Injections Well Applications Warrant Robust Public Participation Process, Say Supervisor, Residents, and Advocacy Organizations

Today, township supervisors, concerned residents, and advocacy organizations submitted a letter to the Department of Environmental Protection calling on the agency to conduct a proper Public Participation Process for an injection well in Potter County. Regulators may be close to issuing a permit to Roulette Oil & Gas LLC for a Class II-D injection well in Clara Township despite the fact that the public has not had an opportunity to comment on the project or even review the application for the project. 

Many of the letter’s signers have been asking for a public meeting to ask questions about the project since they first learned about it last month. The agency has offered to have a conference call with a small number of invitees and has set a deadline of this Friday to submit questions. 

The signers and their supporters maintain that a proper public meeting is open to anyone who would like to attend and ask whatever questions they have or that occur to them over the course of the meeting. 

The public would be challenged to submit questions in advance given the paucity of information available. Similar projects are listed on the Underground Injection Control Wells page of the agency’s website. Some listings include links to permit applications. The Roulette well does not appear on the page at all.

“On October 1, 2018, the Department held a public hearing in Plum Borough, Allegheny County to solicit comments related to Penneco Environmental Solutions’ permit application to convert the Sedat #3A (Sedat) well from a production well to an injection disposal well. Why have the residents of Plum been offered opportunities during the permit process that residents of Potter County, PA  have been denied?  Besides the obvious income differences, Potter County is rural & under-served by many services. All residents of Pennsylvania should be treated equally by Department of Environmental Protection employees,” said Laurie Barr, Save Our Streams PA.

“The decision made by the Department of Environmental Protection to not hold a public comment period, meeting or hearing for Clara Township, Potter County is wrong. Why did Plum Township in Allegheny County have a public notice, a public comment period, a public meeting and a hearing? Clara Township residents deserve the same opportunities and equal rights,” said Steven Mehl, Clara Township Supervisor.

“Structural failures, well integrity issues, leaks are common in injection wells. Just as with all other oil & gas infrastructure, injection wells threaten water quality, air quality, public health, and safety. The public has a right to ask questions and register any concerns they have. DEP’s clock should be set by the people the agency exists to serve, not oil & gas companies,” said Karen Feridun, Better Path Coalition.