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Citizen Complaint, Company Report Results In DEP Inspection Finding 63,000 Gallon Wastewater Spill At Seneca Resources Shale Gas Well On State Game Lands In Elk County; More Leaks, Spills

A citizen complaint and a report by Seneca Resources Co. LLC resulted in a May 3 DEP Oil and Gas inspection finding an estimated 63,000 gallon spill of wastewater on State Game Lands at the WT 2587 302H 5318 well site in Jones Township, Elk County.

The spill happened on April 26 at about 7:30 a.m.

According to the DEP inspection report, “The initial spill occurred when a cast iron gate valve failed as the operator was pumping production water to a stimulation operation on the E09-U pad.

“The pump was in operation at 50 barrels per minute. The operator was able to stop the leak eventually. Water spread out across the northern edge of the site, entering a perimeter ditch.

It then ran around the edge ditch of the site and eventually entered an infiltration berm on the southwest corner of the location.

“The operator brought in a pump and was able to collect a significant amount of liquid from this location. The operator's estimate is that 1,500+ barrels [63,000 gallons] of produced water was released.”

“The operator has scraped up ~150 tons of material from the surface of the location and staged it on site to remove to the landfill. The operator has brought in ARM Group to do an initial analysis of the site and to take samples for removal to the landfill.”

DEP requested a written report on the incident from the company by May 19, 2023, including a description of how the company plans to demonstrate attainment with Act 2 Land Recycling Program clean up standards.

Here are other violations DEP’s inspectors found during inspections from April 29 to May 5.

Another Leaking Oil Gathering Pipeline

On May 1, DEP inspected a Consortium Energy LLC crude oil gathering pipeline leak in a ditch leading away from the Warrant 3410 P21 conventional well in Lafayette Township, McKean County.

This is one of several gathering pipeline leaks in the last two months. Read more here.

The company notified DEP about the oil leak near Turnup Run, a High Quality-Cold Water Fishers stream.

The company had already taken steps to prevent oil from reaching the Run and it appeared the crude oil soaked into the ditch where the gathering pipeline is located.

DEP issued violations for failing to prevent pollutants from reaching waters of the Commonwealth, and failure to control and dispose of residual waste to prevent pollution.

DEP requested a written report from the company on the leak by May 19, 2023. [DEP inspection report.]

Methane Leaking From Abandoned Well

On May 1, DEP inspected an Armac Resources LLC conventional gas well known as Warren Rail Car 2 in Warren City, Warren County as part of an investigation of an ongoing methane leak from a well issued a notice of violation for abandoning the well and failing to plug it to stop the flow of fluids and gas on April 18, 2023.

The inspection found an ongoing methane leak.

DEP requested a written report from the company on the steps they plan to take to plug the well and stop the leak. The report is due by May 8, 2023. [DEP inspection report.]

Fluid Leak From Coal Bed Methane Well

On May 1, DEP inspected an Apollo Resources, LLC conventional coal bed methane well known as Proffitt 1 in Derry Township, Westmoreland County that found the well leaking a “significant amount” of fluid.

The company did not notify DEP of the leaking fluids and found the well wasn’t connected to production equipment and the pump jack was not operational.

DEP requested a written report from the company on how long the release was occurring and how they plan to clean it up. [DEP inspection report - 3548738]

Failed To Collect Brine/Leaking Tank

On May 3, DEP inspected an Apollo Resources, LLC conventional gas well known as Harbison Walker 104 in Penn Township, Clearfield County and found a rusted and leaking brine, wastewater storage tank with a hole in the bottom.

DEP issued a notice of violation for, among other violations-- Failed to prevent potential pollution of Waters of Commonwealth; Failed to report release of wastewater/brine; and Failed To Collect Brine And Properly Manage Wastewater.

DEP requested a written report from the company on the violations by May 18, 2023. [DEP inspection report]

Knew It Was Leaking, Didn’t Report

On April 28, DEP inspected a T&T Compression, Inc. conventional well known as Alexander Roy 1 in Grant Township, Indiana County and observed an area of ground contaminated with production wastewater from a tank. The wastewater tank was empty.

The DEP inspector spoke to the well operator by phone on May 4 who said they were previously aware of the release, “but had not reported it to the Department.”

DEP requested a written report from the company by June 4, 2023 on the violations and how the operator would clean up the site using Act 2 Land Recycling Program standards. [DEP inspection report]

No Action Taken To Cleanup Leaking Wastewater

On May 2, DEP did a follow-up inspection of an OWS Energy LLC conventional well known as the Smith Jerold Unit 2 well in East Fallowfield Township in Crawford County to determine the company’s progress in cleaning up leaking production wastewater.

The inspection found there was no action taken by the operator since the initial notice of violation was issued on April 13, 2023.

DEP requested a written report from the company on how they plan to clean up the leaking wastewater tank. [DEP inspection report]

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.

[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.]

(Photos: Seneca Resources State Game Lands spill; Consortium Energy LLC crude oil gathering pipeline leak; Armac Resources LLC methane leak; Hole in Apollo Resources, LLC brine/wastewater tank; OWS Energy LLC leaking wastewater tank; right side- T&T Compression, Inc. leaking wastewater tank.)

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 29 to May 5; Major Shale Gas Wastewater Spill; 6 More Abandoned Well NOVs [PaEN]

-- Citizen Complaint, Company Report Results In DEP Inspection Finding 63,000 Gallon Wastewater Spill At Seneca Resources Shale Gas Well On State Game Lands In Elk County; More Leaks, Spills [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - May 6 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 64 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 6 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]