County residents join to sue natural gas companies
A group of Fayette County residents has joined to file a civil lawsuit in Allegheny County against several natural gas companies headquartered there, claiming the companies have conducted negligent and reckless activities, including destruction of property and dumping of toxic waste.
The plaintiffs in the suit are residents of Springhill and Nicholson townships whose properties are located in close proximity to one another. Those plaintiffs include David and Linda Headley, who are also suing on behalf of their children; Joseph and Mildred Bezjak; Lori and Benjamin Groover Sr., who are also suing on behalf of their children; Elzie and Mary Lavery; Robert E. Nicklow Sr.; and Albert Stronko.
The named defendants are Chevron, Atlas, Laurel Mountain Midstream, Williams and several of their affiliated entities. The suit breaks the defendants down into three groups: well defendants, pipeline defendants, and compressor station defendants. Each of them is being sued for alleged negligence and recklessness and for allegedly being “private nuisances.” The plaintiffs are asking for monetary damages in the suit filed by attorney Peter Britton Bieri of the Speer Law Firm in Kansas City. The firm specializes in environmental law.
In the suit, the families allege that beginning in 2005, the well defendants drilled 12 wells on or near the plaintiffs’ properties. Since then, the plaintiffs contend that several of those wells have begun to leak gas and other “toxic, dangerous and/or radioactive substances” into the air and onto the plaintiffs’ properties. They claim the leaks are due to faulty well design, construction and maintenance and that the problems were brought to the defendants’ attention but never resolved.
Additionally, the well defendants are being sued because brine tanks associated with the wells allegedly have been observed to have rust and holes, which allow the contents to leak. The dikes built to contain spillage from the brine tanks are insufficient to hold the entire contents of the tanks, the suit alleges.
The plaintiffs claim they are able to observe gas bubbling near the well heads, indicating possible methane migration, Bieri claimed.
The suit contends that the pipeline defendants, while in the process of constructing the pipeline, have created a nuisance by way of excessive noise, lighting, equipment traffic and “substantial amounts of litter.” Additionally, the plaintiffs claim the employees repeatedly defecated and urinated on their properties and have engaged in repeated harassment, intimidation, disrespect and obnoxious behavior toward the property owners.
Bieri alleged the pipeline defendants were responsible for spilling 2,300 gallons of bentonite into Georges Creek in June 2012. They noted that Laurel Mountain was found by the state Department of Environmental Protection to be in violation of various state codes for discharging industrial waste into the creek and for failing to properly store, transport, process or dispose of residual drilling waste.
In the course of their work, the pipeline defendants are alleged to have compromised the spring water supply to multiple plaintiffs’ houses. Those plaintiffs claim they were forced to run a domestic supply line from the city water line at their own expense, and the defendants drove heavy equipment over those lines, compromising those as well, Bieri wrote.
According to the suit, the compressor station, built in 2009 and located in Lake Lynn, “frequently emits high decibel screeching and high-pressure venting noises and also a near-constant low rumble.” The site was so noisy that the Groovers were forced to move to a different home, away from the compressor, Bieri alleged.
“When the compressor station malfunctions, which occurs on average three times a week, (it) emits a high-decibel screeching sound that oftentimes will sound for an entire day,” Bieri contended.
The plaintiffs also claim the compressor station periodically emits toxic substances, including benzene, ethyl benzene, xylene, toluene, methane, ethane and radioactive substances.
Both sides will have opportunities to submit briefs to the court in support of their respective positions before a judge determines whether the suit will go before a jury.