PA Environment Digest

State Police, working with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Public Utility Commission and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, placed 131 trucks out of service during a two-day enforcement effort focusing on commercial vehicles hauling waste water from Marcellus shale natural gas drilling operations in the state, Commissioner Frank Noonan announced this week.

Noonan said 731 commercial trucks were inspected March 14-15 during "Operation FracNET."

He said 14 drivers were placed out of service and state troopers issued 421 traffic citations and 824 written warnings. In addition, DEP personnel issued 35 citations and 13 written warnings. The most common violations involved faulty brakes and insufficient exterior lighting, Noonan said.

"Extracting natural gas from Marcellus shale involves hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which requires significant amounts of water to be delivered to the sites and later trucked away," Noonan said. "Our efforts focused on identifying vehicle safety deficiencies that could lead to crashes."

He said state police Troops A, B, C, F, P and R participated, as well as personnel form DEP's Southwest, Northwest and North-central Regional Offices.

Following is a breakdown, by state police troop area, of the number of inspections conducted; number of vehicles placed out of service; and citations issued by state police during the three-day program:

-- Troop A (Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland counties), 140 inspections; 27 vehicles placed out of service; no drivers placed out of service; 72 citations;

-- Troop B (Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties), 194 inspections; 26 vehicles placed out of service; one driver placed out of service; 72 citations;

-- Troop C (Clarion, Clearfield, Forest, Elk, Jefferson and McKean counties), 94 inspections; eight vehicles placed out of service; three drivers placed out of service; 25 citations;

-- Troop F (Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Union and Tioga counties), 180 vehicles inspected; 37 vehicles placed out of service; one driver placed out of service; 123 citations;

-- Troop P (Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming and part of Luzerne counties), 57 inspections; 21 vehicles placed out of service; seven drivers placed out of service; 25 citations; and

-- Troop R (Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna and Wayne counties), 66 inspections; 12 vehicles placed out of service; two drivers placed out of service; 104 citations issued.

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