PA Environment Digest Blog: Illegal Wastewater Dumping Continues, Even On Mothers Day, Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners’ Campaign Of Intimidation Of Senate Witness; Now Dumping Before It Rains, On Paved Roads

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

On Mothers Day, May 12, road dumping opponent Siri Lawson in Warren County said conventional oil and gas well owners left her another “present” -- they dumped their wastewater on the road in front of her home in Farmington Township for the sixth time in the last six weeks.

Lawson testified before a Senate Committee on April 17 in opposition to the dumping of conventional wastewater on dirt and gravel roads and now it happens even on paved roads. Read more here.

“They brined me for the first time on the 4th of April. That made me decide I would testify, and then they brined me on the 15th,” said Lawson. “And then two days after the hearing on the 19th, and then on the 30th, and then on the [May] 8th and then on the [May] 12th [Mothers Day].”

Before April 4, Lawson said she did not have wastewater dumped on her road for more than six years after the Environmental Hearing Board case she brought a successful challenge to the DEP road dumping approval process in 2017-18. Read more here.

Lawson said the EHB hearing told the conventional industry what kind of physical reaction she has to conventional wastewater, especially when the dumping happens right in front of her house.

“It becomes increasingly hard to breathe. My heart goes crazy. There has been actual severe physical damage to my sinus and my lungs,” said Lawson.

My skin burns, my mouth burns, my eyes burn.

“These are specific reactions to oil and gas waste, and it's painful. None of it is the usual allergy, sneezing and that stuff. This is painful,” said Lawson.

Historically, pre-2018, the industry and the townships had a rule of thumb, do not brine dirt roads from late fall to late spring because of soft road conditions and do not brine tar and chip ever. This targeted road dumping even violates that.

Lawson has been reporting all the dumping to DEP and providing photos that clearly show something was being dumped on roads surrounding her home as well as directly in front of her house.

“I feel this is to retaliate for the pictures and testifying, intimidate, punish, show me who's boss. Force me to move,” said Lawson.

Lawson said it is now obvious that conventional well owners are not just dumping on dirt and gravel roads, they have expanded to dumping on paved roads and state roads and often just before it rains.

“Up until the 2018 decision, they had pretty much limited themselves to dirt roads. Except they had to have a way to get rid of it,” said Lawson. “Around 2022, I started seeing brining on paved roads. And it was like, they can't be. It is the dead of summer and they're doing this.”

“Last year, I saw more and more paved roads showing indications of well head brine spreading. And then this year, I began to frequently carry my camera and I began to catch it in spades.”

“I have never seen them dump on the paved roads like they're doing now. I've just never seen it,” said Lawson.

“Now, brine road dumping tends to be when rain is called for. At first, it wasn't. At first, it was right on dry pavement,” said Lawson.

“It's just sheer audacity. The sheer audacity of all of this. It always has been my way or the highway for those folks,” said Lawson.

Click Here for just some of the photos she took + a map of the area.

(Photos: Lindell Road in front of Lawson’s home May 8; top right- Scranton Hollow Road May 8; Logan Road May 4; Map of dumping area around Lawson’s home. The Mother’s Day photos are coming and will be posted.)

Road Dumping Intimidation:

-- Illegal Wastewater Dumping Continues, Even On Mothers Day, Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners’ Campaign Of Intimidation Of Senate Witness; Now Dumping Before It Rains, On Paved Roads [PaEN]

-- Two Months: Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Continues To Surround The Home Of A Senate Witness Who Opposes The Illegal Practice [PaEN - 5.7.24]

-- Road Dumping Continues At Will As Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Get Rid Of Their Wastewater [PaEN - 4.5.24]

-- Spring Road Dumping Season Underway As Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Get Rid Of Their Wastewater [PaEN - 3.19.24]

Resource Links - Senate Hearing:

-- Senate Hearing: The Case For An Immediate, Total Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: Penn State Expert: ‘No More Research That Needs To Be Done’ To Justify A Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: First-Hand Account Of Health, Environmental Impacts From Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater - ‘Inhaling Oil & Gas Wastewater 24-Hours A Day’ [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: 3.5 Million Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumped On PA Public Roads Since DEP’s ‘Moratorium’ On Dumping Started 6 Years Ago [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: DEP Still Evaluating The Data On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater; Asks Public To Report Road Dumping [PaEN]

-- Moody & Associates Study Finds Discharge Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater To The Ground Surface ‘Not A Viable Management Practice'; Supports Ban On Road Dumping; Onsite Disposal [PaEN]