DEP Issues NOVs To Roulette Oil & Gas LLC For Abandoning Another Conventional Well In Potter County; Roulette Applying For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit

On September 19, 2023, DEP inspected the Contant 1 conventional well operated by Roulette Oil and Gas LLC in Harrison Township, Potter County and issued notices of violation for failure to plug the well upon abandoning it.

DEP also issued an NOV for failure of the operator to plug the well to stop the vertical flow of fluids or gas within the well bore.

DEP’s inspection report said the well was drilled in 2009 and has not been produced to date.  It was granted inactive status on April 24, 2014 which expired on April 24, 2019 without a request for extension.

DEP records also indicate the operator failed to submit annual mechanical integrity reports as required to maintain inactive status.

DEP requested the operator to submit a written report to DEP by October 20, 2023 on how it would bring the well into compliance.

DEP is now reviewing a permit application from Roulette Oil and Gas LLC for an oil and gas wastewater injection well in Clara Township, Potter County.

Lauren Barr from the  citizen group Save Our Streams PA submitted comments during the public comment period in July which show the principals involved in the company have been involved in abandoning eight other injection wells in Clara and Hebron Townships in Potter County under several business names.  Read more here.

Now DEP’s September 19 inspection adds another set of notices of violation for abandoning a well to that list.

Click Here for a full copy of Larie Barr's comments that includes copies and links to documents referenced in the comments.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already issued an Underground Injection Control Permit (PAS2D050BPOT), effective January 14, 2022, to authorize the operation of the Class II-D Injection Well at this location.  [Read more here]

Visit DEP’s Underground Injection Control Wells webpage for information on a state permit needed for injection wells.

Resource Link:

-- Republican Rep. Krupa Introduces HB 1656 To Ban Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Wells To Protect The Public From Radioactive, Toxic Materials   [9.5.23] 

Related Article - Roulette:

-- Comments Submitted On Proposed Roulette Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Potter County By Save Our Streams PA Show Principals Have Been Involved In Abandoning 8 Previous Injection Wells   [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Sept. 16 to 22 -  2nd Abandoned Shale Gas Well Pad?  5 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Failure To Comply With Order  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues NOVs To Roulette Oil & Gas LLC For Abandoning Another Conventional Well In Potter County; Roulette Applying For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit  [PaEN]

-- Petro Erie, Inc. Appeals 2nd DEP Order Requiring The Operator To Restore The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply Contaminated By A Spill Of Conventional Oil Well Wastewater In Venango County  [PaEN]  

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - September 23 [PaEN]  

-- DEP Posted 73 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 23 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

NewsClips:

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Senators To Introduce Bill To Increase Setbacks On Gas Drilling

-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Lobbyist Responds To Health Concerns Raised In Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial - ‘Fracking Is Making Pennsylvanians Sick, Lawmakers Must Act’

-- Tribune-Democrat Guest Editorial: Natural Gas Development Making Pennsylvanians Sick, Lawmakers Must Act

-- What It’s Like To Raise A Family In The Most Fracked County In PA - Washington County: PA Physicians For Social Responsibility [Video]

-- Uncontrolled Natural Gas Emissions From Equitrans Steelhead Compressor Station, Washington County: PA Physicians For Social Responsibility [Video]

-- The Allegheny Front: ‘Ezell: Ballad Of A Land Man’ Performance About Fracking And Belonging Coming To Pittsburgh

-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: Petro Erie Appeals DEP July Order To Clean Up Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County  [PDF of Article]

-- Inside Climate News: EPA Approves Permit For Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County

-- TribLive Guest Essay: EPA/DOE Money Should Be Spent Wisely On Plugging Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - By Russell Zerbo, Clean Air Council

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: IFO Report: PA Natural Gas Prices Down, Shale Gas Drilling Falls

-- Reuters: US Energy Regulator Recommends Revising Reliability Standards For Natural Gas, Power Grid Infrastructure During Extreme Weather

-- Utility Dive: Record 13% Of Eastern US Electric Generation Capacity Failed - 63% Natural Gas-Fired During Winter Storm Elliott  [70% In PJM Were Natural Gas Failures]

-- PUC Responds To NTSB Actions Regarding Reading Factory Natural Gas Explosion

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: NTSB Kicks PUC Out Of Investigation Into Deadly Natural Gas Explosion At A Chocolate Factory In Reading

-- Reading Eagle: West Reading Chocolate Factory Explosion: Feds Demand PUC Hand Over UGI Inspection Reports

-- AP: NTSB Investigators Subpoena PUC Records Related To Reading Factory Natural Gas Explosion

-- PennLive: Lancaster County House Explosion Leaves 1 Man Dead: Police

-- MCall: Natural Gas Leak In Lehigh Valley Prompts Brief Shelter-In-Place Order Wednesday

-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio Commission Delays Vote On Shale Gas Fracking Under State Parks During Raucous Meeting

-- TruthDig - Justin Nobel: Abandoned Radioactive Oil, Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility Has Become A Party Spot In Marion County, West Virginia

-- WTRF: Marshall County, WV Emergency Director Confirms Oil Well Pad Fire Has Been Extinguished

Related Articles This Week:

-- Senators Santarsiero, Comitta To Introduce Bill Increasing Setback Safety Zones From Shale Natural Gas Drilling Sites From 500 To 2,500 Feet, Based On Latest Science  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 8 Shale Gas Drilling Water Withdrawals - 1 In Exceptional Value Loyalsock Creek, Home To The Hellbender  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 34 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In  Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Game Commission Board OKs More Shale Gas Drilling In Lycoming County, Home To The Hellbender, And Sullivan County  [PaEN]

-- EPA Approves Permit For Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County; 30 Days To File Appeal  [PaEN]

-- DEP To Increase Monitoring, Develop Surface Water Standard For PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' After Study Shows 76% Of Streams, Rivers Contained At Least One Of These Chemicals  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Widespread Presence Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fresh Water Leading Shale Gas Operators To Use Contaminated Water In Fracking Operations; DEP Doesn’t Require Routine PFAS Testing  [PaEN]

-- DEP Hears Concerns, Some Support From Water Resources Committee On Draft Reg. On Reporting Unauthorized Spills, Releases  [PaEN]

-- House Environmental Committee Meets Sept. 26 On Cryptocurrency Mining Moratorium Bill [PaEN]

-- Dickinson College Will Host An Evening With Environmental & Indigenous Rights Advocate Tara Houska On Her Groundbreaking Advocacy Work Oct. 4  [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance Now Accepting Nominations For 2023 Community Sentinel Award  [PaEN] 

-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, NERC Final Report On Winter Storm Elliott Says Legislative Action Needed To Establish Reliability Rules For Natural Gas Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- PUC To Seek Public Comment On Proposed $100,000 Penalty Settlement With Mifflin Energy Corp. For Natural Gas Explosion Destroying Home/Business In Greene County  [PaEN]

[Posted: September 20, 2023]  PA Environment Digest