Firm Seeks To Silence Fracking Pollution Concerns with Defamation Suit

The video of Steve Lipsky setting his drinking water on fire nearly went viral on You Tube. The fracking company he thinks caused the problem is suing him for defamation — an action sure to send a chill up the spine of anybody else who might dare to complain about fracking pollution.

Now that case is headed for the Texas Supreme Court. Oral arguments are scheduled for December 4. The case is a challenge to the ability of anyone — including news media — to disclose pollution. It is also a test of Texas' anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) law.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had originally found that Range Resources fracking had polluted Lipsky's water — but withdrew its finding after the elected Texas Railroad Commission supported Range.

• "Free Speech Case Springs from Fracking Dispute," Texas Tribune, September 5, 2014, by Jim Malewitz.
• "When Fracking and Free Speech Collide," Aljazeera America, September 10, 2014, by Peter Moskowitz.
• "Scientists: Tests Prove Fracking To Blame for Flaming Parker County Wells," WFAA (ABC), June 5, 2014.
• "More Evidence Shows Flaming Faucet Anti-Fracking Guy Has a Point, But the State Is Sticking with the Industry," Dallas Observer, June 9, 2014, by Amy Silverstein.
• "U.S. EPA Unlikely To Step Up Fracking Enforcement Efforts for Now - Analysts," Reuters, January 5, 2014, by Valerie Volcovici.
• "Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking," ProPublica, May 9, 2011, by Abrahm Lustgarten.
• "EPA’s Abandoned Wyoming Fracking Study One Retreat of Many," ProPublica, July 3, 2013, by Abrahm Lustgarten.
• "Buried Secrets: Is Natural Gas Drilling Endangering U.S. Water Supplies?" ProPublica, November 13, 2008, by Abrahm Lustgarten.