Title 58, OIL AND GAS

(a) General rule.--If a well referred to in section 3211(b) (relating to well permits) will be located on a tract whose surface is owned by a person other than the well operator, the surface landowner affected shall be notified of the intent to drill and may file objections, in a…

(a) Municipalities.--The municipality where the tract of land upon which the unconventional well to be drilled is located may submit written comments to the department describing local conditions or circumstances which the municipality has determined should be considered by the d…

(a) General rule.--On or before July 5, 1996, each person who owned or operated a well in existence prior to April 18, 1985, which has not been registered with the department and for which no drilling permit has been issued by the department, shall register the well with the depa…

(a) General rule.--Upon application, the department shall grant inactive status for a period of five years for a permitted or registered well, if the following requirements are met: (1) the condition of the well is sufficient to prevent damage to the producing zone or contaminati…

(a) General rule.--Wells may not be drilled within 200 feet, or, in the case of an unconventional gas well, 500 feet, measured horizontally from the vertical well bore to a building or water well, existing when the copy of the plat is mailed as required by section 3211(b) (relati…

(a) General rule.--Each oil or gas well owner or operator shall restore the land surface within the area disturbed in siting, drilling, completing and producing the well. (b) Plan.--During and after earthmoving or soil disturbing activities, including, but not limited to, activit…

(a) General rule.--To aid in protection of fresh groundwater, well operators shall control and dispose of brines produced from the drilling, alteration or operation of an oil or gas well in a manner consistent with the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as The Clean S…

(a) General rule.--In addition to the requirements of subsection (c.1), a well operator who affects a public or private water supply by pollution or diminution shall restore or replace the affected supply with an alternate source of water adequate in quantity or quality for the p…

Upon receiving notification of a spill, the department shall, after investigating the incident, notify any public drinking water facility that could be affected by the event that the event occurred. The notification shall contain a brief description of the event and any expected …

(a) Sites.--Unconventional well sites shall be designed and constructed to prevent spills to the ground surface or spills off the well site. Containment practices shall meet all of the following: (1) Be instituted on the well site during both drilling and hydraulic fracturing ope…

(a) Requirements.--A well operator of an unconventional well that transports wastewater fluids shall do all of the following: (1) Maintain records for five years, in accordance with regulations under subsection (b) and on a form approved by the department, of the amount and desti…

(a) Pipelines.--All buried metallic pipelines shall be installed and placed in operation in accordance with 49 CFR Pt. 192 Subpt. I (relating to requirements for corrosion control). (b) Tanks.--Permanent aboveground and underground tanks must comply with the applicable corrosion …

(a) Requirement.--Owners and operators of gathering lines shall comply with section 2(5)(i.1) of the act of December 10, 1974 (P.L.852, No.287), referred to as the Underground Utility Line Protection Law. (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "gathering line" means a…

Any person engaged in drilling an oil or gas well shall equip it with casings of sufficient strength, and other safety devices as are necessary, in the manner prescribed by regulation of the department, and shall use every effort and endeavor effectively to prevent blowouts, expl…

(a) Contracts.--The department may enter into contracts with well control specialists in order to provide adequate emergency response services in the event of a well control emergency. The department shall make available, upon request by a county, information relating to contract…

(a) General rule.--Upon abandoning a well, the owner or operator shall plug it in the manner prescribed by regulation of the department to stop vertical flow of fluids or gas within the well bore, unless the department has granted inactive status for the well or it has been appro…

A well operator may request permission to use a method or material other than those required by this chapter and applicable regulations for casing, plugging or equipping a well in an application to the department which describes the proposed alternative in reasonable detail and i…

(a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (a.1), each well operator shall file with the department, on a form provided by the department, an annual report specifying the amount of production, on the most well-specific basis available, along with the status of each well,…

(a) Applicability.--This section applies to hydraulic fracturing of unconventional wells performed on or after the effective date of this section. (b) Required disclosures.-- (1) Except as provided under subsection (d), a service provider who performs any part of a hydraulic frac…

The owner or operator of a well shall notify the department in writing within 30 days, in a form directed by regulation, of sale, assignment, transfer, conveyance or exchange by or to the owner of the well. A transfer shall not relieve the well owner or operator of an obligation …

(a) General rule.--At any time prior to removing coal or other underground materials from, or extending the workings in, a coal mine within 500 feet of an oil or gas well of which the coal operator has knowledge, or within 500 feet of an approved well location of which the coal o…

(a) General rule.--The following shall apply: (1) Except as provided in subsection (d), upon filing an application for a well permit and before continuing to operate an oil or gas well, the owner or operator of the well shall file with the department a bond covering the well and …

(a) Creation of board.--The Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board is created, consisting of the following members, all of whom shall be chosen by the Governor and shall be residents of this Commonwealth: (1) Three individuals, each of whom shall be: (i) a petroleum engineer; (ii) …

