environmental Impacts As Recommended By AG Shapiro’s Grand Jury Report  [PaEN]

-- Local Officials, Residents, Advocacy Groups Call On DEP To Conduct A Robust Public Participation Process For Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well Applications  [PaEN]

-- DEP Inspection Finds Two Repsol Oil & Gas Shale Gas Wells Venting Natural Gas To Atmosphere, Defective Well Casing/Cementing In Susquehanna County; Violations Continue From May 2017  [PaEN]

-- Moms Clean Air Force: Strong Proposed EPA Petrochemical Plant Rules Are One Step Closer To Reality; Shell Petrochemical Plant Covered By Separate Proposed Rule  [PaEN]

-- Homer City Coal-Fired Power Plant To Close In Indiana County; Low Price Of Natural Gas, High Price Of Coal, Regulatory Burdens, RGGI Cited As Causes; Solar Projects Waiting To Fill Gap  [PaEN]

-- PA Council Of Professional Geologists Hosts April 20 Webinar Presentation By Manager Of PA State Seismic Network - Basement Structure Of Appalachian Basin In PA  [PaEN]

-- PJM This Week Sends Penalty Assessments Of Up To $2 Billion To Electric Generators That Failed To Perform During December’s Winter Storm Elliot; Natural Gas Power Plants Had 63% Of Outages  [PaEN]

[Posted: April 8, 2023]

4/10/2023