WILLIAMSPORT – The Department of Environmental Protection has fined RN Industries Trucking Inc., of Sandy Township, Clearfield County $3,000 for operating a waste transfer station in Sandy Township without a permit.
“Our inspections in April found that the company was storing top-hole drilling wastewater in five tanks,” said DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber who explained that the tanks allow solids in the wastewater to settle before the water can be removed and hauled away for treatment. “This kind of activity requires a transfer station permit to ensure it’s done safely and in accordance with state laws.”
A top-hole is the vertical portion of the well bore extending several thousand feet deep. It can be drilled with a smaller drilling rig, which is replaced by a larger rig to drill the directional portion of the well bore into the Marcellus shale formation.
At the time of the April inspections, RN Industries Trucking had about 1,950 barrels — or about 82,000 gallons — of the wastewater on-site.
The department issued a notice of violation letter to the company in early May, and recommended that all top-hole wastewater at the site be transported for disposal at a permitted facility and no additional wastewater be brought to the site without first obtaining a permit. The solids were subsequently taken to the Greentree Landfill in Elk County for proper disposal.
A DEP follow-up inspection in late May determined that the site was no longer being used for storage or as a transfer facility, and that all wastewater and tanks had been removed.
The fine was paid to the Solid Waste Abatement Fund, which helps to pay for cleanups across the state.