CNX, pipeline firm are fined for shale violations
The state Department of Environmental Protection has fined a Cecil Township-based oil and gas company and a pipeline company in separate incidents that occurred more than a year ago.
DEP announced Thursday that CNX Gas Co. LLC, of Southpointe, has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle violations over a leak that occurred at the Shaw 1G gas well in Washington Township, Westmoreland County.
The agency also assessed a $355,636 fine against Sunoco Pipeline LP, based in Philadelphia, over discharges of drilling fluids during construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline. DEP said the discharges occurred between August 2018 and April 2019 and entered rivers and streams in eight counties, including a tributary of Peters Creek in Washington County.
DEP said after investigating the Jan. 26, 2019, “blowout” incident in Westmoreland, it found “CNX experienced an unexpected loss of pressure during hydraulic fracturing operations.”
That enabled gas to flow into nine shallower, conventional Utica Shale gas wells that were nearby.
CNX, according to DEP, temporarily flared those nine wells to relieve pressure, then “killed” the Shaw 1G well Feb. 4 by pumping heavy mud into its bore. There were no spills or fluids released on the surface.
In announcing the consent order and agreement, and civil penalty, the agency said it found CNX to be “responsible for failing to use casing with sufficient strength or other safety measures to prevent blowouts.”
“We were pleased to be able to work closely with DEP, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County and local stakeholders to ensure that this event was successfully addressed with no injuries and no adverse impact to the environment or the local community,” Brian Aiello, spokesman for CNX, said in a statement.
“The collaborative nature of the investigation into this matter yielded results that will further continuous improvement and innovation in CNX’s operations and that of the entire industry.”
DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a separate statement: “Through robust internal coordination, DEP’s investigation brought field inspectors together with technical experts to determine the cause of the incident and evolve best practices based on what we’ve learned to push the industry to be more protective of the environment.”
The agency said the penalty payment of $175,000 will be deposited into the state’s Oil and Gas Fund, or Well Plugging Fund.
Sunoco Pipeline, according to DEP, received a civil penalty over horizontal drilling activities that led to discharges of drilling fluids, consisting of bentonite clay and water.
In addition to the Peters Creek tributary, the discharges affected a tributary to the Conemaugh River in Westmoreland County; a waterway in Berks County; Piney Creek in Blair County; tributaries and wetlands connected to Hinckston Run, Stewart Run and Little Conemaugh Creek in Cambria County; Letort Run and wetlands and tributaries to the Yellow Breeches Creek in Cumberland County; a tributary to Chester Creek in Delaware County; and Snitz Creek in Lebanon County.
DEP said $5,912 of the penalty will go to the affected county conservation districts for reimbursement of costs related to the investigation.
The remainder of the fine – $349,724 – will go to the state’s Clean Water Fund.