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
DEP Makes Oil and Gas Operations More Transparent with New Online Resources
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=15010&typeid=1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/1/2010
DEP Makes Oil and Gas Operations More Transparent with New Online Resources
Information on Well Production, Waste Products, and Violations Now Online
HARRISBURG — For the first time, Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry production and compliance information is available online as part of the commonwealth’s ongoing effort to make the industry’s operations more transparent.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said the oil and gas public reporting website, which debuted today, allows access to production statistics for oil and gas wells in the state, including historical data. A new, separate webpage also lets users view violation data, by operator, as well as the department’s enforcement measures.
“The public reporting website will create much needed transparency that allows for citizens and policymakers to be aware of the increasing amount of natural gas being generated in Pennsylvania,” said Hanger. “This is an industrial activity that is taking place widely throughout the state. It’s important that families know what is happening in their backyards and whether or not the company drilling there has a good track record of safe and environmentally sound operations.”
The public reporting website, www.marcellusreporting.state.pa.us/ogrereports/, enables users to search all oil and natural gas production data by operator, county or a specific well number. Information on industry-generated waste can be viewed by operator, county or processing facility.
Act 15 of 2010 required Marcellus operators to report to DEP their well production totals from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 by Aug. 15. Subsequent reports on Marcellus production are due every six months. All other oil and gas production besides Marcellus wells must be reported annually.
“It is absolutely essential for the oil and gas industry to be excellent in their operations to protect public health and our environment,” Hanger said. “This information will allow the public to see which operators are leading the way in a safe and environmentally conscious manner and which ones need to address their operating procedures.”
The violation, inspection, and enforcement information is available for 2008 through 2010 to date, including resolved violations for the three-year span. Information for 2010 is available year-to-date or monthly. To view the violation reports, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us and click on the button that says “Gas Well Violations.”
For more information about oil and gas operations in Pennsylvania, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us and click on “Oil and Gas.”
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
CONTACT:
Jamie Legenos, Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
DEP Secretary Issues Open Letter to Citizens of Susquehanna County
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=14827&typeid=1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/19/2010
CONTACT:
Jamie Legenos , Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
DEP Secretary Issues Open Letter to Citizens of Susquehanna County Community Impacted by Ongoing Gas Migration Issues
HARRISBURG — Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger today issued the following open letter to residents of Dimock, Susquehanna County:
To Whom It May Concern:
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced a permanent solution to the drinking water problems in Dimock caused by gas migration from Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation wells. DEP was forced to take action since Cabot continues to deny responsibility for the contamination, despite overwhelming evidence of its responsibility. Since that announcement was made, Cabot has launched a public relations campaign and much misinformation has been brought forth concerning who will be party to that solution and who will end up paying for it.
Cabot is responsible for the gas migration that has caused families to be without a permanent water supply for nearly 2 years and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will seek court orders to make Cabot pay for all costs. But we cannot wait for Cabot to fix the problems it caused and to do the right thing. In the interim, PENNVEST, an agency that finances water and sewer infrastructure projects, will be asked to provide funds to pay the estimated $11.8 million cost for Pennsylvania American Water Company to construct a new, 5.5-mile water main from its Lake Montrose treatment plant to provide water service to the residents of Dimock. Again, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will then aggressively seek to recover the cost of the project from Cabot.
No one in Dimock or Susquehanna County will pay for it and local taxes will not be increased as the result of it. Residents along Route 29 will have the option to tap into the line if they so choose. No one will be forced to hook up to the new public water supply. The new water line will also boost the value of homes and businesses near it.
This action is being taken based on overwhelming evidence that proves the Cabot wells are the source of the contamination. DEP has collected ample evidence tying methane found in private water supplies to Cabot’s wells. We have witnessed and chronicled bubbling gas and high pressure readings from a number of wells that prove poor well construction, and taken readings that show excessive gas levels that could only exist in wells that are leaking. Sophisticated testing has “fingerprinted” gas samples and matched the gas found in five homes to the gas leaking from the nearby Cabot wells. Additionally, the gas wells in many cases are less than a thousand feet from the homes where, by law, it is presumed gas drilling caused any pollution of water wells that may result.
The residents of Dimock have already paid a high price for Cabot’s unwillingness to accept responsibility and provide a satisfactory solution. Cabot will be the one paying the final bill. Perhaps next time Cabot will do the job right the first time and avoid expensive repairs.
Sincerely,
John Hanger, Secretary
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
DEP, Cabot argue over Dimock water contamination
http://citizensvoice.com/news/dep-cabot-argue-over-dimock-water-contamination-1.1051257
Published: October 20, 2010
DEP, Cabot argue over Dimock water contamination
The state Department of Environmental Protection and Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. traded barbs Tuesday about the scope, cause and solution for methane contamination in 18 residential water wells in Dimock Township.
