PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Consent Order and Agreement with CNX Gas Company for well plugging violations in four southwestern Pennsylvania counties.
The settlement requires CNX to post a $1.48 million performance bond and provides an extended schedule for CNX to plug the wells and restore the well sites.
The 141 conventional coalbed methane and gas wells and five unconventional gas wells included in the settlement are in Allegheny, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
The Oil and Gas Act requires owners and operators to plug wells upon abandonment. A well is considered abandoned if it “has not been used to produce, extract or inject any gas, petroleum or other liquid within the preceding 12 months.”
