Greene County Man Charged with Wastewater Dumping
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office released a statement yesterday, saying that criminal charges have been filed against Robert Allen Shipman from Green County and his company, Allen’s Waste Water Services, Inc., for allegedly dumping millions of gallons of waste, including gas drilling waste, in six southwestern Pennsylvania counties between 2003 and 2009. There are 98 charges against him personally, and an addtional 77 counts against his company.
The grand jury and Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General William H. Ryan, Jr. allege that Mr. Shipman’s company operated in the following manner:
- Drivers were instructed to mix several waste types, obscuring the actual contents, allowing for easier disposal
- Destroying original manifests with forged ones, in order to overcharge customers
- Leaving valves open on trucks at gas wells after dark or in rainy periods, in order to illegally dump wastewater onto the ground
- Dumping into a drain at a Allan’s Waste Water Services facility, which drains directly into a stream
According to the Post Gazette, Mr. Shipman has posted a $50,000 bond, and Allan’s Waste Water Services is open for business.
If convicted, Mr. Shipman could face jail time and fines up to $1.5 million and another $1.2 million for his company. According to the Post-Gazette article, Mr. Shipman’s operation earned him up to $7 million per year.
A preliminary hearing has been set for March 25th in Greene County.
