MarkWest cited by DEP
MarkWest representatives were due to hear back Friday from Robinson Township supervisors as to whether they would allow an ordinance waiver to permit around-the-clock work at the company’s Cibus natural gas compressor site.
But the company withdrew its request the day before, according to Robinson Township officials.
The same day, the Observer-Reporter obtained a Nov. 18 email from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection confirming the agency gave a violation notice to the company for hosting construction work at the site without a general operations permit.
“This is just a notice of violation, so there is no set penalty yet, but in this case a civil penalty is likely. The company can respond to the notice, and we’ll evaluate any response before issuing any (fine),” said DEP spokesman John Poister.
The “GP-5” general permit regulates and gives permission to construct any infrastructure that potentially would contribute to air contaminants. MarkWest applied for one, but has not yet received it.
The DEP email, a copy of a certified mail notice sent to MarkWest, said the agency inspected the Cibus compressor site along Candor Road on Nov. 5 and 13, and “found micropiles had been installed for support of air contamination sources and air pollution control devices. … These unauthorized installations violate the Air Pollution Control Act.”
MarkWest spokesman Rob McHale emailed the following statement: “MarkWest has received a notice of violation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regarding our Cibus compressor station in Robinson Township, Washington County. We are in frequent communication with the department and are working to resolve the matter.”
A community manager with the Environmental Integrity Project, Lisa Graves-Marcucci, who is assisting some residents in Smith, Robinson and Midway at meetings involving natural gas drilling, said she was glad to see DEP take the issue seriously.
“I have been assisting residents for 20 years, and I have never seen a company get 100 percent of what they want. Local or state authorities have always tempered some aspects of their requests. This notice shows just because you have pieces of approval (like ground and earth-moving permits), you can’t expect everything else to move forward regardless. This was made clear at an Aug. 10 Robinson Township supervisors meeting. MarkWest should know better,” Marcucci said.