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Federal agency cancels water delivery to Pa. town

Sat, 01/07/2012 - 5:44pm

Images

$This May 22, 2009 picture shows John Fenton, a farmer who lives near Pavillion in central Wyoming, near a tank used in natural gas extraction, in background. Fenton and some of his neighbors blame hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” a common technique used in drilling new oil and gas wells, for fouling their well water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday Dec. 8, 2011 in Wyoming, for the first time that fracking may be to blame for causing groundwater pollution. The EPA also emphasized that the findings are specific to the Pavillion area. The agency said the fracking that occurred in Pavillion differed from fracking methods used elsewhere in regions with different geological characteristics. (AP Photo/Bob Moen, File)$

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has abruptly changed its mind about delivering fresh water to residents of a northeastern Pennsylvania village where residential wells were tainted from natural gas drilling operations.

Only 24 hours after promising them water, EPA officials on Saturday informed residents of Dimock (Dih-mick) that a tanker truck wouldn’t be coming after all. Once again, residents are scrambling for water for bathing, washing dishes and flushing toilets. Agency officials would not explain why they reneged on their promise.

At least a dozen homeowners in the rural community of Dimock Township have been without a reliable source of water since the gas driller blamed for polluting their aquifer, Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., won permission from state environmental regulators to halt deliveries more than a month ago.