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PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - January 18 to 24: DEP Issues Abandoned Well Plugging Order; Well Leaks Gas For 9 Months

From January 18 to 24, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database shows oil and gas inspectors filed 323 inspection entries, plus catch-up entries from previous weeks.

Follow these links to spreadsheets showing the violations and inspections occurring between January 18 to 24--

Click Here for violations issued between January 18 to 24.

Click Here for inspection entries between January 18 to 24.

Enforcement Actions Taken Last Week

So far this year, DEP took these actions as of January 17--

-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 7 conventional, 35 unconventional

-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 66 conventional and 52 unconventional

-- Enforcements 2025: 12 conventional and 2 unconventional (orders, agreements)

-- Inspections Last Week: 249 conventional and 341 unconventional

-- Year To Date - Inspections: 747 conventional and 1,108 unconventional

5 Conventional Abandoned Wells

Stonehaven Energy MGT Co. LLC - Violations: Abandoned, Unplugged Well (3 Months)

January 3, 2025 inspection of the Clark 1 conventional well in Bloom Township, Clearfield County found it abandoned, not plugged and audibly leaking gas. Other violations were issued for failure to submit production, waste generation and well integrity reports for “several years.” Original violations issued October 16, 2024. DEP requested no response from the owner. Stonehaven holds 558 oil and gas well permits. DEP inspection report.

Diversified Prod LLC - Violations: Abandoned, Unplugged Well

January 9, 2025 inspection of the William H. Betler 4456 conventional gas well in Unity Township, Westmoreland County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Response requested by February 2. DEP inspection report.

Oil & Gas MGMT Inc. - Violations: Abandoned, Unplugged Well (13 Months)

January 9, 2025 inspection of the Detwiler Unit 1 conventional well in Springfield Township, Fayette County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Original violation issued November 14, 2023 with no action taken by owner. Response requested by January 28. This owner holds 163 oil and gas permits. DEP inspection report.

Diversified Prod LLC - Violations: Abandoned, Unplugged Well

January 16, 2025 inspection of the William H. Betler 1 4282 conventional gas well in Unity Township, Westmoreland County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Well was purchased by Developed Resources, but the transfer was not approved. Work was done on the well to bring it back to production. Response by February 6. DEP inspection report.

Diversified Prod LLC - Violations: Abandoned, Unplugged Well

January 16, 2025 inspection of the Thomas M. & Marian L. McClarran 1 conventional well in Unity Township, Westmoreland County found the well abandoned and not plugged. Well was purchased by Developed Resources, but the transfer was not approved. Work was done on the well to bring it back to production. Response by February 6. DEP inspection report.

Consent Order On Well Abandonment

Roulette Oil & Gas LLC - Action: Consent Order On Well Abandonment

On January 21, 2025, DEP entered an enforcement record saying a Consent Order & Agreement was signed with this well owners to address violations for abandoning and not plugging wells. No other details were provided. Roulette holds permits for 347 conventional and shale gas wells, including 15 abandoned conventional wells and four abandoned shale gas wells.

Unknown Owners

DEP inspected at least 12 conventional wells last week with Unknown owners to evaluate them for the well plugging program in--

-- Allegheny County, Bridgeville Boro, Crescent Twp. Ohio Twp.

-- Greene County, Franklin Twp., Washington Twp.

-- Washington County, Donegal Twp., North, Strabane Twp., South Strabane Twp.

14 Abandoned Conventional, 11 Abandoned Shale Gas Well Violations 2025

So far in 2025, DEP issued or continued 14 violations to 8 conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells- [Diversified Production LLC, MTN Energy, Oil & Gas MGMT Co. LLC, SK Opr Inc., Stonehaven Energy MGT Co. LLC, Andrew F. Suchko, Washington Energy Co LLC, Mary A. Woodring].

So far in 2025, DEP issued or continued 11 violations to two shale gas drilling company for abandoning and not plugging their wells-- [Diversified Production LLC, Roulette Oil & Gas LLC].

