AG Shapiro charges 2 drilling companies with eco-crimes in Washington County
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The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday charged two drilling companies with environmental crimes for their alleged pollution of a stream in Washington County.
The charges stem from a grand jury report released last month that alleged unconventional drilling companies allowed pollutants to fill the water and air around drilling sites. The report has led to charges against several drilling companies.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro named National Fuel Gas Supply and a subcontractor, Southeast Directional Drilling, in the latest charges. Both companies face five violations of the state’s Clean Stream Law.
Karen Merkel, a spokeswoman for National Fuel, said the company paid a civil penalty of less than $6,000 for the problem that led to discharge into the stream.
“We categorically deny any assertion that the company acted with indifference toward the communities where we live and operate,” she said.
Southeast Directional Drilling representatives did not immediately return requests for comment.
The industry group Marcellus Shale Coalition has disputed the extensive allegations, and President David Spigelmyer said the report contains factual inaccuracies, misrepresentations, legal omissions and unsubstantiated allegations.
“The safety of Pennsylvanians and our natural resources cannot be jeopardized when companies with big influence and deep pockets take advantage of our land and water for profits and disregard people,” Shapiro said in a statement.
The violations allegedly happened during pipeline installation near a tributary of St. Patrick’s Run near Route 22 in Bulger, according to the charges.
Shapiro said evidence showed employees discovered a small leak about a month into the pipeline installation and “the decision was made to ignore it.”
Southeast Directional employees testified that supervisors told them “to (pretend) they didn’t see it, more or less,” according to the statement. They also testified that it was common to “look the other way” and hide the spills and leaks from daily project reports.
A man living near the pipeline testified the drilling fluid turned the creek that ran through his property gray and cloudy, Shapiro said, and he was forced to shut off his well to keep it from becoming contaminated.
“For decades, Pennsylvanians saw the health consequences and environmental devastation that came with unchecked corporate greed, and passed laws to prioritize people over big investors,” Shapiro said. “We should expand those laws, but today we’re doing all we can to protect the public and hold these companies accountable for impairing our water.”