Politics & Government

Supervisor Asks District Attorney to Investigate Private Meeting Between Cecil and Range Resources

Supervisor Andy Schrader said Thursday that he believes a quorum of his board may have violated the state Sunshine Law when they met with the Marcellus Shale driller earlier this month.

A Cecil Township supervisor has called on the Washington County District Attorney to investigate whether three members of his board who met privately with Southpointe-based Range Resources on issues related to the Worstell impoundment violated the state Sunshine Act.

A violation of the Sunshine Law is a criminal act, and the district attorney would have jurisdiction.

Supervisor Andy Schrader said he was made aware of the private meeting through an email sent by Range Resources government affairs representative Jim Cannon.

Find out what's happening in Canon-Mcmillanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That email thanked the township for the meeting with supervisors Tom Casciola, Elizabeth Cowden and Frank Ludwin on Aug. 6.

The email was copied to all five Cecil supervisors, as well as township Manager Don Gennuso and some top brass at Range, including its Senior Vice President David M. Poole.

Find out what's happening in Canon-Mcmillanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The email, which had two attachments regarding the Wostell impoundment, read:

All,

Attached are two documents with hard copies to arrive in the mail. The first attachment is a letter related to the meeting in our office on August 6 with Supervisors Casciola, Cowden and Ludwin, during which we discussed a number of issues, one of which was the Worstell impoundment. There were several ideas we all considered and agreed might address the concerns that have been articulated by nearby residents including speed on the road and traffic volume. As noted in the letter, we are exploring those ideas.

The second attachment includes some of the same documents provided several months ago related to the impoundment.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me directly. We do appreciate the supervisors’ willingness to have an open dialogue and look forward to continued discussions. 

Sincerely,

Jim Cannon

Range Resources - Appalachia, LLC

Manager, Local Government Relations

"There never should have been a private meeting," Schrader said Thursday. "It's too easy to cross that line." 

He said that the mention of the supervisors agreeing to different ideas led him to believe that legislative action had taken place.

Reached for comment Thursday, Gennuso verified the email sent by Cannon, but said he had no further comment.

Casciola, the Cecil Township board chairman, confirmed that he had attended the private meeting, which he said was set up by Cowden.

He said the idea had been run past Gennuso and counsel handling litigation matters between the township and Range.

Casciola said that he was told that as long as the discussion did not pertain to those litigation matters, the meeting could proceed.

He said Cowden had invited him, and that while he was "surprised" to have seen Ludwin there when he arrived, he assumed that all members of the board had been made aware of the meeting.

Casciola said that no legislative action was taken at the meeting, which dealt with the various issues including the Worstell impoundment.

Asked if he was concerned that a majority of the board met in private without the gathering being disclosed publicly, he said, "Not one bit."

The private gathering, which was held the morning after the board's regular August meeting, was not mentioned by supervisors nor did it appear as an announcement on the agenda.

It came days before another private meeting regarding the Worstell impoundment with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

A phone message to Cannon's cell phone seeking more information on the meeting was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.

Cowden, a Range Resources lease holder who was once asked by Schrader to recuse herself from drilling-related business, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Supervisors had approved a private meeting with Range Resources in May by a vote of 3-2. However, that vote was rescinded in June, when Schrader brought the subject up again in light of a letter to supervisors sent by the township’s liability insurance carrier, which is acting as counsel in two legal matters between Range and the township. 

Schrader read a letter from the township's insurance carrier that advised Cecil officials to “refrain from any direct communication with Range Resources.” 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Canon-Mcmillan