Pa. Waste Hauler Accused Of Dumping Gas Drilling Sludge Into Streams

"HOLBROOK, Pa. -- A waste hauler and his company were charged Thursday with dozens of criminal counts for what prosecutors said was years of dumping millions of gallons of wastewater from natural gas drilling, sewage sludge and restaurant grease into streams and mine shafts.

The state attorney general's office filed 98 criminal counts against Robert Allan Shipman and 77 counts against his company, Allan's Waste Water Service Inc.

Prosecutors said [Shipman] told his drivers to open valves at natural gas drilling wells, often at night or during rainstorms, so the wastewater would run into nearby waterways. He also is accused of telling drivers to dump the contents of their trucks into a floor drain that led directly to a nearby stream."

The Associated Press had the story March 17, 2011.