Dimock, PA Lawsuit Trial-Bound as Study Links Fracking to Water Contamination in Neighboring County

picture-7018-1583982147.png
on

A recent peer-reviewed study published in theย Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has confirmed what many fracking critics have argued for years: drilling operations associated withย hydraulic fracturing (โ€œfracking)ย for oil and gas can contaminateย groundwater.ย 

For the study, researchers examined groundwater contamination incidents at three homes in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale basin in Bradford County.ย As The New York Times explained, the water samples showed โ€œtraces of a compound commonly found in Marcellus Shale drillingย fluids.โ€

The study’s release comes as a seminal lawsuit demanding recovery for such damages winds its way to a jury trial later this year in the U.S. District Court in Scranton, PA. That case pits two families from Dimock, PA, located in neighboring Susquehanna County, against Texas-based, industry giant,ย Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation.

As DeSmogBlog revealed in August 2013, a previously unpublished internal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PowerPoint presentation confirmed that the EPA, as a result of its own limited sampling, knew that there was ongoing groundwater contamination in Dimock potentially attributable toย industry.ย 

Dimock EPA Presentation

Image Credit: DeSmogBlog

Yet, even though the EPA knew this, it issued an official desk statement to the public asserting that โ€œthere are not levels of contaminants present that would require additional action by the Agency [inย Dimock].โ€

As Greenpeace USA researcher Jesse Coleman recently pointed out, EPA has done the bidding of the oil and gas industry on multiple instances during high profile frackingย studies.

That PowerPoint presentation and the new Bradford County study could both potentially serve as key pieces of evidence in the U.S. District Courtย case.ย 

Ely v.ย Cabot

Initially, the U.S. District Court complaint filed in November 2009 featured many moreย plaintiffs.ย 

The story of how fracking forever changed Dimock played a prominent role in the documentary films โ€œGaslandโ€ and โ€œGasland: Part II.โ€ Dimock’s saga also received national and international media coverage by โ€œ60 Minutesโ€ and the BBC.

But years passed by in the case and eventually most of the plaintiffs agreed โ€” some would argue they were forced โ€” to enter into a plea deal with Cabot. A handful of plaintiffs have refused to throw in the towel, and will soon have their day inย court.

Many of the plaintiffs entered into a presidential election-year plea deal with Cabot in August 2012, a month after EPA declared publicly that water is safe to drink in Dimock (while privately telling citizens the opposite). The case caption then changed from Norma Florentino v. Cabot to Scott Ely v. Cabot.

Scott Ely Well Water

Photo Credit:ย Stand With Dimockย Families

Ely is a former Cabot employeeย joined in the case by co-plaintiff Ray Hubert, who lives up the streetย from Elyย on Carter Road. When shown the leaked PowerPoint back in August 2013 by DeSmog, Ely expressed despair over EPA abandoning ship in this high profileย study.ย 

โ€œWhen does anybody just stand by the truth? Why is it that we have a bunch of people in Washington, DC who are trying to manipulate the truth of what’s happening to people in Dimock because of the industry?,โ€ Ely asked rhetorically at theย time.

โ€œWe thought EPA was going to come in and be our savior. And what’d they do? They said the truth can’t be known: hide it, drop it, forget about it.โ€

โ€œStand with Dimockย Familiesโ€

Advocates for the grassroots group Energy Justice Network have created an IndieGoGo page to raise funds for the legal battle set to go to a jury trial on November 30, 2015. They have also created a website, StandWithDimock.org.ย 

The IndieGoGo page explains that the co-plaintiffs have limited access to clean water due to the impacts of Cabot’s drillingย operations.

โ€œ[S]ince 2008, the Elys and Huberts have been living without reliable access to water and under rationing conditions. ย To survive day to day, these families haul water at their own expense every week for drinking, bathing and other daily basics. They purchase bottled water for drinking and cooking,โ€ the page explains. โ€œThe Court has recognized that these plaintiffs have a case against Cabot which they are preparing to present to a jury of theirย peers.โ€

To be certain, ย thisย is a case that will be key in determining whether frackers who contaminate drinking water can be held accountable under federalย law.ย 

Photo Credit: Andrey_Popov | Shutterstock

picture-7018-1583982147.png
Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

Related Posts

on

DeSmog estimates raise questions over climate benefits as EU officials consider whether the technology should qualify for billions of euros in subsidies.

DeSmog estimates raise questions over climate benefits as EU officials consider whether the technology should qualify for billions of euros in subsidies.
Analysis
on

Experts accuse Farageโ€™s party of a โ€˜deliberate campaign of misinformation about climate changeโ€™ in the House of Commons.

Experts accuse Farageโ€™s party of a โ€˜deliberate campaign of misinformation about climate changeโ€™ in the House of Commons.
on

A Conservative peer and former UK trade advisor were among those who spoke at the summit.

A Conservative peer and former UK trade advisor were among those who spoke at the summit.
on

All Conservative appointees to the Board of Trade have been binned by the new Labour government.

All Conservative appointees to the Board of Trade have been binned by the new Labour government.