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Affiliates of Pittsburgh-based EQT Corp. have a long history of environmental violations in Wetzel and other northern West Virginia counties.

EQT expanded its already deep West Virginia footprint last year by acquiring Mountain Valley Pipeline lead developer Equitrans Midstream Corp. in a deal it said would yield an initial enterprise value — generally how much a business is worth — of over $35 billion.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Wednesday, the complaint contends EQT XL Midstream Operating compressor station air pollution pervaded the plaintiffs’ homes. The complaint cites toxicology testing to assert the emissions sickened the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit contends EQT Midstream Operating didn’t disclose to the plaintiffs’ guardians all the chemicals it used at the Knob Fork Compressor Station, saying the station has been “clearly an industrial use� after being constructed in 2010 and operated to process and compress gas using at least six 1,775-horsepower engines. The plaintiffs say compressor station noise pollution harmed them.

EQT Production gas wells with reported production starting in 2021 generated hazardous and radioactive gas waste stored on well pads, resulting in radioactive pollution hazardous to human health, the complaint asserts.

Cancer risks in West Virginia that can be traced back to the gas and oil industry have been among the highest in the country, according to a of federal Environmental Protection Agency data by Clean Air Task Force, an environmental nonprofit group.

Of the 30 counties nationwide with a cancer risk due to gas and oil pollution above 1 in 250,000, four were in West Virginia. Wetzel was one of them, along with neighboring Doddridge and Tyler counties, as well as Ritchie County, which borders Doddridge and Tyler.

EQT did not respond to a request for comment.

Plaintiffs' homes were less than half-mile from wells

The minors, identified as P.T., G.H., B.K. and J.K. in the complaint, brought the lawsuit through their natural guardians — Scott and Abigail Tennant, Glenn and Trina Hollabaugh, and Matthew and Dia Kennedy, respectively.

The minors all lived on Mountaineer Highway in Littleton during the alleged pollution events but now live in New Martinsville and Paden City, according to the complaint.

Their homes ranged from within 2,500 to 3,400 feet away from the compressor station whose reported air pollutants included carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and formaldehyde, per the complaint.

Nitrogen oxides can harm the human respiratory system and contribute to acid rain. Particulate matter, or soot, can lodge deep into the lungs and bloodstream and cause major health issues. Volatile organic compounds can contribute to ground-level ozone and may cause cancer.

EQT Production construction and operation of eight gas wells on Country Road 7/16 in Littleton negatively impacted the plaintiffs and their environment through drilling, exploration and extraction, pipeline-building, gas transportation, condensate tanks, aboveground wastewater pipelines, and transfer of waste, fracking fluid and other substances, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs’ homes ranged from within roughly 1,700 to 2,400 feet from the wells, per the complaint.

Citing data from , the national hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure registry, the lawsuit reports EQT Production added toxic and hazardous chemicals to water for fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, of gas wells, including hydrogen chloride and ammonium compounds.

Hydrogen chloride is a colorless to slightly yellow gas with a pungent, irritating odor, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. High exposure to ammonium compounds, which are used in disinfecting and personal care products, can result in toxicity and significant health risks, per the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

In August 2021, EQT Production estimated in an air quality permit notice the Sizemore well pad cited in the complaint would have the potential to emit annual air pollutant amounts that included:

• 16.26 tons of nitrogen oxides
• 12.41 tons of carbon monoxide
• 6.01 tons of volatile organic compounds

The complaint cites health studies published by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh in August 2023  children living within 1 mile of oil and gas operations had a risk five to seven times higher of developing a rare childhood cancer and that residents of all ages had an elevated risk of severe asthma reactions.

Plaintiffs: EQT-controlled operations strained 'PB&J' 

Medical testing identified that P.T. was exposed to pollutants benzene, toluene, xylene, styrene and phthalates, according to the complaint.

The complaint states P.T. enjoyed playing with her friends B.K. and J.K., and that they were nicknamed PB&J. But the complaint reports those relationships have been strained because being in contact is “a stressful reminder� of injuries they sustained when they lived in their former homes.

