By Henry W. and Pat C.
Four weeks after it spilled 8000 gallons of chemical-laced fracing fluid into Stevens Creek in Dimock, Pa., Cabot Oil and Gas resumed drilling operations in Susquehanna County.
After the spill at the Heitsman well on September 24, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) required Cabot to make an adequate Pollution Prevention and Contingency Plan plus a Control and Disposal Plan within two weeks. Cabot was then given three weeks to perform a study of its equipment and fracing process to determine if drilling would be allowed to resume.
The DEP assessed Cabot’s drilling violations and fined the company a mere $56,650.
“I think it’s a joke; they have charged Cabot only $6.75 per gallon of toxic chemicals,” said Barbara Arrindell of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS).
“These spills by Cabot are just the tip of the iceberg; it’s a disaster waiting to happen,” added DCS’s Pat Carullo. “The fine is just a slap on the wrist…Maybe, if they had fined them [Cabot Oil and Gas] $5 million, it would have made a difference,” he continued.
According to The Wayne Independent, the DEP believes that Cabot will do a better job in the future, despite the three drilling spills they caused last month within nine days of each other.
On October 16, Cabot submitted the Pollution Prevention and Contingency Plan as well as a Control and Disposal Plan to the DEP.
After reviewing the plans, the DEP approved the company’s request to resume hydrofracturing in the Dimock area.
