McKeesport Settles Lawsuit for Treating Fracking Wastewater
A lawsuit against the City of McKeesport, PA (near Pittsburgh) for treating fracking wastewater has been settled. McKeesport was hauled into federal court last year by two activist anti-drilling organizations—Clean Water Action and Three Rivers Waterkeeper—to force the McKeesport municipal sewage treatment plant to not accept fracking wastewater for treatment at the plant (read the background in this MDN story).
The McKeesport Municipal Authority had accepted fracking wastewater at the sewage treatment plant until April of last year, when it stopped under threat of action by the state DEP. Because the Authority would not categorically say it will never again treat fracking wastewater, the anti-drilling groups took them to court in July.
The lawsuit has been settled out of court, although no details are available at this time:
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, 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.*
*Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Jan 25, 2012) – Federal suit settled over wastewater in McKeesport