The state agency and the natural gas drilling company have been arguing via press releases and advertisements since late last month when DEP announced that Pennsylvania American Water Co. will construct a new, 5.5-mile water main from its Lake Montrose treatment plant to provide water to the affected families, and Cabot would be made to pick up the tab.
Read Hanger’s letter to Cabot Oil & Gas
“DEP was forced to take action since Cabot continues to deny responsibility for the contamination, despite overwhelming evidence of its responsibility,” DEP Secretary John Hanger said in a letter released widely on Tuesday and circulated over the weekend in Susquehanna County.
“Since that announcement was made, Cabot has launched a public relations campaign and much misinformation has been brought forth concerning who will be party to that solution and who will end up paying for it.”
In a press release also sent Tuesday, Cabot spokesman George Stark said that water tests performed by Cabot and DEP showed only four of the 18 water wells have methane at levels exceeding the 28 milligrams per liter limit suggested by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining. He also said the company, which maintains it did not cause the methane contamination, has provided “substantial and persuasive proof that methane gas has been present in water wells in and around the Dimock area for generations.”
Read Cabot’s Dimock well data
Hanger said in an interview Tuesday that Cabot “unfortunately” continues to deny responsibility and the company’s data “must be examined through that prism.”
The state’s environmental oversight agency determined that excessive pressures and faulty casings in 14 of Cabot’s natural gas wells caused methane from a rock layer above the Marcellus Shale to seep into residential water supplies.
The state’s evidence includes video recordings of gas bubbling between the casing in Cabot’s wells and high pressure readings “that could only exist in wells that are leaking,” as well as isotopic analysis – a form of chemical “fingerprinting” – that matched the gas found in five homes to the gas leaking from nearby Cabot wells.
Hanger said DEP testing since April has shown as many as 18 affected supplies. DEP will continue water tests until the Nov. 1 deadline for Cabot to rid the water of gas.
“We, of course, would be delighted, as the families would be, if in fact some of the gas went away,” he said. “We have seen declines at some properties, but not at all. We’ll do some more testing and frankly we’ll make our own judgments based on our own data.”
In the open letter to Susquehanna County residents, Hanger said PENNVEST, a state agency which finances water and sewer projects, will be asked to provide the $11.8 million for the water line project, and then the state will “aggressively seek to recover the cost of the project from Cabot.”
“No one in Dimock or Susquehanna County will pay for it and local taxes will not be increased as the result of it,” he said.
Besides the affected residents, others who live on Route 29 between Montrose and Dimock will have the option to tap into the water line if they choose, Hanger said, adding that the line should boost the value of homes and businesses nearby.
Stark called the project an “unwarranted burden on the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”
“Given the science and our findings, we question how the secretary could spend the 12 million of taxpayer dollars,” he said in an interview. “He’s going to sue us to get it back. I’m not certain that a court will find in favor of the commonwealth.”
The public feud between Cabot and DEP was joined by a group of Susquehanna County residents and businesses called Enough, Already! last week, when the group bought an ad in the Mulligan’s Shopping Guide criticizing the waterline as a “terrible, big government decision” that is “expensive and unnecessary.”
The group asks residents to sign petitions, hosted at eight area businesses, telling PENNVEST to deny an application by DEP to fund the line.
Many of Cabot’s positions were echoed in the ad, which Cabot and members of Enough, Already! said the company did not place, write or pay for.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072
Study: Dense drilling impacting watersheds
http://standardspeaker.com/news/study-dense-drilling-impacting-watersheds-1.1050047
Study: Dense drilling impacting watersheds
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: October 17, 2010
A preliminary study of Susquehanna County watersheds has found that high-density Marcellus Shale gas drilling might degrade streams regardless of how carefully that drilling is done.
The tentative findings were released by researchers with the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia on Tuesday to demonstrate the need for studies of the long-term and cumulative impacts of deep-gas drilling on watersheds – an area largely devoid of research despite the rapid expansion of Marcellus Shale gas extraction in the state.
The preliminary study conducted this summer by academy researchers and a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania looked at small watersheds in and around Dimock Township, an epicenter of shale drilling in the region.
Scientists compared water quality and the presence of environmentally sensitive insects and salamanders in nine similar watersheds, three of which had no drilling, three some drilling and three a high density of drilling.
The watersheds with high-density drilling – defined as four to eight wells per square kilometer – had significant impacts on all measures compared to those with little or no drilling, the researchers found.
