Range Resources Pleads No Contest in Fracking Cover-Up

Range Resources, a major player in Pennsylvania’s unconventional oil and gas industry, has pleaded no contest to criminal charges tied to the negligent oversight of two Washington County fracking sites—marking the culmination of a two-year investigation by the 43rd Statewide Grand Jury. The plea follows evidence that the company knowingly concealed critical failures at its Yeager and Brownlee well sites, risking public health and contaminating vital water sources.

At the Yeager site, internal emails reveal Range Resources was aware of multiple issues before and after the wastewater impoundment became operational—including tears in the pond’s liner and unchecked bacterial growth from stagnant water. Despite these red flags, the company failed to act. Worse, they ignored parallel problems at a nearby reserve pit. One employee warned in writing that 30,000 gallons of flushed water wouldn’t be enough to counter ongoing leaks—leaks that eventually rendered the Yeager family’s springs unsafe for drinking.

The Brownlee site disaster was equally damning. In January 2018, a storage tank holding fracking wastewater began to leak, spilling waste into a containment liner that wasn’t properly secured. The liner failed, allowing contaminated water to spill into a nearby field and flow into an unnamed tributary of Buffalo Creek. Nearly a third of an acre of farmland was poisoned, forcing the removal of 100 trees and 12,000 square feet of soil. Range Resources alerted the landowner to the leak—but not the full extent of the damage.

Documents show Range Resources only ordered full remediation of the ditch when the property owner threatened to report the spill. This delayed response underscores a pattern of negligence and disregard for environmental regulations. The company’s actions—or inactions—exposed nearby residents, farmers, and ecosystems to hazardous materials, all while operating under the protection of deep-pocketed investors and political influence.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro did not mince words during a video announcement, stating, “Too often frackers come to our Commonwealth, walk into our communities, and—sometimes without care or consequence—strip us of those basic rights.” He emphasized that Pennsylvania’s constitution guarantees clean air and pure water, and that corporations like Range Resources will no longer operate with impunity.

The plea is the direct result of the 43rd Statewide Grand Jury’s sweeping probe into environmental crimes committed by fracking firms across Pennsylvania. While no jail time was imposed, the conviction holds Range Resources criminally accountable and sets a precedent for enforcement. For the residents of Washington County, it’s a long-overdue reckoning.

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