Residents of Dimock Township receive $4.1 million
Dimock, Pennsylvania Residents to Share $4.1 Million, Receive Gas Mitigation Systems Under DEP-Negotiated Settlement with Cabot Oil and Gas
Additional $500,000 to Reimburse DEP for Investigative Costs; DEP to Drop Montrose Water Line Plan Given Uncertain Prospects
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Residents of Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, who have had their drinking water supplies contaminated by natural gas will each receive a share of $4.1 million that Cabot Oil and Gas Co. will pay under a settlement negotiated by the Department of Environmental Protection and the company.
The settlement, which will enable the affected families to address their individual circumstances as they see fit, also binds Cabot to offer and pay to install whole-house gas mitigation devices in each of the 19 affected homes.
Cabot also will pay DEP $500,000 to offset the state’s expense of investigating the stray gas migration cases that have plagued Dimock residents for nearly two years.
“The 19 families in Dimock who have been living under very difficult conditions for far too long will receive a financial settlement that will allow them to address their own circumstances in their own way,” said DEP Secretary John Hanger, who explained that the amount paid to each family will equal two-times the value of their home, with a minimum payment of $50,000.
“In addition to the significant monetary component of this settlement, there is a requirement that Cabot continue to work with us to ensure that none of their wells allow gas to migrate,” Hanger noted.
DEP began investigating reports of stray gas in Dimock water wells in January 2009. A consent order and agreement signed in November 2009 required Cabot to install whole-house treatment systems in 14 homes, but residents found that action to be unsatisfactory.
The agreement was modified in April 2010 and DEP ordered Cabot to cap three wells believed to be the source of the migrating gas. DEP also suspended its review of Cabot’s pending permit applications for new drilling activities statewide and prohibited the company from drilling any new wells in a nine-square-mile area around Dimock.
In September, DEP announced that Pennsylvania American Water Co. would construct a 5.5-mile water main from its Lake Montrose water treatment plant to supply the affected Dimock residents with a reliable source of quality drinking water. In November, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, approved an $11.8 million grant and loan package for the project, with the commonwealth intending to recover the cost of the project from Cabot.
Given the opposition to the planned water line and the uncertain future the project faces, Hanger said the department would abandon its pursuit of the project.
“Our primary goal at the department has always been to ensure that the wells Cabot drilled in Dimock were safe and that they were not contaminating local private water supplies,” said Hanger. “We’ve made great progress in doing that. Since we initiated our enforcement actions, gas levels in a majority of the contaminated water wells have gone down significantly. This agreement lays the foundation for families to finally put an end to this ordeal.”
Media contact: Michael Smith, 717-787-1323
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dimock-pennsylvania-residents-to-share-41-million-receive-gas-mitigation-systems-under-dep-negotiated-settlement-with-cabot-oil-and-gas-111961099.html
Waste material OK’d for Hazleton mineland
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Waste_material_OK_rsquo_d_for_Hazleton_mineland_12-13-2010.html
Waste material OK’d for Hazleton mineland
A company spokesman sees job creation, but a critic fears a hazardous waste dump.
STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com
HAZLETON – The state on Monday approved the use of waste material from coal-fired electric generation plants as fill for some abandoned mineland in southern Luzerne County.
Edwardsville-based Hazleton Creek Properties began the controversial reclamation project five years ago at the 277-acre site bounded by state routes 93, 309 and 924.
Some have opposed using certain types of fill at the site, believing they could harm local water supplies.
Hazleton Creek Properties spokesman Frank Keel said the privately funded reclamation project is arguably the most vetted of its kind in the state. He is sure the application was thoroughly examined and reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection and looks forward to the project moving ahead.
“Not only will the HCP project provide much-needed jobs for Hazleton area residents, it will also safely reclaim one of the most dangerous abandoned mines in Pennsylvania and turn it into developable land that will spur the local economy and create still more local jobs,” Keel said.
Todd Wallace, acting director of DEP’s Bureau of Waste Management, said the work will improve public safety and the environment by eliminating about 1.2 miles of dangerous highwalls and reducing acid mine drainage.
