Nov 2, 2012 2 min read

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, is calling for a criminal investigation of the state Department of Environmental Protection for “alleged misconduct and fraud” he claims was revealed in a deposition given by a high-ranking DEP official.White said he received a letter and corresponding documents highlighting the sworn testimony of DEP Bureau of Laboratories Technical Director Taru Upadhyay, who was deposed in a lawsuit alleging nearby Range Resources natural gas drilling operations contaminated three families’ drinking water supplies in Amwell Township, causing serious health issues. White said the information raises questions about whether the DEP is releasing incomplete water test results. He said the deposition revealed that the DEP developed a specialized computer-code system to manipulate the test results for residents whose water was tested by the DEP over concerns of adverse effects from gas drilling operations.According to the transcripts, the DEP lab would conduct water tests using an EPA-approved standard, but the DEP employee who requested the testing would use a specially designed ‘Suite Code’ which limits the information coming back from the DEP lab to the DEP field office, and ultimately to the property owner. In published reports, a spokesman for the DEP defended the agency’s water testing and Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarella termed the release of the depositions as “grandstanding” and criticized White as an opponent of the industry. Read more in tomorrow’s Observer-Reporter