FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2025
Media Contact: Lisa DePaoli, lisa@centerforcoalfieldjustice.org, 412-229-7116
Five gas well operators in Southwestern Pennsylvania cited for waste violations
Washington, PA—Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) cited five gas well operators for conventional well plugging waste violations. The citations reveal a disturbing pattern: some companies failed to report what happened to their waste, while others openly reported illegal dumping. These dangerous and unethical actions impact the people who live and work here. The coal, oil and gas industries continue to use Washington and Greene Counties as a laboratory to see what they can get away with, with little regard for the human, environmental, and economic costs to our communities.
CNX failed to document waste disposal for 59 wells in Washington and Greene Counties, continuing its trend of lax-to-nonexistent documentation. Equitrans failed to provide similar documentation for three of its wells. Neither company submitted the waste plans required by DEP, violating both the Clean Streams Law and the Solid Waste Management Act.
Meanwhile, EQT, Consol, and Iron Cumberland admitted to dumping waste into Coal Refuse Disposal Areas (CRDAs), knowing that this is illegal and dangerous.
All five companies knew that they were going to get caught. The cost of these violations is baked into their operations, and in effect, the violations are nothing more than a slap on the wrist for companies that generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue annually.
For decades, our region has experienced the extraction of gas on the surface and the mining of coal beneath. Fossil fuel industries are so active in our communities that they operate in an overlapping manner. These companies all look to each other for economic advantage and logistical support; they benefit from one another’s infrastructure and exploit lax regulations or regulatory silos to their advantage. They are always trying to save time and money at the expense of taxpayers, the environment, and public health.
For its part, DEP regulates coal, oil, and gas as if they’re completely separate industries, and does not take into account the cumulative impacts of them operating so close to one another. Landowners and taxpayers are caught in the crosshairs of DEP’s inability to properly regulate them. From these violations, it appears likely that DEP is not reviewing the documents that are filed in a timely manner, unless and until there is a problem.
This is the first time we’ve seen evidence in DEP reporting that companies are improperly disposing of their waste. While we commend the agency for finding and issuing these violations, we hope that the DEP will monitor and test the outfalls at these CRDAs, improve their practices, and begin to hold these companies accountable.
While industry often blames DEP for not issuing permits, these companies do not follow procedure nor fill out their paperwork properly. We know that if CNX and Equitrans had submitted the plans as-required, DEP would have accepted them. However, they didn’t even do that much.
Jason Capello, Community Advocate with the Center for Coalfield Justice, said “It’s almost a cruel joke how industry can collaborate to channel their innovation into evading regulations, polluting the environment, and putting public safety at risk, while DEP cannot seem to develop enough money or resources to even prevent these types of willful indifference to the rules operators volunteer to follow or self-report.”
Jodi Borello, Community Organizer with the Center for Coalfield Justice, said “Once again the criminal company CNX has failed to provide data to state regulators. For a company that pleaded no contest to criminal charges for not providing accurate data in 2021, they obviously have not learned their lesson and it appears they do not care to change their ways. They are showing our community and state their level of incompetence, and they should be denied any further permits until they can show they can handle simple paperwork.”
Background
- CNX failed to document waste disposal methods, types, and volumes of waste, or hauler/facility information for 59 wells in Washington and Greene Counties.
- Their reports omitted: (1) a description of how liquid waste was disposed of or reused, including the name of the hauler and disposal facility, and (2) the types and volumes of waste produced, along with the names and addresses of the hauler and facility used.
- Their reports omitted: (1) a description of how liquid waste was disposed of or reused, including the name of the hauler and disposal facility, and (2) the types and volumes of waste produced, along with the names and addresses of the hauler and facility used.
- Equitrans was cited for the same failures at three wells in Greene County.
- EQT, Consol, and Iron Cumberland were cited for transporting and disposing of waste from seven wells at CRDAs without required permits or plans.
More details and links to the violations here.
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Very, very interesting! Thank you.
Where are the locations of the violations?
Hi Lisa. CNX, Diversified, and Equitrans did not list where they took their waste. CONSOL listed Bailey Mine CRDA and Bailey Mine CRDA 5; EQT listed Bailey Mine CRDA #3 Impoundment; and Iron Cumberland listed Emerald Mine #1 CRDA 2.