SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Officials announced Cottera, formerly known as Cabot Oil and Gas, entered a plea Tuesday afternoon in relation to water pollution charges.
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro says the company pleaded no contest to 14 criminal counts related to water pollution problems in many homes, namely in Dimock, PA.
The plea forces Corterra to pay $16.29 million towards a new water line in Susquehanna County as well as pay the water bill for people affected for the next 75 years.
The documentary, “Gasland,” traveled to Dimock to highlight the pollution affecting the area. In one striking scene, one resident was able to light his water on fire.
Shapiro said this plea is a reversal for Cottera who has denied any wrongdoing for the last 14 years despite testing which revealed the pollution was related to the company’s fracking.
Residents of Dimock have waited far too long for the clean water Pennsylvania’s Constitution is supposed to guarantee all of us. Today, Coterra, the corporate successor of Cabot Oil and Gas, took full responsibility for the crimes Cabot committed that polluted resident’s water. Under this historic settlement, Coterra will now pay to build a new public water line that will provide clean, reliable drinking water for generations to come.”
Attorney General Josh Shapiro
Residents of Dimock were told their water would be clean again in the next few years. According to AG Shapiro, the issue still persists a decade later.