Breaking: U.S. EPA Declares Dimock Water Safe; “Does Not Present … Health Threat to Users”
Friday, December 2nd, 2011 | 5 Comments | Tagged in: Cabot Oil and Gas, Dimock, groundwater, Hydraulic fracturing, PA, U.S. EPA
For those not aware, the town of Dimock, Pennsylvania has become a proverbial lightning rod in the ongoing efforts of some to disparage natural gas production at every turn. Featured in Gasland, and just about every other anti-natural gas development effort, the story some would have you believe is that the water there was “ruined” and is not safe to drink.
Well, if water tests from the producer and the PA DEP weren’t evidence enough, now the EPA has gotten involved, essentially confirming earlier findings that contested water wells in the area pose no threat to human health. Our team at EID-Northeast Marcellus Initiative recieved an email from some our friends in Dimock that was sent to them by EPA Region 3 Community Involvement Coordinator Trish Taylor. The email indicates that EPA’s review has found the water in Dimock does not pose a threat to human health. Text of this correspondence is below.
Dear Dimock Residents,
This email is a follow-up to the visits to Dimock area homes by EPA on November 10, 2011 and the subsequent review of well sampling data for wells impacted by the Cabot Oil and Gas Company drilling activities. EPA has conducted a preliminary review and screening of the data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and residents. While we are continuing our review, to date, the data does not indicate that the well water presents an immediate health threat to users. EPA will continue to review available information related to the concerns of Dimock area residents. We are continuing to work with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania going forward on this issue.
Please feel free to call me or David Polish, Community Involvement Coordinator, at (215) 814-3327, if you have further questions.
Sincerely,
Trish Taylor, Community Involvement Coordinator
Hazardous Site Cleanup Division (Mailcode 3HS52)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA., 19103
phone: (215) 814 – 5539
fax: (215) 814 – 3015
Tags: Cabot Oil and Gas, Dimock, groundwater, Hydraulic fracturing, PA, U.S. EPA
5 Responses
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Jeff Hecker says:
Think it kind of shows how bizarre this whole thing has become that an announcement of clean water in Dimock from EPA — something both sides should be happy about — is apparently considered bad news for people like your previous commenter. Tough not to get the impression that Mr. Trallo was hoping for different results from EPA, isn’t it? It’s sick.
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Dan Whitmarsh says:
Mr. Trallo does seem disappointed by the results so far. I wonder if he was so restrained when he first heard the unsubstantiated news that gas wells were contaminating local water supplies?
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The_White_Rabbot says:
It seems like information indicates that Cabot requested the samples to be filtered PRIOR to any analysis. Bottom line is this is not conventional to do with drinking water samples and makes it totally infeasible to compare with any risk values. Cabot dropped the balls if this is correct.
§ 250.10. Measurement of regulated substances in media.
(a) For measuring regulated substances in soil and sediments, analyses shall be performed on a dry weight basis.
(b) For metals in soil, analyses shall be performed on total metals, except for hexavalent and trivalent chromium, which analyses shall be performed individually.
(c) For groundwater, samples for metals analysis shall be field filtered and field acidified in accordance with the most current version of the Groundwater Monitoring Guidance Manual, Department of Environmental Protection, 3610-BK-DEP1973.
(d) For groundwater where monitoring is being performed at a drinking water well, samples for metals analysis shall be field acidified and unfiltered in accordance with the most current version of Groundwater Monitoring Guidance Manual, Department of Environmental Protection, 3610-BK-DEP1973.
(e) For surface water, samples for metals analysis shall be field acidified in accordance with approved EPA analytical methods in § 16.102 (relating to approved EPA analytical methods and detection limits).
(f) For air, samples and analyses shall be performed in accordance with Chapters 131 and 139 (relating to ambient air quality standards; and sampling and testing).
EID stop lying and taking the EPA statements out of context to suit your corporate agenda. Here’s is exactly what the EPA said: “While we are continuing our review, to date, the data does not indicate that the well water presents an immediate health threat to users,” Trish Taylor, who works in the agency’s hazardous site cleanup division in Philadelphia, said in an email to some of the residents.
Industry groups touted the email, which the agency released on Friday, as proof that Dimock’s water is clean. But Taylor said in an interview that the EPA is not giving Dimock a clean bill of health.
“It’s not a blanket statement at all,” she said. “We don’t have years of data. We have a very finite amount of data that was provided to us by these residents and by (the state Department of Environmental Protection). It’s not a broad statement at all about sampling results.”
Here is the link to the AP article as it appeaered in the Wall Street Journal that supports that statement:
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP85804b61294e46c9a0649041ac504789.html