Water Treatment Plant Sued To Stop Drilling Fluids Discharge into Allegheny River

Clean Water Action filed a citizen's suit against Waste Treatment Corporation under the Clean Water Act for discharging drilling fluids into the Allegheny River from its Warren, Pennsylvania waste processing facility.  Clean Water Action alleged that the company processed oil and gas well waste while being limited to processing metal type wastes, that those discharges contained harmful levels of chloride and other pollutants, and that those discharges continue to endanger the health and welfare of people and wildlife in the area.  The complaint further alleges violations of the Endangered Species Act, alleging that chloride discharges injured or killed the Northern Riffleshell mussel, an endangered species that lives in the Allegheny River. Clean Water Action seeks that Waste Treatment Corp. stop these discharges, study the environmental damage of the discharges, remediate any damage it caused to the environment, and pay civil penalties.

The complaint may be found at: http://www.cleanwateraction.org/files/publications/Complaint%20pdfa%20filed%20on%2028October2013.pdf

PA Attorney General Brings Criminal Charges Against XTO

Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania's Attorney General, brought criminal charges against XTO Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, for allegedly discharging 50,000 gallons of toxic waste water from the Marquardt Marcellus Shale well in Lycoming County.  Kane alleged in the complaint that as much as 57,000 gallons of waste water at the Marquardt site spilled and polluted a tributary of Sugar Run.  A grand jury recommended the criminal charges against XTO after hearing testimony and viewing evidence from a statewide investigation.  The charges against XTO include five counts of unlawful conduct under Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law and three counts of unlawful conduct under the Solid Waste Management Act.  

XTO responded by calling the criminal charges "unprecedented," "unwarranted, and legally baseless." XTO stated that the incident did not cause any "significant or lasting environmental harm" and that it plans to challenge the criminal charges. XTO claims that the state investigation was not warranted because the company already remediated the site and came to an agreement with the EPA, where it paid civil penalties. Further, XTO asserted that the Department of Justice did not find that criminal charges were warranted after conducting its own investigation that lasted more than a year.

The Attorney General's Press Release is available at: PA Attorney General Press Release

XTO's press release is available at: XTO Press Release

Written by: Tom Panighetti

September 11, 2013

United States DOJ and XTO Energy enter into stipulated judgment for Clean Water Act violations

On July 18, 2013 the US Department of Justice and XTO Energy entered into a Consent Decree following allegations of Clean Water Act violations by XTO in Lycoming County. The complaint lodged by the DOJ on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency alleged that XTO had “discharged pollutants” including flowback/produced fluids into streams near a well pad in Hughesville, PA. As part of the stipulated judgment, XTO agreed to:

1. A civil penalty of $100,000;
2. Various compliance requirements for the operation and maintenance of storage tanks used in its operations, and standard operating procedures for those tanks;
3. Various reporting requirements to demonstrate compliance;
4. And stipulated penalties for failure to report or comply with the duties laid out in the Decree.

The agreement between the United States and XTO does not conclude any enforcement measures Pennsylvania might take against XTO for violations of state regulations governing the management and disposal of gas well fluids. Nor does the consent decree affect any litigation that could be brought against XTO from landowners in the area affected by the alleged discharges.

For the full text of the Consent Decree, please visit the AgriculturalLaw Resource and Reference Center’s Marcellus Shale Resource Area.

Written by: Garrett Lent, Research Assistant

Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

July 2013