Description: Incident Type: FIXED – NRC Report ID: 1267226 – Medium Affected: WATER – Suspected Responsible Party: EQT
Incident Date/Time: 2019-12-24 09:55:00
Tags: NRC, other, BigSpill, major, release

Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 2020-01-03 to Eqt Prod Co in Forward Twp, Allegheny county. SWMA 301 – MANAGEMENT OF RESIDUAL WASTE – Person operated a residual waste processing or disposal facility without obtaining a permit for such facility from DEP. Person stored, transported, processed, or disposed of residual waste inconsistent with or unauthorized by the rules and regulations of DEP.
Incident Date/Time: 2020-01-03 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling

SkyTruth
P.O. Box 3283
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
info@skytruth.org
+1 (304) 885-4581

Editorial from the Wheeling WV Intelligencer, Aug 31, 2019

West Virginians are big on the concept of being good neighbors. So, when the head of the second-largest natural gas producer in our state talks about “old-school values,” we do not feel any need to applaud — because that is what we expect from other people.

Nevertheless, recent comments by EQT Corp. CEO Toby Rice were good to hear. During a panel discussion at the state Chamber of Commerce’s annual business summit this week, Rice vowed that EQT will take a new approach to many of its operations.

“We’re really talking about our values,” Rice said, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Building trust with landowners and minimizing the adverse effects of drilling were two specifics Rice cited. He pledged to adopt a “greener, friendlier approach to drilling.” We hope he can make that happen at EQT.

It appears most Mountain State residents believe the natural gas revolution in our state is a good thing — but many are critical of damage to roads, abusive practices toward some landowners and damage to the environment involving multiple companies, not just EQT.

Just named CEO of the corporation this summer, Rice is still new to the EQT culture, though he has been involved in the energy industry for more than a decade. He may face resistance from some in the company who feel the approach he has espoused is not the way to maximize profits.

But in the long run, Rice is right. In many ways, gas producers depend on trust and goodwill from those who own mineral rights, landowners, local government officials and state regulatory agencies. If EQT is to remain a major player in the West Virginia energy industry, the path outlined by its new CEO is the only way to go.

https://www.theintelligencer.net/opinion/editorials/2019/08/gas-executive-right-on-values/

From the Marcellus Drilling News (MDN), August 19, 2019

For years MDN has observed that Cabot Oil & Gas is one of the few Marcellus/Utica drilling companies that can “spin straw into gold”–meaning it makes money on selling natural gas even when the price of that gas is in the basement.

The new management at EQT aim to turn their company in a spinning-straw-into-gold company too. In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Business Times, EQT CEO Toby Rice said his strategy for making $500 million in “free cash flow” within two years anticipates the price of natgas to be $2 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf).

Well, sounds like it was a little less of dog-and-pony show than I expected, since he did allow audience questions all could hear.

But the way he dealt with complaints makes it clear that there is no sincerity here. He’s calculated that this little PR tour will help with community relations and is thus worth the time (maybe they get a tax write-off for it).

Things I’ve read elsewhere suggest he will not be able to turn EQT around into profitability; his explanation of why things will change with him at the helm had no more substance than they do here.

I’m disappointed that the crowd let him off so easy. I hope it’s not like that everywhere.

Mary Wildfire, Roane County, WV