Environmental Law

FracNet Targets Marcellus Trucks

By Joel Bolstein

PADEP issued a press release today announcing that is was partnering with the State Police on an enforcement initiative targeting trucks used by the Marcellus Shale industry.  The initiative is being called FracNet and is modeled after the successful TrashNet inspections that for years have targeted the solid waste industry. 

I remember going on a few TrashNet inspections when I was Deputy Secretary and dealing with solid waste issues.  We'd set up a gauntlet of enforcement agencies on an approach route to a landfill.  All trucks would be pulled over and inspected by the local police, the State Police, PennDOT and finally, PADEP.  The other agencies would be performing safety inspections, checking brakes, weighing the trucks to see if they exceeded allowable weights, checking tires, etc.  By the time the trucker pulled up to PADEP's inspection station, some would already have a pile of citations.  PADEP's inspection involving checking the tarp holding the waste in place to make sure it was secured properly and didn't have any holes, making sure the trucks weren't leaking or oozing liquids, checking for a fully charged fire extinguisher, and checking the labeling on the side of the truck to make sure it complied with the regulations.  I remember one trucker from NYC who had about $2,000 in violations already in hand when he pulled up to the station I was at with Jim Pagano from the SE Regional Office.  We handed that driver another $300 citation for not having the proper labeling on the side of the truck.  He challenged the citation, saying his truck was properly labeled.  The truck was supposed to have writing of a certain height that said "Municipal Waste".    When the driver pulled up to the first inspection station that was manned by the local township police, Jim noticed there was no labeling on the side of the truck.  The driver noticed that too, and somewhere between that first inspection station and PADEP's, he grabbed a magic marker and tried to write the appropriate label on the side of the truck.  When the driver challenged the citation, Jim said "your truck didn't have any writing on it when it pulled up to the first station, and besides you spelled "municipal" wrong.  Indeed, the driver had crudely scribbled "MUNICIPLE WASTE" on the side of his truck.  Participating in TrashNet activities was instructive for me and it also showed our guys in the field that the people on the 16th floor in Harrisburg thought that work was important. 

By issuing this Press Release, the 16th Floor is saying that FracNet is important and those in the Marcellus Shale industry need to take this very seriously.  While PADEP has in the past tolerated repeat violations from garbage trucks, it's unlikely the Department will do that for Marcellus trucks when the spotlight is shining so brightly on that industry.  Oil and gas companies and their drivers need to be mindful of that spotlight and be extra vigilant to prevent violations, because I have a feeling that FracNet is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.       

Full post as published by PA Brownfields Environmental Law on September 01, 2010 (boomark / email).