Act 13 of 2012

Act 13 of 2012 enacted stronger environmental standards, authorized local governments to adopt an impact fee and built upon the state's ongoing efforts to move towards energy independence as unconventional gas development continues. Among the Act's provisions are increased setback requirements for unconventional gas development; enhanced protection of water supplies; and strong, uniform, consistent statewide environmental standards. As a result of these provisions, the Department of Environmental Protection will continue to ensure the responsible development of this important resource.

NOW INTERACTIVE: Public Utility Commission (PUC) Act 13 Unconventional Wells Spud Report

Note: This unconventional spud wells report has been developed specifically for the purposes of determining the wells that may be subject to a fee imposed under 58 Pa.C.S. 2301-2318 (Act 13 of 2012's Chapter 23 relating to Unconventional Gas Well Fee) and may differ from similar reports for spud oil and gas wells on the DEP's website. This report may not be the same as reports by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on wells subject to the unconventional gas well fee as required by 58 Pa.C.S. 2301-2318 (Act 13's Chapter 23 relating to Unconventional Gas Well Fee) because the commission must consider provisions under Chapter 23 in assessing the fee for a specific well. Furthermore, this report can be generated at any time; whereas, Chapter 23 requires PA DEP to provide the PUC with monthly updates on unconventional spud wells.

2013 Act 13 - Annual Unconventional Gas Well Impact Fee Report (PDF)

Visit PUC's Act 13 (Impact Fee) website.

Act 13 Frequently Asked Questions Updated Aug. 15, 2012 to include "Containment for unconventional wells"

House Bill 1950 final version (printer's number 3048) (pdf)

9-11-2012 The Oil & Gas Well Record form (8000-FM-OOGM0004a) & Instructions have been revised (09/05/2012) to include the requirement under the Oil & Gas Act of 2012 that the country of origin of the tubular steel products used in the well construction be provided on the well record. In addition, we are requesting operators to tell us if the material test report for the steel is available. Operators must begin using the new Well Record form by October 05, 2012. After that date, the old forms will no longer be accepted by PA DEP district offices. The link to the PA DEP eLibrary well record & completion report page is: http://www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us/dsweb/View/Collection-10934

New Oil & Gas Permit Forms and Bond Forms

New and revised forms for application for permits to drill and operate oil and gas wells have been posted to the DEP eLibrary. There are now separate forms for application of oil and gas well permits for conventional, unconventional and wells to be drilled in coal areas. There is an added form to describe ownership and control of companies seeking oil and gas well permits. In addition, new bonding forms that meet the requirements of the Oil and Gas Act 13 of 2012 are posted and available for use.

To view the new forms, click here: Applications & Authorizations Forms

Statewide Environmental Hotline

To report any cases of suspected water contamination that may be associated with the development of oil and gas resources or any other environmental complaint, please call 1-866-255-5158. To report an environmental emergency to DEP please click on the following link and call the appropriate regional emergency contact number: Report an Incident

DEP Webinars on Act 13

DEP conducted a series of weekly webinars during the implementation of Act 13 of 2012. The first webinar included a general overview of the Act. Subsequent webinars focused on permitting and notifications, environmental protections and enhancements and inspections and enforcement. Advance registration was required; however, recordings of these webinars are available here. NOTE: To access, please "Right Click" the video file and select "Save Target As…" to save the file to your computer. To play the video file (MP4 format), Apple QuickTime may be required.

Webinar dates, topics and registration links are as follows:

Tuesday, March 27 -- Act 13 -- General Overview

Act 13 Overview Webinar Recording from March 27, 2012 (MP4) 32.5 MB

Act 13 Overview Power Point Presentation (PDF)

Tuesday, April 3 -- Act 13 Permitting and Notifications

CORRECTION: DEP would like to clarify a response provided during the question and answer period of the April 3 webinar. The correct response to a question regarding the proper method for providing notice to necessary parties as part of the well permit application is as follows: Notice must still be provided to the listed parties via certified mail. In accordance with the statute, the Department will not accept mail slips from commercial vendors such as UPS or FedEx. The Department will return any such submissions to the applicant and consider the permit application administratively incomplete.

Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions document for more information.

Act 13 Permitting and Notifications Webinar Recording from April 03, 2012 (MP4) 29.1 MB

Act 13 Permitting and Notifications Webinar Recording from April 03, 2012 (WMV) 95.7 MB

Act 13 Permitting and Notifications Power Point Presentation (PDF)