Dec 9, 2013 2 min read

Two couples who live near a Marcellus Shale natural gas processing plant in Chartiers Township filed a lawsuit against the operators of the facility Monday in Washington County Court, claiming it’s creating pollution that is making them ill.

Charles and Deborah Sethman and Shawn and Erin Sethman named MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources and Sunoco Inc. in the three-count lawsuit alleging the plant has become a nuisance and is trespassing on its neighbors’ air space, court records show.

The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 from the companies. The Sethmans claim they have “suffered damages, including diminution of property value, and loss of enjoyment and exclusive use of property.”

MarkWest in 2011 began operating a cryogenic plant at 800 Western Ave. in Chartiers, as well as a network of pipelines transporting natural gas to and from the plant.

The Sethmans, who live in the 900 block of Western Avenue, claim they have lived with “smoke, fumes, noxious and chemical discharges” from the plant, and that it also causes home vibrations and pollution that has made them sick.

The physical effects they suffer include “watering eyes, burning nose, sleep disturbances and respiratory ailments,” the lawsuit alleges.

The Sethmans also state they have information that the plant fails to comply with applicable state, local and federal laws and has received “at least one notice of violation from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP issued a notice of violation in July for failure to notify the department of a problem that month with a new de-ethinizer at the plant. The DEP also issued a violation notice to the company in December 2012 over a problem there involving smoke.

MarkWest spokesman Robert McHale could not be reached Monday afternoon. The attorney representing the plaintiffs, Jason E. Luckasevic, did not return a message.