Range Resources pays $294K DEP penalty over conflicting well activity
Range Resources has paid a $294,000 civil penalty after the state Department of Environmental Protection found conflicting and inaccurate information on the status of a well in Fayette County.
The DEP said it received information in a company interoffice communication that Range’s Shirocky No. 1 well had no viable future use, which would not have qualified it for inactive status at the DEP, the department stated in a Tuesday news release. Wells that do not meet inactive status classification must be listed as abandoned and sealed, the DEP said.
The discovery prompted the DEP to issue a subpoena for the other Range wells in inactive status and discovered 42 that were never used again between July 2013 and October 2017, the department said.
The wells with no viable use were eventually plugged by the Southpointe-based company, the DEP confirmed. The outcome satisfied the DEP.
The money Range paid Jan. 9 will be used for the state’s program that plugs abandoned wells.