Under the terms of the permit, Hazleton Creek Properties will use up to 550,000 cubic yards annually of a mixture of dry flue gas desulfurization waste and coal ash to reclaim 53 acres of the site.
Dry flue gas waste is produced when a lime powder spray mixes with sulfur dioxide emissions in the air pollution control systems of coal-fired power plants.
“This permit will allow Hazleton Creek Properties to begin reclaiming a portion of the site and return it to productive use,” Wallace said.
The project does have detractors.
Bill Lockwood, president of local environmental group Save Us From Future Environmental Risk (SUFFER), said he was not surprised by DEP’s approval, given the agency’s past approval of other site permits despite opposition from environmentalists and some elected officials such as state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township.
“It looks like instead of being the future site of an amphitheater, it’s going to be nothing but a hazardous waste dump,” Lockwood said.
A spokesman for Eachus, who has vehemently and vociferously opposed the use of dredged and other materials as fill from the project’s inception, did not return a call seeking comment.
This is the fourth permit regulating fill that DEP has issued. Since 2006, Hazleton Creek Properties has been using regulated fill material such as concrete, bricks, blocks and dredged material to build rail sidings and access roads, and to cap two old landfills at the site.
Two other permits issued this year authorize Hazleton Creek Properties to accept dredged materials, coal ash, and cement and lime furnace dust, as well as crushed construction and demolition material for use as fill.
Hazleton Creek Properties applied for the flue gas desulfurization permit in June. DEP held an informational meeting Aug. 31 and accepted public comment through the end of September.
Unanimous Vote for Stronger Well Construction Standards
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=15270&typeid=1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/18/2010
DEP Secretary Praises Unanimous Vote for Stronger Well Construction Standards to Prevent Gas Migration, Protect Public and Environment
Regulations Move to Attorney General for Approval
HARRISBURG — A set of new standards that will make natural gas wells safer were approved unanimously today on a vote of 5-0 by the state’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission, Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said today.
Hanger praised the IRRC vote, saying the new regulations will, among other things, impose more stringent construction standards on gas wells, making them less likely to allow natural gas to escape and contaminate water supplies or cause safety concerns.
The final-form regulations now go to the state Office of Attorney General for final review and approval. The regulations were deemed approved by the House and Senate Environmental Resources and Energy committees.
“When gas migrates from a poorly constructed gas well through the ground, it can contaminate water supplies or build up to explosive levels in water wells or even homes,” said Hanger. “These strong rules will eliminate or significantly reduce the problem of gas migration from poorly designed or constructed gas wells, as long as the rules are followed or enforced.”
Hanger added that the new rules also will require drillers to report production and waste volumes electronically and to submit a detailed report of the chemicals they use in the hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – process. In addition to these important provisions, operators will be required to keep a list of emergency contact phone numbers at the well site and follow a new set of instructions on what steps to take in the event of a gas migration incident.
The regulations also include provisions clarifying how and when blow-out prevention equipment is to be installed and operated.
The Environmental Quality Board approved the regulations on a final vote of 15-1 in October, after receiving nearly 2,000 public comments during the comment period and a series of five public hearings. A majority of the comments supported the new regulations.
In drafting the regulations, DEP also met with numerous oil and gas operators, industry groups and environmental groups to discuss the regulations in detail.
The department used the public’s input to make several important changes to the regulations, which further improved the well-design requirements to prevent gas migration incidents, including:
· A provision that requires operators to have a pressure barrier plan to minimize well control events;
· A provision that requires operators to condition the wellbore to ensure an adequate bond between the cement, casing and the formation;
· Provisions that require the use of centralizers to ensure casings are properly positioned in the wellbore; and
· A provision that improves the quality of the cement placed in the casing that protects fresh groundwater.
Once all reviews and approvals are obtained, the regulations will go into effect upon publication in the PA Bulletin.
For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa,us, and select “Public Participation.”