Water conductivity – a measure of the dissolved salts and metals in the stream and a potential indicator of the presence of gas drilling wastewater – was almost twice as high in the streams in high-density areas than those in areas with little or no drilling.
In the high-density sites, the number of both sensitive insects and salamanders were reduced by 25 percent.
The findings were first reported Tuesday by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“The data suggest, on one hand, that you could have a certain level of drilling and be OK,” said Dr. David Velinsky, vice president of the academy’s Patrick Center for Environmental Research. “But if you get to a watershed where you have tons of these well pads and the associated infrastructure, you’ll see some change in the ecosystem health.”
A spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group, said the organization does not comment “on preliminary, non-peer-reviewed, unreleased ‘studies’ that we have not even had the opportunity to examine.”
The spokesman, Travis Windle, referred to national and state studies that show a trend of high and increasing levels of total dissolved solids in streams “long before Marcellus production commenced just a few years ago.”
Total dissolved solids, or TDS, can come from many sources, including road salt and fertilizer. Velinsky said the researchers accounted for other sources of TDS, in part by comparing similar streams in the same region.
He also said the main purpose of the preliminary data is to demonstrate the need for funding for a more rigorous field experiment of between 30 to 40 watersheds. The researchers have applied to the state’s Growing Greener program to fund such a study.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
E.P.A. Official Seeks to Block West Virginia Mine
E.P.A. Official Seeks to Block West Virginia Mine
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: October 15, 2010
WASHINGTON — A top federal regulator has recommended revoking the permit for one of the nation’s largest planned mountaintop removal mining projects, saying it would be devastating to miles of West Virginia streams and the plant and animal life they support.
In a report submitted last month and made public on Friday, Shawn M. Garvin, the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional administrator for the Mid-Atlantic, said that Arch Coal’s proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County should be stopped because it “would likely have unacceptable adverse effects on wildlife.”
In 2007, the Bush administration approved the project, which would involve dynamiting the tops off mountains over 2,278 acres to get at the coal beneath while dumping the resulting rubble, known as spoil, into nearby valleys and streams. The Obama administration announced last year that it would review the decision, prompting the mine owner, Arch Coal, based in St. Louis, to sue.
In its review, the E.P.A. found that the project would bury more than seven miles of the Pigeonroost Branch and Oldhouse Branch streams under 110 million cubic yards of spoil, killing everything in them and sending downstream a flood of contaminants, toxic substances and life-choking algae.
Kim Link, a spokeswoman for Arch Coal, said in a statement that the company intended to “vigorously” challenge the recommendation.
“If the E.P.A. proceeds with its unlawful veto of the Spruce permit — as it appears determined to do — West Virginia’s economy and future tax base will suffer a serious blow,” Ms. Link said. She said the company planned to spend $250 million on the project, creating 250 jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues in a struggling region
“Beyond that, every business in the nation would be put on notice that any lawfully issued permit — Clean Water Act 404 or otherwise — can be revoked at any time according to the whims of the federal government,” she said, referring to the federal law under which the original permit was granted. “Clearly, such a development would have a chilling impact on future investment and job creation.”
The E.P.A. said the construction of waste ponds as well as other discharges from the Spruce No. 1 mining operation would spread pollutants beyond the boundaries of the mine itself, causing further damage to wildlife and the environment.
Arch Coal had proposed to construct new streams to replace the buried rivers, but the E.P.A. said they could not reproduce the numbers and variety of fish and plant life supported by the indigenous streams.
An E.P.A. spokesman said that Mr. Garvin’s recommendation was a step in a long process and that the agency’s Office of Water and the E.P.A. administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, would review his report and thousands of public comments before making the final decision, likely before the end of the year.
The Sierra Club applauded the E.P.A. for “staring down Big Coal and industry lobbyists.”
“This mother of all mountaintop removal coal mines would destroy thousands of acres of land, bury seven miles of streams and end a way of life for too many Appalachian families,” the Sierra Club’s executive director, Michael Brune, said in a statement.
Shale seminars being offered
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Shale_seminars_being_offered_10-14-2010.html
Posted: October 15, 2010
Shale seminars being offered
Times Leader staff
Educational seminars are being offered later this month in Williamsport and Mansfield to provide information to landowners in the Marcellus Shale region interested in leasing mineral rights to natural gas companies.
Three regional companies have teamed up to develop a two-hour presentation on the issues. A financial planner with Legacy Planning Partners, two attorneys with Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, and an environmental compliance technician with Brubacher Excavating will be presenters.
Both seminars will be on Oct. 28; The first, from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at Old Corner Hotel, 328 Court St., Williamsport; the second, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the North Manser Dining Room at Mansfield University, 39 College Place, Mansfield.
