Litigants discuss suit against gas companies
Two litigants in a suit filed against several natural gas companies over allegedly negligent and reckless behavior say legislative change is what they hope to achieve, more so than monetary compensation.
“We need better protection from the DEP,” said Joseph Bezjak, the Nicholson Township cattle farm owner who, along with his wife, joined as plaintiffs in the suit filed Thursday in Allegheny County.
Bezjak has been involved individually in litigation with Laurel Mountain Midstream for years over a compressor station he says was built without proper zoning permits and also over a fence the company tore down, which he alleged has negatively impacted his cattle.
The new suit involves other property owners who live near the Bezjaks, whose properties are in Springhill Township, including David and Linda Headley, who are suing also on behalf of their children; 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.
They are suing Chevron, Atlas, Laurel Mountain Midstream, Williams and several of their affiliated entities for allegedly destroying property and illegally dumping toxic waste in the course of drilling wells, installing transmission lines and constructing and operating a compressor station.
“We feel like we’re on an island alone,” Bezjak said. He questioned why the landowners are not made more aware of operations occurring on or adjacent to their property, especially when companies apply for and receive permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Bezjak said when he calls the DEP to request copies of permits for operations conducted by the gas companies, he is advised that he must come to the Pittsburgh office to collect paper copies.
“You get there,” he said, “And they bring you a box of files and they tell you to look for it yourself.” According to the DEP website, the agency maintains a wide variety of records for public inspection. In order to review the documents, one must schedule an appointment at a field office, and the records may not leave the office, according to the website.
David Headley said the DEP should be working for the best interests of citizens, not corporations. “You work for us,” Headley said. “It’s not the Department of Energy Protection.”
“If they would step up and do their job, 90 percent of this would be quashed,” David Headley said.
John Poister, community relation coordinator for the DEP, offered this response: “DEP cites companies for violations and hopes to see them resolved. The enforcement and compliance needed to resolve those violations may involve fines, penalties, permit revocations or other behavior required through orders or agreements. These depend on the circumstances of the violation, the operator’s response, the impact to the environment and the applicable statutes, regulations and policies. Act 13 tripled the amount of penalties DEP can issue for unconventional drilling violations, and we will not hesitate to take action to protect public health and the environment.”
For Bezjak and David Headley, a key issue is the way landowners are treated by the gas companies, they said.
“I’ve never seen an outfit that is so disrespectful of my life. We’re prisoners on our land,” Bezjak said.
In the litigation with Laurel Mountain involving their pipeline work on land they leased from Bezjak on his farm, Bezjak is the defendant. A Fayette County judge enjoined him from communicating with the gas workers, and he says it’s frustrating when he sees them allegedly contaminating his land, knowing that confronting them to ask them to stop could land him in jail. He spent a weekend in Fayette County Prison in December for exactly that.
Both Bezjak and David Headley said they are not opposed to the gas industry as a whole, and they support domestic energy independence, which is what lead them to sign leases with gas companies to start with.
“We’re not against it,” Bezjak said. “We want them to be responsible.”
Attempts to contact representatives of the companies named in the suit for comment were unsuccessful.