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PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 20 to 26 - Abandoned Well Violations To Owner Of 727 Conventional Wells ‘Returned To Sender,’ More Wastewater Pipeline Spills; 2nd Attempt To Plug Shale Gas Well

From July 20 to 26, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database shows oil and gas inspectors filed 436 inspection entries and caught up posting previous inspection reports.

So far this year, DEP took these actions as of July 19--

-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 56 conventional, 13 unconventional

-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 4,925 conventional and 579 unconventional

-- Enforcements 2024: 294 conventional and 69 unconventional

-- Inspections Last Week: 221 conventional and 462 unconventional

-- Year To Date - Inspections: 9.240 conventional and 13,626 unconventional

-- Wells Drilled Last Week: 4 conventional and 3 unconventional

-- Year To Date Wells Drilled: 83 conventional and 172 unconventional

5 Abandoned Conventional Wells

On July 16, 2024, DEP inspected the Shaffer Nancy 2 conventional well in Brady Township, Clearfield County owned by Stonehaven Energy MGT Co LLC and found it to be abandoned and not plugged and venting gas.

The original violations for abandonment, venting gas and failure to submit well production, waste generation and well integrity reports were issued on May 30, 2023 and the owner did nothing to address the violations.

DEP’s inspection report continued the violations, but did not request any specific actions by the owner.

DEP’s inspection report for another Stonehaven Energy’s Walls 3 conventional well last week noted notices of violations mailed to Stonehaven for that well were returned by the USPS as “return to sender.” Read more here.

DEP’s eFACTS database shows Stonehaven Energy holds 727 well permits.

Is this another conventional operator abandoning all its wells to be plugged at public expense?

On July 23, 2024, DEP inspected the Romanelli 25 conventional well in Donegal Township, Butler County owned by Kenic Gas & Oil Co and found well plugging operations underway on this abandoned well.

The original violation for abandoning the well was issued on May 18, 2023.

DEP’s eFACTS database shows Kenic holds 19 conventional well permits, including two abandoned wells.

DEP’s inspection report continued the violation for well abandonment.

On July 23, 2024, DEP inspected three conventional wells-- Luther Gates, 3, 4 & 6 in Eldred Township, Warren County owned by PA Oil Prod Co. and found them all to be abandoned and not plugged.

DEP evaluated the wells for the federal well plugging program and verified their location.

DEP’s eFACTS database shows PA Oil Prod holds 47 conventional well permits, none abandoned.

DEP’s inspection reports [#6 as an example] included no violations.

On July 25, 2024, DEP inspected the Edward Anyzek 1 conventional well in Le Boeuf Township, Erie County owned by Medina Res Dev Co LLC and found well plugging operations underway on this abandoned well.

The original violation was issued on July 15, 2024.

DEP’s eFACTS database shows Medina holds 486 conventional well permits, at last 65 of which are abandoned, but not this one

DEP’s inspection report continued the violations for well abandonment.

On July 26, 2024, DEP inspected the WM Ernest 70 conventional gas well in Highland Township, Elk County owned by ARG Resources, Inc. in response to a complaint and found it to be abandoned and leaking gas.

DEP reported a methane meter “found the combustible gas from the well exceeding allowable limits.”

DEP’s eFACTS database shows ARG Resources holds 1,860 conventional well permits, many of which are abandoned or inactive.

In June of 2023, DEP solicited bids for plugging 10 oil and gas wastewater wells abandoned by ARG Resources, Inc.

ARG Resources, Inc. is a company related to the American Refining Group which owns and operates the Bradford Oil Refinery in Bradford, PA. Read more about the company here.

DEP’s inspection report did not include any violations.

Abandoned Shale Gas Well 2nd Plugging Attempt

On July 22, 2024, DEP inspected the KARP WYO 2H Shale Gas Well in Lemon Township, Wyoming County owned by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC just after the completion of a second attempt to plug the well to stop gas venting.

The initial plugging operation was completed on June 20, 2022, but did not stop gas from being released to the atmosphere.

DEP’s inspection report said the re-plugging effort resulted initially in no gas being detected from the well, but the violation for well abandonment was continued.

577 Conventional, 10 Shale Gas Abandoned Well Violations In 2024

So far in 2024, DEP issued 577 new or continued violations to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging wells; and 10 violations were issued to five shale gas well owners [Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, Atlas Resources, LLC; Atlas Resources, LLC (follow-up inspection)’ Repsol Oil & Gas, EQT Chap LLC; M4 Energy; M4 Energy (follow-up inspection); EQT (Rice Drilling B LLC); and Roulette Oil & Gas LLC)] for abandoning wells and not plugging wells.

