A loophole in state law allows drilling wastewater to be used on roads to suppress dust or melt ice, but it contains salts, metals and radioactive materials.
The company agreed to donate $30,000 to restore part of Chartiers Creek and for township park improvements. It will also donate 184 acres to Allegheny County.
The company’s Revolution pipeline had been in service for only a week in 2018 when it ruptured during a landslide, engulfing a hillside in flames and forcing evacuations
Documents from a lawsuit regarding the 2018 Christmas Eve Fire at the Clairton Coke Works show problems went undetected for years; conditions at the plant were described as “decrepit” and “alarming.”
When the coke plant in Monessen started back up in September, so did the air quality complaints. Its previous owner agreed to a nearly $2 million settlement for air violations.
Reid R. Frazier covers energy for The Allegheny Front. His work has taken him as far away as Texas and Louisiana to report on the petrochemical industry and as close to home as Greene County, Pennsylvania to cover the shale gas boom. His award-winning work has also aired on NPR, Marketplace and other outlets. Reid is currently contributing to StateImpact Pennsylvania, a collaboration among The Allegheny Front, WESA, WITF and WHYY covering the Commonwealth's energy economy.
