By SARA FURLONG

s.furlong@bradfordera.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will hold a virtual public hearing at 6 p.m.

Tuesday regarding Sandstone Development LLC’s proposed injection disposal well in Lafayette Township. The public comment period has also been extended. Written comments can be submitted to the EPA by sending an email to R3_UIC_ Mailbox@epa.gov through May 20.

In early April, the EPA

Hearing… page A-10

A map available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website indicates the location of the McKay 7 A well, which is the subject of a proposed permit for a Class HR injection well, off Bingham Road in Lafayette Township. EPA will host a public hearing in the matter at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

EPA issued public notice of a proposed permit for Sandstone Development LLC to operate an injection well in Lafayette Township, McKean County — EPA permit number PAS2R430BMCK. Sandstone Development LLC, 464 Bingham Road, Cyclone, applied for the EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) program Class IIR injection well permit to inject fluids produced by enhanced oil and gas recovery, according to the EPA notice and website.

At the time of its public notice, EPA officials stated a public hearing would only be held if they received “a significant degree of public interest” in doing so, by Tuesday. While the public comment period has been extended through May 20, there will be no in-person hearing.

A message from Kevin Rowsey, UIC program lead for the water division in the U.S. EPA Mid-Atlantic Region, stated “The EPA has decided to hold the virtual public hearing for the Sandstone Development draft permit.”

It continues, “There is no need to register in advance for the virtual hearing. Attendees may utilize (Microsoft) Teams by calling via telephone or entering the URL into a web browser. The meeting organizer will call on people to deliver their oral comments.”

The call-in number is (484) 352-3221. When prompted, enter the conference ID — 381 733 216 — followed by the pound or hashtag key. To join via a web browser, visit https://msteams. link/1H1M.

In the notice description, EPA indicates the permit is for a well on the McKay Lease in Lafayette Township. According to a topographical map available on the EPA website, that lease is located off Bingham Road. The McKay 7A well is situated approximately 1 mile east of Bradford Regional Airport and approximately one-half to three-quarters of a mile north of Route 59. “The draft permit will allow Sandstone to inject produced fluids into the Upper Devonian Kane Sandstone Formation in the subsurface interval between approximately 2,295 feet to 2,315 feet below ground surface,” the EPA notice reads. “If the EPA issues the final permit to Sandstone, the permit will remain in effect for the operational life of the Facility.”

In nearby Keating Township, a group of concerned homeowners has appealed DEP’s permit allowing Catalyst Energy Inc. of Pittsburgh to operate a Class II fracking wastewater injection well there. That well, Lot 5801, is just a stone’s throw off Route 646 (Ridge Road) in Cyclone.

Homeowners in the tiny Hilltop village cited myriad concerns in their appeal, including potentially contaminated drinking water, dozens of abandoned and un- or improperly plugged wells nearby, noise and light pollution, damage to area roads with increased heavy truck traffic and Lot 580-1’s proximity to wetlands and Allegheny River tributaries, some of which are Keystone Select Trout Waters.

Lafayette Township lies directly west of and adjacent to Keating Township. As the crow flies, according to Google Maps, Lot 580-1 and McKay 7A are approximately 2.3 miles apart.

The Lafayette Township draft permit’s administrative record is available for public review on the EPA website. The record — which includes the application, draft permit and EPA’s statement of basis for its decision that the well would not impact underground sources of drinking water (USDW) — can also be requested and public comments submitted by contacting Rowsey at (215) 814-5463 or R3_UIC_Mailbox@epa.gov, or by postal mail at Water Division (Mail Code: 3WD20), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 3, Four Penn Center, 1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19103.