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

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]