Pennsylvania AG Filed Criminal Charges & Succeeded Against Oil and Gas Company for Environmental Violations

On June 15, 2020, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed criminal charges against Texas-based Cabot Oil & Gas over illegal discharges of industrial waste and other pollutants associated with the company’s fracking operations in northeastern Pennsylvania, which resulted in extensive contamination of the region’s groundwater and harm to local residents. The charges stem from a two-year grand jury investigation into violations of environmental regulations by oil and gas companies operating in Pennsylvania.

On November 29, 2022, AG Shapiro announced that the company (which had since changed its name to Coterra Energy Inc.), pleaded no contest to the charges, and agreed to pay $16.29 million to construct a new public water supply in Susquehanna County.

• Documents: PA Press Release - ComplaintPA Press Release - Plea
• Document Type: Press Releases/Statements
• States: Pennsylvania
• Issues: Fossil Fuels Fracking Oil and Gas Public Health Water Water Pollution
• Era: Non-Federal
• Outcome: Win
• Action Type: Environmental Enforcement Litigation