Pennsylvania imposes $1.5M fine on gas pipeline builder
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The builder of a natural gas gathering pipeline system in southwestern Pennsylvania is agreeing to a $1.5 million fine for failing to prevent sedimentation and erosion into streams during construction.
The consent agreement between the state Department of Environmental Protection and Rice Midstream Holdings was released this week.
The six-page agreement cites instances going back to 2017 in construction on the 7.5-mile Beta Trunk Pipeline, which was designed to ferry natural gas from wells to bigger transmission pipelines.
The agreement says Rice Midstream Holdings failed for months to maintain or even install some erosion controls. In one case, it created a “soil stockpile” in a wetland.
The pipeline is now owned by Equitrans Midstream Corp., but the Department of Environmental Protection says the violations began before the sale.
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