Range Resources Pleads No Contest

Range Resources, a Pennsylvania-based fracking company, has pleaded no contest to negligent oversight of well sites in Washington County, PA. The plea comes as part of a two-year Grand Jury investigation into environmental crimes committed by unconventional oil and gas companies across the Commonwealth.

According to Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the company accepted responsibility for its conduct at the Brownlee and Yeager well sites. Shapiro stated that the company’s actions were a clear example of the disregard some fracking companies have for the environment and the people of Pennsylvania. “In Pennsylvania, clean air and pure water is a constitutional right, yet too often frackers from across the country come to our Commonwealth, walk into our communities, and―sometimes without care or consequence―strip us of those basic rights,” Shapiro said.

The investigation into the Yeager well site found that Range Resources knowingly covered up problems with their wastewater storage pond. Internal emails from Range employees showed that the company was aware of problems with the pond’s lining before it was even completed. The company also encountered additional problems, including a lack of water circulation that caused bacterial growth in the fracking water.

The problems at the Yeager site ultimately caused the Yeager family’s springs to become contaminated and unsuitable for consumption. The Grand Jury’s investigation also found that Range Resources was aware of similar problems at a nearby reserve pit. The company’s internal documents showed that employees warned of the dire situation, with one email stating, “[w]e have flushed the reserve pit with approximately 30,000 gallons of water, but I fear this is nowhere near enough, based on the amount of time that the reserve pit may have been leaking.”

The Brownlee site investigation found that Range Resources’ actions caused significant environmental pollution. In January 2018, a group of storage tanks capable of containing nearly 300,000 gallons of waste water were moved onto the site. During a transfer of waste water into the tanks, one of the tanks began to leak, causing approximately a foot of waste water to fill a containment liner under the tanks. The liner was not properly secured, and the waste water began leaking into a nearby field and ultimately flowed into an unnamed tributary to Buffalo Creek.

Range Resources informed the land owner of the leak but did not disclose the extent of the damage. The leak contaminated nearly ⅓ acres of a nearby farm and required the removal of approximately 100 trees and 12,000 square feet of soil. The company ordered its contractor to remove the contaminated trees and soil but only replaced the ditch when the property owner threatened to report the incident. The plea is a significant step towards holding fracking companies accountable for their actions in Pennsylvania.

The 43rd Statewide Grand Jury’s investigation into environmental crimes committed by unconventional oil and gas companies is ongoing. Attorney General Shapiro has made it clear that his office will continue to hold companies accountable for their actions and ensure that the people of Pennsylvania are protected. The case against Range Resources is a prime example of the importance of holding companies accountable for their actions and the need for continued vigilance in protecting the environment and the people of Pennsylvania.

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