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.