DIMOCK TOWNSHIP, PA — It was a big victory for some residents of Dimock Township at the Susquehanna County Courthouse after Coterra Energy pleaded no contest to criminal charges for polluting well water between 2008 and 2018.
Along with fines, the natural gas drilling company, formerly Cabot Oil and Gas, also has to pay for a water treatment system for the residents whose water was contaminated.
The Pennsylvania attorney general's office sought out experts with Pennsylvania American Water to help.
"These independent experts provided a real engineering plan to get clean water to Dimock residents as quickly as possible," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
"It'll be a four-stage treatment system manned and monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, backed up with emergency power. And it's really the belts and suspenders on top of belts and suspenders," said Daniel Rickard, an engineering manager with Pennsylvania American Water.
Pennsylvania American Water said 20 homes will eventually get water from the treatment plant, and Coterra will have to foot the bill for that water for the next 75 years. In the meantime, Coterra must ensure there is safe water to drink.
"They will provide treatment systems to treat the homeowners' water supply, as well as bottled water delivery to the impacted individuals' homes until the water line is constructed and ready to be connected to the homes here," Shapiro said.
This project is still in the planning phase. Rickard said there is a lot to be done before water lines can be run.
"There'll be an extensive survey to locate the new groundwater sources. And to your point, there is no guarantee that we were able to find non-contaminated groundwater, or it may not become contaminated at some point in the future, so we'll rely on extensive treatment techniques to remove those contaminants."
Officials estimate this project won't be complete for about three to four years. Residents say they'll look forward to the day when they can drink clean water from their tap once again because it's been 14 years.
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