Pennsylvania American Water Company has started construction on a new public water line for Dimock residents – the result of a settlement of criminal charges secured by then-Attorney General Shapiro after Coterra Energy [formerly Cabot Oil & Gas] was found to be in violation of the Clean Streams Law for contaminating residents’ well water. Read more here.
DEP approved the permit for the construction of the waterline in February 2025, and PA American expects to complete construction on schedule, by early 2026.
“Every Pennsylvanian has a right to clean air and pure water, but for too long, the good people of Dimock were denied their constitutionally protected right to clean water,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “As Attorney General, I took action holding Coterra Energy accountable and securing a settlement requiring the company to pay the community’s water bills for the next 75 years and to install a new public water line. With construction starting on the water line, we’re closer than ever to restoring clean drinking water to Dimock and bringing justice for this community.”
The new system involves installing 6-miles of water lines and a new service line to each resident’s home.
PA American has submitted applications to build a drinking water treatment facility and install additional water mains within several state and township roadways.
PA American must also submit a permit application for the proposed water treatment, storage, and distribution system.
DEP stands ready to review all required permit applications to ensure that the replacement water source meets the highest water quality standards and looks forward to continuing to work with PA American to get impacted residents clean water as soon as possible.
“This water system will provide Dimock residents with what they have been fighting to get for more than a decade, something others may take for granted: safe drinking water,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “It exemplifies the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to provide clean air and safe water to all Pennsylvania residents.”
In 2022, then-AG Shapiro announced that Coterra had pleaded no contest to criminal charges related to environmental crimes in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The PA-AG’s Office charged Coterra in 2020 after a grand jury investigation into the contamination of well water in Dimock.
The investigation revealed that the drilling activities of Coterra's predecessor, Cabot Oil and Gas, was responsible for methane pollution in local water supplies.
The AG’s investigation led Coterra Energy to take full accountability for Cabot’s pollution of the community’s water, agree to pay impacted homeowners’ water bills for the next 75 years, and commit to paying $16 million towards building this public water line to provide clean, reliable drinking water for years to come.
DEP's 2022 COA with Coterra also requires Coterra to pay for the new water system and continue to provide water treatment for impacted residents until the public water system is available.
The Shapiro Administration and the DEP will monitor construction of the water system, to make sure the work follows the conditions in the NPDES permit.
Visit DEP’s Dimock Gas Migration Investigation webpage for more information.
Click Here for the DEP announcement.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
Resource Links - Dimock:
-- 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]
-- 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]
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 14 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 96 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 14 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP’s Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets June 25 On Well Development Pipelines; Wastewater Management Practices; Future Well Plugging Funding Needs [PaEN]
-- PA Senate Republicans Pass Bill To Roll Back Environmental, Health, Safety Regulations By Doing Nothing And Avoiding Accountability [PaEN]
-- Delaware River Frack Ban Coalition Launch Initiative To Defend The Delaware River Watershed From Oil & Gas Fracking [PaEN]
-- Plum Borough Zoning Hearing Board Voted To Deny Penneco Environmental's Application For Another Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- Protect PT, Partners To Host June 25 Webinar: 5 Years Later - A Progress Report On PA's Grand Jury Report On Fracking [PaEN]
-- $100/Well Bounty Established For Previously Unknown Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners Under New Program Funded By Oil Region Alliance; 4 Penn State Extension Workshops Set [PaEN]
-- 25 Environmental Groups; Local Government Associations Oppose House Bill To Fast Track Large-Scale Energy Generation, Storage Projects Proposed By Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]
-- Lead Counsel On Court Cases Striking Down Provisions In Act 13 To Preempt Local Regulation Of Oil & Gas Operations Raises Concerns About Proposed Legislation Establishing A RESET Board To Site Large Energy Projects [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Announces Amazon Plans To Invest $20 Billion In Pennsylvania For A.I. Data Center Infrastructure; Amazon Told PUC It Has Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Goal By 2040 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For 72 - 2.5 MW Diesel-Fired Emergency Generators At New Amazon Data Services Data Center In Bucks County [PaEN]
-- PA Trout Unlimited, 17 Other Environmental, Conservation Organizations Expressed Opposition To Proposed DEP Changes To Spill Reporting Requirements [PaEN]
-- Republican Sen. Hutchinson Introduces Bill To Abolish DEP Climate Change, Recycling Fund, Coastal Zone Advisory Committees [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Rep. Vitali: PA House Environmental Committee Examines Problem Of Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells
-- The Center Square: Higher Plugging Bonds Floated To Help The State’s Abandoned Conventional Well Problem
-- MCall: Is Ban On Fracking In Delaware Watershed At Risk? Advocates Put Out A Call To Action
-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Pennsylvania Has Failed Environmental Justice Communities For Years; A New Bill Could Change That
-- Inquirer/Capital & Main- Audrey Carleton: Pennsylvania Has Failed Environmental Justice Communities For Years, A New Bill Could Change That
-- Beaver Times/Inside Climate News- Jon Hurdle: PA Fracking Company Surrenders Water Permits, Can’t Get Enough Water Out Of Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County
-- TribLive: President Coming To Pittsburgh For PA US Senator McCormick’s July 15 PA Energy & Innovation Summit
-- Sen. McCormick: President Coming To July 15 PA Energy Innovation Summit In Pittsburgh
-- The Allegheny Front: Pittsburgh 2030 District Buildings Reduce Carbon Emissions By 50%
-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: A Future Fueled By Washington County - By Electra Janis, Washington County Commissioner [Hydrogen Hub]
-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition: Read The Letters Rejected By The Post-Gazette, Inquirer From The Shale Gas Industry
-- Wall Street Journal: US Electric Bills Headed Higher: Forecast Of Hotter-Than-Normal Summer, More Expensive Natural Gas Mean Pricier Power
-- Utility Dive: A.I. Data Centers Could Overwhelm The Electric Grid, Unless They Are Required To Run Their Facilities On New Power Sources, Market Analytics Says
-- Reuters: Data Center Demand To Push US Power Use To Record Highs In 2025-26, EIA Says
-- EarthJustice: 12 Groups File Lawsuit Challenging President Issued Unlawful Exemptions From Mercury, Arsenic Standards For 68 Coal Plants By Email
[Posted: June 10, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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