Aug 3, 2020 5 min read

The homeowners who were beset by water pollution that resulted in a statewide grand jury presentment against National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and Southeast Directional Drilling also have a civil case in Washington County Court.

The suit filed in 2017 by Brian and Susan Coppola is still in the information-gathering phase, according to attorney John Smith, who is representing the Bulger, Robinson Township, couple.

The Coppolas, who live near Route 22, have requested that a jury determine an amount of monetary damages, but no trial date has been scheduled.

The couple sued National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and National Fuel Gas Midstream Corp., both of Williamsville, N.Y.

At issue in both the civil and criminal matters is the contamination of the Coppolas’ well, the sole source of water for their home of 30 years, and a tributary of St. Patrick’s Run.

Southeast Directional Drilling, founded in 2002, is based in Casa Grande, Ariz. Both companies handle pipeline projects.

Both cases provide a glimpse into the pipeline industry.

“Various pipelines form a complex spiderweb underneath the ground in the commonwealth,” according to the presentment, with natural gas companies often replacing older lines or installing new lines to move product.

In horizontal underground drilling, the drill is lubricated by a drilling mud that is injected along the drill path as the drill bit moves. Drilling mud is often composed of water, bentonite clay and additives.

Problems arise when drilling mud flows outside of its intended path, surfacing in locations other than the drilling entry and exit pits. Fluid can also travel through crevices in rock.

In 2015, when the Coppolas said their well was fouled, drilling companies were not required to report these incidents to regulatory agencies unless mud actually made its way to the surface.

National Fuel operates a transmission line in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the pipeline was being replaced as part of the West Side Expansion and Modernization Project.

The replacement began affecting the Coppolas on July 22 of that year. Although “inadvertent return” is the technical term used to describe what happened, colloquially, it was known as a “blowout.”

A foreman testified before the grand jury that he was directed to omit the information from a daily report.

The next morning, a pit that should have been full of about 2,000 gallons seeped away, turning a stream bed gray.

The company reported this to the contractor and operator, and, ultimately, to regulatory agencies, and a cleanup crew arrived.

Brian Coppola learned of the activity from a neighbor, and the Coppolas’ well water was tested.

GAI environmental consulting reported the turbidity of the water was higher than expected. A second, more expansive test showed there were chloroform and surfactants in the well water, which the Coppolas cannot use “to this day,” according to the July grand jury report from earlier this month.

In their suit in Washington County Court, the Coppolas called the private water well testing parameters “woefully inadequate as the full complement of all chemicals used and released” were unknown.

The states Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Program sent a notice of violation to National Fuel in conjunction with the July 23, 2015, episode, but the notice did not mention groundwater.

In March 2016, according to the suit, Dillan Well Drilling LLC of Darlington, Beaver County, performed a cleaning of the Coppolas’ well, but cloudiness and muddiness worsened, the couple alleges.

In a letter written in May of that year, GAI “failed to advise the (Coppolas) of any additional contaminants that pose a health risk, not only for drinking, but for cooking and bathing.” Included in this list were high levels of sodium, chromium, copper, lead and zinc.

DEP assessed a $5,741 civil penalty to National Fuel for the impact solely on the stream.

Because DEP did not require the operator to perform remediation of the well, the pollution underground will remain in place forever, or at least until a private citizen endeavors to clean it up, the presentment said.

A geologist who testified before the grand jury described a proposed cleanup and monitoring of the Coppolas’ well “would take several years and cost more than $2 million,” according to the presentment.

The criminal case brought by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro does not yet have a hearing date, according to the magisterial office handling the matter.

National Fuel Gas added Southeast Directional Drilling LLC, a Minnesota Limited Liability Company, and Associated Pipeline Contractors as additional defendants in the civil suit filed in Washington County Court.

Associated Pipeline Contractors is not part of the criminal case resulting from the grand jury presentment.

In a statement released last week, Karen L. Merkel, on behalf of National Fuel’s corporate communications, released the following statement:

“National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation upholds high environmental standards at its pipeline construction sites. Despite dedicated and sustained efforts, horizontal directional drilling periodically will cause inadvertent returns of water and bentonite to surface.

“Bentonite is a naturally occurring non-toxic clay used in a variety of ways, including boring, farming, wine making, and is found in medicine, health and beauty products.

“On July 23, 2015, National Fuel’s contractor detected an inadvertent return along its West Side Expansion and Modernization Project in Robinson Township, Pa., resulting from operations of the drilling contractor, Southeast Directional Drilling.

“National Fuel and its contractor worked with the state and federal agencies to take appropriate remediation and recovery measures. Additionally, we worked with the affected land owner to provide fresh water for an extended period of time.

“In July 2017, National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. entered into an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regarding the July 2015 inadvertent return, (admitting) that pollutants had been discharged into a stream, and paid a civil penalty.

“…. We categorically deny any assertion that the company acted with indifference toward the communities where we live and operate.”