The DEP is amending Performance Standards at Oil and Gas Well Sites to “modernise and strengthen” the environmental control employed by industry for the sake of public safety.
Acting DEP secretary John Quigley said the proposed revisions focused on the need to protect public safety and the environment while enabling drilling to proceed.
The Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board (TAB) and the still embryonic Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee (COGAC) will discuss the proposed changes at upcoming meetings, with a focus on separate regulatory chapters to differentiate the unique characteristics of conventional and unconventional well development.
“With the passage of Act 126 in 2014, the General Assembly explicitly acknowledged the distinction between these two very different industries, and directed DEP to draft separate regulations,” the department said.
“Accordingly, the revisions include Chapter 78 for conventional wells, and Chapter 78a for unconventional wells.”
The regulation amendments are proposed to improve protection of water resources, add public resources considerations, protect public safety, address landowner concerns, enhance transparency and improve data management.
The proposed changes require operators to demonstrate that streams and wetlands will be protected if the edge of the well pad is within 100 feet of the resource, and require centralised wastewater impoundments to be permitted through more appropriate Residual Waste Regulations, with existing impoundments upgraded or closed within three years of the effective date.
The review of impacts that operators must conduct will also be expanded to include public resources such as schools, playgrounds and approved wellhead protection areas. Operators will also be required to identify active, inactive, orphan and abandoned wells and submit a plan report to DEP at least 30 days prior to drilling.
The new regulations also create standards for noise control and mitigation, as well as modernise notification and report submission, to improve efficiency and ease reporting.
