[vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]If you’ve followed the news coming out of the Dimock area for the past few years, you’ll notice that Cabot continues to reiterate that methane levels in the plaintiffs’ water wells are at levels that are naturally occurring in the area.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Where is Cabot getting this information? In what world do flaming faucets exist naturally?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Let’s take a look at our information sources:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]1. Talking to local residents.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]A brief conversation with the life-long residents in the area, and they’ll be telling you stories of how they used to light the local creeks on fire when they were younger – decades before the natural gas industry was in the area. Methane in the water is commonplace there. They also realize that “pristine” drinking water isn’t always what comes from their water wells.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Take a look at this video of residents talking about the quality of their water before the industry was present.

The residents even have shirts:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/2″]
 
2. Salt Springs State Park has a documented history of folks lighting the water on fire.[/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image css_animation=”” image=”1828″ border_color=”” img_link_large=”” link=”http://cabotsusq.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/lighting-water-on-fire.jpg” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Located seven miles north of Montrose, Salt Springs is a gorgeous 405-acre piece of land featuring towering old-growth trees and three waterfalls. But it’s also known for the ability to light bubbles on fire – methane has been present for hundreds of years. Take a look at a story by native Stephen Depue as he describes setting the water on fire in the early 1940s.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_single_image css_animation=”” image=”1830″ border_color=”” img_link_large=”” link=”http://cabotsusq.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/salt-springs-state-park.jpg” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]3. More than 1,700 water wells were sampled prior to natural gas drilling – 80% of the samples contained methane.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]If the testimonies from local residents about preexisting methane don’t strike you as definitive proof, you can always take a look at the science.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In December 2011, this article – Methane in Pennsylvania Water Wells Unrelated to Marcellus Shale Fracturing – was published in Oil & Gas Journal confirming the presence of methane in water sources before the natural gas industry. They not only compiled technical literature & historical publications from the area talking about the methane, they also sampled 1,713 water wells across Susquehanna County in areas without natural gas drilling activity & analyzed them for the presence of methane.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The result?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Not only did 80% of the samples show concentrations of methane without the presence of industry activity, but they displayed a clear correlation of methane concentrations with surface topography. It was revealed that water wells located in valley areas exhibited significantly higher concentrations than those samples from upland areas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_single_image css_animation=”” image=”1829″ border_color=”” img_link_large=”” link=”http://cabotsusq.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/methane-in-water.jpg” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]So what should you take from this?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The bottom line is that correlation does not always imply causation. Natural gas drilling activities are not responsible for the preexisting methane across Susquehanna County.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]That’s not to say that an issue can never arise, simply that each case requires a thorough investigation to determine if it was improper private water well construction (water well construction is not regulated in Pennsylvania), a preexisting methane area or if industry activities have contributed to the issue.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]