The project is moving forward on schedule for completion in 2026.
[Note: Residents of Dimock Township have been waiting for reliable, permanent replacement water for their well water contaminated by shale gas fracking more than 20 years ago in the largest groundwater contamination event caused by shale gas development in Pennsylvania history.
[Beginning January 1, 2005, DEP started receiving drinking water complaints related to the shale gas drilling over a nine square mile area.
[In January 2009, DEP ordered then Cabot Oil & Gas, the company that drilled the shale gas wells, to cease all fracking operations in Susquehanna County to conduct an evaluation of its fracking operations. Read more here.
[DEP received 4,859 drinking water complaints and later confirmed 392 private water supplies were contaminated by shale gas fracking. Read more here.]
This new public groundwater system is funded by a November 2022 plea agreement negotiated between the Office of Attorney General under then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Coterra Energy.
[As part of the plea agreement, Coterra will pay $16.29 million toward a new regulated public water line as well as payment of 75 years of water bills for the impacted homeowners.
[This money will also be used to provide treatment systems to treat the homeowners’ water supplies and the provision of bottled water while the public water line is under construction.
[Coterra Energy, which resulted from a merger between Cabot Oil & Gas and Cimarex Energy, pleaded no contest to a criminal charge related to the groundwater contamination and paid a $440,000 civil penalty to DEP that allowed Coterra Energy to resume shale gas development in the area. Read more here.]
Pennsylvania American Water will submit an aquifer test plan to the Department of Environmental Protection this spring. This test plan measures the well's water flow rates and must be submitted as part of the application for a new source.
“While work has been occurring on the test wells, we also completed the design of the new water distribution system and received permits for construction,” said Jeremy Nelson, Pennsylvania American Water project manager. “We anticipate beginning construction on the new pipeline this spring with completion set for the end of 2025.”
The project includes installing approximately six miles of water system pipeline and new service lines to each affected resident’s home.
All plumbing will be disconnected to prevent cross-contamination with the individual wells currently connected to the homes.
The public water supply will be treated to address potential contaminants in the groundwater and meet all DEP public drinking water standards.
The new water treatment system is currently in the design phase, and construction is set to begin later this year.
Visit PA American Water’s Dimock Twp. Water Supply webpage.
Click Here for PA American Water announcement.
NewsClips:
-- Scranton Times: PA American To Provide Clean Drinking Water In Dimock To Replace Fracking-Contaminated Private Wells [PDF of Article]
-- WVIA: PA American Water: Dimock Twp. Residents Will Have Drinkable Water By 2026
Resource Links - Dimock:
-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To A Criminal Charge Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN - December 2022]
-- DEP Consent Agreement Allowing Shale Gas Drilling To Resume Under Dimock, Susquehanna County Sets New Drilling, Water Supply Protection Standards, Imposes $444,000 Penalty [PaEN - December 2022]
-- Attorney General Shapiro Files Criminal Charges Against Cabot Oil & Gas For Water, Methane Contamination In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN - June, 2020]
-- DEP Issues Cabot Oil & Gas Second Order To Correct Water Problems In Dimock [PaEN 4.19.2010]
-- Video Blog- Dimock Residents Talk About Well Explosions, Water Problems Related To Gas Drilling [PaEN 11.16.2009]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PA American Water Identifies Water Source For New Public Water System To Replace Water Wells Contaminated By Shale Gas Fracking 20 Years Ago In Dimock Twp., Susquehanna County [PaEN]
-- Community Speaks Out Against Expansion Of Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- Washington County Resident To DEP: Harmon Creek Natural Gas Plant Expansion Will Result In A Huge Increase In Air Pollution, It Should Be Required To Have A Major Air Quality Permit, It Is Not A ‘Minor’ Source [PaEN]
-- Moms Clean Air Force To DEP: Families In Washington County Are Already Living In The Middle Of Major Natural Gas Industrial Sites - Do Not Expand The Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant And Make It Worse [PaEN]
-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Marks Milestone Of Plugging 300 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Over 2 Years; New Technology Finding More Abandoned Wells [PaEN]
-- PA Council Of Trout Unlimited: Millions In Trout Unlimited Watershed Projects Improve The Environment, Local Economies Across The US; Federal Funding Freeze, Office Closures, Staff Cuts 'Sacrificing Our National Conservation Legacy' [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Launches Legislative Push for 'Lightning Plan’ To Build More Energy Projects, Speed Up Permitting, Lower Costs, Create Jobs For Pennsylvanians [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Geothermal Might Have The Answer For Pennsylvania's Clean Energy Needs - By John Walliser, PA Environmental Council & Kevin Sunday, McNees Wallace & Nurick [PaEN]
-- EPA Pulls Back Regulations Setting Methane Emission Limits, Regulating Wastewater From Oil & Gas Operations, Risk Management Rule At Petrochemical Plants [PaEN]
-- EPA Launches Biggest Deregulation Action For Industry In US History, 'Driving A Dagger Straight Into The Heart Of The Climate Change Religion,’ Unleashing The American Energy Industry [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Scranton Times: PA American To Provide Clean Drinking Water In Dimock To Replace Fracking-Contaminated Private Wells [PDF of Article]
-- WVIA: PA American Water: Dimock Twp. Residents Will Have Drinkable Water By 2026
-- Post-Gazette: Chester, Delaware County Leading The Fight For Environmental Justice [LNG Export Facility]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: New Federal Administration Considers Strategies To Overturn Delaware River Basin Commission Fracking Ban [PDF of Article]
-- Observer- Reporter: Project Aims To Increase Geothermal Energy Use In State [PDF of Article]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Anti-Drilling Trout Unlimited Crying Over $180 Million In Frozen Federal Funds [PDF of Article]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: NYMEX Natural Gas Price Hits 2-Year High Of $4.491/MMBtu [PDF of Article]
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: America Needs The Energy Pennsylvania Can Supply - By American Petroleum Institute
-- Financial Times: US DOE Secretary Says US Shale Can ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ At Low Oil, Gas Prices; Industry Says No
-- Reuters: President’s Tariffs On Steel, Aluminum To Raise Costs For US Oil, Gas Firms, Experts Say
[Posted: March 13, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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