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Cabot Guilty of Failure to Protect Water in Marcellus Shale

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This happened in Dimock, PA.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is holding Cabot Oil & Gas accountable for allowing natural gas from lower formations to contaminate fresh water supplies, according to a “Notice of Violation” sent to Cabot dated Feb. 27.

While tapping gas from the Marcellus Shale formation, the company has violated the state’s Oil and Gas Act and Clean Stream Laws, the notice states. Both of those regulations protect drinking water supplies from natural gas hazards.

Gas from Cabot drilling operations has migrated into an aquifer providing water for local residents, the DEP has determined. More than a dozen wells proving water to homes along and near Carter Road have been affected. Four have been taken offline and others have been vented.

Additionally, Cabot failed to provide the DEP with timely records of drilling on two dozen wells in the area, according to the notice, signed by S. Craig Lobins, regional manager for the DEP’s Office of Oil and Gas Management.

Here’s a juicy morsel:

The DEP is also testing groundwater for a broader range of chemicals, including those used to fracture bedrock to release gas in the Marcellus. Advocates say too little is known about the process, called hydro-fracturing, or the chemicals involved

Previous posting on water pollution

Call for drilling moratorium/ban

About Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.

Comments

  1. Terry says

    Sharon, thank you for posting… Cabot spokesman said it was “premature” to assume that drilling had anything to do with this…this is NOT the first time something like this has happened (remember the 4 diesel fuel spills on Cabot drill sites) however, it is the first time that a government agency has said that Cabot is “responsible” for the water well contamination…I fear that this is only a glimpse into what is to come…

  2. TXsharon says

    Oh Baby, it was just a little premature injection. I’ll make it up tp you. I promise. Here’s a nice water tank to keep in your garage for water for the rest of your life.

    Thank you for smoking…

  3. Peacegirl says

    Here is a post I sent to my family. We have a summer place in Bradford County, PA, a few miles from Dimock. A link to today's Daily Review, Towanda's newspaper, will bring you to the article. It turns out Cabot is admitting responsibility for the methane problem.

    Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) (or as I like to call it, Department of Energy Pollution) is asking Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. to install methane gas detectors in the living spaces of nine homes in Dimock where elevated levels of dissolved methane have been found in the water supply. Why?
    Because methane vapor could accumulate in enclosed laundry rooms, showers, or dishwashers, creating the potential for explosions. This comes from Mark
    Carmon, spokesperson for DEP's regional office in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday.

    Now, this having happened a short distance from Camp, what can we expect for our safety in the near future? I for one take this very seriously. Camp is a place, unlike most homes in the valley, where people come and go. There are
    periods of time when no one is there. Even if we had gas
    detectors installed, who would hear them? And, since most family members are only at Camp for short periods of time and, like me, don't know all the ins and outs of gas and water issues, how are we going to feel arriving there, wondering if it is safe or not?

    What are we to think when bringing our young families to Camp for rest and recreation? As much as I want to be at Camp, I think the time will come sooner rather than later when I will not feel comfortable there. Do you realize that the simple act of turning on a light switch can result in an explosion if methane is present? (I've lived a sheltered life, folks! I never thought about
    things like this until now.)

    Some say we've been around gas lines and gas stuff for years, and it's never caused a problem. I never feared gas either unless I smelled it in the kitchen. But hydrofracking has changed all that. The drilling of shale cannot be controlled sufficiently. Gas escapes into places no one can detect and can travel to places no one is aware of. And methane is COLORLESS AND ODORLESS. This is what makes the situation so dangerous. We are opening up geological formations which have been safely locked up for centuries. Once disturbed, not
    even the best drillers or well-meaning DEP representatives can maintain a completely safe environment. Wells must not be drilled near homes. Plain and
    simple. Right now it is permitted for a well to be drilled every mile and within a few hundred feet of people's homes, schools, and nursing homes, not to mention state park playgrounds.

    WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO? HAVE WE GONE MAD? Read the article in today's
    Daily Review:

    http://tinyurl.com/b728uo

  4. TXsharon says

    Peacegirl, I hate to break this to you, but…

    You and your family going to camp is not important because you and your family are COLLATERAL DAMAGE. Just like those Iraqi children, woman and old people we blew up were collateral damage. =(

  6. Anonymous says

    Excellent information from up there in PA. Much bad stuff going on here in TX. also. We are doing permanent, long lived, damage to the underground stratas due to this ongoing foolishness of drilling in these deep hot sour formations. We can kiss the drinking water goodby.