BY LAURA LEGERE
Times-Shamrock Writer
No water was delivered in Dimock Twp. on Saturday despite assurances residents said they received Friday from federal regulators that a contractor had been hired to fill up the bulk water tanks in their yards and basements.
Two residents of theSusquehannaCountytownship where tainted well water has been tied to nearby gas drilling said they received phone calls on Saturday from Environmental Protection Agency officials saying water would not be delivered that day.
Resident Julie Sautner said her family was offered no explanation for why the water deliveries promised on Friday would not take place. A neighbor, Wendy Seymour, said an EPA official called her to apologize for the confusion over the deliveries and explained the agency is still evaluating what steps it will take next in its investigation of Dimock water supplies.
“She said she hopes to have an answer shortly once they have all the data they need,” Mrs. Seymour said. “Maybe it’s hopeful.”
In a statement Friday, an EPA spokeswoman said the agency had made no decision to provide alternate sources of water, despite phone calls at least four families said they received Friday from EPA officials arranging the deliveries. On Saturday evening, the spokeswoman said she had no further information about the status of the agency’s investigation or any plans for water deliveries.
The EPA has reopened its review of Dimock water supplies in the last two weeks after declaring in early December that its initial review of outside water tests showed the water posed no immediate health risk.
State officials have found that Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. allowed methane to seep from faulty Marcellus Shale natural gas wells into 18 Dimock water supplies – a contention Cabot denies. Recent tests of the residents’ water wells have revealed other contaminants, including metals, surfactants, glycols and solvents.
After years of delivering replacement bulk and bottled water to the residents, Cabot received state approval to stop the deliveries on Dec. 1.
Be the first to comment on "No water delivieries from EPA, families ssay"