Gas in wells in Dimock Twp. PA

January 22nd, 2009

A while back, in Dimock, PA, a woman’s well blew up just a little down the road from where they were doing gas drilling… funny how that works.  Now it seems they’re admitting a relationship between the two, and are giving people water, those who took their water, shook it up, and LIT IT!  They “just felt unsafe,” yeah, I guess…  It seems it’s taking a LONG time for anything to happen here.

“Dimock residents, meanwhile, are learning what it’s like to live over the middle of a developing natural gas field.”

From: Wells tested, cause of explosion sought in gas exploration in Susquehanna County

Yeah, just a bit of an understatement…

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Breaking news: Gas mining company provides water after methane found in private wells

By Laura Legere
STAFF WRITER

Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009 12:47 PM EST

DIMOCK TWP. — Cabot Oil and Gas installed fresh water supplies this week at four residences where methane has been found in private water wells.

The company, which is extracting gas from the Marcellus Shale in the region, also hired a water well installer to inspect wells at two additional residences today where the state Department of Environmental Protection has found a “significant presence” of gas, a Cabot spokesman said.

The actions come as part of an ongoing investigation into the cause of an explosion that blew apart a concrete slab above a water well in a township resident’s front yard on Jan. 1. In the weeks since the blast, DEP, Cabot and the local fire department have inspected about a dozen homes for the presence of gas and have taken samples from at least six wells that indicated gas in vapor form had gathered in the well casings. So far, no gas has been discovered in homes or basements.

The Cabot spokesman, Kenneth Komoroski, said the company decided to install temporary water tanks at the four homes after hearing reports that residents were able to light gas vapors– causing a “puff of flame”– after they captured, shook, then uncapped a bottle of their well water.

“The residents all had a concern about using the water and just felt unsafe, so we decided to supply them with a water supply while we investigate the situation,” he said.

The Department of Environmental Protection has not determined the provenance of the gas in the water wells, but Mr. Komoroski said “Cabot is not ruling out the possibility that its activities could have caused or contributed to the presence of gas in the water supply.”

DEP is currently analyzing laboratory results for both water and gas samples taken by department inspectors this month, DEP spokesman Mark Carmon said this week. The analysis may reveal the geology where the gas originated.

Mr. Komoroski said Cabot has hired a hydro-geologist to help evaluate how gas might be migrating into the water supply. Cabot crews are also working on a gas well site today near the four affected homes on Carter Road “to evaluate whether or not that’s a pathway,” Mr. Komoroski said.

“We felt it best to take a step back and take a comprehensive look,” he said.

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Energy
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