Apr 3, 2015 4 min read

Beginning today, the public will have 30 days to comment on revised oil and gas regulations that call for more stringent oversight of public water, Marcellus Shale impoundments and abandoned oil and gas wells.

The state Department of Environmental Protection rules are expected to go into effect in spring 2016, which will end a lengthy process that involved nine public hearings held across Pennsylvania, including one at Washington & Jefferson College in which more than 40 people testified.

The proposed rules would ban the use of on-site wastewater pits, except for those used at conventional well sites, and restrict the use of typically larger, centralized impoundments. More than two dozen centralized impoundments dotted the landscape in Washington and Greene counties last year, but some of the pits have since been closed. Existing centralized impoundments would need to be upgraded and re-permitted, or shut down within three years once the rules go into effect.

New impoundments would be required to receive permits in accordance with residual waste regulations, which are more appropriate than the current permitting system, according to the DEP.

“There are differences between the residual waste requirements and the current requirements for centralized impoundment dam permits,” Amanda Witman, information specialist with the DEP office in Harrisburg, said in an email. “Generally speaking, these include public participation in the permit process, bonding, setbacks, landowner consent and certain technical standards primarily related to the assessment prior to construction, liners and leak detection/groundwater monitoring systems.”

Operators would be required to submit a report to the DEP at least 30 days prior to drilling, and also would have to identify where active and inactive wells are located.

Furthermore, the DEP plans to improve its data management by requiring all documents and reports to be submitted electronically. It was one of the areas for improvement Auditor General Eugene DePasquale recommended in his performance audit of the DEP last year.

Raina Rippel, director of the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, submitted testimony on the proposed regulations when the DEP held a public hearing in Washington last year. She reviewed the documents again and said she thinks most of the changes will make a positive difference, while others don’t go far enough.

“I think we’re encouraged to see some progress in these proposed regulations,” she said. “Specifically, I saw that there is going to be improved reporting and filing for permits and other related information to be done electronically, which in the 21st century … is long overdue.”

She also applauded the new regulations on impoundments, but said she was disappointed by the “very minimal setback distances” that were outlined. Centralized storage tanks must be located at least 300 yards away from schools, parks and playgrounds.

Veronica Coptis, deputy director of the Center for Coalfield Justice in Washington, said they felt the DEP was too lenient.

“DEP is missing an opportunity to hold the shale gas industry accountable and protect Pennsylvania residents,” she said in an email. “They are clearly not listening to over 24,000 comments from community members, many of whom asked for farther setback requirements and no more open wastewater pits.”

The draft also outlined stricter rules for noise mitigation and requires companies to create site-specific plans to address noise while drilling. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents more than 250 companies, claimed the proposed changes were unfairly targeting the natural gas industry, while failing to regulate chemical and hazardous waste companies in a similar fashion.

The group said in a statement that the regulations are “designed to increase costs and threaten continued development of this industry, the tens of thousands of associated jobs and the countless downstream benefits that can be derived, including clear environmental benefits from using more clean-burning natural gas.”

Comments can be submitted via email to RegComments@pa.gov or by mail to the Environmental Quality Board at P.O. Box 8477, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8477.