SCRANTON, PA — A number of Pennsylvania residents filed a civil lawsuit in US District Court here on November 19, claiming their drinking water, fields and streams have been contaminated by drilling for natural gas, according to a November 20 report from investigative news organization ProPublica.
Fifteen families are suing Houston-based energy company Cabot Oil and Gas, which has drilled wells near the town of Dimock. Among those bringing suit is a worker at the company, ProPublica reported.
The lawsuit seeks to halt Cabot from drilling more wells in the Marcellus Shale near Dimock; it also seeks to set up a trust fund to cover medical treatment for residents who say they have been made ill by natural gas drilling pollutants. Compensation is also sought for the alleged loss of property values in the rural area.
During hydrofracturing, or “fracking,” a method of natural gas drilling, a water-chemical solution is injected into a gas well under pressure to open up gas-containing rock.
The potential environmental effect of the wastewater created by fracking has been the subject of much debate, especially in areas overlying the gas-bearing Marcellus Shale in several northeast states.
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