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
CONTACT:
John Repetz, Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
Strengthened oil and gas regulations to be considered by a state review board
http://citizensvoice.com/news/new-rules-to-plumb-water-problems-1.1063833
New rules to plumb water problems
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: November 15, 2010
Strengthened oil and gas regulations to be considered by a state review board this week will help answer an increasingly urgent question in the era of Marcellus Shale exploration: how many water supplies have been impacted by drilling activities?
Right now, no one is keeping a complete count.
The Oil and Gas Act does not require drillers to notify state regulators when landowners alert them that drinking water has been harmed by the companies’ operations.
Under current law, the Department of Environmental Protection must look into cases of potential drinking water pollution only when it is asked to investigate a problem by a landowner.
The department also does not track how often gas drillers voluntarily replace drinking water supplies, either temporarily or permanently.
“Often, homeowners and drillers work out agreements without needing the department’s assistance,” DEP spokesman Tom Rathbun said. “We get involved when we are notified of a problem, but we are not made aware of every case.”
A revised Oil and Gas Act will change that. When the new regulations go into effect, likely in January if they pass all reviews, drillers will have to notify the department within 24 hours of receiving a complaint.
An earlier draft of the revisions, which gave drillers 10 days to notify the department of a complaint, was changed after commentators on the regulations argued that was not quick enough.
The change from no notification to nearly instantaneous notification signals an increasing awareness of how often drinking water complaints go uncounted at a time when everyone from farmers to the federal government is looking for more complete information on the short- and long-term impacts of gas drilling on water resources.
Without the mandatory disclosure, critics say, voluntary arrangements can take advantage of the fact that there are disincentives for landowners to ask DEP to intervene: People may feel intimidated about pushing their complaints or fear causing any disruption to the gas companies that pay them royalties.
On some occasions gas companies, even when working side-by-side with regulators to address water complaints, have made clear efforts to keep voluntary water replacement arrangements out of the public eye.
How many problems?
There is a clear gap between the relatively small number of state orders for drillers to provide homes with replacement water and the visible proliferation of water tanks (called buffaloes), well vents, new wells, treatment systems and bottled water being delivered or installed in gas drilling regions.
After a records search in June 2009, DEP reported that there had been fewer than 80 cases of groundwater contamination caused by oil and gas drilling in the state in over 15 years, as measured by the number of official orders the agency sent to drillers to permanently restore or replace damaged water supplies.
With 32,000 oil and gas wells drilled within that time span, that amounts to a 0.25 percent incident rate – a track record the industry frequently touts.
But unofficial counts put the number of disturbed water supplies much higher.
Daniel Farnham, an environmental engineer who has tested more than 2,000 water wells in Northeastern and Northcentral Pennsylvania where Marcellus Shale drilling is under way, estimates as many as 50 homes in Bradford County alone are currently getting replacement water supplies provided by gas companies.
In Susquehanna County, Dimock Township offers a vivid example of the gap between the officially determined size of the problem and the true number of drinking water supplies that have been replaced.
DEP has ordered Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. to replace 18 water supplies – connected to 19 homes – that were tainted with methane the agency traced to faulty Cabot Marcellus Shale gas wells, a claim the company refutes.
But according to Cabot documentation provided to the department as part of the order, at least 36 Dimock residences have at some point had water supplies replaced or remediated by Cabot at least temporarily.
At the time Cabot provided DEP with its water replacement list, in June, the company had drilled 89 natural gas wells in and around Dimock – meaning Cabot remedied or replaced a water supply, on average, for more than one in every three gas well it drilled.
Cabot spokesman George Stark said the numbers reflect Cabot’s policy of investigating all water supply complaints and “when we see the immediate need” providing replacement water during an investigation. Some complaints may turn out to be unfounded, unrelated to gas drilling, or temporary disruptions that clear up on their own, he said.
Cabot, the most active driller in Susquehanna County, has removed nine homes from the list of 36 receiving water, Stark said. The company drilled one replacement water well and reconditioned three others. Five homes accepted filtration systems that are in the process of being installed.
Chesapeake Energy, the most active driller in Bradford County, did not answer a request to disclose the number of water supplies it has replaced or remediated.
‘Waiting to blow me up’
Most drillers and many landowners say voluntary arrangements for solving residential water problems are amicable, even generous.
