The Commonwealth Court has refused to toss out a $1.1 million civil penalty assessed against natural gas producer EQT for wastewater contamination, finding the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection presented “substantial evidence” the company “acted recklessly” and that the contamination continued even after remediation efforts were made.

In a published Sept. 10 decision, the court en banc unanimously upheld an order by the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board assessing the penalty against EQT for violations of the Clean Streams Law and a related regulation.