Defendant Linked to Pa. Sludge Faces More Charges
Ga. man accused of dumping fluid in Bradford County
13 December 2011
By Jennifer Kingsley
WYSOX -- A Georgia man charged earlier this month with dumping 800
gallons of dangerous sludge from the Marcellus Shale gas industry
onto state game lands in Bradford County faces two additional
charges in connection with the crime.
Josh Foster, 27, of Temple, Ga., was charged Dec. 1 with
scattering rubbish, a misdemeanor. On Tuesday, he was also charged
with unlawful disposal of solid waste and third-degree criminal
mischief, a felony.
Foster admitted he dumped the sludge on Regan Hill Road, Warren
Township, in Pennsylvania Land 219, Trooper John Kern, of state
police in Towanda, said in a criminal complaint filed in District
Court.
Though the sludge came from the nearby Strope natural gas well,
which is run by Talisman Energy, Foster is not a Talisman
employee, according to court documents.
Foster's preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Tuesday
afternoon before District Judge Fred Wheaton in Wysox, was
continued so that Foster's attorney, Ray Depaola of Towanda, could
consider the charges.
A new hearing will be scheduled within 30 days, Wheaton said.
Another man, Michael Francis Todd Lathrop, was identified in the
complaint as a passenger in the truck at the time of the dumping.
Lathrop told Foster that dumping the sludge wasn't right, but
Foster did it anyway, according to the criminal complaint.
Lathrop also is not a Talisman employee.
The sludge -- described as very fine grain rock cuttings, used
drilling mud and water -- is a synthetic hydrocarbon-based fluid
used both as a lubricant and a coolant during the drilling
process. It is supposed to be treated on-site and then taken to a
landfill.
The sludge was not treated before it was dumped. Although the
material is not listed on any federal guide as a hazardous
material, hydrocarbon-based products are generally listed as
dangerous substances, according to officials.
A contractor for Talisman vacuum-extracted the sludge from the
game lands and no harm was done to the environment, streams or
wildlife, officials said.
Foster remains in the Bradford County Correctional Facility in
West Burlington in lieu of $100,000 bail.