CNX pursues new permits for 2 Penn Township gas wells, Protect PT prepares for response

Environmental nonprofit Protect PT may have to start over in its decade-long effort to shut down a Marcellus shale gas well development along First Street in Penn Township.

The state Environmental Hearing Board ruled in June against Protect PT, which two years ago appealed permit renewals for unconventional natural gas wells 1H and 7H on the Drakulic well pad.

Protect PT and CNX Resources Corp. appealed the board’s decision to Commonwealth Court.

But because permits for the gas wells expired Aug. 17, Protect PT’s appeal of the Environmental Hearing Board decision may be put to rest — which would force the nonprofit to start over its advocacy against the site.

Dispute dates to 2014

The Drakulic well pad first was proposed in 2014. The wells, which have yet to be developed, will be located near Penn Township’s border with Trafford. About 3,000 people live within a mile of the property, according to Environmental Hearing Board documents.

The township in 2016 rejected two well pad proposals by Apex Energy, the former owner of the Drakulic site. Apex was acquired by CNX this year.

Apex sued the township in federal court for $300 million, arguing the denials were unlawful. A settlement was reached in 2017, and the township’s zoning hearing board approved special exceptions for four Apex well pads, including the Drakulic site.

Protect PT has appealed the Drakulic site’s permits on two other occasions: in 2018 and 2019. But the nonprofit withdrew the appeals in August 2021, a month after the state Department of Environmental Protection dismissed them on the grounds that the Drakulic pad permits had expired.

Apex reapplied for permits, which were issued by DEP in August 2022 and renewed a year later. Protect PT appealed the renewals in September 2023 to the Environmental Hearing Board, which reviews appeals from decisions made by DEP.

After hearing eight days of testimony, the Environmental Hearing Board upheld DEP’s decision.

Protect PT appealed the case to Commonwealth Court in late June, citing concerns about the well pad’s proximity to residents.

CNX also appealed the decision, seeking to overturn the conditions the Environmental Hearing Board imposed on the Drakulic permits, according to CNX spokesperson Brian Aiello.

The conditions require CNX to monitor air, noise and groundwater impacts; build and maintain walls to dampen the sounds of drilling and construction; mitigate light pollution; establish a 24-hour emergency hotline; and manage truck traffic to avoid congestion, particularly during school bus hours.

These conditions, Aiello said, expanded on those already included in the 2017 settlement agreement between Apex and Penn Township.

“In addition to CNX bringing its own brand of transparent requirements, we will, of course, abide by the terms of that agreement in any Penn Township operations,” Aiello said via email.

The DEP called this month for Commonwealth Court to dismiss Protect PT’s appeal in light of the expired permits, said Gillian Graber, the nonprofit’s executive director. Commonwealth Court has not officially dismissed the case.

Graber acknowledges the expiration of the permits, which are central to Protect PT’s latest appeal. But the nonprofit does not want to give up the case it has been building for two years.

“Our problem is that we have wasted a lot of time and money dealing with a problem that (CNX) was just going to let lapse anyway,” she said.

CNX’s appeal is still being considered, Aiello said.

Expired permits generate discussion

CNX intends to apply for new permits and develop the Drakulic site, Aiello said.

The company needed to bring the Drakulic well pad and its development plan into compliance with its own operational standards following acquisition of the site from Apex, Aiello said. This could not be accomplished through a permit renewal and requires applying for a new permit, he said.

“We are currently working to align the site with CNX operational standards, bringing our unique approach to transparent, sustainable operations and community engagement to the area,” he said.

Graber argued that CNX allowed the permits to expire to avoid the conditions the Environmental Hearing Board imposed on the company.

“They had a job to do, to reapply for these permits, and they didn’t do that,” Graber said. “So now we’re back at square one.”

David Hess, former DEP secretary, said the Commonwealth Court’s decision could have settled the legal battle between Protect PT and CNX.

“The ongoing litigation at the Commonwealth Court would have been able to settle matters once and for all as to whether the DEP violated the law when it issued the Drakulic permits,” Hess wrote in a blog post about the Drakulic site.

“Instead, CNX could apply for entirely new permits to do the very same drilling and force community groups and local residents to restart the entire process of challenging those permits.”

Alan Shepard, CNX president and chief financial officer, accused Protect PT of creating “unnecessary hurdles” for the energy company.

“The system designed to protect the public and ensure safe and compliant development is being manipulated by activist groups intent on the sole and improper purpose of delaying and impeding progress,” Shepard said in a statement. “It is long past time to put a stop to this process.”

It is unclear when the new permits will be administered, Aiello said.

Protect PT will examine the new permits for legal compliance, Graber said. The nonprofit’s primary concern with the site is its proximity to residents.

The Drakulic site complies with state and township setback requirements for gas fracking sites. But Protect PT does not believe either setback requirement is sufficient protection for human health.

AHN Forbes Hospital, five parks, 12 churches and seven schools fall in a 3-mile radius from the Drakulic well pad, according to Environmental Hearing Board documents. About 1,000 residents live within a half-mile of the site.

The Environmental Hearing Board said in its June decision that Protect PT did not present sufficient evidence that these are unsafe distances from the Drakulic site.

Protect PT is part of Protective Buffers PA, a coalition advocating for the DEP to reevaluate state setback requirements for gas fracking sites.

“That is why we care,” Graber said. “We care because the human health impact from this activity happening so close to so many people is important.”