WELLSBORO – EQT Production Co. pleaded no contest in Tioga County Court this week to three counts of pollution of waters and three counts of disturbance of waterways.

According to court documents filed at District Judge Rob Repard’s office, the charges were brought last October by the office of the state Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation following a criminal investigation based on a referral from the state Fish and Game Commission.

The commission referral stated that EQT had allowed drilling production fluid, or “flowback,” from an impoundment at the well site to enter three waters of the commonwealth, one of which is an unnamed tributary to Rock Run, designated as a high-quality cold-water fishery by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and a Class A wild brook trout stream by the Fish and Boat Commission between May 31, 2012, through April 29, 2014, at the Phoenix Resources natural gas well site in Duncan Township.

The gas well site at the time contained a lined 6 million-gallon fresh-water impoundment and EQT was in the process of attempting to permit a lined centralized impoundment for flowback, which never was constructed, according to the documents.

The seepage into the streams was discovered in June 2012 to be coming from about 100 holes in the liner of the impoundment.

EQT was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 per count for a total of $30,000 within 90 days of sentencing, plus all court costs.