Shale Gas Well Venting Gas

On July 22, 2024, DEP did a routine inspection of the Hopson Shale Gas Well Pad 5H well in Asylum Township, Bradford County owned by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC found the well to be venting gas.

DEP’s inspection report included new violations related to the gas venting and requested the owner to submit a plan by August 23, 2024 on how the well will be brought into compliance.

Shale Gas Well Spills

On July 17, 2024, DEP did a complaint inspection at the Whispering Pines Shale Gas Well Pad in Delmar Township, Tioga County owned by Clean Energy Exploration & Production LLC and found continued violations for spills and contaminated water on the well pad site.

The original violations were issued on January 16, 2024.

DEP’s inspection report recommends the owner assess the contamination near the frac wastewater tanks and in other areas and conduct an Act 2 Land Recycling Program cleanup if needed.

On July 18, 2024, DEP did an inspection of the DCNR Tract 726 Pad in Plunketts Creek Township, Lycoming County owned by PA General Energy Co. LLC and found evidence to indicate “a potential pollutional event may have occurred” on the pad.

The inspector took water samples and conductivity readings. A vacuum truck was seen removing fluids from a containment area near the well cellars and from around the drilling mud tanks on site.

DEP’s inspection report includes initial violations for the spill and said “additional violations may be issued pending results of water sample analysis.”

DEP requested the owner to submit a plan by August 5, 2024 on how the well pad will be brought into compliance.

2nd Horizontal Pipeline Drilling Spill In Tioga County

On July 24, 2024, DEP did an inspection of the Gas Connector Pipeline site in Chatham Township, Tioga County owned by NFG Midstream Covington LLC in response to a July 24, 2024 notification by the owner of a second spill related to horizontal drilling under Crooked Creek.

On July 16, the owner reported a similar spill on this same project in the same area. Read more here.

The second spill came from an overfilled temporary storage tank being used to clean up fluids from the first spill on July 16.

Cleanup was already underway at the time of the inspection.

DEP’s inspection report issued violations for the new spill and immediately closed them due to the cleanup.

Lack Of Progress In Cleaning Up Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Spill

On July 17, 2024, DEP did follow-up inspections of two sites impacted by shale gas wastewater pipeline pump spills at NITMS006-NITM-H009 and NITMS15-NITMH15 and in Franklin and Whiteley Townships, Greene County owned by EQM Gathering OPCO LLC and found “inadequate progress made on spill remediation since the spill was initially reported on 7/11/2024” at both locations.

The cause of the spills in both cases were ruptured hoses connected to two booster pumps.

DEP’s inspection reports continued the violations issued on July 11, 2024 and noted the inadequate cleanup progress.

Leak From Onsite Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline

On July 23, 2024, DEP inspected the E08-L Shale Gas Well Pad in Jones Township, Elk County owned by Seneca Resources Co LLC in response to a July 22 notification by the owner of a wastewater pipeline spill.

A hole in an onsite plastic wastewater pipeline caused the spill on the well pad estimated at the time of the inspection to be about 20 gallons.

DEP noted the plastic pipeline had been repaired and the spill cleanup was underway at the time of the inspection, including the removal of contaminated soil to a depth of approximately seven feet.

DEP’s inspection report included violations related to the spill and the owner was requested to submit a plan by August 6, 2024 on how the well pad will be brought into compliance.

Click Here to read about another Seneca wastewater pipeline rupture in Cameron County.

Conventional Well Wastewater Spills

On July 22, 2024, DEP did an inspection of the Joseph Kahl 4365 conventional well in Derry Township, Westmoreland County owned by Diversified Prod LLC in response to a notification of a wastewater spill at the site.

The spill occurred after a wastewater storage tank overflowed when an automatic shut down float failed.

Spill cleanup was underway at the time of the inspection. An estimated 30 gallons of wastewater spilled.

DEP’s inspection report included violations related to the spill and a request for the owner to submit a plan by August 8, 2024 on how the site will be brought into compliance.

On July 23, 2024, DEP inspected the Reed O Huffman UX3 conventional well in Center Township, Greene County owned by Pillar Energy PA LLC and found evidence of a wastewater tank spill.

The inspector said the plastic wastewater tank was “propped up using a stone” and there was evidence of a leak under and near the tank.

A representative of the owner said the tank would be removed within the next week “and that visual clean up of the impacted soil would commence once the area below the production fluid tank can be accessed.”

“The Department is requesting documentation of the production fluid tank removal and impacted material clean-up once completed. The Department is also requesting clarification regarding the amount of produced fluid that leaked from the tank upon discovery of the leak.”

DEP’s inspection report included violations related to the spill that were immediately closed noting they were “corrected.”

