CNX Disputes PA DEP Finding of SWPA Water Well Diminution
On April 29, 2026, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued six violations to CNX Resources for causing water supply problems affecting two Bell Township residences in Westmoreland County. The violations targeted three CNX facilities with 19 shale gas wells drilled between 2022 and 2026. DEP determined that CNX operations diminished water supplies after two homeowners filed complaints in December 2025 about loss of well water. CNX was ordered to provide temporary water within 24 hours and submit restoration plans within 15-45 days. CNX, which *did* offer temporary water back in December, is disputing the DEP’s findings, denying responsibility and claiming insufficient evidence of hydrogeologic pathways linking their operations to water impacts. Read More “CNX Disputes PA DEP Finding of SWPA Water Well Diminution”
Pennsylvania imposes an annual “impact fee” (the state’s version of a severance tax) on unconventional (i.e., shale) natural gas wells that were drilled or operating in the previous calendar year. The state Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) provides updates to predict how much will be collected from the fee. The IFO released its mid-year report yesterday, which typically focuses on a forecast for the current fiscal year (FY 2026). But this update is different. It spends most of its verbiage on firming up and confirming the final numbers for 2025, which will be distributed in July of 2026. Near the end, the IFOers do break out the crystal ball and venture a guess on revenues for 2026 that will be paid out next July. 
On June 8, 2026, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspector visited Frontier Natural Resources’ Winner 1, Winner 2, Winner 4H and Winner 6 shale gas well pads, along with four multimillion-gallon water impoundments in East and West Keating Townships, Clinton County. The inspector found that Frontier had not restored the pads and impoundments within 9 months of drilling ending. But here’s the thing: the original violations were lodged by the DEP on July 14, 2017. That’s almost nine years ago! In other words, the DEP didn’t bother to re-inspect the pads/sites for nine years. 
The troubles continue to pile up for Eureka Resources and its now-closed frack wastewater treatment facilities in Pennsylvania — two in Lycoming County and one in Bradford County. In March, the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) assessed two fines against Eureka for violations of cleanup deadlines at two facilities, totaling $100,000 (see 
JobsOhio, a private, nonprofit corporation that works on behalf of the state to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio by attracting business, contracts its economic research to Cleveland State University (CSU) to monitor the Utica Shale industry. JobsOhio released the latest CSU twice-a-year report yesterday (full copy below). It shows that Ohio’s shale energy sector drew another $2.9 billion in direct investment between January and June 2025, pushing cumulative investment in the Utica since 2011 to nearly $117.5 billion. All private money! It’s massive. 
WhiteHawk Minerals (formerly WhiteHawk Energy), a natural gas mineral and royalty interest owner in the Marcellus and Haynesville plays, with over 3.4 million gross acres under lease for drilling, launched an initial public offering (IPO) two weeks ago (see 
Here’s a story that may, at first glance, seem to have nothing to do with the Marcellus/Utica. Au contraire! The story of what’s happening with Permian drillers has a great deal to do with the M-U region. Although MDN frequently refers to the Haynesville Shale as the #1 competitor to the M-U because both plays target natural gas as the primary hydrocarbon, would it surprise you to learn that the Permian basin is the #2 producer of natural gas behind the M-U? And it’s catching up. Permian Basin drillers are experiencing starkly contrasting fortunes, reaping historic profits from war-driven oil price rallies while facing negative regional natural gas prices due to severe pipeline bottlenecks. To curb financial losses from associated gas, major producers like Permian Resources and Devon Energy are shutting in wells, while others resort to flaring to maintain more profitable crude production. 
Last week, the combined Marcellus/Utica Baker Hughes rig count remained at 36 active rigs for the fourth week in a row. The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U. The national count added 1 rig last week, bringing the total to 563 rigs. That’s the seventh week in a row the national count has added rigs, driven by new oil-focused rigs. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by two to 431 last week, the highest since June 2025, while gas rigs fell by one to 124, the lowest since January 2026. Other miscellaneous rigs held at eight. 
Back in March, MDN alerted you to a potential new water pipeline coming in Lycoming County, PA, for EQT shale drilling (see 
Stephanie Catarino Wissman, executive director of the American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania, argues in a recent op-ed that Pennsylvania’s Act 13 natural gas impact fee has successfully paired shale development with local investment since 2012. Unlike a severance tax, the fee directs revenue to counties, municipalities, and environmental programs, generating nearly $3 billion overall and more than $1 billion from 2020 to 2024. Funds have supported roads, bridges, stormwater systems, emergency services, parks, watershed restoration, abandoned mine reclamation, orphan well plugging, and tax relief. 
According to José Costa of the Northeast Gas Association, Massachusetts’ high energy bills (some of the highest in the country!) stem from infrastructure constraints rather than price volatility. That is, Democrat politicians like Gov. Maura Healey have blocked new pipelines with additional capacity from entering the state. Although the nearby Marcellus Shale produces abundant, affordable natural gas, New England’s pipeline system operates at capacity during extreme winter cold. These physical bottlenecks restrict gas delivery, driving up spot prices to nearly 17 times Pennsylvania’s levels. The same supply with far more demand equals soaring prices. It’s Economics 101. 
On March 18, President Trump issued a 60-day waiver pausing the enforcement of the Jones Act (see 
In a significant ruling for Utica and Marcellus shale landowners, the Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s decision denying a motion by Ascent Resources to compel arbitration in a lease-expiration dispute. The court ruled that when an oil and gas lease expires by its own terms without active production or drilling operations, the lease’s arbitration clause does not survive the lease’s expiration to govern subsequent disputes—such as claims of trespass and unauthorized drilling. To force arbitration on post-expiration events, a lease must contain explicit “survival” language or involve rights that accrued/vested while the lease was still active. 
Google has partnered with Voltus to fund a three-year, 100-megawatt (MW) so-called “virtual power plant” in the PJM Interconnection (roughly the Marcellus/Utica region). VPPs are designed to address soaring data center demand. Voltus will “aggregate” distributed energy resources from residential, commercial, and industrial customers. We call foul. So-called VPPs are fake—they don’t actually exist. They simply use existing grid electricity taken from other sources. Creating a VPP just takes a little software and a lot of apathy from citizens to make it work. Google will, in essence, pay other electricity consumers to shift or forgo energy use. Google says it’s faster and more cost-effective to buy electricity from other electricity users rather than build an actual, honest-to-God power plant. 