Gary Lopez, a Dimock resident, wrote grateful letters to area newspapers thanking Cabot “for solving my water problems” by first delivering replacement water then drilling a new well after his old well “tested high for methane and barium.”
In the worst cases, though, homeowners have found gas company representatives bullying even as they appear to be helping to fix the problem.
Sherry Vargson noticed her faucets began to sputter and blow what seemed like air after Chesapeake Energy performed what workers told her was a maintenance procedure on the gas wells yards from her Granville Summit home in June.
A company contractor tested the head space in her water well and found elevated levels of methane. DEP tests a month later found the flammable gas present in her water supply at 56.3 mg/L – twice the level at which water can no longer hold the gas and releases it into the atmosphere or enclosed spaces, creating a risk of explosion.
Because pre-drilling water tests “did not find the presence of the methane gas,” DEP found that the tests indicated that gas well drilling caused the change in the water supply.
Chesapeake has provided the Vargsons with bottled water since the day in June when the company detected the gas, but despite DEP recommendations that the company install a vent stack on the well to help keep the gas from concentrating, the well is still not vented.
Instead, Chesapeake presented Vargson with an agreement in July which required the family to release the company from all claims and liabilities related to the water up until that date in exchange for installing a vent “as a precautionary measure.”
The agreement, which the Vargsons refused to sign in its original form, also included a nondisclosure clause meant to bar the family from discussing the agreement, its terms or Chesapeake’s role in providing a vent.
In a statement, Chesapeake’s senior director for corporate development, Brian Grove, said the company does not believe its activities impacted the Vargson water well, which he said was “equipped with a venting cap predating our operations” because of “pre-existing methane.” The company’s pre- and post-drilling water tests show the water “virtually unchanged,” he said – a position at odds with DEP findings reported Sept. 2.
Whenever a question is raised about any water supply, Grove said, the company “routinely provides a temporary replacement source of water as a courtesy and notifies the DEP immediately while we begin to investigate” – a process that “most often” finds that the problem is not related to drilling activity, he added.
The purpose of the legal agreements is to grant the company permission “to access the property and provide needed equipment or services” in cases where a lot of activity will be required in or near a home.
“Confidentiality clauses are common in these and many other types of agreements,” he said.
Vargson, who now sleeps with three windows open, is frustrated that the DEP has not enforced its finding linking gas drilling to her water problems, which she is not afraid to discuss.
Last week, she held a match to the sputtering water running from her kitchen faucet and a flame ran up the stream to the spout.
“All of that is aerating in here,” she said, “pocketing in the house, waiting to blow me up.”
About 20 miles across Bradford County, near Spring Lake, two Chesapeake-provided water buffaloes sit in the yard behind the over 100-year-old farmhouse owned by Jacqueline Place.
On April 1, nearly two weeks after the water to Place’s home turned cloudy then dark brown and her sister’s cows refused to drink it, a DEP inspector and Chesapeake contractors came to test the water. Chesapeake disconnected the well, filled the water buffaloes and plumbed them into the home – a project that took hours.
At around 10 p.m., the last Chesapeake contractor handed Place a document and told her he would not flip the switch on the system he had just installed unless she signed it. According to her sister, Roslyn Bohlander, the contractor told Place the document was “nothing” important and, when pressed, told her it was a non-disclosure agreement.
Place would not acknowledge the document or release it to Times-Shamrock newspapers.
“It was such a crisis point,” Bohlander said. In the previous days, Place and her son had not used the water to shower, cook or clean dishes or clothes. They took sponge baths, Bohlander said, and the cows, “they were just drinking enough to live.”
DEP and private tests have since shown elevated levels of methane and metals in the water.
“They did all they had done to make it not be a bad situation,” she said, “but then they said you can’t have this water.”
Grove said Chesapeake does not believe its operations have affected the water supply and “have not caused any reduction of quality of the water in the well.
“Repeated analyses have not detected any constituents related to natural gas drilling and production,” he said.
The company continues to provide replacement water to the Places and Bohlanders, like the Vargsons “as a courtesy,” he said, “while we work with the DEP and residents to bring closure to these matters.”
