13 Susquehanna County families sue over gas drilling

MATT HUGHES

mhughes@timesleader.com

LENOX TWP. – Lawyers representing 13 Susquehanna County families filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday against a natural gas drilling company, saying that hydraulic fracturing at a Lenox Township well pad has contaminated drinking water and damaged the health and quality of life of area residents.

According to the lawsuit, all but two of the plaintiffs live along state Route 92 in the township. They reside between 700 and 1,700 feet from the Price No. 1 Well Pad, which is operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwestern Energy Production Co., Houston, Texas. Two other families do not live in the area but state in the suit that they regularly drank contaminated water at the residences of two other families listed as plaintiffs.

The suit claims improper or insufficient cement casings around the Price No. 1 pad allowed industrial waste, including hydraulic fracturing fluid, to enter the wells of the Route 92 residents.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, fluid is the mixture of water, sediment and chemicals injected into the ground to create fissures and release the natural gas being extracted from the Marcellus Shale.

In the suit, plaintiffs state their water supplies have become contaminated, that they have been exposed to hazardous chemicals, that their property value has been diminished and that they must now pay for water quality testing and for drinking water. One man, Conor Seamons, of New Milford, also became sick, “manifesting neurological symptoms consistent with toxic exposure to, for example, heavy metals,” after repeatedly drinking water at 7572 S.R. 92, South Gibson, the suit further alleges.

The suit also claims negligence by Southwestern Energy Production, and that barium, strontium and manganese are among the hazardous chemicals involved in the alleged contamination.

John Nicholas, who oversees Marcellus development for Southwestern, told The Associated Press that the well is mechanically sound and that there’s no evidence its drilling operations have harmed water supplies.

The suit seeks the permanent abatement of all natural gas drilling and production activities at the Price No. 1 Well pad. It further seeks monetary compensation for the costs of remedying environmental damage allegedly caused by contaminants, decline in property value, medical costs, detriment of quality of life and emotional distress, as well as punitive damages for negligence and legal fees.

The suit was filed in the Susquehanna County Court.

Lenox Township is located roughly 10 miles east of Dimock, the Susquehanna County community that captured national attention in the debate over hydraulic fracturing after it was featured in the anti-drilling documentary, “Gasland.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.