ABC: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency abruptly changed its mind Saturday about delivering fresh water to residents of a northeastern Pennsylvania village where residential wells were found to be tainted by a natural gas drilling operation.
Only 24 hours after promising them water, EPA officials informed residents of Dimock that a tanker truck wouldn't be coming after all. The about-face left residents furious, confused and let down — and, once again, scrambling for water for bathing, washing dishes and flushing toilets.
Agency officials would not explain why they reneged on their promise, or say whether water would be delivered at some point.
'We are actively filling information gaps and determining next steps in Dimock. We have made no decision at this time to provide water,' EPA spokeswoman Betsaida Alcantara said in an email to The Associated Press.
It's not clear how many wells in the rural community of Dimock Township were affected by the drilling. The state has found that at least 18 residential water wells were polluted.
Eleven families who sued Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. expected water from the EPA to arrive either Friday or Saturday. They say they have been without a reliable source of water since Cabot won permission from state environmental regulators to halt deliveries more than a month ago.
Read the remainder of the article...
Showing posts with label lawsuits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lawsuits. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
As Gas Drilling Spreads, Towns Stand Ground Over Control
NYT-- "As energy companies move to drill in densely populated areas from Pennsylvania to Texas, battles are breaking out over who will have the final say in managing the shale gas boom. The fight, which pits towns and cities against energy companies and states eager for growth, has raised a fundamental question about the role of local government: How much authority should communities have over the use of their land?
The battle is playing out in Pennsylvania as the Republican-controlled legislature considers bills that would in their current form sharply limit a community’s right to control where gas companies can operate on private property. Critics say the final bill could vastly weaken local zoning powers and give industry the upper hand in exchange for a new tax, which municipalities badly need.
The legislation has struck a nerve in a state where land control has long been considered quintessentially local.
'I’m a conservative Republican, and this goes against all my principles,' said Brian Coppola, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Robinson Township, in Washington County west of Pittsburgh. The pending legislation, he said, 'is an enormous land grab on the part of the industry.' He added, 'Our property rights are being trampled.'"
Read the remainder of the article...
The battle is playing out in Pennsylvania as the Republican-controlled legislature considers bills that would in their current form sharply limit a community’s right to control where gas companies can operate on private property. Critics say the final bill could vastly weaken local zoning powers and give industry the upper hand in exchange for a new tax, which municipalities badly need.
The legislation has struck a nerve in a state where land control has long been considered quintessentially local.
'I’m a conservative Republican, and this goes against all my principles,' said Brian Coppola, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Robinson Township, in Washington County west of Pittsburgh. The pending legislation, he said, 'is an enormous land grab on the part of the industry.' He added, 'Our property rights are being trampled.'"
Read the remainder of the article...
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Lowball gas leases haunt Pennsylvania Landowners
Stuck in a lease worth $2 an acre when leases are currently going for thousands per acre? You'll want to read this. The following article appeared today on the Corning Leader's website:
Forksville, Pa. --A few short years after agreeing to lease their land to a natural gas company for $2 an acre, Dave and Karen Beinlich could do little but watch, and wait, as an overnight drilling boom turned fellow Pennsylvania landowners into millionaires.
While other landowners were striking increasingly lucrative deals with energy companies, the northern Pennsylvania couple’s suddenly valuable 117-acre parcel netted them $234 per year. And there wasn’t a thing they could do about it.
The Beinlichs are among thousands of residents living atop the gas-rich Marcellus Shale who signed lowball leases in the years leading up to the boom in Pennsylvania. In those early days a half-decade ago, virtually no layperson had even heard of the rock formation, let alone knew that drillers had found a way to access the huge reservoir of natural gas locked inside it.
An untold number of industry-friendly agreements are now approaching their expiration dates. But landowners who expected to sign new leases — and reap windfalls of thousands of dollars an acre — are facing the reality that energy companies with billion-dollar investments in the Marcellus are not about to let their prime acreage slip away.
