For Everyone that gets caught, how many get away?

[JackM]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10047/1036263-113.stm

 

[tomgamber]

.

 

[Fishidiot]

Hope they throw the book at 'em.

 

[Squaretail]

When it comes to money, some people just have no conscience.

 

[JackM]

When it comes to conscience, money sometimes is a more powerful force. I think Dan said that.

 

[jayL]

Tar and feather them.

 

[Maurice]

We say throw the book at them....tar and feather them.....to me a blatent act disregarding the permit process designed to prevent pollution is willful pollution. This should be met with the cease and desist of any existing work and denial of future work in the commonwealth and a mandatory sentencing of the full term. in addition to the maximum fine amount.

This wasn't negligence it was wilfull disregard of the proper process of their very business. They should not be allowed to do it anymore.

 

[jayL]

What saddens me is that the maximum possible prison term is three years. What are they odds they actually serve that length of time? I think it should be at least 5 served.

 

[tomgamber]

The fine is only 250,000. will that be enough to repair the damage or d we have to wait for others to learn that they have become affected and sue civilly for damages at which point the damage could be far worse.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

WOW what crap! :-x

 

[franklin]

I don't think it a high number. I was talking to a guy who owned a trucking company that transports both water to the wells and waste water from the wells. He says there are paper trails for the complete process and even a cursory audit would show if there was dumping or unauthorized overdraws of clean water. He gets a receipt for every load he drops at the waste water treatment plant. He has waybills each step of the way and all that had to be done is see if the well site had papers for the expected amount of waste water.

 

[Steelerfan55]

These guys are exactly why we are so worried. They also need to fine the company a ton of $$$. Sadly, it only takes a small percentage of these types of unscrupulous individuals to ruin an entire watershed.

 

[franklin]

I'm hearing this was brine water not frack water. In other words it was excess brine not needed to complete the drill.

 

[tomgamber]

franklin wrote:
I'm hearing this was brine water not frack water. In other words it was excess brine not needed to complete the drill.

Two men from a Kansas oil-drilling firm pleaded guilty today to illegally dumping 200,000 gallons of brine water down an abandoned well in Pennsylvania's only national forest.


Under the law, brine must either be hauled away and treated at a sewage treatment plant or dumped into an abandoned well, provided permits are obtained. Permits weren't obtained in this case,

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10047/1036263-113.stm#ixzz0fx4V5En5

 

[JackM]

The thing that is disturbing is that even though they might have gotten a permit to do what they did, they took it upon themselves to disregard the permit application process. The watershed was lucky if it was ONLY brine water.

 

[franklin]

The point is that brine water doesn't have a paper trail so is much harder to control. With some drillers unwilling to disclose the contents of the brine I don't know if the state would provide a permit.

 

[DGC]

As far as I know all brines, no matter what part of the production process you are talking about, have to be disposed of according to proper channels requiring a paper trail. If there is a brine at a gas well that does not require being accounted for I would appreciate being educated on what that involves.