From June 3 to 9, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database shows oil and gas inspectors filed 687 inspection entries that resulted in reporting 134 violations of environmental regulations-- 113 violations by the conventional oil and gas industry and 21 violations by the unconventional shale natural gas industry.

So far this year-- as of June 3-- DEP issued 2,797 formal notices of violation to conventional operators and 659 to unconventional shale gas operators based on 6,773 inspections of conventional facilities and 10,653 inspections of unconventional shale gas facilities.

Frack-Out Between 2 Conventional Wells

DEP continues its investigation into a fracking “communication” incident-- a frack-out--  between two conventional oil wells operated by Cameron Energy in Sheffield Township, Warren County.  [DEP inspection report June 5, 2023 for conventional well API 123-48718.]

On March 1, Cameron reported a crude oil discharge from a plugged conventional oil well known as Lot 434 Plugged Well (API 123-47931) in Sheffield Township.

DEP’s March 2, 2023 inspection report notes “the discharge occurred as a result of this well communicating with API 123-48718, which was being stimulated [fracked] approximately 175 feet from this well at the time of the discharge.”

The report said, “crude oil was present in the surface casing annulus and a washout formed around the surface casing” and “a minimal amount of product was released to the well site, with no apparent impact beyond the location itself.”

DEP’s inspection report noted “no violations” even though there was a spill. 

The report also said “remediation efforts that were taken appear adequate.”  There was no mention of what remediation standard Cameron was using or if they were following Act 2 Land Recycling statewide or other health standards.

DEP inspection reports in subsequent weeks documented efforts by Cameron to replug the API 123-47931 conventional well.  The company had difficulty cleaning debris and other material out of the well to properly plug it.

A DEP inspection report on May 23, 2023 said the well was not yet fully plugged and Cameron was still pumping cement into a portion of the well-- two and a half months after the initial discovery of the crude oil leak and communication incident with conventional well API 123-48718.

New Abandoned Wells

DEP inspections last week resulted in issuing or continuing 10 notices of violation for abandoning conventional oil and gas wells without plugging them, including one conventional operator-- The Production Co. LLC with five wells in violation in Fayette County.

A June 5 DEP inspection of Medina Res Dev. Co LLC conventional gas well known as Mongera 2 found the well abandoned in Venango Township, Crawford County.

Medina had also not submitted a production and waste generation or mechanical integrity report for the well which had not been inspected since 1989 and the production wastewater tank was not within an earthen dike.

Medina was requested to provide a written report by July 7, 2023 on how it will bring the well into compliance.  [DEP inspection report]

On June 7, DEP did a follow up inspection of Pennfield Energy LLC’s conventional H. McDowell 8 [DEP inspection report] and 17 [DEP inspection report] wells in Mineral Township, Venango County and found the company still had no well plugging equipment on site.

The company said it would start plugging the wells on May 15.  Violations for abandoning the wells without plugging them still stand.

A June 7 inspection of the A.G. Miller 963 conventional well operated by Fortress Energy Corp in Luzerne Township, Fayette County found it continues to be in violation for being abandoned without plugging.

A June 7 follow up inspection of the Andrew Suchko Tract 2 conventional well operated by Suchko Andres F found it continues to be in violation for being abandoned without plugging in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County.

DEP inspections of The Production Co. LLC’s conventional wells Horak 1 in German Township, Fayette County, Weirton Coal 1 in Luzerne Township, Fayette County, the James H. Newmeyer 4341 Well in Perry Township, Fayette County, the Zelenak 2 well in German Township, Fayette County and the Goodwin 3 Well in North Union Township, Fayette County were all found in continuing violation for being abandoned without plugging.

The Production Co. LLC had also not submitted production and waste generation and mechanical integrity reports for these and other conventional wells in Fayette County.

Other Conventional Inspections

On June 6, DEP inspected the James T. Burns 3074 conventional gas well in Rose Township, Jefferson County operated by Diversified Prod LLC as part of an ongoing investigation into a water supply contamination incident.

The inspection found the well was still venting gas to the atmosphere and violations were continued for failure to prevent gas, fluids or other materials from entering fresh groundwater or prevent pollution and failure of the operator to notify DEP of the deterioration of casing and other equipment at the site.

The inspection report notes these violations were originally issued on October 28, 2021.  [DEP inspection report]

On June 6, DEP inspected the J.B. Graham Estate M-674 conventional oil well in Greenwood Township, Clearfield County operated by Diversified Prod LLC in response to a notification by the company of a crude oil spill estimated to be less than 25 gallons.

The site was already remediated, seeded and mulched. Violations were issued but closed due to the immediate action to remediate the site.  [DEP inspection report]

A routine inspection of Diversified Prod LLC’s Fetterman Twp. 1 conventional well in Young Township, Jefferson County on June 5 found the well had been plugged, but was issued violations for failing to temporarily stabilize the site to prevent erosion and sedimentation.

DEP inspected the Audrey E. & Joseph E. Bauer conventional gas well known as the Jos Bauer ET UX 1 on June 5 in Venango Township, Crawford County and found the well had not been inspected since 2018 and the operator failed to submit a production and waste generation or mechanical integrity report for the well.