As landowners in Ohio and New York prepare for their own round of Marcellus leasing, high-stakes battles are developing in law offices and courtrooms throughout Pennsylvania. Landowners who signed early for pittances are trying to get out of their leases, and gas companies are trying just as hard to keep them shackled to the original terms. In some cases, landowners say they were fraudulently induced into signing by high-pressure sales agents known in the industry as landmen. In others, residents contend that companies failed to abide by the lease or act in good faith.
“There’s just too much money at stake — between a $3 lease and a $7,500 lease — for the operators to walk away from,” said Robert Jones, an attorney in Endicott, N.Y., who represented a group of landowners who sued successfully in federal court to shed their old leases. “They’re desperate to hold on to them like the landowners are desperate to get rid of them.”
Click HERE to read the remainder of the article .
Forksville, Pa. --A few short years after agreeing to lease their land to a natural gas company for $2 an acre, Dave and Karen Beinlich could do little but watch, and wait, as an overnight drilling boom turned fellow Pennsylvania landowners into millionaires.
While other landowners were striking increasingly lucrative deals with energy companies, the northern Pennsylvania couple’s suddenly valuable 117-acre parcel netted them $234 per year. And there wasn’t a thing they could do about it.
The Beinlichs are among thousands of residents living atop the gas-rich Marcellus Shale who signed lowball leases in the years leading up to the boom in Pennsylvania. In those early days a half-decade ago, virtually no layperson had even heard of the rock formation, let alone knew that drillers had found a way to access the huge reservoir of natural gas locked inside it.
An untold number of industry-friendly agreements are now approaching their expiration dates. But landowners who expected to sign new leases — and reap windfalls of thousands of dollars an acre — are facing the reality that energy companies with billion-dollar investments in the Marcellus are not about to let their prime acreage slip away.
As landowners in Ohio and New York prepare for their own round of Marcellus leasing, high-stakes battles are developing in law offices and courtrooms throughout Pennsylvania. Landowners who signed early for pittances are trying to get out of their leases, and gas companies are trying just as hard to keep them shackled to the original terms. In some cases, landowners say they were fraudulently induced into signing by high-pressure sales agents known in the industry as landmen. In others, residents contend that companies failed to abide by the lease or act in good faith.
“There’s just too much money at stake — between a $3 lease and a $7,500 lease — for the operators to walk away from,” said Robert Jones, an attorney in Endicott, N.Y., who represented a group of landowners who sued successfully in federal court to shed their old leases. “They’re desperate to hold on to them like the landowners are desperate to get rid of them.”
Click HERE to read the remainder of the article .
Thursday, July 21, 2011
PennFuture files federal lawsuit against Marcellus Shale driller Ultra Resources, Inc for violations of federal and state air pollution laws
PRESS RELEASE: Harrisburg, PA (July 21, 2011) – Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) filed a lawsuit today in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Ultra Resources, Inc., for air pollution at its Marcellus Shale drilling sites, which violates the federal Clean Air Act, Pennsylvania’s State Implementation Plan (the “Pennsylvania SIP”), and Pennsylvania’s New Source Review regulations. PennFuture also filed a formal request with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for all records of air pollution at drilling sites throughout the Commonwealth.
“Ultra’s drilling operations in Tioga and Potter counties are emitting dangerous and illegal air pollution and operating without the required permits,” said Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of PennFuture. “Unless gas drillers operating in Pennsylvania control the air pollution from their operations, air quality will deteriorate, putting public health at risk.
“The noxious air pollution is widespread in the two county area of the ‘Marshlands Play,’” continued Jarrett. “The operations include natural gas wells, pipelines, compressor stations, and other equipment, all of which are connected by pipeline to a Metering and Regulation Station, also constructed and operated by Ultra, where the gas produced at Ultra’s wells is adjusted for pressure, measured, and delivered to an interstate pipeline. Ultra constructed the operations without the necessary permits – specifically a permit required by Pennsylvania’s New Source Review (NSR) regulations, and without achieving the lowest achievable emissions rate or purchasing emissions reductions credits. The company is emitting large amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the air, creating serious health risks for anyone living downwind from the operations.