Registration starts a half hour beforehand Free breakfast and refreshments will be provided.
No biosolids dumping
http://www.tnonline.com/node/140749
No biosolids dumping
Reported on Thursday, October 7, 2010
By LIZ PINKEY TN Correspondent tneditor@tnonline.com
LIZ PINKEY/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS More than 70 residents and local officials packed into the Schuylkill Township building last night to protest a proposed biosolid dumping project.
Overflow Schuylkill Township crowd learns company will not pursue project
By LIZ PINKEY TN Correspondent tneditor@tnonline.com
It was standing room only at last night’s Schuylkill Township meeting. Approximately 65 residents filled the township hall, while another 10 spilled out into the hallway.
The group gathered to voice their opposition to a proposal to dump biosolids in the township. Also on hand to lend their support were state Rep. Jerry Knowles, East Brunswick Township Supervisor Jeff Faust, Tamaqua Mayor Christian Morrison, and Christine Verdier, state Sen. David Argall’s chief of staff.
The issue first came to light at last month’s meeting when representatives from Material Matters, an Elizabethtown-based consulting firm, presented a proposal to use biosolids for mine reclamation in the township.
Although residents came armed with “Stop the Dumping” signs and were clearly prepared to vehemently protest the use of biosolids, the point became moot when the supervisors received a fax from Material Matters just minutes before the start of the meeting, advising them that Material Matters would not be pursuing the project at this time.
A sigh of relief swept the audience, but many are aware that it is only a matter of time before the issue comes up again. Despite invitations to meet with Material Matters personnel and tour another facility where the biosolids have been utilized, Knowles said that he is not satisfied that the material is safe.
“I have a 2 1/2-year-old grandson and I would not want this stuff anywhere near him,” he said. “I don’t pretend to be a chemist, but I’m smart enough to know when something is bad.”
Verdier said that her primary concerns were not as Argall’s chief of staff, but as a resident of the immediate area.
“I’m your neighbor. I not only live here, I am active on the water authority. I walk the ball field often,” she said. “My relationship with the community was priority number one.” Verdier encouraged residents to stand united and behind the supervisors on the issue.
“This does not mean they will be gone forever,” she said of the company’s decision not to pursue the project.
Morrison also applauded the community’s determination to keep the sludge out of their township.
“The best thing you can do is what you’re doing right here,” he said. Faust, who as a supervisor in East Brunswick Township, has done battle with the sludge companies, encouraged the township to adopt an ordinance similar to the one that his township has in place. Faust related the three-year battle that East Brunswick waged against the state’s attorney general.
“We have been lobbying for three years to get legislation initiated to protect ourselves. If they’re not going to ban it, then it must come back to local control,” he said.
Township solicitor Michael Greek said that the township has an ordinance banning the dumping of biosolids in place; however, they are looking to update the ordinance based on the one that East Brunswick, that has withstood legal challenges. Supervisors Linda DeCindio and Charles Hosler agreed that the ordinance will be approved as quickly as possible.
Monroe, Pike not prime for gas drilling, says initial testing
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101004/NEWS/10040313
Monroe, Pike not prime for gas drilling, says initial testing
By Michael Sadowski
Pocono Record Writer
October 04, 2010 12:00 AM
When the Delaware River Basin Commission releases its regulations for companies that intend to drill Marcellus Shale in its watershed, the industry interest in the Poconos could rise.
But it might not be immediate, and it likely won’t be as widespread as it has been in other regions of the state, if preliminary geology is any indication.
David Yoxtheimer, an extension associate at the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, said the region is not yet particularly well-mapped for Marcellus Shale density. However, he said Marcellus Shale deposits in Monroe and Pike counties appear to be further below the surface and not as thick as the deposits in the burgeoning northern tier of the state.
“The drilling time and costs may be greater if they need to drill deeper,” Yoxtheimer said of natural gas companies, making the region a less attractive shale site.
Yoxtheimer said Marcellus Shale deposits are found about 5,000 to 7,000 feet under the surface in the northern tier of the state, like Susquehanna and Bradford counties and parts of Wayne County.
However, in Monroe and Pike counties — part of the DRBC’s authority — it’s found as deep as 8,000 feet under the surface.
Also, the most abundant Marcellus Shale areas of the county in the northern sections have a thickness of about 75 to 100 feet. The deposits in the southern areas of the county are less than 50 feet. In the state’s northern tier, deposits could run as thick as 250 feet.
“Which would put Monroe County on the outer fringe of Marcellus play,” Yoxtheimer said.
According to state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources geology figures, a very small piece of Barrett Township is the only area of the county with deposits that could be as thick as 100 feet.
