In addition when methane leaks into the air it contributes to climate change Methane in a water well does not necessarily come from gas drilling operations however Northern Pennsylvania where Vargson lives contains a lot of natural gas beneath the ground Even before companies drilled and fracked for gas in the area some people had contaminated water When faced with complaints from people such as Vargson gas companies often claim the contamination is natural This may be true in some cases but improperly drilled natural gas wells can leak Those leaks may contaminate water BELIEVE THAT WE ARE A 2013 study by researchers DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CONSTRUCT OUR WELLS at Duke University tested PROPERLY AND SAFELY AND THAT the water at 141 homes in WE ARE NOT CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM northeastern Pennsylvania DAVID BERT VICE PRESIDENT OF They found methane in DRILLING CHESAPEAKE ENERGY 82 percent of those water wells The water wells within 0 6 miles 1 km of a natural gas drilling operation contained six times more methane than average The study concluded that drilling Vargson points out the vent that Chesapeake Energy installed on her land to reduce the methane levels in her farm's water 9
operations had contaminated the water In May 2011 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection DEP ordered Chesapeake Energy to pay a 900 000 fine for contaminating the drinking water at 16 homes including Vargson's It sounds like the state is going to get a chunk of change But I still have contaminated water said Vargson A FRACKING MESS In Dimock Township Pennsylvania residents have also complained about water contamination due to drilling by Cabot Oil Gas Some of the contamination may be natural The town however has attracted a media frenzy partially due to the 2010 documentary film Gasland which painted an unpleasant picture of a town poisoned by gas drilling The film fed a growing anti fracking movement even though many of the stories in the film are unreliable MOST OF US BELIEVE METHANE IS THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES WE LL NEVER DRINK OUR WATER 14 and not backed up by scientific VICTORIA SWITZER RESIDENT OF DIMOCK PENNSYLVANIA evidence The issue has split Dimock down the middle One group blames fracking 10
MORE TO THE STORY WELCOME TO DIMOCK PENNSYLVANIA On January 1 2009 Norma Fiorentino's well exploded She was not home at the time but the blast broke an eight foot 2 4 m wide concrete slab into pieces and rained them onto her lawn After the explosion she and other residents of Dimock worried about the safety of their water Cabot Oil Gas had recently started drilling for natural gas in the area Fifteen families sued Cabot The company claimed the methane contamination happened naturally But the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection DEP disagreed The DEP ordered the company to stop all drilling activity pay a fine of 120 000 and pay for a pipeline to bring clean water to residents In 2012 the Environmental Protection Agency EPA reported finding toxic chemicals in the water at five homes but treatment systems could make the water safe The sampling and an evaluation of the particular circumstances at each home did not indicate levels of contaminants that would give EPA reason to take further action said regional administrator Shawn Garvin In 2012 the DEP also lifted its suspension on drilling in the area Meanwhile the town of Dimock became ground zero for the fracking debate The issue has pitted neighbor against neighbor Some still refuse to drink their water Others say the water is fine and that antifracking activists are blowing things out of proportion
