Oct 21, 2014 2 min read

A Washington County Court judge reaffirmed her opinion that Range Resources should be compelled to release a full list of chemicals and additives, including proprietary substances, used at an Amwell Township drill site that is the subject of ongoing litigation.

President Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca on Friday upheld her previous Court of Common Pleas order for Range to disclose chemicals used at the Yeager well site. The order was issued as part of a lawsuit involving three families who allege that Range’s operations contaminated their drinking water.

Range appealed the June 11 court order, and O’Dell-Seneca’s opinion will head to the state Superior Court to decide the matter on appeal.

O’Dell-Seneca wrote in her opinion that Range’s “allegation that this Court erred in ordering the disclosure of this information is rendered moot by defendant’s recent claims that it has, in fact, complied with this court’s order.”

Several Range attorneys argued in court last month that the plaintiffs – Stacey Haney and her two children; Beth and John Voyles and their daughter; and Loren and Grace Kiskadden – know enough information about the products and additives Range used in fracking to conduct tests of their water supply. Range’s counsel said the “chemical families” were released for all proprietary products that were not named by manufacturers, and thus the families could determine whether or not chemicals in their water match those found in Range’s products.

O’Dell-Seneca wrote that Range’s argument that the pertinent information was not in its possession is “immaterial” because Range served subpoenas on non-party entities in Texas – where Range’s headquarters are located – in compliance with a previous court order issued January 22.

“It appears that this court’s order of June 11, 2014, is not overly burdensome,” she wrote.