WHEELING - Larry and Jana Rine believe Chesapeake Energy may have dumped radioactive elements into a Wetzel County waste pit, but company attorneys said the material occurs naturally in the soil.
U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp heard roughly seven hours of testimony in the Rines' civil suit against Chesapeake on Thursday before deciding to continue hearing from witnesses at 9 a.m. today at the federal courthouse in Wheeling. The Rines want to stop Chesapeake from removing dirt in a pit on their property in the Silver Hill area of Wetzel County so they can gather evidence to show radioactive materials were dumped in the pit.
If such evidence is found, they want Chesapeake to perform a more thorough cleanup of their land. But Chesapeake officials say they need to remove the material as part of a slip repair job.
Last week, Stamp granted a temporary restraining order against Chesapeake to keep company workers from removing the potential evidence of their alleged illegal dumpings. Stamp did not make a ruling on whether to end or extend the restraining order Thursday because Chesapeake attorneys still had an additional witness to call to testify, requiring the proceedings to continue today.
Chesapeake Sued Over Dumping - News, Sports, Jobs - The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