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.

The production wastewater tank was also not within an earthen dike to contain any spills.

The well was being used for home gas use.

The Bauer’s were requested to provide a written report by July 7, 2023 on how they will bring the well into compliance.  [DEP inspection report]

On June 5, DEP did a compliance inspection on Diversified Prod LLC’s conventional gas well known as Rochester & PGH Coal 2320 10 in Winslow Township, Jefferson County and found the company was making progress correcting erosion and sedimentation violations along the access road to the well site.

Plugging of the well itself has been completed and steps were discussed on how the operator could take further actions to reduce sedimentation.  [DEP inspection report]

Other Shale Gas Inspections

On June 5, DEP inspected Seneca Resource Co. LLC Fry Gamble 118H unconventional shale gas well in Hepburn Township, Lycoming County where the inspector continued violations for defective casing and cementing allowing gas or fluids related to the well to enter groundwater, failed to prevent gas flow in the well annulus and failed to correct defects in casing or cementing.

The good news was 0% combustible gas was detected at the well vents during the inspection.

On June 8, DEP noted in an inspection report Rice Drilling B LLC [now EQT] failed to design and construct the Brova 1H unconventional shale gas well pad with secondary containment in North Bethlehem Twp., Washington County.

A DEP inspection on June 7 of the EQT Prod Co. R. Smith Well Site unconventional shale gas well pad in Carroll Township, Washington County identified new violations for failure to design and maintain erosion and sedimentation controls, failure to comply with the erosion and sedimentation control General Permit and failed to minimize erosion from the site.

The inspection report noted channels were diverting site surface water towards the valley, bypassing the wet pond and causing acceleration erosion off the pad.

DEP required the operator to submit a written plan by June 28, 2023 on how it will bring the site into compliance.  [DEP inspection report]

On June 8, DEP inspected Chesapeake Appalachia LLC’s Solowiej 1H-6H unconventional shale gas well pad in Wyalusing Township, Bradford County and found erosion and sedimentation measures generally in good shape.

However, an earlier DEP inspection on October 18, 2022 found problems with the sediment pond on the site discharging into a ditch and running down the hill.  The landowner had expressed concern about the drainage.

Chesapeake had promised then to redesign the pond, but has so far failed to do so.  As a result, the violations issued on April 8, 2022 related to these problems continue.

DEP again recommended Chesapeake make changes to its erosion and sedimentation permit to deal with the issues and submit them to the agency for review.  [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.

(Photo: Cameron Energy Plugged Conventional Well Frack-Out; Pennfield Energy LLC’s conventional H. McDowell 8 & 17; Diversified Prod LLC  J.B. Graham Estate M-674; Diversified Prod LLC  James T. Burns 3074; Medina Res Dev. Co LLC Mongera 2.)

[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:

-- MarkWest Liberty Midstream Files To Clean Up 10,000 Gallon Natural Gas Condensate Spill Caused By December’s Winter Storm Elliot Freeze In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 3 to 9:   Plugged Conventional Well Frack-Out; 10 More NOVs For Abandoning Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - June 10   [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 51 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 10 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- House Committee Reports Out Bill Requiring The Evaluation Of Cumulative Impacts Of Some New Pollution Sources On Communities Already Burdened By Pollution; And Other Bills  [PaEN]

-- Republicans, Shale Gas Industry Oppose House Bill Requiring The Evaluation Of Cumulative Impacts Of Some New Pollution Sources On Communities Already Burdened By Pollution  [PaEN]

-- Senate Environmental Committee Info Session On Carbon Capture Discusses Job Potential; Reaching Net-Zero Carbon Goal; Impacts/Risks Of The Technology; PA’s Poor Track Record In Regulating Pipelines, Oil & Gas Industry  [PaEN]

-- Better Path Coalition: June 22 Virtual Brown Bag Briefing With Laurie Barr On Abandoned Conventional Oil/Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Abandoned Conventional Oil/Natural Gas Wells Emit Carcinogens, Other Harmful Pollutants In PA, Study Shows  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News - Stacey Burling: $400 Million In Federal Abandoned Conventional Oil/Gas Well Plugging Funds In PA, But It’s Not Enough; Hazards Include EQT Frack-Out In Greene County; More Wells Being Abandoned All The Time

-- Federal Court Declines To Prohibit PA Environmental Hearing Board From Hearing Appeals Of DEP Permits Issued For Regional Energy Access Expansion Natural Gas Pipeline Project  [PaEN]

-- EPA Invites Comments On Proposed Oil/Gas Waste Underground Injection Well In Fayette County; July 11 Virtual Public Hearing Set  [PaEN]

-- Residents, Environmental Groups Rally Against Shell Petrochemical Plant's Pollution In Beaver County  [PaEN]

-- Senate Republicans Pass Bill Taking ‘Protection’ Out Of The Name Of Department Of Environmental Protection; But DEP Doesn’t Have To Change Its Signs Until They Wear Out  [PaEN]

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: ‘Protection’ Still Core Of DEP’s Job  [PaEN]

[Posted: June 10, 2023]

6/12/2023