Business & Tech

Judge: Suit Against DEP Regarding Marcellus Site to Proceed

A commonwealth court judge this week ruled that a lawsuit filed by a Washington County woman against the DEP over alleged violations at a Range Resources site in Amwell can proceed.

A senior Commonwealth Court Judge this week issued an order that will allow a suit filed last year by an Amwell Township woman against the state Department of Environmental Protection to proceed.

The DEP as well as Southpointe-based Range Resources, which intervened in the case, had sought to quash the suit.

Beth Voyles, whose farm is located 800 feet from oil and gas well drilling operations and a waste fluid impoundment constructed by Range Resources, alleged in court that the DEP did not investigate myriad alleged violations there.

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She is seeking an order requiring DEP to conduct a full investigation into her complaints.

Voyles is being represented by several lawyers, including John Smith of Cecil Township.

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“She alleges that her quality of life and health have decreased dramatically since drilling of natural gas wells at the site and completion of the impoundment. Her health ailments include rashes, blisters, light-headedness, nose bleeds and lethargy,” court documents indicate. “She avers medical testing revealed the presence of elevated concentrations of arsenic, benzene, and toluene in her body.”

And that’s not all.

“She also alleges that she and area residents have suffered declining health, loss of animals, and water and air contamination,” the document continues. “Voyles alleges the adverse health effects are caused by exposure to chemicals used in the fracking process. She alleges that she and her neighbors draw drinking water from the same water table as the site and consequently, when one well is contaminated all wells are contaminated.”

Court documents show that Voyles has accused the DEP of failing to undertake a full investigation into air and water issues at the site to determine whether or not those health effects could have been caused by contamination.

In short, the suit alleges that the site “fails to comply with DEP impoundment construction standards and that DEP has failed to issue to (Range Resources) various violation notices, to order compliance with the impoundment construction standards and/or impose civil penalties for (the company’s) violation of the above laws.”

The DEP has maintained that it investigated the complaints and notified Voyles of the results on Sept. 22, 2011. Further, the DEP maintained “the court lacks jurisdiction to review and agency’s exercise of its discretion to enforce it statutory and regulatory duties.”

Court documents show that Range Resources took a similar stance, adding that Voylzes made three types of complaints “related to water quality, bubbling and air pollution. She acknowledges that DEP undertook an investigation into the water quality, malodorous air complaints and bubbling issues.”

Court records further state: “(Range) further contends that Voyles disregarded or misrepresented the results of water quality testing” and as a result her pleading is a “factually inaccurate” and “insufficient as a matter of law.”

After taking all of the arguments into consideration, the judge contended there was enough evidence presented by Voyles to warrant the suit moving forward.

The DEP and Range have been ordered to file an answer to the complaint within 30 days.

Editor's Note: For more information on the court documents, see the attached PDF files.


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