Pittsburgh H.S. Students Fundraise to Plug Orphan Gas Wells in PA
Students at Allderdice High School launched the Dice Well Done Club to combat mythical climate change by plugging abandoned oil and gas wells. Led by junior Lucy Hurowitz, the group partners with the Well Done Foundation to address methane leaks, which supposedly contribute to Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions. After raising $5,000 (out of $15,000 needed) in 2025 to seal a well near Erie, the club is targeting another $5,000 to raise this year for a local project. By turning student-led fundraising into tangible environmental action, these teenagers are providing a blueprint for schools nationwide to tackle the massive problem of orphaned wells. Read More “Pittsburgh H.S. Students Fundraise to Plug Orphan Gas Wells in PA”
Two weeks ago, the Marcellus/Utica saw a realignment in rig counts, at least in Ohio and West Virginia. Pennsylvania kept the 20 rigs it has had since early February. Ohio lost two rigs, from 13 to 11, the fewest active rigs in the Buckeye State since last September. And West Virginia picked up one rig, from 7 to 8 rigs, for the first time since last May! Overall, the M-U region had a net loss of one rig two weeks ago, going from 40 to 39 active rigs. The same numbers for the M-U held last week—no changes. One thing we didn’t mention last week (we just noticed this week) is that, along with the change in rigs between OH and WV, came a shift in Marcellus-focused and Utica-focused rigs. The Marcellus gained one rig (now runs 27), and the Utica lost two rigs (now runs 12). 
Can we PLEASE now put to bed the pervasive lie spread by anti-shale people that drill cuttings (the leftover rock and dirt that comes out of the ground when drilling a shale well) are somehow glow-in-the-dark radioactive and if disposed of in a landfill will cause people who live near such a landfill to die from radiation poisoning? A two-year study by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) concluded that radium levels in landfill wastewater (leachate) do NOT pose a risk to human health. 
The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 21 new drilling permits last week, Mar. 2 – 8, up 10 from the 11 permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 21 of the permits. Ohio issued 7. And, West Virginia issued no new permits last week. The drillers receiving new permits last week included: Ascent Resources, CNX Resources, EOG Resources, EQT, Expand Energy, Range Resources, and Repsol. 
It’s time to make a LOT of noise with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) if you care about Marcellus drilling continuing in the Keystone State. In December, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) accepted a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far that it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State, which is no exaggeration (see 
Even a leftist liberal putz like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro can have a good idea every now and again. (Credit where credit is due.) Shapiro is introducing what he calls GRID (Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development) standards to incentivize Pennsylvania data center developers to voluntarily adopt higher environmental and transparency benchmarks. In exchange for committing to water conservation, local hiring, and independent power generation, projects can access “Fast Track” permitting to accelerate construction. 
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Similarly, if a pipeline being drilled loses 28,500 barrels (1.2 million gallons) of nontoxic drilling mud into an abandoned coal mine void, does it matter? The environmental left is attempting to make a big deal out of MarkWest Liberty Midstream’s drilling project in Washington County, PA, in which the company has, over a series of 19 different episodes, lost a cumulative 28,500 barrels of nontoxic bentonite drilling mud into an old coal mine void as it drilled the Chiarelli to Imperial Pipeline Project, between October 2025 and January 2026. Bentonite is the same stuff used to make kitty litter and toothpaste. 
Thanks to the work of David Hess at the PA Environment Digest Blog in tracking Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) notices published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, we spotted three new water pipeline projects related to drilling new shale wells in three different northeastern PA counties: Lycoming, Bradford, and Wyoming. Water is used for fracking. New water pipelines mean new fracking is on the way in those locations. 
Just coming to light now, more than a month after it happened, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is investigating whether there is any connection between a low-level earthquake (“seismic event”) near Murrysville in Westmoreland County, PA, and the Penneco Environmental Solutions LLC Sedat 3A injection well in Plum Borough in Allegheny County. Operators of injection wells in PA are (usually) required to maintain on-site seismometers. On Feb. 7, the seismometer at the Penneco Sedat 3A site registered a “seismic event” about six miles away near Murrysville. 
A Syracuse University study (full copy below) reveals that conventional oil and gas extraction in Pennsylvania poses a greater long-term threat to stream biodiversity than modern shale fracking. By analyzing over 6,800 aquatic samples, researchers found that legacy infrastructure (old conventional oil and gas wells) is more strongly linked to declining ecosystem health and the loss of sensitive species. While public concern often centers on newer fracking methods, these findings highlight the persistent impact of older, conventional wells. The study, titled “
Big Solar, as in big solar farms (which are ugly and eat up farmland), can’t exist in a fair and open energy market. It’s too expensive. Big Solar fails unless there are massive taxpayer subsidies—you supporting it with your tax dollars. Nowhere is that more evident than what just happened in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The Centre County government agencies that had worked together for years on plans to buy solar energy are ending the initiative after the company they were working with sought to end the current contract amid a “changing financial landscape.” Taxpayer subsidies disappeared, and so, too, has this project. 
We won’t bore you with links to numerous stories we’ve written pointing out how the environmental left has pivoted from anti-fracking to anti-data center. We believe we were one of the first to make that observation (about a year ago). At any rate, one of the worst of the worst “environmental” organizations, Food & Water Watch (FWW), has all but abandoned its anti-fracking work to focus on opposing and blocking AI data centers. It’s absolutely, positively, anti-progress (not to mention anti-American). FWW’s latest campaign is aimed at convincing Congress and state legislatures (like Pennsylvania) to pass a three-year moratorium on building new data centers. 
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) is the comprehensive trade association representing nearly 400 members across Pennsylvania’s oil and natural gas industry. Tracing its roots to 1918, it serves as a unified voice for shale and conventional producers, service companies, and distributors. PIOGA will host its