“The laws were passed for a reason – to protect the health of our families,” continued Jarrett. “According to the United States EPA, even short-term NOx exposures, ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours, cause adverse respiratory effects including airway inflammation in healthy people and increased respiratory symptoms in people with asthma. And this air pollution also leads to more fine particle pollution, which can cause heart attacks and other deadly illnesses.
“But this appears to be business as usual for many drillers,” continued Jarrett. “A study out of Fort Worth (TX) recently showed that the NOx pollution just from the average compressor engine there is about 60 tons per year. And with drilling going like gangbusters here in Pennsylvania, that same kind of pollution from all the operations would create serious public health problems, and destroy any ability of Pennsylvania to meet air quality standards. We’ve also seen the formerly pristine air in Wyoming now more dangerous than that in Los Angeles, thanks to massive drilling. We need to stop this problem here and now.
“We are also asking DEP to open the books on its assessment of air pollution at other drilling operations throughout the Commonwealth,” said Jarrett. “We cannot and will not allow the drillers to operate without meeting our clean air rules.”
Copies of the PennFuture court filing and Right to Know request are available for download.
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization, founded in 1998. PennFuture's activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state and federal courts, advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level, public education and assisting citizens in public advocacy.
Working from the premise that “Every environmental victory grows the economy,” PennFuture has successfully advocated for landmark environmental legislation, including passage of the largest-ever environmental funding bond, public investment in green energy and energy savings programs, passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, adoption of the Clean Vehicles Program and adoption of a regulation that protects Pennsylvania’s babies by restricting mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. PennFuture has staff throughout the state, in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Wilkes-Barre. The Philadelphia Inquirer called PennFuture the “state’s leading environmental advocacy organization,” and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named the organization one of the ten most influential groups on the issue of natural gas drilling.”
To view the entire press release or for more information on PennFuture, click HERE.
“Ultra’s drilling operations in Tioga and Potter counties are emitting dangerous and illegal air pollution and operating without the required permits,” said Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of PennFuture. “Unless gas drillers operating in Pennsylvania control the air pollution from their operations, air quality will deteriorate, putting public health at risk.
“The noxious air pollution is widespread in the two county area of the ‘Marshlands Play,’” continued Jarrett. “The operations include natural gas wells, pipelines, compressor stations, and other equipment, all of which are connected by pipeline to a Metering and Regulation Station, also constructed and operated by Ultra, where the gas produced at Ultra’s wells is adjusted for pressure, measured, and delivered to an interstate pipeline. Ultra constructed the operations without the necessary permits – specifically a permit required by Pennsylvania’s New Source Review (NSR) regulations, and without achieving the lowest achievable emissions rate or purchasing emissions reductions credits. The company is emitting large amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the air, creating serious health risks for anyone living downwind from the operations.
“The laws were passed for a reason – to protect the health of our families,” continued Jarrett. “According to the United States EPA, even short-term NOx exposures, ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours, cause adverse respiratory effects including airway inflammation in healthy people and increased respiratory symptoms in people with asthma. And this air pollution also leads to more fine particle pollution, which can cause heart attacks and other deadly illnesses.
“But this appears to be business as usual for many drillers,” continued Jarrett. “A study out of Fort Worth (TX) recently showed that the NOx pollution just from the average compressor engine there is about 60 tons per year. And with drilling going like gangbusters here in Pennsylvania, that same kind of pollution from all the operations would create serious public health problems, and destroy any ability of Pennsylvania to meet air quality standards. We’ve also seen the formerly pristine air in Wyoming now more dangerous than that in Los Angeles, thanks to massive drilling. We need to stop this problem here and now.
“We are also asking DEP to open the books on its assessment of air pollution at other drilling operations throughout the Commonwealth,” said Jarrett. “We cannot and will not allow the drillers to operate without meeting our clean air rules.”
Copies of the PennFuture court filing and Right to Know request are available for download.
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization, founded in 1998. PennFuture's activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state and federal courts, advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level, public education and assisting citizens in public advocacy.
