Pennsylvania High Court: Water Law Not Violated By ‘Mere Presence’ Of Contaminant

Mealey's (March 30, 2018, 12:08 PM EDT) -- HARRISBURG, Pa. — A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court on March 28 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in a groundwater contamination case and concluded that “the mere presence” of a contaminant “in a water of the Commonwealth or a part thereof” does not establish a violation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law because movement of a contaminant into water is a predicate to violations (EQT Production Company v. Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, No. 6 MAP 2017, Pa. Sup.; 2018 Pa. LEXIS 1572)....