.... In November 2009, fifteen families in Dimock filed a lawsuit against Cabot Oil and Gas, alleging the company allowed methane and metals to seep into drinking water wells, failed to uphold terms of its contracts with landowners, and acted fraudulently when it said that the drilling process, including the chemicals used in the underground manipulation process called hydraulic fracturing, could not contaminate groundwater and posed no harm to the people who live there. The complaint says residents have suffered neurological, gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms from exposure to tainted water. They also say they have had blood test results consistent with exposure to heavy metals. The lawsuit accuses Cabot of negligence and says it has failed to restore residential water supplies disrupted by gas drilling. Previously, Dimock had experienced several contamination incidents. In winter 2008, drinking water in several area homes was found to contain heavy metals and methane gas that state officials determined leaked underground from Cabot wells. In spring 2008, Cabot was fined for several other spills, including an 800-gallon diesel spill from a truck that overturned. Under Gov. Ed Rendell, the DEP found Cabots activities to be at fault for contamination and the DEP was going to force Cabot to pay for construction of a water pipeline to provide replacement water for eleven Dimock families. When Tom Corbett - who received more than $1 million from the gas industry during his campaign - took over as governor in 2011, the plans for the water pipeline were scrapped. Cabot had been trucking water to Dimock’s residents, but stopped in November 2011 when a judge declined to order the company to continue deliveries. Under pressure, the Environmental Protection Agency started delivering water supplies in 2012, and organizations and nearby residents organized water caravans to deliver water to an additional seven families. https://youtube/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4LBjSXWQRV8 sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pennsylvania_and_fracking
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 00:52:37 +0000