Chesapeake has told the family on three occasions, each with between 24 and 48 hours notice, that it planned to take away the buffaloes and stop the water deliveries. DEP officials have told the family they cannot stop Chesapeake from taking the water because they did not order the company to provide the water in the first place, Place said.
Bohlander said the price of a buffalo and frequent water deliveries for the cows and the home is “unaffordable.”
“We no longer have a plan B,” she said.
llegere@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
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
Public Water Lines to Provide Safe, Permanent Water Supply
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=14522&typeid=1
09/30/2010
Public Water Lines to Provide Safe, Permanent Water Supply to Susquehanna County Residents Impacted by Natural Gas Migration
Pennsylvania American Water to Extend Water Main from Montrose and Establish Local Treatment and Distribution System
DIMOCK TOWNSHIP, SUSQUEHANNA CO. —
Residents of Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, will receive public water service from Pennsylvania American Water to replace private wells contaminated with methane gas migrating from poorly constructed natural gas wells.
Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said the state and the water company will proceed with construction of the water line and will seek to recover the cost of the project from Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., whose wells are responsible for the gas migration problems in the township.
“The residents of Dimock have waited long enough for Cabot to provide a permanent solution to the gas migration issues that have plagued this community’s water supplies,” Hanger said. “Today, we are announcing an agreement with Pennsylvania American Water Company to extend public water lines from Montrose and provide a safe, dependable water supply to residents here.”
Gas migration problems in Dimock first became evident when a private water well exploded on Jan. 1, 2009. A DEP investigation revealed that methane gas from a shallow formation had been disturbed and migrated through poorly constructed wells Cabot built while drilling for the much deeper Marcellus Shale formation.
On April 15, 2010, the department ordered Cabot to plug three operating natural gas wells in the township and take remedial action on a fourth well to address gas migration that had contaminated 14 water supplies. In addition, DEP fined Cabot $240,000 and ordered the company to install permanent treatment systems in 14 homes within 30 days. Cabot Oil & Gas also was prohibited from drilling any new wells in a nine-square-mile area around Dimock until April 2011.
On Sept. 14, DEP determined that three additional water supplies serving four residences had been contaminated by migrating gas migration caused by Cabot’s drilling activities.
“The problems in Dimock were caused by Cabot’s failure to construct their natural gas wells properly, and we are holding them responsible for the damage caused by these wells,” Hanger said. “We intend to proceed with construction of a public water system for the Dimock area and will seek recovery of costs from Cabot Oil & Gas.”
Pennsylvania American Water Company will construct a new, 5.5-mile water main from the company’s Lake Montrose water treatment plant south along Route 29 to Dimock and install approximately seven miles of distribution line to provide water service to at least 18 homes. The solution to the drinking water needs in Dimock will also make this basic resource accessible to other residents along Route 29 not currently served by public water. The water company will also install pressure regulating stations and a new treatment facility to serve the community.
The waterline extension and associated facilities is estimated to cost $11.8 million.
“Pennsylvania American has proven itself to be a reliable source of quality drinking water to more than two million Pennsylvanians,” said Hanger. “I am disappointed that Cabot has chosen not to embrace this opportunity to put these events behind us and allow everyone involved in this difficult matter to move forward.”
For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
09/30/2010
CONTACT:
John Repetz
717-787-1323
Cabot and DEP clash over Dimock water contamination
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/cabot-and-dep-clash-over-dimock-water-contamination-1.1035426
Cabot and DEP clash over Dimock water contamination
by laura legere (staff writer)
Published: September 29, 2010
A clash between the state’s environmental regulators and gas driller Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. over the cause and solution for contaminated water wells in Dimock Twp. escalated on Tuesday, with the Cabot CEO accusing the Department of Environmental Protection of waging “a public war against us.”
The late- day salvo – in the form of a press release and 29-page letter from Cabot CEO Dan O. Dinges to DEP Secretary John Hanger – came hours after Mr. Hanger described as “very unfortunate and false” an advertisement by Cabot published Tuesday morning in area newspapers that criticized his department and its plan for replacing the contaminated private water supplies in Dimock.
