The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a complaint against Range Resources Corp. to compel its compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) order last month that claims at least two water wells in Parker County, TX, “have been significantly impacted by…methane contamination” from its oil and gas operations in the Barnett Shale.

However, the company claims that it is complying with EPA’s order (see Daily GPI, Dec. 9, 2010).

“While Range offered to provide two affected residences alternative drinking water and installed explosivity meters in their homes after issuance of the emergency order, it has failed to comply with other requirements to conduct surveys of private and public water wells in the vicinity, to submit plans for field testing, and to submit plans to study how the methane and other contaminants may have migrated from the production wells, in addition to plans to remediate affected portions of the aquifer,” DOJ said.

However, Range spokesman Matt Pittzarella told NGI’s Shale Daily it should not be up to the company to show “how the methane and other contaminants” migrated from its wells.

(To read the full story go to shaledaily.com).

©Copyright 2011Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.