Portions of Susquehanna, Wayne and Bradford counties have deposits as thick as 250 feet, according to state figures.
“Initially, (drilling) probably won’t be as extensive in Monroe as it will be in northern Pike or Wayne counties,” said state Rep. John Siptroth, D-189. “Monroe County has vast deposits; they’re just down much deeper. Companies are going to go where (they would make the smallest) investment.”
Keith Schmidt, spokesman for Newfield Exploration Co., said his company recently completed its third exploratory well drilling in Wayne County.
He said the company needs to evaluate data at those sites before there is any development elsewhere. “That will take time,” Schmidt said.
Pat Carullo, a founding member of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, said when shale drilling does come, Monroe County residents will know.
DCS was formed two years ago to protect water quality in the Delaware River, something the group believes will be tampered with if Marcellus Shale drilling is permitted to come to the region.
“They won’t have to look very far,” he said. “They’ll see hundreds and hundreds of new trucks on the road, they’ll see transient workers and camps set up — it will be easy to see.”
Cabot Oil & Gas Responds to Pennsylvania DEP Announcement
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cabot-oil-gas-responds-to-pennsylvania-dep-announcement-2010-10-01?reflink=MW_news_stmp
Press Release
Oct. 1, 2010, 1:10 p.m. EDT
Cabot Oil & Gas Responds to Pennsylvania DEP Announcement
PITTSBURGH, Oct 01, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (Cabot) today issued a statement reaffirming its position that its operations are safe, environmentally responsible and did not cause methane gas to migrate into Northeastern Pennsylvania water supplies. In addition, the company stated that though it does not agree with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) Secretary John Hanger’s assertion that the company is at fault, Cabot is committed to ensuring residents in an area of Pennsylvania deemed by the Secretary to have been “affected” continue to be offered and provided with clean drinking water.
Cabot’s statement is in response to a PaDEP press conference held yesterday in Dimock Township, Pa., during which the PaDEP announced its plans to proceed with a new water line from a neighboring community for the benefit of 18 or fewer homes. The PaDEP estimates the water line would cost about $11.8 million — or about $656,000 per home for which it would be built.
“Though methane was pre-existing in the area’s water prior to Cabot’s drilling, we, just like the PaDEP, want to help solve this problem,” said Dan O. Dinges, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our difference with the PaDEP is that the solution to methane in water has been venting water wells and putting them on water treatment devices, which cleans up the water quickly. We do not know why Secretary Hanger has changed his mind from endorsing separators to wanting this new pipeline that could take years and cost millions. As well, we have just drilled a new water well at one of the households that is making clean water, so we know that this is also a viable solution,” Dinges added.
In the Modified Consent Order dated April 15, 2010, Cabot attempted to satisfy the PaDEP demands by agreeing to plug certain wells and to offer methane separation systems to the litigants as the solution to the water problems, which Cabot strongly believes it did not cause. This was the preferred solution that PaDEP insisted upon and to which Cabot agreed. The order was clear in that the methane separation systems were the final solution; once Cabot made the offer to “affected” residents (which Cabot did), the company was deemed to have met the PaDEP requirement. The systems are now sitting in a Cabot equipment yard.
“Additionally, it was clear at the time that if we did not agree to this solution, an enforcement action was to follow completely shutting down the Company’s Pennsylvania operations; therefore, we were forced to accept this demand,” explained Dinges.
In the following months, the PaDEP told Cabot that it wanted more time in order to convince the litigants that the separation systems were the solution and requested Cabot agree to amend the order to remove the separator language. Cabot complied with this request, trusting the PaDEP’s assurance that separators were still the solution. After the plaintiffs’ lawyer publically stated in July that the plaintiffs’ preferred solution was a public water line from Montrose, this culminated in the PaDEP announcement in August that a new pipeline from Montrose is the solution, with no mention of the separators. Additionally, PaDEP disclosed that Cabot was expected to pay for the pipeline.
“The abrupt change in the PaDEP’s proposals — going from separators to building a multi-million dollar, multi-year pipeline project is an obvious attempt at placating the litigants and that is why we have taken our position,” stated Dinges.
Methane migration is a long standing issue in the area and throughout Pennsylvania and one that has been solved by the separation systems and by simply venting water well spaces. The allegation this morning that the water is unsafe has not been asserted by anyone. The only danger presented by methane is if it escapes into a confined space and that is solved as stated by a PaDEP publication, which instructs one to vent the water well to the atmosphere.
SOURCE: Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation
Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation
George E. Stark, Director, External Affairs
w: 412-249-3909
george.stark@cabotog.com