Working from the premise that “Every environmental victory grows the economy,” PennFuture has successfully advocated for landmark environmental legislation, including passage of the largest-ever environmental funding bond, public investment in green energy and energy savings programs, passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, adoption of the Clean Vehicles Program and adoption of a regulation that protects Pennsylvania’s babies by restricting mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. PennFuture has staff throughout the state, in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Wilkes-Barre. The Philadelphia Inquirer called PennFuture the “state’s leading environmental advocacy organization,” and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named the organization one of the ten most influential groups on the issue of natural gas drilling.”
To view the entire press release or for more information on PennFuture, click HERE.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Landowners might have more options than previously thought.
For those landowers who signed over mineral rights a decade or more ago and thought they had no recourse when those leases were extended at the original rates of mere dollars per acre.....think again. The following article appeared in today's Ithaca Journal.
Landowners looking for legal options to fight energy companies
As energy companies attempt to extend some oil and gas leases because of New York's hydraulic fracturing moratorium, local law firms are trying to assemble groups of landowners to fight those claims in federal court.
Hundreds of local landowners have received letters from natural gas companies over the past two years claiming "force majeure" on their expiring leases, many of which are a decade old and signed for just a few dollars per acre.
Force majeure, a legal clause in some contracts, allows for the lease to be extended if an unforeseen event prevents either side from upholding the terms of the agreement.
One small group of landowners in the Harpursville and Colesville areas moved forward with a federal suit against a force majeure claim last fall, and now some lawyers are trying to expand the legal fight against the industry.
"We have probably 120 families that expressed an interest," said Robert Jones, a lawyer with Coughlin & Gerhart LLP. "Our goal is to commence a lawsuit on their behalf by March 1"....
Click HERE to read the remainder of the article in its entirety.
Landowners looking for legal options to fight energy companies
As energy companies attempt to extend some oil and gas leases because of New York's hydraulic fracturing moratorium, local law firms are trying to assemble groups of landowners to fight those claims in federal court.
Hundreds of local landowners have received letters from natural gas companies over the past two years claiming "force majeure" on their expiring leases, many of which are a decade old and signed for just a few dollars per acre.
Force majeure, a legal clause in some contracts, allows for the lease to be extended if an unforeseen event prevents either side from upholding the terms of the agreement.
One small group of landowners in the Harpursville and Colesville areas moved forward with a federal suit against a force majeure claim last fall, and now some lawyers are trying to expand the legal fight against the industry.
"We have probably 120 families that expressed an interest," said Robert Jones, a lawyer with Coughlin & Gerhart LLP. "Our goal is to commence a lawsuit on their behalf by March 1"....
Click HERE to read the remainder of the article in its entirety.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Should you have a right to know?
The American Gas Association, Gas Processors Association and Chesapeake Energy Corporation have all filed suit against the EPA that would undermine the public's right-to-know laws. At issue: inventorying and disclosure requirements for all oil and gas discharges into the environment. Click HERE to read the recent press release issued by the Environmental Defense Fund.
Friday, June 25, 2010
PA fracking documented in Vanity Fair magazine
Vanity Fair magazine recently featured an online story detailing the concerns and fears of residents in PA--and in other areas in the country--regarding the fracking process. The article includes documentation of fracking gone wrong and the subsequent consequences including environmental destruction, property devaluation, livestock deaths, and serious health problems for people and their pets. Click here to read A Colossal Fracking Mess by Christopher Bateman.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Widener Law School sets up toll free hotline, offers free legal advice
Thanks to one of our Facebook 'fans' for sharing the following information: "Widener Law School has set up an Environmental helpline with both a toll free phone number, 1-888-953-6853, and an online form to request help. They offer free legal advice to anyone regarding environmental issues, and have specifically talked to local residents about gas issues. The goal is to advise people who cannot afford attorneys and who don't know what their options are. Please spread the word about this resource!" Read more about Widener's Environmental Law Center and the services they offer by checking out their blog:
http://tinyurl.com/Widener-hotline
This information was posted on http://nepagasaction.org , a site designed by Citizens for Clean Water to provide "information and action items for protecting our northeastern Pennsylvania home from the negative effects of natural gas drilling and fracking."
http://tinyurl.com/Widener-hotline
This information was posted on http://nepagasaction.org , a site designed by Citizens for Clean Water to provide "information and action items for protecting our northeastern Pennsylvania home from the negative effects of natural gas drilling and fracking."
