EQT Corp.'s $1.14 Million Fine Upheld for Fracking Fluid Leak

A Pennsylvania court has upheld a $1.14 million civil penalty against Pittsburgh-based EQT Corp. for a leak of fracking wastewater that contaminated groundwater in Tioga County, Pa.

EQT Production Co. had appealed the amount of the assessment by the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, which issued the penalty in May 2017.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had initially recommended a $4.5 million civil penalty, which it calculated using the Clean Streams Law maximum penalty of $10,000 per day. The state’s version of the federal Clean Water Act allows per-day fines of up to $10,000 ...