MERP Well Plugging Grant Inspections

Dallas Energy LLC

January 23-24, 2025 inspections of 14 conventional wells in Foster Township, McKean County as part of the Methane Emission Reduction Grant application.

Bittinger 4 Injection Well Spill Cleanup

Bear Lake Prop LLC - Violations: Release Of Wastewater At 2 Locations

January 21, 2025 follow-up inspection of the Bittinger 4 oil and gas wastewater injection well site in Columbus Township, Warren County found little progress in cleanup primarily due to weather conditions. This release occurred on or about July 8, 2024 but went unreported until DEP discovered it during an inspection on October 25, 2024. [Read more here.] There was no action to cleanup a second spill area related to the wastewater pipeline 600 feet east of the injection well discovered during an inspection on November 8, 2024. [Read more here.] No further response requested of the owner. DEP inspection report.

2025 Act 2 Oil & Gas Facility Pollution Cleanups

So far in 2025, DEP received or acted on 12 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups. Read more here.

Conventional Well Still Leaking Gas

MTN Energy - Violations: Conventional Well Leaking Gas (9 Months)

January 22, 2025 inspection of the Ruth Minor 2 conventional gas well in Freeport Township, Greene County found the well was still leaking gas. The owner was issued the original violation on April 16, 2024 and failed to stop the leak. A follow-up inspection occurred on July 26, 2024 with no action by the owner. Response requested from latest violation by February 11 [3rd time DEP asked for action]. DEP inspection report.

Failure To Report Conventional Production, Waste

Powder Mill Gas Co. - Violations: Failure To Submit Annual Production, Waste Reports

On January 22, 2025, DEP issued a notice of violation to this owner of 46 conventional wells-- 31 in Clarion, Venango and Armstrong counties transfer from Paul E. Shaffer Co. on December 31, 2024 and 12 in Armstrong County for failure to submit annual production and waste generation and disposal reports. Response requested in 30 days. DEP Violation

Failure To Report Shale Gas Production, Waste

DEP issued violations on January 22, 2025 to these companies for failure to submit November monthly shale gas production and waste generation reports--

-- Baker Gas Inc. - North Buffalo Twp., Armstrong County. DEP Violation.

-- John E. McCool - Brokenstraw Twp., Warren County. DEP Violation.

-- Medina Res Dev Co LLC - Waterford Twp., Erie County. DEP Violation.

-- Roulette Oil & Gas, LLC - Hebron & Roulette Twps., Potter County. DEP Violation.

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 and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.

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.

(Photos: MTN Energy conventional well still leaking gas; Diversified Prod LLC abandoned conventional well; Another abandoned Diversified Prod LLC conventional well.)

[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 - January 18 to 24: DEP Issues Abandoned Well Plugging Order; Well Leaks Gas For 9 Months [PaEN]

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

-- DEP Posted 90 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 25 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- Senate Environmental Committee Meets Jan. 27 On Establishing An Independent Energy Office, Eliminate Carbon Pollution Reduction Program Covering Power Plants [PaEN]

-- PA Senate Republicans Reintroduce Bills To Eliminate State Appeals Of Pipeline Permits; Limit Grounds For Appeal Of Any DEP Permits; Punish Communities For Protecting Their Constituents Against Shale Gas Drilling Impacts [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Oil & Gas Companies Need Greater Incentives To Plug Their Old Wells - Raise Bond Rates Upfront For Plugging [PaEN]

-- Dept. Of Health, Penn State Project ECHO Host Feb. 13 Webinar On Caring For Persons Living And Working In Communities Involved In Oil & Natural Gas Extraction [PaEN]

-- EQB Invites Comments On Corrections To RACT Air Quality Regulations That May Affect Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants; 3 Hearings Set [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 310 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In 2024 [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection: Extreme Cold Produces PJM Record For Winter Electricity Demand; Maximum Generation Alert Remains In Effect Into Thursday [PaEN]