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Can they even see the forest for the dollar signs??
Thank you to a friend who forwarded the following article which appeared in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. It must be read to be believed. The lead in paragraph is fairly innocuous--it's what follows.
**************
GAS DRILLERS BID TWICE WHAT PA BUDGETED
BY Andrew Maykuth amaykuth@phillynews.com.
"Natural-gas drillers yesterday bid $128.5 million to develop 32,000 acres of Pennsylvania state forests, twice the revenue the state had budgeted, prompting fears of a headlong rush to overrun public lands to tap into the rich Marcellus Shale....[click here for the rest of the article].
**************
Nearly 1/3 of PA's state forests are now under lease so that they might extract the natural gas deposits. . Maybe I'm confused but weren't state parks designated as "state parks" to be PROTECTED from development and to serve as recreational and educational areas for residents and tourists?
One of the wonderful things about living where we do is the proximity to treasures like our state parks. What is this going to do to property values? Better yet, how many tourists do you think will come to vacation in the Endless Mountains if they're surrounded with drills, pipelines, and all of the lovely things that come along with this process? Who takes vacations in Superfund Sites? No one I know.
Officials agreed to this sweetheart deal because their financial arms were twisted. PA's budget presented a perfect storm of circumstances for these companies to come in and save the day by paying for the privilege to....destroy one of the major streams of revenue to the state--tourism to our parks!
So what happens when down the road we have budget issues again? Is the government even thinking clearly?!
Once these lands are polluted--there is no "do-over." Our state parks will become Superfund Sites.
Yes, I've read the whole process is supposed to be safe, yada yada yada. Tell that to the residents of Dimock, PA. This rural town has filed a class action lawsuit against drilling companies who polluted their streams and drinking water, damaged their fields--and in one case-- blew up a house.
Or to those who live in western PA where 160+ species of fish and aquatic life--an entire ecosystem--has been killed off due to fracking fluids being dumped in the water upstream.
Or to those who live along the Monongahela where fracking fluids were also dumped. This major river is now polluted and residents enjoy "chunkier than normal drinking water." Earthjustice, formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, is pursuing possible legal action on a backroom deal that would allow a new water treatment plant to dump half a million gallons PER DAY of water polluted by gas drilling chemicals into this river.
Or to the owners of wells in upstate NY which are now contaminated by radium-226 (a derivative of uranium) --amounts in some cases nearly 300 times that deemed safe for human consumption.
What is it going to take for those in Harrisburg to wake up and smell the methane?! If you, too, are outraged, you can contact your representatives and tell them what's on your mind. They work for US--not the other way around. There are links on the Protect the Endless Mountains blog (along the right) where you can click to find the name and contact information for each of your legislators.
Protect our state parks. Protect our water supply.
Remember, there are no do-overs.
**************
GAS DRILLERS BID TWICE WHAT PA BUDGETED
BY Andrew Maykuth amaykuth@phillynews.com.
"Natural-gas drillers yesterday bid $128.5 million to develop 32,000 acres of Pennsylvania state forests, twice the revenue the state had budgeted, prompting fears of a headlong rush to overrun public lands to tap into the rich Marcellus Shale....[click here for the rest of the article].
**************
Nearly 1/3 of PA's state forests are now under lease so that they might extract the natural gas deposits. . Maybe I'm confused but weren't state parks designated as "state parks" to be PROTECTED from development and to serve as recreational and educational areas for residents and tourists?
One of the wonderful things about living where we do is the proximity to treasures like our state parks. What is this going to do to property values? Better yet, how many tourists do you think will come to vacation in the Endless Mountains if they're surrounded with drills, pipelines, and all of the lovely things that come along with this process? Who takes vacations in Superfund Sites? No one I know.
