On September 17, 2024, DEP conducted an inspection of the Carpentertown Coal & Coke 25 conventional well in Pine Township, Armstrong County owned by Murphy Production, Inc. in response to a complaint to the PA Emergency Management Agency who forwarded it to DEP.

The report said a 2,000 gallon wastewater storage tank “had been struck by bullets and was leaking produced fluids onto the ground. The reporting party stated that it was first noticed on June 24, 2024.”

“The reporting party was at the spill location recently and noticed that the spill had still not been addressed, which prompted their complaint submittal.”

“It needs to be noted that the aerial photograph from Google Earth dated June 15, 2024, shows the spill clearly.”

[From these dates, the wastewater tank could have been leaking for 90 days or more.]

DEP was in contact with the well owner who said contaminated soil had been removed from the site and the tank repaired, but the area was not seeded

The DEP inspector said it could not be determined whether the contaminated soil had been removed, but the soil appeared to be clean.

The wastewater tank was not connected to the well at the time of the inspection.

[The well owner did not indicate where the contaminated soil was taken for disposal or provide a bill of lading or an estimate of how much wastewater was released.]

DEP’s eFACTS database shows Murphy Production holds 255 permits for conventional oil and gas wells, all of them active.

DEP’s inspection report included violations for not reporting the release to DEP and for the spill and requested the owner to submit a plan by October 8, 2024 on how the well site will be brought into compliance.

These kinds of violations are not an isolated event with this conventional well owner.

Murphy Production, Inc. was issued these same kinds of violations-- failure to notify DEP of wastewater spill leaking from holes in a storage tank and causing a release from the C&K Coal Co 7 conventional well in Piney Township, Clarion County on August 23, 2024.  [DEP inspection report]

In that case, DEP sent a separate notice of violation to Murphy Production.

On September 20, 2024, DEP did a follow-up inspection of this well site and found most of the area restored and seeded.  

DEP’s inspection report continued the earlier violations for this well, however, until the bills of lading are produced by the well owner for where contaminated soil was sent for disposal.

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.

Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Sept. 14 to 20 - Seeing Conventional Wastewater Spill From Google Earth; Emergency Well Plugging; Abandoned Shale Gas Wells; Leaking Gas Well Next To Baseball Field  [PaEN]

-- Homeowner Complaint Results In DEP Emergency Plugging Of A Penn Resources, Inc. Conventional Oil Well Leaking Gas, Oil, Wastewater In McKean County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Discovers Wastewater Spill From Conventional Oil/Gas Well That Could Be Seen From Google Earth In Armstrong County As A Result Of A Complaint  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - September 21 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 77 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 21 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week - Gas:

-- Exploding Water Well Shed Triggers DEP Investigation Of 59+ Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Cyclone, McKean County; Highlights Limits On Providing Temporary Water For Well Owners Impacted  [PaEN]

-- Cecil Township, Washington County Posts Proposed Ordinance Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads Of 2,500 Feet From Homes, Businesses; 5,000 Feet From Schools, Hospitals; Nov. 4 Hearing, Meeting Set  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: State Dept. Of Health Progress On Implementing Recommendations After Pitt Health Studies Show Impacts From Shale Gas Development ‘Extremely Limited’  [PaEN]

-- Protect PT: Westmoreland Landfill Surrenders Air Quality Permit For An Evaporator System To Dispose Of Leachate Wastewater Impacted By Shale Gas Drilling Waste  [PaEN]

-- Del-Chesco United For Pipeline Safety: Texas Explosion Shows Communities In PA With Energy Transfer's Mariner East Pipeline And Other Pipelines Are Vulnerable To The Same Unmitigated Risk From Unsecured Pipeline Valves  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved, Renewed 24 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In August; 212 General Permits So Far In 2024  [PaEN]  

-- Allegheny Institute For Public Policy: Counties, Municipalities Need To ‘Begin Lowering Their Expectations’ On The Support From Shale Gas Industry Drilling Impact Fee  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp Sounds Alarm Over Maintaining Sufficient Winter Natural Gas Supplies To Address Extreme Winter Conditions; PA Gas Producers Cutting Production, Pulling Drill Rigs  [PaEN]

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs At 14, Same As Last Week - Down 33% Since Aug. 23 [Industry Efforts To Increase Natural Gas Prices Continue]

NewsClips:

-- The Energy Age Blog: North Fayette Residents Raise Concerns About Proposed Range Resources Fracking Site In Allegheny County

-- KDKA: North Fayette Twp. Residents Raise Concerns About Proposed Range Resources Fracking Site In Allegheny County

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: Scientists Skeptical Of CNX Claim Its Fracking ‘Poses No Public Health Risks’

-- TheDailyClimate.org: Residents Say Pennsylvania Has Failed Communities After State Studies Linked Shale Gas Fracking To Child Cancer

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: Eureka Resources Oil/Gas Wastewater Treatment Company Struggles Raise Questions About The Future Of Lithium Extraction From Oil/Gas Wastewater

-- Sierra Club Magazine: Plants & Goodwin Racing To Fix Pennsylvania’s Leaking Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- Warren Times Editorial: There Isn’t Enough Money To Plug All Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners, Must Use Funds In A Cost-Effective Way

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Peoples Natural Gas Customers To See 12% Rate Increase This Month, With More Increases On The Way

-- The Energy Age Blog: Peoples Natural Gas Customers Will See 12% Rate Increase This Month - More Increases On The Way!

-- Reuters: EQT CEO Sees Natural Gas Prices Remaining Below $3/mmBtu; EQT Cut Gas Production By 1 Billion Cubic Feet Per Day To Try To Raise Prices

-- New York Times: Big Energy Issue In Pennsylvania Is Low Natural Gas Prices, Not Fracking; PA Has Gas Glut; Drillers Throttling Production  [PDF of Article]

-- Bloomberg: AI Boom Is Driving A Surprise Resurgence Of US Gas-Fired Power Plants [Not In PA]

-- Food & Water Watch: Explosion Of Energy Transfer Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline In Texas Highlights Company’s Terrible Safety Record In Pennsylvania

-- WFMJ/AP: Energy Transfer Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Fire That Burned For 4 Days Now Out In Houston

-- Bloomberg: Human Remains Found In Vehicle Involved In Energy Transfer Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Fire In Houston

-- ABC27/AP: Energy Transfer Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Fire Subsides, But Still Burns In Houston; Fire Severed Power Lines, Melted Nearby Playground Equipment

-- Bloomberg: Energy Transfer Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Fire Caused By An SUV Crashing Through A Fence And Knocking Off Aboveground Valve To Pipeline

[Posted: September 20, 2024]

9/23/2024