Officials probe contamination of wells by methane near Allentown

Associated Press

ALLENTOWN, Pa.

Pennsylvania environmental regulators and a gas-drilling company are investigating the source of methane that potentially contaminated three private water wells and a pond.

The water wells are located near two natural-gas well pads operated by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., the Houston-based company that endured harsh criticism over contamination of private water wells in nearby Dimock Township.

The Department of Environmental Protection confirmed Wednesday it is collecting samples from the gas wells and water wells in Lenox Township, Susquehanna County, to see if there is a match, with results expected in several weeks. No determination has been made about the source of the stray methane, according to department spokesman Daniel Spadoni.

Methane is not known to be toxic, but in high concentrations it can be explosive and cause unconsciousness and even death, since it displaces oxygen needed to breathe.

Cabot has vented the water wells and installed methane alarms in each of the three homes, state officials said.

Company officials said they were working closely with state inspectors to ensure residents’ safety.

“We have employees actively gathering samples and collecting data,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “In partnership with DEP, we have placed a rush on getting back all results.”

Company spokesman George Stark told The Associated Press that the three homes affected are between 1,000 and 2,500 feet from its well pads.

Cabot tests the water of homes up to 2,500 feet from its wells before drilling, so the company has pre-drilling test results to use in a comparison, Stark said. The results of those earlier tests were not immediately available.

The Department of Environmental Protection also sampled water wells that serve the nearby Mountainview Junior- Senior High School and elementary school. Spadoni said no methane was detected in the head space of the wells or in the campus buildings.

One of the Cabot well pads under investigation is located on a 500-acre dairy farm owned by longtime Mountainview School Board President James Zick, who also owns the pond that DEP said it found to be bubbling with “combustible gas.”

Zick, 61, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he doesn’t believe the bubbling in his pond is out of the ordinary and may not even be caused by methane.

“It’s a living pond. It has turtles, fish, frogs and lots of times you see an occasional bubble come out of the pond,” said Zick, adding that his own drinking water is “crystal clear and tastes fine.”

In a twist, though, one of the homes whose water is suspected of being laced with methane is that of the school district’s superintendent, Andrew Chichura. He did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday.

With students returning to class next week, Zick, a 28-year school-board member, said he understands why parents might be concerned and added that he shares it. He said the schools’ water tests have come back clean.

“I would never do anything to harm anything to do with our school and I want people to know it,” Zick said.

The Zick pad has four wells, none of which have been hydraulically fractured or “fracked.” The other Cabot pad has three Marcellus Shale wells, one of which has been fracked, DEP said.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton first reported the suspected methane contamination.