Ohio natural gas company charged with polluting discharges from abandoned well in Pennsylvania

Ohio company charged with pollution in Pa.

GREENVILLE, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Attorney General has charged an Ohio natural gas exploration company with polluting land near an abandoned well in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Energy Exploration & Development LLC, of Cortland, Ohio, has been charged with illegally discharging oil and other waste. The company did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.

State prosecutors say the company is responsible for oil and brine water that leaked from a pipeline along Route 358 in West Salem Township. That near Greenville, about 70 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

State environmental officials say the company was notified of the problem for two years, but failed to fix it before the leaks in July and August. The charges carry fines of at least $1,000 per day.