CNX paid $250,000 to settle pipeline violations

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CNX Resources Corp. and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have settled a month-long back and forth over violations at a natural gas gathering pipeline construction site in Indiana County.

The DEP reported on Thursday that CNX paid a $250,000 civil penalty and corrected violations that allowed muddy water and sediment to run into high-quality waters during the construction of its Marchand 3 pipeline in North Mahoning Township.

Regulators halted construction there in March and during an inspection in May found that violations persisted and noted new ones.

The Cecil-based oil and gas firm had maintained that it did not violate its permit conditions.

In May, it told the DEP that it was canceling the pipeline construction project and would restore the site.

In a statement, the company said it worked to “mitigate highly unusual erosion control challengesexperienced at this particular site” during “one of the wettest late winter periods on record in Pennsylvania.”

“Despite our best efforts to contend with mother nature, some soil did make its way into the stream in question,” read the statement. “We have taken corrective measures toward permanent stabilization and ultimately worked cooperatively with DEP to address the matter and move forward.”