Cabot Oil & Gas’s Marcellus Drilling to Slow After PA Environment Officials Order Wells Closed

Submitted by neilzusman on Tue, 08/24/2010 - 05:23

Publication Type:

Web Article

Authors:

Lustgarten,Abrahm

Source:

ProPublica (2010)

URL:

http://www.propublica.org/feature/cabot-oil-and-gas-ordered-to-shut-down-problem-wells-and-pay-massive-fine-a

Keywords:

companies

Notes:

In its 2009 annual report, Cabot Oil and Gas named a field in Texas and another in Dimock, Pa., as its two largest fields of production. But yesterday the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered Cabot to plug at least three of its gas wells in Dimock and pay hefty fines after contaminating local drinking water.

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica - April 16, 2010.

More than 15 months after natural gas drilling contaminated drinking water in Dimock, Pa., state officials are ordering the company responsible -- Houston-based Cabot Oil and Gas -- to permanently shut down some of its wells, pay nearly a quarter million dollars in fines, and permanently provide drinking water to 14 affected families.

The order is among the most punitive in Pennsylvania's history and reflects officials' frustrations over a string of drilling-related accidents. The record of spills, leaks and water contamination in Pennsylvania -- several of which are tied to Cabot -- has spotlighted the environmental risks of drilling for natural gas across the country, jeopardized development of the massive Marcellus Shale resource deposit, and contributed significantly to actions by both Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to bolster federal oversight of drilling.

"The events at Dimock have been the black eye for the industry and have also been a black eye for Pennsylvania," the state's chief environment official, John Hanger, told ProPublica. "It's been an enormous headache. If Cabot doesn't get this message, the company has got an amazing hearing problem."