PA Environment Digest Blog: Capital & Main: Pennsylvania Gas Producer [CNX Resources] Sues Capital & Main Over Its Reporting On Health Risks [Trying To Silence Its Reporting]

On October 31, 2025, Capital & Main reported a lawsuit was filed by CNX Resources Corporation accusing the news organization of defamation for quoting sources critical of an industry-written study. Capital & Main says it stands by its reporting and vows to fight the suit.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, CNX accuses Capital & Main of publishing false and defamatory statements in a September 24, 2024 story with the headline “Pennsylvania Gas Driller: Our Operations Pose No Health Risk. You Can’t Be Serious, Activists Say.”

The lawsuit seeks an award of damages, attorneys’ fees and costs and other, unspecified relief from the court.

[Click Here for a copy of the lawsuit.]

Publisher Danny Feingold vowed to fight the lawsuit.

“We stand by our reporting,” Feingold said. “Capital & Main is widely recognized as a leading source of coverage on the health and environmental impacts of fossil fuel production, both in Pennsylvania and multiple other states. We have earned this recognition through scrupulous, fact-based reporting, and the story cited in the lawsuit adheres to these rigorous standards.”

The lawsuit alleges that “Capital & Main served as a mouthpiece for one-sided and unbalanced attacks by renewable energy activists.”

The story focused on the gas company’s efforts to recast its environmental image with an industry-written “Radical Transparency” study the company has said demonstrates that its fracking operations pose “no public health risk.”

The story cited the report and quoted the CNX CEO’s public statement saying the initial results “indicate that natural gas development done the CNX way is safe and inherently good for the communities where we operate.”

The story also presented differing perspectives, including quotes from leaders of environmental groups who criticized the report as unsound.

Capital & Main requested comment from CNX prior to publication of the story, but the company did not respond at that time.

Feingold said the lawsuit would not deter Capital & Main from its mission of producing accountability reporting on climate change.

Click Here to read the entire article.

[Editor’s Note: The following context is provided by the PA Environment Digest.]

[Trying To Silence Critics Isn’t New For CNX

[On May 22, 2025, the PA Environmental Hearing Board issued a ruling in an appeal of a DEP water supply contamination determination involving the CNX Gas Company that agreed with a Center for Coalfield Justice assertion there was “acute” danger in CNX misusing a deposition in the case to “punish” an environmental advocate for her advocacy against CNX. Read more here.

[The advocate referred to was Jodi Borello whose family lives about 1,500 feet away from the CNX Oak Springs pipeline pigging facility in South Franklin Township, Washington County that Borello said released natural gas and liquid chemicals three times a day, seven days a week for nearly 10 years. Read more here.

[The releases did not stop until the state Office of Attorney General filed criminal charges against CNX and CNX pleaded “no contest” to charges in December 2021, according to Borello. Read more here.

[ CNX Facility Used As Example Of Health Impacts

[ On February 13, 2025, the state Department of Health and Penn State Medical offered training to medical professionals on how to determine when exposures to shale gas facilities caused health impacts on their patients.

[The case study they used was the health reactions caused by the releases from the CNX Oak Springs pipeline pigging facility in South Franklin Township, Washington County. Read more here.

[Difficult Compliance Record

[In addition to being convicted of criminal charges, the environmental compliance record of CNX Resources and its related companies in Pennsylvania is-- difficult. Here are a few examples--

-- DEP Issues Violations For Failing To Report How Waste Was Disposed Of Safely From 133 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells, Including 50 Owned By CNX Gas Company [PaEN]

-- DEP Assesses $200,000 In Penalties For Drilling Wastewater Spills By CNX In Greene County

-- DEP Assesses CNX Gas Drilling $433,500 For Violations In Greene County [PaEN]

-- DEP: CNX Gas Company Agrees To Pay $175,000 Penalty For Uncontrolled Methane Leaks At The Shaw Well In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- CNX Gas Pays $450K In Penalties For Washington County Water Withdrawal Violations [PaEN]

-- DEP Settlement With CNX For E&S Violations In Greene, Washington Counties Yields $180,000 Streambank, Fish Habitat Project [PaEN]

-- DEP Reaches Settlement With CNX On Well Plugging Violations At 141 Conventional Coalbed Methane & Gas Wells, 5 Unconventional Gas Wells In 4 Southwest Counties [PaEN]

-- CNX Gas Company Reports It Did Not Stop Pumping Shale Gas Wastewater Through A Punctured Pipeline For 24+ Hours During An Incident In Morris Township, Greene County In May [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Violation To CNX Gas Company For Withdrawing Over 1.8 Million Gallons Of Water For Fracking For 22 Days Without Permission [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Violation To CNX Gas Company For Unauthorized Water Withdrawals For 17 Days From Beaver Run Reservoir In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

(Photos: Photos used in February state Department of Health/Penn State Medical program to help medical professionals identify shale gas facility health impacts -- CNX Oak Springs pipeline pigging station, Washington County.)

Reference Articles NewsClips - CNX

-- CNX CEO Tells DEP’s Citizens Council Their Monitoring Shows ‘No Material Impact’ To Air Or Water Quality From Natural Gas Development; Citizens Said CNX Lacks Scientific Rigor, Offers Misleading Greenwash [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: CNX Resources Claims Shale Gas Drilling Poses No Public Health Risks Are ‘Misleading, Irresponsible, Dangerous’ [PaEN]

-- CNX: 'Natural Gas Development Is Safe And Poses No Public Health Risks,' Based On CNX Air Quality Monitoring From 14 Sites, Most For Just 4 To 24 Weeks [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro, CNX Natural Gas Company Sign Statement Of Mutual Interests To Monitor Air Emissions At Drill Sites, Extend Safety Setbacks While Data Is Being Collected; DEP To Move Ahead With Some Reg Changes [PaEN]

-- TribLive Editorial: Is Shapiro's Voluntary Agreement With CNX The Right Move For Gas Well Safety? 'We Do Not Trust Foxes To Guard Henhouses' [PaEN]

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility PA: Gov. Shapiro's Announcement With CNX Does Not Go Far Enough In Protecting Public Health And The Environment From Natural Gas Development [PaEN]

Resource Links - Health Impacts Of Shale Gas Development:

-- Rep. Vitali Introduces Legislation To Increase Setbacks From Unconventional Shale Gas Wells From 500 Feet To 2,500 Feet From Homes, 5,000 Feet From Schools, Hospitals [PaEN]

-- Part I - 500 Feet Isn’t Enough: Michelle Stonemark Tells What It’s Really Like Living Next To A Shale Gas Well Pad - Nosebleeds, Headaches, Nausea, Air Pollution, Vibrating House, Sleepless Nights, Anxiety - In Cecil Twp., Washington County [9.26.25]

-- Part II - 500 Feet Isn’t Enough: 42 Scientific Studies, 20+ Years Of Experience With Shale Gas Drilling In PA; A State Grand Jury Report; Criminal Convictions; Public Complaints; Lawsuits; Media Reports All Document The Need To Increase Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells [9.26.25]

-- Cecil Township Supervisors In Washington County Adopt 2,500 Setback From Shale Gas Well Pads From Homes, Businesses, 5,000 Foot Setback From Hospitals, Schools [November 2024]