2024 Land Recycling/Brownfield Cleanups

So far in 2024, DEP received or acted on 179 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups. Almost none related to conventional oil and gas spills. Read more here.

Conventional Wells Venting Gas

On July 18, 2024, DEP did a complaint inspection at the James T. Burns 3074 conventional well in Rose Township, Jefferson County owned by Diversified Prod LLC and found it continued to vent gas.

The original violations for venting gas were issued on June 6, 2024 and the owner did nothing to correct them.

A representative of the company and their consultant were onsite who were trying to determine if there was some other source of methane other than the well leaking gas around the well casing.

DEP’s inspection report continued the violations, but requested no specific actions from the well owner.

On July 24, 2024, DEP inspected the Danner 1 conventional gas well in Victory Township Venango County owned by Myers Gas in response to a complaint and found the well was leaking gas ten feet from a hiking trail.

DEP’s inspection report said there was a “noticeable odor of natural gas” detected coming from the well casing.

The well owner was contacted and said he was going to make repairs.

No violations were included in the inspection report.

Failure To Submit Shale Gas Production, Waste Reports

Failure to submit production and waste generation reports is a big step toward well abandonment.

On July 22, 2024, DEP issued a notice of violation to Roulette Oil & Gas Co, LLC for failing to submit monthly production and waste generation reports for four shale gas wells in Potter County for the last six months-- January through June.

The wells include:

-- Colussy YX201 in Roulette Twp., Potter County (active)

-- Kaple YX202 in Roulette Twp., Potter County (active)

-- Kaple YX208 in Roulette Twp., Potter County (active)

-- Guardian Pad B611 Hebron Twp., Potter County. (Unspecified/Abandoned)

Click Here for a copy of the violation.

On July 22, 2024, DEP issued a notice of violation to AMS Energy, LLC for failing to submit monthly production and waste generation reports for six shale gas wells in Butler County for the last six months-- January through June.

The wells include:

-- W.Watson 1 47.6: Winfield Twp., Butler County

-- D. Brewer 1 67.3: Winfield Twp., Butler County

-- Klabnik 1: Winfield Twp., Butler County

-- Brunn 1 50: Winfield Twp., Butler County

-- McCrea 1: Clearfield Twp., Butler County

-- L. Graff 1-103.27: Jefferson Twp., Butler County

Click Here for a copy of the violation.

On July 22, 2024, DEP issued a notice of violation to Monona LLC for failing to submit monthly production and waste generation reports for the Stickle 1H shale gas well in Fairfield Township, Westmoreland County for the last six months-- January through June.

Report Violations

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

Text photos and the location of abandoned wells to 717-788-8990.

Check These Resources

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database webpage to search their compliance records by date and owner and the Inspection Reports Viewer.

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.

(Photos: Row 1-- Clean Energy Exploration & Production LLC shale gas well pad contaminated water; Diversified Prod LLC conventional well leaking gas; EQM Gathering OPCO LLC inadequate cleanup of shale gas wastewater pipeline spill at two locations; PA General Energy Co. LLC spills on shale gas well pad; Row 2-- Stonehaven Energy MGT Co LLC conventional well venting gas, signs of leaking well; Chesapeake Appalachia LLC second attempt to plug shale gas well; Diversified Prod LLC conventional wastewater tank overflowed; Kenic Gas & Oil Co abandoned conventional well plugging underway; Row 3-- Pillar Energy PA LLC leaking conventional plastic wastewater tank; Seneca Resources Co LLC soil removed to 7 feet deep due to wastewater pipeline leak on shale gas well pad; ARG Resources, Inc. abandoned conventional well leaking gas; Myers Gas conventional well leaking gas next to a hiking trail.)

[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 Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 20 to 26 - Abandoned Well Violations To Owner Of 727 Conventional Wells ‘Returned To Sender,’ More Wastewater Pipeline Spills; 2nd Attempt To Plug Shale Gas Well [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 27 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 74 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 27 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 27 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 74 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 27 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- No One Warned A Cameron County Family Their Water Well Was Contaminated By A Seneca Resources Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Rupture [PaEN]

-- Shell Petrochemical Plant Asks DEP To Classify Chemical Makeup, Flow Rate Of Gases Going To Be Burned Off By Flares, Air Pollution Sources, Control Equipment Operating At The Plant Confidential Business Information [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved, Renewed 22 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In June; 155 General Permits In 2024 [PaEN]

-- DEP Requiring Any Facility Operating Under A Temporary Title V Air Plan Approval For More Than 12 Months To Submit a Title V Operating Permit On Or Before Nov. 25, 2024 [PaEN]