On August 25, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a high-profile lawsuit has been quietly settled between Marcellus Shale gas drilling and a family that claimed that their health was harmed by air pollution and water contamination caused by the company.
The family of two adults and two children live in a 10-acre farm in Mount Pleasant Township - a property adjacent to gas drilling operations - and claimed that their property value has also declined due to the proximity and ill effects from the plant.
Washington County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Pozonsky sealed the details of the settlement after a brief private meeting. There is a gag order on the Washington County homeowners, S.H and C.H., as well.
The judge's exact wording on the outcome of the settlement has been reported as "sealed indefinitely in its entirety." The Post-Gazette objected to the closed-door settlement proceedings, and that objection was allegedly included in the case record.
The lawsuit named Range Resources, Mark West Energy Partners and Williams Gas/Laurel Mountain Midstream Partners.
S.H and C.H. had been very vocal about their displeasure with the gas drilling company for a few years. The two claimed to be receptive to responsible shale drilling but that they were unaware that their farm had a gas lease with Range Resources, signed by the home's former owners, before S.H. and C.H. purchased it in 2005.
In 2007, after they built their home on the property, S.H. and C.H. claimed that several changes occurred on the properties next to them: The company had constructed four Marcellus gas wells, access roads, a gas processing facility, compressor stations and a 3-acre holding pond.
The couple blamed the increased noise levels, lighting and emissions for reducing the value of their property. In the years that followed they further claimed that their well water was contaminated and volatile organic compounds polluted their air.
The couple is raising two children on the property.
S.H. claimed that that carcinogens - ethylbenzene, toluene, styrene and tetrachloroethylene - were all detected in their drinking water. Along with that were contaminants in their air that caused the family to suffer with burning eyes, sore throats, headaches and earaches.
After they learned this they began having water delivered to the property - at an approximate cost of $500 per month.
Peter Villari represents the homeowners. The family left the courtroom with Villari, neither the family nor Villari spoke to reporters.
The attorney for Range Resources, James Swetz, also declined to comment.
S.H., who was known for being very verbal in her accounting of the events, told media that she was sorry that she couldn't comment further on the settlement.
Of note to the press was the number of other confidential settlements that the shale company may be in settlement talks over.
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