Mr. Hanger could not be reached on Tuesday night to respond to Cabot’s letter.
In the advertisement published in The Times-Tribune and the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Cabot challenged a state plan to compel the natural gas driller to replace the contaminated wells with an estimated 7-mile-long, $10.5 million public water line from Montrose, calling the proposal “unreasonable, unprecedented and … unfair.”
An official announcement of the water replacement plan will be made by Mr. Hanger on Thursday along Carter Road in Dimock, where the department found that Cabot contaminated 14 water wells with methane during its Marcellus Shale drilling operations.
Mr. Hanger said Tuesday he would not detail the plan, which he will explain on Thursday, but he said he was “disappointed” in Cabot’s statements in the ad.
“Cabot would do better spending its money on fixing the problems it caused than buying ads,” he said. “Frankly, the families in Dimock and the people of Pennsylvania deserve much better.”
Mr. Hanger found “particularly false” Cabot’s statement that the department has a “concerning” tendency “to communicate through the media instead of with the Company.”
The secretary said he and his senior team have had weekly calls with Mr. Dinges and other company leaders about the water replacement issue since April. When Mr. Dinges was on vacation and unreachable by satellite phone during a crucial period in the discussions, Mr. Hanger and his advisers communicated with a Cabot team “fully about all these matters” in his absence, Mr. Hanger said.
DEP suspended portions of Cabot’s extensive Marcellus Shale operations in Susquehanna County in April after it found that 14 of the company’s gas wells in Dimock were improperly constructed or overpressured and were causing methane to seep into water wells.
The company has paid more than $360,000 in fines and was ordered to fix the affected water supplies, but at least 11 of the 14 families refused Cabot’s proposed solution – methane elimination systems to be installed in each of the homes – saying the systems are inadequate to address the problems.
DEP is also conducting comprehensive testing of the well water in 34 homes in the Dimock area for a wide range of contaminants, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and glycol, after a private testing firm hired by residents detected many of those chemicals in their water, including some at levels above federal drinking water standards.
In its ad on Tuesday, Cabot said it does not believe it caused the contamination and “intends to fight these allegations through its scientific findings.”
It also criticized the logic of DEP’s water replacement plan.
“No private business model would support such an investment (in excess of $10 million) for so few users,” Mr. Dinges wrote in the ad. He said the water line is being planned without any study of the economic viability of the project, its physical impact on the route and how long it will take to install.
In the press release and letter distributed late in the day, Mr. Dinges went further with his criticisms, calling the department’s behavior toward Cabot “arbitrary and unreasonable” and saying that the department has ignored evidence “proving (Cabot) is not responsible for methane gas migration into local water wells … preferring instead to base unprecedented and costly mandates on biased and unscientific opinions and accounts.”
In support of its position, the company said it drilled a new water well for a resident who lives in the 9-square-mile area identified by the department as affected by the methane contamination and did not detect any gas in that water, Cabot spokesman George Stark said.
In its press release, the company also cites local emergency response officials who said they found no evidence that an explosion blasted a concrete slab off a resident’s water well on Jan. 1, 2009 – the incident that first spurred the department’s investigation into methane migration.
Asked what else might have broken and tossed aside the slab, Mr. Stark said, “We don’t have a theory as to how or why. What we do have is, when you have an explosion, there are certain tell-tale signs. And we didn’t see any of those.”
The attorney for Dimock families who have sued Cabot for damaging their water, property and health could not be reached Tuesday evening after Cabot released its letter.
In a statement released earlier in the day, attorney Leslie Lewis said she applauded the “courage and decisiveness” shown by the governor and Mr. Hanger on the water replacement issue and called the state’s plan to provide centrally sourced water to the residents “a considered and necessary one.”
She also criticized Cabot’s advertisement Tuesday, calling it “just another example of Cabot’s cynical attempts to divide the community, pitting neighbor against neighbor on the gas development issue.”
“The issue is whether Cabot has contaminated residents’ well water by their operations,” she said. “The unequivocal finding of the DEP and PA government is ‘yes’.”
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com