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Judge grants photo request of alleged flowback spill

3 min read

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At the request of attorneys representing three Washington County families, President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca Thursday ordered Red Oak Water Transfer to produce all photographs of an alleged 2010 flowback water spill related to Marcellus Shale drilling before the firm’s director of safety and compliance testifies under oath early next year.

Plaintiffs in a pair of lawsuits are Stacey Haney, parent of Harley and Paige Haney; Beth and John Voyles; Ashley Voyles, Loren Kiskadden and Grace Kiskadden. They claim that their health has been endangered due to water contaminated by chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, on the Yeager farm in Amwell Township.

The drilling method is used to extract natural gas hidden in deep shale formations.

Among the defendants are Range Resources and Solmax International Inc. The Amwell residents are demanding that a jury eventually decide their case.

As part of the discovery process, attorney John Smith received documents from Red Oak of Southpointe, Cecil Township, and Fort Worth, Texas, now known as Rockwater Energy Solutions, indicating there was a leak of 500 barrels of flowback water at the site in December 2010 and a subsequent cover-up of what took place. Other court documents in the case show a company executive denying the spill took place and alleging that the story had been fabricated by a disgruntled employee to get a co-worker in trouble.

The information prompted state Rep. Jesse White last week to ask state Attorney General Kathleen Kane to investigate the matter. Her spokesman, Joe Peters, said the law prevents her from investigating such cases unless they are referred to her by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

John Poister, spokesman for the DEP in Pittsburgh, said the department is conducting an internal investigation of its records to see if there was a spill reported at the drilling site off McAdams Road in Amwell.

Contacted Thursday, Poister said DEP is “still in information-gathering stage. We’re not a party in this. It’s really between Range and the plaintiffs. Historically, DEP does not comment on matters of an investigatory nature when it’s at this level.”

DEP had an attorney observing Thursday’s proceedings in the courtroom, as did about a half-dozen chemical companies.

Email exchanges mention photos of a spill, evidence that Smith wants to obtain.

“We’re not here to try this case,” said attorney D. Matthew Jameson III, who represents Red Oak.

“Red Oak does not have any such photos in our custody or in our control,” he told the president judge. “We cannot produce what we do not have.”

He called Smith’s request “simply an attempt to make Red Oak look bad in the press. They wanted this email released to the press when they know full well we do not possess these photographs.”

The person who Smith believes took the photos no longer works for Red Oak.

The judge asked if anyone retrieved the ex-employee’s corporate phone as he departed.

“I’m not required to disclose to counsel my attorney-client communications,” Jameson replied, and told the court that Smith has the power to subpoena former Red Oak employees.

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