Thursday, September 18, 2014HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Department of Environmental Protection today announced it has signed a wide-ranging consent order and agreement with Range Resources Corp. for violations at six of its Washington County impoundments.
The consent order requires the company to pay a $4.15 million fine, the largest against an oil and gas operator in the state's shale drilling era, close five impoundments and upgrade two other impoundments to meet heightened "next generation" standards under development at DEP.
"This action reaffirms the administration's unwavering commitment to protecting Pennsylvania's soil and water resources," said E. Christopher Abruzzo, DEP secretary in a prepared statement. "This landmark consent order establishes a new, higher benchmark for companies to meet when designing future impoundments, which is an environmental win for Pennsylvania."
Range Resource is based in Houston and bases its Marcellus shale operations in Canonsburg, Pa. In response to the consent order, the company issued a statement:
“While the company is deeply disappointed that these violations occurred, Range is excited to implement newly established best practices and technologies that have been jointly developed with the DEP over the last several months and years.
“These new practices go above and beyond more comprehensive landfill regulations and newly proposed oil and gas impoundment standards to prevent future issues and continue leading the nation in water recycling,” the company said.
Violations at the impoundments include various releases of contaminants, such as leaking flow-back that affected soil and groundwater. To date there has been no impact on drinking water from any of these impoundments, according to the DEP.
Under the consent order, Range Resources will immediately begin the closure of the Hopewell Township 11 (Lowry), Cecil Township 23 (Worstell), and Kearns impoundments. Range Resources will also continue the closure of the Yeager impoundment. The company must close the Hopewell Township 12 (Bednarski) impoundment by April 1, 2015.
Additionally, the consent order directs Range Resources to upgrade two other impoundments. The liner systems at the Chartiers Township 16 (Carol Baker) and Amwell Township 15 (Jon Day) impoundments will be completely redesigned and rebuilt to meet "next generation" standards currently under development at DEP.
When upgrading the two impoundments, Range Resources will install thicker liners than are currently required, an electrically conductive geomembrane that will allow better identification of potential leaks and a real-time leak detection system, according to DEP. Range will also fully investigate and remediate any groundwater contamination caused by the previous operation of the impoundments.
Another impoundment, Mount Pleasant Township 17 (Carter), will be limited to storing only fresh water for as long as it remains in service. Range will also install a groundwater monitoring well network at the impoundment now and will perform an environmental site assessment at this impoundment once it is permanently closed.
The company will be required to report to DEP quarterly on the progress of the shutdown and remediation of the sites.
The consent order also requires Range Resources to immediately begin soil and groundwater investigations at each of the closed impoundments to determine what, if any, impact there was from their operation of the impoundments. If contamination is found, the company is required to remediate the sites.
Sources: Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, Range Resources Corp.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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