(a) Natural gas operations.--An owner or operator of a facility conducting natural gas operations in unconventional formations including development, production, transmission and processing shall submit to the department a source report identifying and quantifying actual air cont…

(a) General duties.--The following shall apply: (1) A person injecting into or storing gas in a storage reservoir underlying or within 3,000 linear feet of an operating coal mine in a coal seam that extends over the storage reservoir or reservoir protective area shall, within 60 …

(a) General rule.--A person owning or operating a coal mine shall file with the department a map prepared and sealed by a competent individual licensed as a professional engineer or professional land surveyor under the provisions of the act of May 23, 1945 (P.L.913, No.367), know…

(a) General rule.--A person who operates or proposes to operate a storage reservoir, except one filled by the secondary recovery or gas recycling process, shall: (1) Use every known method which is reasonable under the circumstances for discovering and locating all wells which ha…

(a) General rule.--A person operating a storage reservoir which underlies or is within 2,000 linear feet of a coal mine operating in a coal seam that extends over the storage reservoir or the reservoir protective area shall: (1) Use every known reasonable method for discovering a…

(a) General rule.--The person operating a storage reservoir affected by this chapter shall, at all reasonable times, be permitted to inspect applicable records and facilities of a coal mine overlying the storage reservoir or reservoir protective area. The person operating a coal …

(a) General rule.--In determining whether a coal mine or operating coal mine is or will be within a particular distance from a storage reservoir which is material under this chapter, the owner or operator of the coal mine and the storage operator may rely on the most recent map o…

(a) Inapplicability of chapter to certain coal mines.--This chapter shall not apply to the following types of coal mines: (1) Strip mines and auger mines operating from the surface. (2) Mines to which the former act of June 9, 1911 (P.L.756, No.319), entitled "An act to provide f…

(a) General rule.--Except as provided in this subsection, a corporation empowered to transport, sell or store natural gas or manufactured gas in this Commonwealth may appropriate an interest in real property located in a storage reservoir or reservoir protective area for injectio…

(a) General rule.--The department or any person having a direct interest in a matter subject to this chapter may, at any time, request that a conference be held to discuss and attempt to resolve by mutual agreement a matter arising under this chapter. Unless otherwise provided, c…

A violation of section 3217 (relating to protection of fresh groundwater and casing requirements), 3218 (relating to protection of water supplies), 3219 (relating to use of safety devices) or 3220 (relating to plugging requirements), or a regulation, order, term or condition of a…

(a) General rule.--Except as modified by subsections (b), (c) and (d), the department may issue orders necessary to aid in enforcement of this chapter. An order issued under this chapter shall take effect upon notice, unless the order specifies otherwise. The power of the departm…

(a) General rule.--In addition to any other remedy provided in this chapter, the department may institute a suit in equity in the name of the Commonwealth for an injunction to restrain a violation of this chapter or rules, regulations, standards or orders adopted or issued under …

A person liable for a well control emergency is responsible for all response costs incurred by the department to respond to the well control emergency. In an action before a court of competent jurisdiction, the department may recover all its response costs, including the cost of …

(a) General violation.--A person violating a provision of this chapter commits a summary offense and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both. Each day during which the violation continues is a…

In addition to other remedies available at law or in equity for a violation of this chapter, a regulation of the department, a departmental order or a permit condition, the department, after a hearing, may assess a civil penalty regardless of whether the violation was willful. Th…

Nothing in this chapter stops the Commonwealth or a district attorney from proceeding in a court of law or in equity to abate pollution forbidden under this chapter or a nuisance under existing law. It is hereby declared to be the purpose of this chapter to provide additional and…

(a) General rule.--The department may make inspections, conduct tests or sampling or examine books, papers and records pertinent to a matter under investigation under this chapter to determine compliance with this chapter. For this purpose, the duly authorized agents and employee…

It shall be unlawful for any person to: (1) Drill, alter, operate or utilize an oil or gas well without a permit or registration from the department as required by this chapter or in violation of rules or regulations adopted under this chapter, orders of the department or a term …

Fines and penalties shall be collectible in a manner provided by law for collection of debts. If a person liable to pay a penalty neglects or refuses to pay after demand, the amount, together with interest and costs that may accrue, shall be a judgment in favor of the Commonwealt…

If a person other than a well operator renders a service or product to a well or well site, that person is liable with the well owner or operator for violations of this chapter arising out of and caused by the person's actions at the well or well site, in accordance with State la…

The department shall post inspection reports on its publicly accessible Internet website. The inspection reports shall include: (1) The nature and description of violations. (2) The operator's written response to the violation, if available. (3) The status of the violation. (4) T…

(a) Appropriation.--Fines, civil penalties and permit and registration fees collected under this chapter are appropriated to the department to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (b) Surcharge.--To aid in indemnifying the Commonwealth for the cost of plugging abandoned wells,…