CNX Gas fined $250K for pipeline construction violations

Amy Sisk

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Amy Sisk reports for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR member station. She comes to Pennsylvania from another energy-rich state, North Dakota, where she told stories from coal mines, wind farms and the Bakken oil patch for Inside Energy and Prairie Public Broadcasting. Amy's stories often air on NPR, including those from the eight months she spent following the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. A reporting trip to the Bakken during its boom years sparked her interest in energy. Ever since, she's covered the industry -- from the way it is regulated to its influence on policy to its impact on people and the environment.

Marie Cusick / StateImpact Pennsylvania

FILE: A natural gas pipeline crosses the Tiadaghton State Forest.

July 13, 2018 | 1:21 PM

State environmental officials have fined CNX Gas Company $250,000 for violations that took place this spring during the construction of a gathering pipeline in Indiana County.

Inspectors for the Department of Environmental Protection reported in March that water laden with sediment was not properly contained during construction and leaked into a tributary of Mudlick Run in North Mahoning Township. They also said the company installed an unauthorized pipe to direct the polluted water into the tributary.

The department issued a field order at the time requiring CNX to address the issues with its Marchand 3 pipeline. But in May, DEP said the company had failed to comply and cited additional problems leading to erosion outside the authorized construction area.

A spokesperson for CNX said in a statement that the company is working to permanently stabilize the site.

“Due to one of the wettest late winter periods on record in Pennsylvania, we worked diligently to mitigate highly unusual erosion control challenges experienced at this particular site,” spokesperson Brian Aiello said. “Despite our best efforts to contend with mother nature, some soil did make its way into the stream in question.”

According to the DEP, the company no longer intends to complete the pipeline, and it’s working to address the problems under an agreement with the state.