The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the May 25 PA Bulletin announcing it has issued an oil and gas wastewater injection well permit to PA Well Development LLC for the David A. Weaver #1 disposal well in Young Township, Jefferson County.  (PA Bulletin, page 2904)

Young Township is also the home of Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog-- Punxsutawney Phil.

The PA Bulletin notice did not include the correct name of the applicant so it took some research in DEP’s eFACTS database to find which permit the notice was referring to.

On June 21, 2023 the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a Class IID oil and gas wastewater Underground Injection Well Permit for this well, which at the time was owned by G2 STEM LLC based on Fairfax, Virginia.  Read more here.

EPA’s record for this well has since been changed to reflect the PA Well Development LLC company name.

Both G2 STEM LLC and PA Well Development LLC have the same address in Fairfax, Virginia.

G2 STEM LLC was the company behind another oil and gas wastewater injection well proposal in Fayette County that became very controversial.

The company ended up withdrawing the permit in the face of significant local opposition.  Read more here.

Based on that experience, local Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Fayette) introduced House Bill 1656 prohibiting DEP from issuing any permits for injection wells [Read more here] and Fayette County Commissions voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance restricting injection well development in the county [Read more here].

Limited DEP Information Available

No information on this permit is available on DEP’s Underground Injection Control Wells webpage where the agency normally lists pending and issued permits.

DEP did post a short fact sheet about the permit application on the Community webpage of the Northwest Regional Office, but it contained no information on public review opportunities.

No public notice was published in the PA Bulletin announcing DEP received this permit that multiple searches were able to locate.

DEP’s eFACTS database says the permit was received on December 27, 2023 and the applicant received no less than 11 deficiency letters from DEP, the last one on April 29, 2024.

Eleven deficiency letters could be a record.  It used to be three strikes and your application was returned.

PA Well Development LLC has only one permit in Pennsylvania under its company name-- this one-- according to DEP’s eFACTS database.

Appeals

DEP’s notice says anyone aggrieved by this action may appeal the permit to the Environmental hearing Board within 30 days of this notice.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 18 to 24 - 3 Abandoned, Plugged Shale Gas Wells Still Leaking Gas; 480 Abandoned Conventional Well NOVs  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 25 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 81 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 25 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week: - Gas

-- Gas Industry, Sen. Bartolotta Seek Legislation To Eliminate Environmental Hearing Board Appeals Of DEP Permits For Natural Gas Pipeline Facilities  [PaEN]

-- Damascus Citizens: Do You Live In An Oil & Gas Wastewater Disposal Facility? Public Roads In 84 Municipalities In PA, One County In NY Are Being Used As Disposal Areas For Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit To PA Well Development LLC In Young Twp., Jefferson County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Renewal Of Waste Transfer Permit For 5 Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Wells Owned By Bear Lake Properties In Warren County  [PaEN] 

-- EPA Invites Comments On Draft Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit Renewal For Seneca Resources Company, LLC In Elk County  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission June 13 Business Meeting To Consider Water Use Requests Including 7 Shale Gas Drilling Uses In Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 100 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In First 4 Months Of 2024  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Oil & Gas Industry Waste And Radioactive Drinking Water In Pennsylvania -  By Justin Nobel, Author of Petroleum-238: Big Oil's Dangerous Secret and the Grassroots Fight to Stop It  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvanians Realized $500+ Billion In Public Health Benefits By Eliminating Coal-Fired Power Plants, Switching To Natural Gas  [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week - Gas:

-- TribLive: Many West Deer Residents Calling For More Stringent Regulations On Shale Gas Drilling In Allegheny County

-- TribLive: Indiana Twp. Rezoning Would Accommodate Fracking Off Route 910 In Westmoreland County

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Well Fracking Plans On Hold In Indiana Twp. As Planning Commission Seeks Info; Residents Pack Meeting In Westmoreland

-- Williamsport Sun: Republican US Senate Candidate Says US Needs Energy Independence [Why Do PA Gas Drillers Want To Ship Gas To China?]

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: We Need Long-Term Answers To Energy Needs; Pursuit Of More Renewable Energy Can Happen Currently With Production Of Oil & Gas

-- FracTracker Alliance: Not-So-Radical Transparency - An Ineffective And Unnecessary Partnership Between Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro And The Shale Gas Company CNX

-- The Energy Age Blog: Federal Radioactive Oil & Gas Waste Exemption History

-- WHYY: Could PA’s Oil & Gas Wastewater Hold The Key To The Country’s Energy Transition?

-- PennLive: Here’s How PA Could Become A Huge Player In Lithium Mining [Oil & Gas Wastewater]

-- Meadville Tribune Guest Essay: Abandoned Conventional Well Plugging Grant Program Is Opportunity To Work Collaboratively With Oil & Gas Industry To Benefit The Environment - By Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny)  [Conventional Well Industry Paid $4,400 Into Well Plugging Fund So Far In 2024]

-- The Allegheny Front: Air Pollution Decreased, But Sill Causes Hundreds Of Deaths A Year In Allegheny County

-- MCall Guest Essay: Now We’re Cooking With Gas And Deadly Pollutants - By Bruce Wilson, Green Builder

-- SpotlightPA: Communities Fear Health, Environmental Harms As They Await More Info On Hydrogen Hub Projects

-- TribLive/Spotlight PA: Communities Fear Health, Environmental Harms As They Await More Info On Hydrogen Hub Projects

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Is Hydrogen The Road To A Decarbonized Future Or Just Another Lifeline For Fossil Fuels

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: Protect Consumers From Energy Market Volatility By Reforming Utility-Rate Process [UGI Gas Increases]

-- Bloomberg: Natural Gas Prices Will Be Increasing Through 2025

-- YahooFinance: CEO Of Pittsburgh-Based EQT Natural Gas Warned Federal Regulations On Carbon Capture Could ‘Sabotage’ US Ability To Meet Power Needs

-- Reuters: Top US Gas Producer Chesapeake Energy Cuts Jobs

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT Acquisition Of Equitrans Gas Pipeline Company Clears Antitrust Hurdle

-- Reuters: Promising Pipelines, Fracking, Ex-President Rakes In Millions At Texas Fundraisers

[Posted: May 24, 2024]

5/27/2024