Officials agreed to this sweetheart deal because their financial arms were twisted. PA's budget presented a perfect storm of circumstances for these companies to come in and save the day by paying for the privilege to....destroy one of the major streams of revenue to the state--tourism to our parks!
So what happens when down the road we have budget issues again? Is the government even thinking clearly?!
Once these lands are polluted--there is no "do-over." Our state parks will become Superfund Sites.
Yes, I've read the whole process is supposed to be safe, yada yada yada. Tell that to the residents of Dimock, PA. This rural town has filed a class action lawsuit against drilling companies who polluted their streams and drinking water, damaged their fields--and in one case-- blew up a house.
Or to those who live in western PA where 160+ species of fish and aquatic life--an entire ecosystem--has been killed off due to fracking fluids being dumped in the water upstream.
Or to those who live along the Monongahela where fracking fluids were also dumped. This major river is now polluted and residents enjoy "chunkier than normal drinking water." Earthjustice, formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, is pursuing possible legal action on a backroom deal that would allow a new water treatment plant to dump half a million gallons PER DAY of water polluted by gas drilling chemicals into this river.
Or to the owners of wells in upstate NY which are now contaminated by radium-226 (a derivative of uranium) --amounts in some cases nearly 300 times that deemed safe for human consumption.
What is it going to take for those in Harrisburg to wake up and smell the methane?! If you, too, are outraged, you can contact your representatives and tell them what's on your mind. They work for US--not the other way around. There are links on the Protect the Endless Mountains blog (along the right) where you can click to find the name and contact information for each of your legislators.
Protect our state parks. Protect our water supply.
Remember, there are no do-overs.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Lawsuit could be the 1st to prove link between "fracking" and water contamination--and set a precedent for future lawsuits to come
PA lawsuit says drilling polluted water
Mon Nov 9, 2009 9:37am EST
By Jon Hurdle [excerpts below; click title for full text]
AVELLA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania landowner is suing an energy company for polluting his soil and water in an attempt to link a natural gas drilling technique with environmental contamination. George Zimmermann, the owner of 480 acres in Washington County, southwest Pennsylvania, says Atlas Energy Inc. ruined his land with toxic chemicals used in or released there by hydraulic fracturing. Water tests at three locations by gas wells on Zimmermann's property -- one is 1,500 feet from his home -- found seven potentially carcinogenic chemicals above "screening levels" set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as warranting further investigation.
Jay Hammond, general counsel for Atlas, said Zimmermann's claims are "completely erroneous" and that the company is in compliance with Pennsylvania's gas-drilling regulations. Hammond said Atlas will "vigorously" defend itself in court and declined further comment. But Zimmermann says he has evidence that chemicals used by Atlas contaminated his land. "There are substances that can't be made by nature and that's what's in the ground," he told Reuters during an interview in his 12,000-square-foot house on a remote hilltop.... If Zimmermann wins his case, it would be the first in America to prove that hydraulic fracturing causes water contamination.
PERFECT BASELINE TESTS
Baseline tests on Zimmermann's water a year before drilling began were "perfect," he said. In June, water tests found arsenic at 2,600 times acceptable levels, benzene at 44 times above limits and naphthalene five times the federal standard. Soil samples detected mercury and selenium above official limits, as well as ethylbenzene, a chemical used in drilling, and trichloroethene, a naturally occurring but toxic chemical that can be brought to the surface by gas drilling.... Companies are not required to disclose the composition of the fluid because of an exemption to a federal clean water law granted to the oil and gas industry in 2005.
Many local residents have been deterred from fighting the gas companies by the expense of legal action and water testing. Zimmermann says he has spent about $15,000 on water tests and will spend whatever it takes to prove his case. Rural residents who live near gas drilling say their water has become discolored, foul-smelling, or even flammable because methane from disturbed gas deposits has migrated into water wells.
