Contributed photo This Cabot drilling site is located in the vicinity of Carter Road in Dimock Township, PA, where water wells contaminated with methane are being investigated.

Contaminated wells spark controversy

DEP cites Cabot drilling operations; Cabot calls conclusion ‘premature’

By SANDY LONG

DIMOCK, PA—Until gas drilling began, residents of Dimock Township lived in fairly quiet obscurity in rural Susquehanna County. But when water wells along Carter Road became contaminated with methane, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) stepped in, garnering the attention of citizens, activist groups, other state agencies and regional and national media.

The spotlight intensified recently when the DEP issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) on February 27, charging that Cabot Oil and Gas Company’s drilling operations have caused one of the most troubling potential side effects of drilling—the contamination of fresh groundwater.

click for story

Bethel sets zoning public hearing

Golf course zoning adjusted

By FRITZ MAYER

KAUNEONGA LAKE, NY—The Bethel board passed several resolutions at the meeting on March 12, in preparation for taking the draft generic environmental impact statements (DGEIS) to the public. Some of the resolutions passed during the meeting involved non-controversial changes in language, but one change regarding the old golf course property in Smallwood may spark controversy in the future.

click for story

No more landfill?

An alternative is recommended

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY—The transfer stations would remain open, and waste would still be delivered to the site of the landfill in Monticello, but if the recommendations of the Sullivan County Solid Waste Task Force are implemented, just about everything else might change.

click for story

Other stories in this issue:

• Early action at Bethel Woods
• Wayne County Election Board readies for primary
• Hard times for Empire Resorts
• River gages may go offline
• Planning report shows population growth modest
• Puppy tormentors sought
• Reuter recognized by Town of Highland
• Shohola Township updates its zoning
• Senator summarizes stimulus

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S