P.T. suffered labored breathing and headaches, forcing her to stay indoors, while her chemical exposure led to lethargy and depression, according to the complaint. P.T. still has trouble breathing and is dizzy and nauseous almost daily, the complaint says.

P.T.’s chronic anemia, along with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and scoliosis, has limited her activity and causes her to sleep 12 to 15 hours per day, impacting her ability to lead a normal teenage life, per the complaint.

G.H. has been diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder not caused by genetics, joint issues, scoliosis, thyroid nodules, depression, anxiety and anemia, and has had clamps inserted into his lungs, according to the complaint. The complaint states that G.H. is at risk of losing his eyesight and ability to walk due to his illnesses and symptoms.

G.H. being sickened and forced to move from his home at age 14 has resulted in a loss of friends, social life and having other family nearby, the complaint asserts. G.H. has had to have multiple surgeries for his lungs and tissue disorder and also has had to contend with his current home being further away from his doctors and hospitals as well as emergency medical providers, according to the complaint.

B.K. had medical testing that revealed that she had levels of xylene, toluene, styrene, phthalates and benzene exposure 91 times higher than the average American, the complaint contends. B.K. and J.K. weren’t allowed to be outside for long periods of time because of pollution making her short of breath, bloated and giving her headaches, per the complaint.

B.K. and P.T. now have a strained relationship due to shared trauma and struggling to explain their “emotional experience� to school friends, according to the complaint.

The complaint claims the defendants are liable for medical monitoring trust funds for each plaintiff. It seeks punitive damages as well as attorney and expert fees.

“[G]eneral duties of care and safety require that the Operations not create nuisances that sickens children like the Plaintiffs,� the complaint states.

Long string of DEP violations issued to EQT firms  

The complaint contends EQT Production injected 258 wells in West Virginia with at least one trade secret chemical from 2013 to 2022, resulting in the use of 5.8 million pounds of trade secret chemicals. EQT Production hazardous chemicals mixed with water for fracking included trade secret chemicals for the gas wells, the lawsuit says, citing FracFocus registry data.

A March 2023 EPA inspection found leaks and unexpected emissions from EQT pollution control devices in Sizemore well pad operations, according to the complaint.

The EPA then opened a broader probe of the firm’s operations throughout West Virginia, seeking information about EQT storage vessels, pollution control and volatile organic compound emissions data statewide, the complaint states.

In response to a request for comment, the EPA’s press office said the agency “does not appear to be party to this matter.� 

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has issued EQT affiliates over two dozen violation notices for reported environmental infractions in Wetzel County and elsewhere in northern West Virginia since 2021.

In December 2024, the DEP issued EQT Production notice of a violation at the Sizemore well pad after finding a unit controlling emissions from a dehydration unit for triethylene glycol, a colorless liquid with a mild odor, was displayed as “off� from Aug. 8, 2022, until Jan. 1, 2023, while emissions were being vented to it.

The DEP said what it found was a violation of requirements to operate pollution control equipment and emission reduction devices in compliance with permit limits and to maintain records of the occurrence and duration of any air pollution control equipment malfunction or shutdown during which emissions beyond permit limits occur.

In July 2024, the DEP issued EQT Chap LLC said three agency inspections from May to July 2024 revealed:

• Gas was leaking past a failed condensate tank closed-vent system valve
• Gas venting from the compressor packing wasn’t accounted for in facility-wide potential to emit volatile organic compounds
• Continuous gas venting from a pneumatic device
• A Caterpillar gas compression engine differed from a permitted engine

The DEP said those findings constituted violations of permit requirements that included requiring designing and operating a closed-vent system with no detectable emissions, and constructing and operating the facility in accordance with the company’s permit.

In a May 2023 letter addressed to EQT Corp. President and CEO Toby Rice, the DEP said EQT Production’s Big-190 pad in a Wetzel County facility was found to be in production with no combustor operating to control vapors from storage vessels. The combustor was relit immediately after DEP personnel told EQT personnel the combustor wasn’t operating, the letter states.

EQT violated its permit by not operating a combustor at all times when emissions were being vented to it, the DEP said.

The DEP also issued EQT Production a notice of an Office of Oil and Gas-issued permit for its well number 13H in Marion County in August 2021 after finding it drilled off a lease.