The following notices were published in the September 7 PA Bulletin related to oil and gas industry facilities.  Many of the notices offer the opportunity for public comments.

-- Baker Hughes reported September 6 the number of shale gas drilling rigs in Pennsylvania has decreased by nearly 25% in the last two weeks as part of an effort to increase natural gas prices.

-- DEP’s Oil & Gas Workload Report shows during the week ending August 30, DEP received Zero new permit applications for conventional wells and Three new permit applications for shale gas wells.  As a result, the income DEP relies on to fund its Oil and Gas Program continues to run behind what is needed to support the program.

-- The Public Utility Commission published notice in the September 7 PA Bulletin inviting comments on the proposed replacement of plastic pipe by natural gas distribution utilities.  Read more here.

Land Recycling/Brownfield Cleanups

-- National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. - Linesville Spill: DEP approved a Final Report on the remediation of soil contaminated with benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, cumene, methyl tert-butyl ether, naphthalene, 1,2,4-trimethyl- benzene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene to meet the Statewide Health Standards at a location in Linesville Borough, Crawford County.   (PA Bulletin, page 5665)

2024 Act 2 Oil & Gas Facility Pollution Cleanups

So far in 2024, DEP received or acted on 200 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups.

Air Quality Permits

-- Orrtanna Power, LLC - Oil-Fired Power Plant: DEP invites comments on the renewal of a State Only Air Quality Permit for the facility located in Highland Twp., Adams County.  (PA Bulletin, page 5668)

-- McElroy Green MKT LLC - Coal Mine Methane Flare: DEP extended the Air Quality Plan Approval for a coal mine methane flare, exhauster engine located in Gilmore Twp., Greene County.   (PA Bulletin, page 5667)

Individual NPDES Stormwater Permits

-- Peoples Natural Gas Company - Munster Pipeline Replacement Project: DEP invites comments on an Individual NPDES Stormwater Permit covering the replacement of 2.2 miles of an existing natural gas pipeline impacting Noels Creek (High Quality), Little Conemaugh River and North Branch Little Conemaugh River located in Munster and Cresson Townships, Cambria County.  (PA Bulletin, page 5639)

Erosion & Sedimentation Permits

-- Range Resources Appalachia LLC - Unknown Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Blockhouse Creek and Grays Run (Exceptional Value) located in Jackson Twp., Lycoming County.   (PA Bulletin, page 5671)

-- Range Resources Appalachia LLC - Unknown Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting the North Branch Robinson Creek located in North Fayette Twp., Allegheny County.  (PA Bulletin, page 5672)

-- Appalachia Midstream Services LLC - Pipeline Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Chilson Run (High Quality) and Millstone Creek (High Quality( located in Overton Twp., Bradford County.  (PA Bulletin, page 5671)

-- Greylock Production LLC - Unknown Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Tubbs Hollow Creek (High Quality) and Scott Hollow Creek (High Quality) located in Hector Twp., Potter County.  (PA Bulletin, page 5672)

-- Snyder Brothers Inc. - Unknown Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting a tributary to the Allegheny River located in East Franklin Twp., Armstrong County. (PA Bulletin, page 5672)

-- EQM Gathering OPCO LLC - NIMCS005 Pipelines: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a pipeline project impacting Peters Creek and Lobbs Run located in Union Twp., Washington County.  (PA Bulletin, page 5672)

NOTE: DEP Permitting Efficiency: 20,595 Permits Since 11/2023; Decisions On 16,745;  Zero  Currently Eligible For PAyback Did Not Meet Decision Deadlines; No Application Fees Refunded [9.6.24]

Oil & Gas Well Drilling Permits [8.30.24]*

-- Last Week - Permits: DEP issued 3 conventional and 18 unconventional

-- Year To Date - Permits: DEP issued 152 conventional and 353 unconventional

-- Year To Date - Wells Drilled: 111 conventional and 213 unconventional

*Weekly Workload Report - 8.30.24

*DEP’s Weekly Oil & Gas Program Workload Report - Most Recent

DEP Issued These New Oil & Gas Permits *

*Click Here to find oil and gas well permits recently issued near you

Sign Up! DEP eNotice: The Only Way You’ll Know When Applications Come In To DEP

Did you know DEP can send you email notices when permit applications are submitted to DEP in your community? 

This is the only way you can get notified of when oil and gas-related permits are submitted to DEP.  

You’ll also get notice of new technical guidance documents and regulations.

Click Here to sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE today!

