Inspections of both conventional and unconventional natural gas wells broke records during 2017 in Pennsylvania, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection reported on Aug. 31. Program efficiencies including faster form submissions for operators and progress on improved e-permitting options helped raise compliance inspections to more than 36,000, PDEP said in its 2017 Oil and Gas Annual Report.
“As the production of gas in Pennsylvania reached a record volume last year, [PDEP] continued to work hard on program developments that improved customer service to industry and strengthened environmental protection,” Sec. Patrick McDonnell said. He noted that PDEP has averaged 35,483 total inspections/year through the first 3 years of Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) administration, up from an average of 26,230 in the prior 4 years.
PDEP issued 2,028 unconventional well permits last year, 707 more than in 2016, McDonnell noted. An interactive map in the 2017 report shows the locations. Operators produced 5.36 tcf during the year, about a 250 bcf increase over 2016.
McDonnell said PDEP expanded electronic form submission options for operators, which enabled well records, predrill survey sample results, site restoration reports, and other forms to be submitted online.
These upgrades save operators time and increase the public transparency of the regulatory process, he said. A 2017 update of PDEP’s compliance and enforcement tracking database to show the number of days a company is in violation also increased public transparency, McDonnell said.
Site inspections increased 2% over 2016, for a total of 36,288 in 2017. Development of a tablet-based electronic tool last year greatly streamlined the process for field and office staff and for operators and made inspection results more quickly available to the public—in days rather than weeks, the secretary said.
The agency also made progress in upgrading its current well drilling online permit to be part of the new, more functional department-wide e-permitting system, he said. Work also progressed on converting the Erosion and Sediment Control General Permit from a paper application to an e-permit. Both e-permits are expected to launch in the fall, McDonnell said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].