Brine Dumpers Sentenced
The two men charged with dumping briny wastewater in the Allegheny National Forest have each been sentenced to three years’ probation. They’ve also been fined, placed on home detention and must do community service.
54-year-old John Morgan of Sheffield and 66-year-old Michael Evans of La Quinta, California, were convicted on violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act for injecting 200,000 gallons of brine produced from an oil drilling operation into two wells in McKean County between April of 2007 and January of 2008.
Evans was a part owner of Kansas-based Swamp Angel Energy at the time, and Morgan was a site supervisor.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Sean McLaughlin said the message to the oil and gas drilling community in Northwest Pennsylvania is clear: "If you fail to comply with the regulatory scheme in the Allegheny National Forest, including the permitting provisions, there will be serious consequences. … You cannot dump with impunity and essentially thumb your nose at the regulatory system."
http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/pr/2010_june/2010_06_24_04.html
54-year-old John Morgan of Sheffield and 66-year-old Michael Evans of La Quinta, California, were convicted on violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act for injecting 200,000 gallons of brine produced from an oil drilling operation into two wells in McKean County between April of 2007 and January of 2008.
Evans was a part owner of Kansas-based Swamp Angel Energy at the time, and Morgan was a site supervisor.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Sean McLaughlin said the message to the oil and gas drilling community in Northwest Pennsylvania is clear: "If you fail to comply with the regulatory scheme in the Allegheny National Forest, including the permitting provisions, there will be serious consequences. … You cannot dump with impunity and essentially thumb your nose at the regulatory system."
http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/pr/2010_june/2010_06_24_04.html
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