Western Pennsylvania contractor fined for illegal dumping of oil and gas waste

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has fined a Fayette County business owner $600,000 for improperly disposing of oil and gas industry solid waste at several Fayette County facilities from 2012 to 2015.

The DEP alleges that John A. Joseph, owner of a stone trucking and supply business, illegally dumped waste at five sites he owned or had contracts to fill.

The agency said Joseph used his companies to haul more than 1,800 truckloads of solid waste without a permit. The agency said the waste included drilling mud from pipeline projects in West Virginia Evaluating civil penalty consent that Joseph signed.

Joseph dumped waste in a pit on property he owned in Jefferson City. Other dumping sites included: property he owned in Dunbar Township, where it was used to backfill a pond and part of an excavated field; property in Perry township where the magistrate’s office is now located; and the location between Route 40 and the Uniontown Mall parking lot.

The health department says Joseph also burned oil and gas debris, including wooden mats and mud fences, in his pit in Jefferson Township. He collected soil samples at each of the five sites where Joseph illegally dumped waste, and said none of the samples showed high enough levels of contamination or radioactivity to warrant further cleanup under Pennsylvania law. residual waste management rules.

“(N)one has shown any danger of harm to the public or the environment from radiation,” the DEP said in a statement.

Joseph, reached by phone Thursday, declined to comment, referring questions to his attorney. Christopher Nestor, Joseph’s attorney, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

This story was created in partnership with StateImpact Pennsylvaniaa collaboration between The Allegheny Front, WPSU, WITF and WHYY to highlight the Commonwealth’s energy economy.