Cabot Oil and Gas Corp., a Texas-based driller of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale, last week lost a long-running case in the Susquehanna County town of Dimock. A federal jury decided that Cabot’s drilling in the early days of the shale boom had contaminated two water wells. Two families, who chose not to be part of a 2012 settlement, were awarded a total of $4.24 million.
Cabot plans to appeal, saying the “verdict disregards overwhelming scientific and factual evidence.” In this highly technical case, which has become a rallying point for anti-fracking activists and drilling advocates alike, there’s no predicting the outcome. But a judgment of this size sends a clear message to the gas drilling industry: Environmental safety is paramount.
The debate over fracking has been clouded by extreme claims from both sides. Industry can paint a rosy picture of effortless prosperity and antiseptic procedures, while some opponents take an almost superstitious stance against toying with the inner earth in any way. The reasonable middle ground holds that natural gas development has been an economic boon to Pennsylvania, a proven method to reduce carbon emissions and a significant player in making America a global energy powerhouse. Yet those achievements are all for naught if groundwater is poisoned for generations.
The downturn in gas prices, in part due to a glut of drilling, has left many producers high and dry — and some communities wondering if they were right to embrace the industry’s pitches. Only the shale drillers’ commitment to safety, with vigorous enforcement from the state, can maintain the proper development of Pennsylvania’s extraordinary natural resource.
First Published: March 13, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
