Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released Wednesday its 2018 Oil and Gas Annual Report, which showed record levels of unconventional gas production and highlighted improved permitting and inspection efficiency.
Unconventional well operators produced 6.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2018, an increase of 0.8 trillion cubic feet over the previous year and the largest volume of natural gas produced in the Commonwealth in a single year.
DEP issued 1,868 unconventional well permits in 2018, approximately 160 fewer than in 2017. DEP said that sustained low commodity prices and longer wellbores contributed to the decline in permit applications.
According to the report, DEP personnel completed 36,873 compliance inspections at conventional and unconventional well sites last year, approximately 585 more than in 2017.
Operators also achieved a record high 97 percent submission rate for required emergency response plans last year. DEP helped to increase compliance in this area through a comprehensive outreach program.
“As this report confirms, tens-of-thousands of talented and well-trained Pennsylvanians across our industry work hard each day to protect our environment and the communities where we’re privileged to work,” Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Spigelmyer said. “Unconventional natural gas producers are more efficient in the use of resources, reusing and recycling 90 percent of the water we use while driving record production levels in Pennsylvania. And we are doing so with an inspection compliance rate that exceeds 98 percent, reflecting our collective commitment to safety, operational excellence, and public health. These significant achievements have helped enhance our air quality, lowered energy costs for families, and created significant opportunities for good-paying manufacturing jobs across the Commonwealth.”
DEP noted that internal restructuring and the continued expansion of electronic tools helped to increase permitting and inspection efficiency.
The surface activities inspection process has moved to tablet computers, and all inspections are now done electronically. DEP also launched an updated Erosion and Sediment Control General Permit, ESCGP-3, in electronic format.
DEP also simplified its internal oil and gas permit review structure, grouping personnel into surface and subsurface programs.
By the end of the year, the average review time for the ESCGP had decreased to 157 days in the southwest and to 85 days in the rest of the state. The average time to review well-drilling permit applications decreased to approximately 39 days statewide.
DEP permit backlog has decreased from more than 8,700 in early 2016 to 635 in June 2019. Inspection efficiency has also improved by approximately 20 percent.
“DEP attained new levels of efficiency in the permit application and review process as well as site inspections in 2018, and we continue to seek new avenues to improve customer service and environmental protection,” DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said. “Governor Wolf and DEP have made permitting and inspection efficiency a priority – reducing overall permit backlog by more than 90 percent since 2016, and improving inspection efficiency while ensuring compliance with our environmental regulations.”