CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General has announced over a dozen charges against Equitrans gas company following a grand-jury investigation into the 2022 leak at its Rager Mountain storage facility, in Cambria County.
Authorities allege that Equitrans failed to properly maintain its gas well, in Jackson Township, which led to the resulting natural gas leak that reportedly contaminated both the ground and nearby water supply.
The investigation into Equitrans began in November of 2022 when officials say approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas was released into the atmosphere, over a two-week period.
Equitrans later determined that the leak was caused by corrosion, which the AG’s office attributes to the company’s “negligent maintenance and upkeep of the well.”
According to the grand-jury investigation, the leak not only caused contamination locally, but it also reportedly spread across the southern portion of the state and into nearby Maryland, Delaware, and over the Atlantic Ocean.
This company’s failures to properly maintain this well went beyond negligence — the conduct alleged here demonstrates a reckless disregard for neighboring communities who were potentially exposed to unsafe air and water,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Energy producers have a legal responsibility to protect the public from such exposures. I am committed to protecting our constitutional right to clean air and pure water by prosecuting these flagrant violations.
Once Equitrans contained the initial leak, a preliminary investigation by the Department of Environmental Protection resulted in a multitude of fines against the company, including violations for “restricting access” to the investigating agency.
Environmental experts, who referred to the leak as the “largest environmental disaster of 2022 in the United States,” then accused Equitrans of failing to completely “clean up” the site, well over a year after the leak was reported.
Equitrans later claimed that the leak had cost the company several million dollars, which included the DEP’s $1.1 million fine.
According to the grand jury report, investigators allege that Equitrans had “insufficient” programs and policies in place to monitor the well.
Investigators also learned that the company eventually contained the leak by pumping saltwater into the well, which contaminated the surrounding soil, groundwater and vegetation.
According to the AG report, Equitrans is now facing 14 counts of unlawful conduct, prohibition against discharge of industrial wastes, and prohibition against other pollutions.
The AG’s office also noted that Equitrans is facing additional charges in Greene County following the grand-jury investigation.