PADEP Settles Enforcement Actions for $3.5 Million

On December 7, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection assessed an oil and natural gas operator $3.5 million in civil penalties to settle statutory and regulatory violations at 10 well sites and six pipeline locations. The violations occurred in Washington and Greene Counties, and, according to the PADEP news release, include:

• $1,633,550 for leaks from an unpermitted wastewater impoundment and insufficient erosion and sediment controls, failure to stabilize the well site, and other violations at two well sites in Greene County; 


• $1,314,275 for failure to obtain a permit before earthmoving activities, failure to obtain a pre-operational inspection prior to drilling, and multiple erosion and sediment control violations in Washington and Greene Counties; 


• $437,100 for erosion and sediment control violations and a well casing violation at sites in Washington and Greene Counties; 


• $97,852 for failure to obtain a permit for a culvert, illegal discharge into a waterway, and erosion and sediment control violations at sites in Washington and Greene Counties;


• $14,850 for slope failure and sediment discharge outside of the permitted limit of disturbance at sites in Greene County;


• $11,750 for violations associated with the operator’s failure to maintain erosion and sedimentation controls in Washington County; and


• $35,075 for well site stabilization, casing, and road construction violations in Greene County.