DEATHS, MUTATION OF LIVESTOCK
Farmers in southwest Pennsylvania blame cattle deaths and mutations on local fracking. Other complaints attributed to tainted water include children's sickness, skin rashes and neurological disorders.
The industry says the chemicals used in fracking are injected through layers of steel and concrete thousands of feet below aquifers, and so pose no threat to drinking water. Spokesman argue there has never been a documented case of water contamination as a result of fracking.
On Zimmermann's property, the presence of water and soil contaminants that exceed EPA screening levels risks wider pollution of drinking water supply, wrote Cleason Smith, a consultant with Hydrosystems Management, which tested the soil and water, in a letter explaining the test results. Atlas rejected Smith's report, saying in court documents that the findings were inadmissible....
Zimmermann's suit says his land has become "virtually valueless" because it is permanently contaminated with toxic chemicals as a result of the 10 wells that Atlas has drilled. The suit accuses Atlas -- which is able to drill on the land because it acquired the mineral rights from a previous owner -- of negligence. It is seeking an injunction against further drilling, and unspecified financial damages.
With a wife, an eight-year-old son and eight-month-old twins, Zimmermann, 66, worries about air and water quality. He said he has invested about $11 million in the estate, which includes a winery and an heirloom-tomato business, but he now just wants to walk away because he believes it has been ruined by gas drilling. He rates his chances of selling the property as "slim to none" in light of the proven water contamination.
"I don't want to live here any more," Zimmermann said. "I'm afraid of the chemicals."
(Editing by Mark Egan and Philip Barbara)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
Mon Nov 9, 2009 9:37am EST
By Jon Hurdle [excerpts below; click title for full text]
AVELLA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania landowner is suing an energy company for polluting his soil and water in an attempt to link a natural gas drilling technique with environmental contamination. George Zimmermann, the owner of 480 acres in Washington County, southwest Pennsylvania, says Atlas Energy Inc. ruined his land with toxic chemicals used in or released there by hydraulic fracturing. Water tests at three locations by gas wells on Zimmermann's property -- one is 1,500 feet from his home -- found seven potentially carcinogenic chemicals above "screening levels" set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as warranting further investigation.
Jay Hammond, general counsel for Atlas, said Zimmermann's claims are "completely erroneous" and that the company is in compliance with Pennsylvania's gas-drilling regulations. Hammond said Atlas will "vigorously" defend itself in court and declined further comment. But Zimmermann says he has evidence that chemicals used by Atlas contaminated his land. "There are substances that can't be made by nature and that's what's in the ground," he told Reuters during an interview in his 12,000-square-foot house on a remote hilltop.... If Zimmermann wins his case, it would be the first in America to prove that hydraulic fracturing causes water contamination.
PERFECT BASELINE TESTS
Baseline tests on Zimmermann's water a year before drilling began were "perfect," he said. In June, water tests found arsenic at 2,600 times acceptable levels, benzene at 44 times above limits and naphthalene five times the federal standard. Soil samples detected mercury and selenium above official limits, as well as ethylbenzene, a chemical used in drilling, and trichloroethene, a naturally occurring but toxic chemical that can be brought to the surface by gas drilling.... Companies are not required to disclose the composition of the fluid because of an exemption to a federal clean water law granted to the oil and gas industry in 2005.
Many local residents have been deterred from fighting the gas companies by the expense of legal action and water testing. Zimmermann says he has spent about $15,000 on water tests and will spend whatever it takes to prove his case. Rural residents who live near gas drilling say their water has become discolored, foul-smelling, or even flammable because methane from disturbed gas deposits has migrated into water wells.
DEATHS, MUTATION OF LIVESTOCK
Farmers in southwest Pennsylvania blame cattle deaths and mutations on local fracking. Other complaints attributed to tainted water include children's sickness, skin rashes and neurological disorders.
The industry says the chemicals used in fracking are injected through layers of steel and concrete thousands of feet below aquifers, and so pose no threat to drinking water. Spokesman argue there has never been a documented case of water contamination as a result of fracking.
