MarkWest, Chartiers couples in court
Attorneys representing two Chartiers Township couples and the operators of a Marcellus Shale processing plant were in Washington County Court Monday for a preliminary objection hearing.
Jeffrey Mansell, a member of the Goldberg, Persky and White law firm representing Charles and Deborah Sethman and Shawn and Erin Sethman, said the hearing focused on whether MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources and Sunoco Inc. were liable for emotional damages that Mansell said Erin Sethman suffered as a result of living so close to the plant. The hearing was before Washington County President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca.
The couples filed the three-count lawsuit against the companies in December 2013, alleging that the plant has become a nuisance and is trespassing on its neighbors’ air space, according to court documents.
The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
In 2011, MarkWest began operating a cryogenic plant at 800 Western Ave. in Chartiers, as well as a network of pipelines transporting natural gas to and from the plant.
The Sethmans, who live in the 900 block of Western Avenue, claim they have lived with “smoke, fumes, noxious and chemical discharges” from the plant, and that it also causes home vibrations and pollution that has made them sick.
The physical effects they suffer include “watering eyes, burning nose, sleep disturbances and respiratory ailments,” the lawsuit alleges.
The Sethmans also allege that they have information the plant fails to comply with applicable state, local and federal laws and has received “at least one notice of violation from the state Department of Environmental Protection.”
The DEP issued a notice of violation in July for failure to notify the department of a problem that month with a new de-ethinizer at the plant. The DEP also issued a violation notice to the company in December 2012 over a problem there involving smoke.
DEP spokesman John Poister said there is a pending enforcement action against MarkWest for the violations. Poister said a fine or fines will be included in the enforcement action and that stipulations will be included to correct the violations.
MarkWest spokesman Robert McHale had not returned calls and emails seeking comment by late Monday afternoon.