Proposed CNX Slickville pipeline project hits permitting snag; environmental group raises objections

The CNX Midstream Operating Co. has hit a snag in its plan to construct gas and waterlines across Salem and two neighboring northern Westmoreland County townships to support natural gas production from existing and proposed wells.

Officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to Canonsburg-based CNX indicating that the application the company submitted last April for a required water obstruction and encroachment permit for the “Slickville Trunkline” project has, in effect, timed out.

The application had “a number of deficiencies and missing information,” according to DEP spokesperson Lauren Camarda. As noted in the DEP letter, that includes lack of a supporting document from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the project’s potential impact.

When CNX missed a 60-day window to add what was needed for the DEP to begin a technical review, the department considered the application incomplete and withdrawn, Camarda said.

An area environmental group that has voiced concern about the project’s potential impact on wildlife and waterways welcomed the news. The DEP has noted CNX will have the opportunity to submit a new application for the project, which the company is expected to pursue.

The project would include construction of two nearly 14-mile-long natural gas pipelines and one nearly 4-mile-long permanent waterline. They would encroach on 39 wetlands and 25 streams in Bell, Loyalhanna and Salem townships.

That includes 14 wetlands that are considered to have “exceptional value” and several streams that are tributaries to Wolford Run or Beaver Run — a wild trout stream.

In comments filed with the DEP, the Three Rivers Waterkeeper group expressed concern that the Slickville project would create “immediate risk to the waters of the commonwealth, water supplies, public health, wildlife and endangered species.” It cited the presence of bald eagles and two endangered bat species in the project area.

The Pittsburgh-based group noted one of the proposed pipelines would be transporting “produced water,” or “brine,” from gas wells — waste liquid that can include heavy metals and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material that has been concentrated or exposed to the environment through human activity.

CNX stated in its permit application that the project “will directly benefit the public through the development of energy resources.”

Waterkeeper Executive Director Heather Hulton VanTassel argued that the project’s potential harms outweigh any benefit, which she contends would be “purely private, and purely for profit.”

“The purpose of the waterline is to extend the existing water system in support of planned well development,” she stated. “As there is no current facility that the waterline is planned to connect to, the waterline will be capped for future connection.”

CNX released a statement Tuesday defending its plan: “Natural gas, water and produced water pipelines are the safest and most efficient means to move product to market, reduce truck traffic in the local community and advance our water recycling and reuse efforts to minimize the need for freshwater resources. CNX values our relationship with local communities and takes great care to ensure we are operating in the most efficient, safest and environmentally responsible way.”

On its website, CNX cites a figure from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission indicating the average American receives a dose of about 620 millirems of radiation per year from combined natural and man-made sources, including x-ray scans. In comparison, the company says a worker at a shale gas fracking well site will receive about 26 millirems per year.

CNX announced in November that it is collaborating with state officials to provide DEP access to study two of the company’s shale gas fracking well sites. The company also committed to provide online reporting of air quality readings from its sites, starting with a well pad in East Finley Township, Washington County.