On Zimmermann's property, the presence of water and soil contaminants that exceed EPA screening levels risks wider pollution of drinking water supply, wrote Cleason Smith, a consultant with Hydrosystems Management, which tested the soil and water, in a letter explaining the test results. Atlas rejected Smith's report, saying in court documents that the findings were inadmissible....
Zimmermann's suit says his land has become "virtually valueless" because it is permanently contaminated with toxic chemicals as a result of the 10 wells that Atlas has drilled. The suit accuses Atlas -- which is able to drill on the land because it acquired the mineral rights from a previous owner -- of negligence. It is seeking an injunction against further drilling, and unspecified financial damages.
With a wife, an eight-year-old son and eight-month-old twins, Zimmermann, 66, worries about air and water quality. He said he has invested about $11 million in the estate, which includes a winery and an heirloom-tomato business, but he now just wants to walk away because he believes it has been ruined by gas drilling. He rates his chances of selling the property as "slim to none" in light of the proven water contamination.
"I don't want to live here any more," Zimmermann said. "I'm afraid of the chemicals."
(Editing by Mark Egan and Philip Barbara)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
Residents in Dimock, PA sue Cabot Oil & Gas Corps over gas drilling
Pennsylvania residents sue over gas drilling.
By Jon Hurdle
DIMOCK, Pennsylvania, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Residents of a small rural Pennsylvania town sued Cabot Oil & Gas Corp (COG.N: Quote, Profile,Research, Stock Buzz) on Friday, claiming the company's natural-gas drilling has contaminated their water wells with toxic chemicals, caused sickness and reduced their property values. The lawsuit accuses the company of violating state environmental laws by allowing drilling chemicals to escape from gas wells, where they are used in a technique called hydraulic fracturing.
A Cabot spokesman said the company had not had time to study the lawsuit in detail but said Cabot was in full compliance with Pennsylvania's environmental laws and "disappointed" by the lawsuit. "We don't see merit in these claims," Cabot spokesman Ken Komoroski said. The company, like others in the industry, has argued that its drilling processes are safe because chemicals are heavily diluted and are injected into the ground through layers of steel and concrete thousands of feet below the aquifers that are used for drinking water. The industry says there has never been a documented case of ground water contamination because of hydraulic fracturing. The case is one of the first to confront the industry over the technique, which critics claim pollutes aquifers with chemicals that can cause cancer and other serious illnesses.
Cabot's drilling allowed methane to escape into private water wells and in two cases caused wellhead explosions due to a gas build-up, the 15 families in the lawsuit claim. Pat Farnelli, 46, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told reporters on Friday that some of her eight children suffered stomach cramps after drinking water from the family's well, which is a few hundred yards from a gas well. She ruled out water-borne bacteria because boiling the water didn't help.
'WE WANT JUSTICE'
The suit is the culmination of complaints by residents of the northeastern Pennsylvania community where Cabot has drilled dozens of gas wells in its efforts to develop the Marcellus Shale, a massive gas formation that underlies about two-thirds of Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states. "These releases, spills and discharges caused the plaintiffs and their property to be exposed to such hazardous gases, chemicals and industrial wastes," said the complaint. 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.
Victoria Switzer, a plaintiff who lives about a mile from Carter's home, said she had joined the lawsuit because she had failed to get satisfaction from the state Department of Environmental Protection or her elected representatives. "Lawyers were the last thing I wanted," she said. "We are not greedy people, we just want some justice." The lawsuit accuses Cabot of negligence and says it has failed to restore residential water supplies disrupted by gas drilling. It seeks a permanent injunction to stop the drilling processes that are blamed for the contamination, as well as unspecified compensatory damages.
Residents of many gas-drilling areas in the United States say the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing are contaminating ground water. However, they have been unable to prove that, in part because energy companies are not required to disclose the composition of their drilling fluids.
Gas deposits such as the Marcellus Shale offer the United States an opportunity to reduce dependence on overseas oil imports and reduce carbon emissions, advocates say. But development could slow if fracturing is shown to be environmentally damaging. (Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst, Michelle Nichols, Richard Chang and Steve Orlofsky)
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