Financing approved to build water pipeline to Dimock

http://citizensvoice.com/news/financing-approved-to-build-water-pipeline-to-dimock-1.1061757

Financing approved to build water pipeline to Dimock

By Robert Swift (Harrisburg Bureau Chief)
Published: November 10, 2010

HARRISBURG – A state infrastructure authority approved public financing Tuesday for a hotly debated water line to serve residents of Dimock Township without safe water supplies due to methane gas contamination.

The 9-2 vote by the PennVEST board provides a state grant of $11.6 million and loan of $172,000 to help Pennsylvania American Water Co. build a 12.5-mile pipeline from Lake Montrose to a neighborhood in Susquehanna County, where the state Department of Environmental Protection and Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. are at odds over whether the company’s natural gas drilling is responsible for the contamination.

The PennVEST action is a likely precursor to legal action by both Rendell administration officials who plan to sue Cabot to recover the costs of the pipeline and Cabot attorneys who said they would join any local lawsuits to block the pipeline. With Gov. Ed Rendell’s tenure nearing an end, the issue could face Gov.-elect Tom Corbett after he takes office Jan. 18.

PennVEST board chair Joseph Manko sought to keep the board’s debate and public comments focused on whether a pipeline will offer a permanent solution to the water woes facing 14 residences in Dimock with contaminated wells. They now rely on transported water or water treatment systems and worry about methane leaks because of contamination problems with their wells.

rswift@timesshamrock.com