HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is implementing new policies to compel operations to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing before drilling unconventional wells. The policy will cover all gas companies, following the landmark collaboration between the Shapiro Administration and CNX Resources Corporation.
Previously, the details of which chemicals operators were using existed in companies’ site-specific Preparedness, Prevention and Contingency (PPC) plans, and were only required to be submitted to the DEP upon request. Now, when issuing permits for new unconventional wells, the DEP will order the submission of unconventional well operators’ site-specific PPC plans before drilling and will make operators develop PPC plans before storing, using and generating substances in wells. The PPC documents will then be published online on the DEP at PA Oil and Gas Mapping websites.
The DEP will also equip operators of unconventional gas wells with training to ensure compliance with the new planning requirements as well as make certain they are well-prepared to avoid and address spills and releases.
CNX Resources Corporation has already publicly disclosed the chemicals and additives used in its new drilling operations and has begun publishing air monitoring results in real-time for two of its well pads. They plan to expand the program statewide.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s collaboration with CNX addresses many recommendations from a grand jury report released in 2020 on the unconventional oil and gas industry. Additionally, Shapiro has directed the DEP to make formal rules and policy changes mirroring the collaboration, including improving control of methane emissions aligned with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently announced performance standards for emission sources, strengthening drilling waste protections and developing corrosion protections for gathering lines that transport natural gas.
The DEP will also carry out an independent study of unconventional natural gas wells in the country. CNX will provide the DEP with access to two future CNX well sites, allowing for independent monitoring of air emissions before, during and after the development of the wells. The study will allow people near wells to better understand natural gas development in their communities.
