PA Environment Digest Blog: Marcellus Drilling News: 2 EQT Shale Gas Subsidiaries Lose Bid To Toss West Virginia Kids Health Lawsuit From Federal Court

On September 29, 2026, Marcellus Drilling News reported a federal judge in Pittsburgh has ruled that two EQT subsidiaries must face most of a lawsuit filed on behalf of four West Virginia kids who claim that emissions from EQT's shale wells and a nearby compressor station made them sick.

On Sept. 23, U.S. District Judge Robert Colville threw out just one of the five claims, a request for a medical monitoring trust fund, and he gave the kids' lawyers 21 days to fix and refile it. The rest of the case moves forward.

That includes a "strict liability" claim that EQT had argued West Virginia law flat-out does not allow against oil and gas operations.

It's a pleading-stage ruling, not a verdict. Even so, it's a loss for EQT, and it's one the whole industry should watch.

Background

In August 2025, the parents of four children from three families (the Tennants, Hollabaughs, and Kennedys) sued EQT Production Company and EQT XL Midstream Operating LLC on their kids’ behalf

Their homes sat between roughly 1,700 and 2,400 feet from the eight-well Sizemore Pad, which EQT has run since 2021. They were also between 2,500 and 3,400 feet from the Knob Fork Compressor Station, which has operated since 2010.

The suit claims the facilities released benzene, toluene, xylene, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It also claims the well pad stored hazardous and radioactive drilling waste.

The complaint says medical testing found the kids had elevated levels of some chemicals, “some reaching over ninety times the average level.”

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Resource Links - EQT:

-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies EQT Shale Gas Motion To Exclude Evidence Of Medical Conditions, Toxicology Reports Related To A Landowner Appeal Of A DEP Water Supply Contamination Determination [PaEN]

-- Environmental Hearing Board Will Hear Key Arguments On Appeal By A Washington County Family Alleging Shale Gas Drilling Contaminated Their Water Supply With PFAS And Other Chemicals {October 2023]

-- DEP: Widespread Presence Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fresh Water May Have Led To ‘Inadvertently’ Using Contaminated Water For Fracking Gas Wells In Washington County [May 2023]

-- Washington County Family Lawsuit Alleges Shale Gas Company Violated The Terms Of Their Lease By Endangering Their Health, Contaminating Their Water Supply And Not Protecting Their Land [November 2022]

-- Environmental Hearing Board Grants Request By Center For Coalfield Justice To Intervene In EQT Production Co. Appeal Of DEP Records Request In Ongoing Investigation Of 940,000 Gallon Shale Gas Wastewater Spill In Washington County, Six Other Well Pads [PaEN]

-- WESA: New Freeport, Greene County Residents File Lawsuit Against EQT Gas Drilling Company Over Contaminated Water Supplies [PaEN]

-- DEP- EQT Settlement Agreement Allows Fracking To Resume From 2 Shale Gas Well Pads In Area Impacted By Frack-Out In New Freeport, Greene County; Does Not Address Water Supply Issues Of Residents [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: EQT's Mountain Valley Pipeline Urges WV Appeals Court To Revive Civil Lawsuit Against Pipeline Protesters [Pipeline Finished In June 2024] [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Official Joins Pittsburgh-based EQT In Saying We Have A 'Duty’ To Provide LNG Gas To China, Our Economic, Military Competitor [PaEN]