Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com, January 24, 2012
Two environmental groups and McKeesport’s municipal authority have settled a federal lawsuit that claimed the city was violating state and federal environmental laws by treating wastewater from Marcellus shale drilling operations, according to court documents.
Attorneys for both sides and representatives for the city, the municipal authority, Clean Water Action and Three Rivers Waterkeeper couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer ordered the case closed Monday after the attorneys said they reached a settlement.
The judge’s order doesn’t provide any details of the settlement.
The two groups claimed that McKeesport’s sewage treatment plant was accepting drilling wastewater even though its permit doesn’t provide for the treatment of industrial waste. The state Department of Environmental Protection in April asked drillers to stop sending wastewater to municipal sewage treatment plants and asked plants to stop accepting the wastewater.