Company Accused of Illegal Dumping
Shale waste released throughout region
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
18 March 2011
By Jonathan D. Silver
State prosecutors charged a Greene County man Thursday with illegally
dumping millions of gallons of Marcellus Shale wastewater, sewer sludge
and greasy restaurant slop in holes, mine shafts and waterways in a
six-county region from 2003 to 2009.
"He was pouring the stuff in any hole he could find," said Nils
Frederiksen, spokesman for the attorney general's office. All the
while, an investigating grand jury indicated, Robert Allan Shipman was
building his bank account, earning up to $7 million a year, according
to the presentment.
The grand jury recommended 98 criminal charges against Mr. Shipman, 49,
of New Freeport and 77 counts against his company, Allan's Waste Water
Service Inc. for their alleged actions -- sometimes under cover of
darkness or during heavy rains -- in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene,
Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
"This was a calculated and long-running scheme to personally profit by
illegally dumping wastewater, regardless of the potential for
environmental damage," acting Attorney General Bill Ryan said in a
statement.
Mr. Frederiksen said it was one of the largest dumping cases in recent
memory.
Mr. Shipman's attorney denied the allegations and claimed they stemmed
from the testimony of disgruntled former employees.
"Allan never did any of this personally as some of the witnesses
accused him, nor did he ever instruct any of his drivers to improperly
dispose of any wastewater," attorney Christopher Blackwell said.
"Whether or not they did that, we don't know. Whether or not they did
some of this on their own to avoid the long lines that are at some of
those disposal facilities, we don't know."
Notable in the nine-page presentment from the grand jury is the mention
of Dunkard Creek, site of a massive 2009 fish kill over a 30-mile
stretch along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border.
Drivers for Mr. Shipman's company testified that they and their boss
emptied tanker trucks with drilling waste into a floor drain that led
to Tom's Run which, according to the presentment, empties into to
Dunkard Creek.
Drivers also testified they disposed of some waste by "cocktailing," or
mixing a variety of wastes, in a variety of locations, including Morris
Run air shaft in Consol Energy's abandoned Blacksville No. 2 mine.
The shaft leads to a mine pool, "which ultimately discharges into
Dunkard Creek," the presentment said.
Consol has a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
dump "production water" -- water that emerges from a well along with
natural gas and is then separated -- into the Morris Run air shaft,
according to the presentment.
However, the grand jury alleged, Mr. Shipman's company does not have
the DEP's OK to discharge waste into Morris Run or Dunkard creeks.
The EPA announced this week that Consol would pay a $5.5 million civil
penalty to settle hundreds of Clean Water Act violations at six of its
West Virginia mines, including pollution discharges that contributed to
the Dunkard fish kill.
Mr. Frederiksen said investigators did not establish a cause-and-effect
link between Mr. Shipman's alleged discharges and the fish kill.
"You can't say he killed X number of fish. But did he play a role in
compromising the quality of Dunkard Creek and other waterways in the
area? No doubt about it."
Despite the charges, and despite the fact that a tip from a former
state environmental regulator helped launch the investigation, the
state Department of Environmental Protection had not suspended or
revoked the company's waste transportation safety authorization as of
late Thursday afternoon.
The company was open for business, according to its attorney.
"Allan's Waste Water Service continues to operate on a day-to-day basis
and serve its customers well," lawyer Christopher Capozzi said.
Katy Gresh, a DEP spokeswoman, said a permit review is under way. Dep
staff first learned Thursday the extent of the allegations against Mr.
Shipman and his company, she said.
The investigation began after the Cecil Township Municipal Authority,
which produces sludge byproduct from treating sewage, found
discrepancies during an audit between the amount of sludge received by
Mr. Shipman's company and the amount it disposed. More than 170,000
gallons of sludge were unaccounted for.
Mr. Shipman is also accused of overbilling his customers by falsifying
manifests. and directing his workers to mix the various types of
wastewater they hauled before delivering it to unsuspecting treatment
plants.
Mr. Shipman's company was paid by a variety of businesses to haul their
waste. In some cases, waste was legitimately delivered to treatment
plants, Mr. Frederiksen said. But millions of gallons were not, he
alleged.
Mr. Shipman would sometimes charge companies for more than he actually
hauled. And by having his drivers mix the wastes, he misrepresented
what was being given to the treatment plants, the presentment said.
Mr. Shipman could not be reached. His wife declined to comment.
But Mr. Blackwell said his client was the victim of testimony to the
grand jury by disgruntled former workers. "They felt they weren't
making enough money or they were fired by him because they weren't
working the hours that they claimed," Mr. Blackwell said.
Mr. Shipman turned himself in Thursday to state police. He was
arraigned before posting a $50,000 bond.Charges against Mr. Shipman
include participating in a corrupt organization, criminal conspiracy,
pollution of waters, money laundering and violation of the state's
Clean Streams Law.
Jonathan D. Silver: jsilver@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1962.