We suppose Trans Energy, a WV-based shale driller, is now considered a hardened, convicted criminal. The company’s crime? Pushing dirt into a few creeks without a permit. It’s a crime for which they are paying dearly. Last October MDN brought you the story of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and WV Dept. of Environmental Protection joint investigation into Trans Energy’s dirt-pushing and the resulting $3.6 million in fines (see Court Adds Another $600K to $3M Fine for Trans Energy in WV Case). Investigators from the EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Program in the Mid-Atlantic States got involved. Bet you didn’t know the EPA has a Criminal Enforcement Program, did you? The kicker: under a plea agreement signed yesterday by Trans Energy’s CEO John Corp, the company (presumably Corp) will need to report to a federal probation office for the next two years. Scene at the probation office waiting room: Corp sitting on a bench in a tailor-made business suit, sitting next to a convicted meth lab operator covered head to toe with tats. “What are you in for?” says the drug peddler. “Violating the Clean Water Act,” says Corp. “Dang, you really are a nasty piece of work,” says the drug peddler…
