An oil and natural gas company owned by Buffalo Bills and Sabres owner Terry Pegula has decided it will not use a proposed wastewater treatment facility near Coudersport.

“JKLM will no longer pursue water treatment at the proposed facility. A number of factors impacted this decision,” said Kelly Seward, who emailed a statement to The Era on Friday evening on behalf of JKLM.

The Epiphany Allegheny LLC facility, proposed to remove metals and distill water from the fracking process, would treat water generated by area oil and gas production operations, from wells between 10 to 20 miles from the plant. The facility would be able to store a maximum of 67,000 gallons of wastewater in tanks set above the floodplain and outfitted with a redundant secondary containment system, Epiphany officials have stated.

The facility would have the capacity to treat a maximum of 42,000 gallons of water per day, something that the Seneca Nation of Indians says would come with insufficient removal of radioactivity. The Seneca Nation says its concerns are that the fracking process in the shale formations in Pennsylvania releases naturally occurring radioactive material that mixes in with fracking wastewater.

JKLM Energy’s mission is to responsibly produce natural gas, protect the environment, workers and the community and benefit the local economy, Seward said.

“We are proud of the substantial investment we have made in Potter County and we are grateful for the support we have received from the vast majority of its residents and government officials,” Seward said.

JKLM has a leasehold position of more than 120,000 acres in Potter County.  The company is drilling, completing and producing wells in the Utica formation with plans to also drill and complete wells in the Marcellus formation, according to JKLM’s website.

Tom Joseph, founder and CEO of Epiphany Solar Water Systems, did not immediately return a call or email by press time Friday night.

Meanwhile, Seneca Nation President Todd Gates will conduct a press conference to address the latest project developments at 2 p.m. today at the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation Volunteer Fire Department in Irving, N.Y.

The Coudersport Area Municipal Authority will convene a special meeting on Monday, beginning at 6:30 p.m., to discuss the Epiphany project at the Coudersport Borough Maintenance Facility on Damascus Street.

The public is welcome to attend.