Act 14 Notices To Municipalities

Many communities and citizens are not aware that a state law passed in 1984 gives them the first chance to comment on Department of Environmental Protection permit applications even before they are submitted to the agency.   Read more here.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Aug. 31 to Sept. 6 - Mystery Oil Leak Into Allegheny River; Holes In Shale Gas Casing; 65 Days Late In Plugging Conventional Well  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - September 7 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 48 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 7 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- DEP Permitting Efficiency: 20,595 Permits Since 11/2023; Decisions On 16,745;  Zero  Currently Eligible For PAyback Did Not Meet Decision Deadlines; No Application Fees Refunded [9.6.24]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Abandoned Well Citizen Expert Laurie Barr, University Of Pennsylvania Prof. Jennifer Wilcox Recognized On The Grist 50 List [PaEN]

-- Sen. Comitta: New PUC Pipeline Safety Regulations To Be Published As Final This Month For Public Utility Hazardous Liquid Pipelines  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: CNX Resources Claims Shale Gas Drilling Poses No Public Health Risks Are ‘Misleading, Irresponsible, Dangerous’  [PaEN]

-- Cecil Township Proposes 2,500 Foot Setback Ordinance From Oil & Gas Infrastructure For Sept. 4 Hearing In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- Center For Coalfield Justice Hosts Sept. 24 Program In Washington County On Increasing Setbacks From Oil & Gas Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- US Dept. Of Interior Approves $76.4 Million To Plug Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Pennsylvania; 1,234 Violations For Abandoning Conventional Wells In Last 20 Months  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Defense Fund, Moms Clean Air Force To Hold Public Meetings In 3 Northwest PA Counties On A Project To Test New Methods Of Locating Abandoned Conventional Oil, Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- Source Of 19-Day-Old Oil Discharge Into Allegheny River In Venango County Still A Mystery; Recreators Asked To Avoid The Area  [PaEN]

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Dropped 2 More Last Week To 16; Nearly 25% Drop In 2 Weeks

-- DEP’s Oil & Gas Workload Report shows during the week ending August 30, DEP received Zero new permit applications for conventional wells and Three new permit applications for shale gas wells.

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports 2nd Quarter PA Natural Gas Production Dropped To Lowest Level Since 2020; Number Of PA Drilling Rigs Drop By Nearly 25% In 2 Weeks As A Result Of Drillers Trying To Raise The Price Of Gas  [PaEN]

-- Center for Coalfield Justice Blog: Update On Underground Longwall Coal Mining In Greene, Washington Counties; Next DEP Report On Longwall Impacts Due… Soon  [PaEN]

-- PUC Invites Comments On Accelerated Removal, Replacement Of Older Plastic Pipe In Natural Gas Distribution Systems  [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week:

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: PA To Receive $76 Million To Plug Hundreds Of Abandoned Conventional Oil, Gas Wells; DEP Holds Workshops On New Plugging Grants

-- Earthworks: Radically Misleading - Gov. Shapiro’s Dangerous Partnership With CNX Resources Nurts Communities, Ignores The Facts

-- Inquirer - Will Bunch: Everything You Know From TV About Pennsylvania And Fracking Is Wrong

-- Reuters: Anadarko, Other Natural Gas Companies Defeat Federal Lawsuit In PA Over Royalty Payments

-- Marcellus Drilling News: UGI Seeks To Temporarily Store LNG Gas In Trailers In Scranton Suburb During Winter  [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: UGI Claims Dickson City Boro Has No Jurisdiction Over Plan To Store LNG Gas In Trailers

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Erie Manufacturer & Business Assn. Questions Biden’s Pause On Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities [Court Ended Pause July 1; PA Shale Gas Desperate To Sell Gas To Our Competitor China To Support Their Economy, Will That Help PA Manufacturing? ]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Energy And Labor Are Both Needed To Power PA’s Future - By Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition & PA State Building Trades Union  PA Shale Gas Desperate To Sell Gas To Our Competitor China To Support Their Economy, Will That Help PA Manufacturing?]

-- US EIA: North America’s LNG Gas Export Capacity On Track To More Than Double By 2028

-- Utility Dive: Ratepayer Advocates Urge PJM To Include Power Plants With ‘Reliability-Must-Run’ Contracts In Next Electricity Auction; Would Have Lowered Overall Cost Of Last Auction By $5 Billion

-- Utility Dive: Reregulation?  How Utilities And States Are Responding To PJM’s Record Electricity Capacity Prices [Part 1 of 3]

-- Utility Dive: PJM Considers Fast-Track Review For Shovel-Ready Electric Generation Projects [Part 2 of 3]

-- Utility Dive: Increasing Capacity Of Existing Generation, Batteries, Demand Response May Offer Near-Term Responses To Record PJM Electricity Auction Prices [Part 3 of 3]

-- Bloomberg: High Natural Gas, Other Fossil Fuel Use Highlights US Challenge To Clean Energy Transition

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Approach Oversold Zone After 3-Day Sell-Off

-- Reuters: US LNG Gas Export Dominance Tested As Europe’s Demand Wilts

-- Reuters: US Regulators OK First Step To Start New Louisiana LNG Gas Export Facility

-- Bloomberg: DOE Approves New Fortress Energy LNG Gas Export Facility In Mexico

-- US EIA: North America’s LNG Gas Export Capacity On Track To More Than Double By 2028

-- The Guardian: How An LNG As Export Facility Project Along The Gulf Coast Is Upending Residents’ Lives

[Posted: September 6, 2024]

9/9/2024