The May inspection found two large areas of distressed vegetation with evidence of a wastewater release in one area 50 feet wide extending down the well pad slope about 120 feet and another area 20 feet wide and stretching 65-70 feet down slope as a result of what Seneca said were leaking valves and wastewater flowing from an open pipe during well plugging operations. Read more here.
Many of those same areas were still showing evidence of contamination in this latest inspection and there was “a wet area of soil 10 feet up from the base of the fill slope and within the approximate center of the west excavated area that field tested above 4000 uS conductance.”
DEP said contaminated liquid was flowing through an area excavated to remove contaminated soil below the fill slope and into and out of a catch basin sump.
In addition, there was evidence of erosion channels on the fill slope and excavated areas of the field next to the well pad.
The bottomline– remediation of the spill was nowhere near complete, contaminated fluids were still flowing from the well pad and found in the shale gas well “cellars,” and from seeps in the fill slope of the pad.
DEP “recommends” taking these actions–
— Continue monitoring the area for contamination.
— Continue remediation efforts as necessary.
— Continue collecting fluids that demonstrate elevated conductance on the well pad, in the excavated areas around the well cellars, in seeps from the fill slope, in the collection sump at the northwest corner of the location and other areas on the location as discovered.
— Assess the temporary compost filter socks and temporary stabilization. Apply maintenance as necessary.
You can chart the lack of progress in cleaning up this wastewater spill through DEP’s inspection reports: July 17, 2025; July 24, 2025, August 6, 2025; August 20, 2025; August 26, 2025; and September 18, 2025.
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: Top- Contaminated soil where excavated contaminated soil was stockpile on the well pad; Erosion and contaminated water coming off well pad; Bottom- Contaminated areas around shale gas wells; Contaminated water in sump.)
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
— Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard- Sept. 20 to 26[PaEN]
— PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment – September 27 [PaEN]
— DEP Posted 58 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 27 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
— Part I – 500 Feet Isn’t Enough: Michelle Stonemark Tells What It’s Really Like Living Next To A Shale Gas Well Pad – Nosebleeds, Headaches, Nausea, Air Pollution, Vibrating House, Sleepless Nights, Anxiety – In Cecil Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
— Part II – 500 Feet Isn’t Enough: 42 Scientific Studies, 20+ Years Of Experience With Shale Gas Drilling In PA; A State Grand Jury Report; Criminal Convictions; Public Complaints; Lawsuits; Media Reports All Document The Need To Increase Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells [PaEN]
— Gov. Shapiro: PJM Electric Grid Operator Is ‘Not Working Anymore,’ ‘I Won’t Stand For A Status Quo That Perpetuates Slowdowns And Rising Costs’ [PaEN]
— Shapiro Administration: PJM Regional Electric Grid Operator Passed Over Qualified Candidates Suggested By A Bipartisan Coalition Of Governors To Fill Vacant Board Seats [PaEN]
— PA House Energy Committee Sets Hearings On Regulating A.I. Data Centers, Warehouse Solar, Electric School Buses, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors [PaEN]
— Inside Climate News: Shale Gas Was Supposed To Lower PA Electric Bills, Instead They’re Higher Than Ever And About To Get Worse [Due To LNG Gas Exports, A.I. Data Center Demand]
— Inside Climate News: Natural Gas Was Pitched As A Stopgap Between Other Fossil Fuels And Renewables, Instead It Has Derailed Pennsylvania’s Transition To Clean Energy
NewsClips:
— PennLive Guest Essay: Your Electric Bill Is Subsidizing Big Tech’s A.I. Data Center Dreams – By Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny), Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes The Sun, Joe Morinville, EIS Solar
— PennLive Guest Essay: Politicians Should Keep Their Hands Off PJM Power Grid – By Todd Snitchler, Electric Power Generators. [High Prices Are ‘Essential Market Signals’]
— SpotlightPA/Inside Climate News: The Natural Gas Boom In PA Was Supposed To Lower Energy Bills Here, Why Didn’t That Happen?
— PA Capital-Star/Inside Climate News: Shale Gas Was Supposed To Lower Pennsylvanians’ Electric Bills, Instead, They’re About To Get Worse
— WESA – Rachel McDevitt: PJM Grid Operator Eyes Reliability Amid A.I. Data Center Boom, But Advocates Say Cost Concerns Remain
— Post-Gazette: Gov. Shapiro Pummels PJM Regional Grid Operator In Call For Reforms
— WHYY – Sophia Schmidt: Pennsylvania Leaving PJM Regional Electricity Grid Is Still On The Table, Shapiro Says
— Bloomberg: Pennsylvania Threatens To Go ‘Own Way’ If PJM Regional Electric Grid Operator Won’t Change
— The Center Square: Shapiro: States In PJM Need More Power In PJM Regional Grid Management
— PA Capital-Star: PA Gov. Shapiro Said Electric Grid Operator PJM Needs Reform To Put Consumers First
— Bloomberg: Spiraling Power Costs Are Now A Major Political Issue In The US [Gov. Shapiro]
— The Derrick: PA Assn. Of Township Supervisors Briefs Clarion County Leaders On Its Opposition To HB 502 RESET Energy Facility Siting Legislation [PDF of Article]
— PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro Don’t Sell Pennsylvania Out To Polluters – Public Facing Health Challenges From Oil & Gas Industry, Methane, A.I. Data Centers – By Josephine Gingerich, Physicians For Social Responsibility PA
— Post-Gazette – Anya Litvak: CNX’s Firebrand CEO Nick DeIuliss To Retire
— CNX Resources Announces Alan Shepard As Next CEO
— Pittsburgh Business Times: CNX Resources Shale Gas Driller CEO Nick Deluliis To Retire, Alan Shepard To Take Helm [PDF of Article]
— Observer-Reporter: CNX Shale Gas Driller Proposes To Install Bat Boxes As Homes For Bats In Waynesburg, Greene County [PDF of Article]
[Posted: September 27, 2025] PA Environment Digest