Few, if any, of our industry partners have been around as long as Moody and Associates. They have been providing groundwater and environmental services for businesses, municipalities and residents since 1891. So, perhaps it is not such a surprise that our relationship with Moody and Associates predates the development of the Marcellus shale.
“Cabot was a pretty big client of ours in northwestern PA,” company President Jeff Walentosky recalled. They had done a fair amount of work for us on conventional oil and gas wells for years in the Medina Sandstone. Additionally, Moody drilled high-capacity water wells and continues to do so for large businesses and municipalities. They also supplied water and provided traditional environmental consultation.
“We had well-positioned offices prior to the Marcellus in Meadeville and Washington, PA,” said Travis Bennett. Bennett is one of three company vice presidents and the manager of the new Athens office that opened in Bradford County this past July.
It became apparent how important water would be to the gas industry in the region as Cabot and other operators arrived. So, Moody and Associates opened a small office with three employees in a little garage just north of Athens in Sayre.
“It exploded with the Marcellus play,” said Bennett. Moody was performing baseline residential water sampling, prior to and after gas activity. “In that capacity, we serve as an insurance company for the gas company and the landowner.”
Since a working relationship was already established, Moody was the logical choice to provide the independent, third-party environmental services that we require. This includes services such as data management, regulatory compliance, sampling and reporting, and water supply investigative work. Walentosky, Bennett and two other partners purchased the company from the Moody family three years ago.
“That contract with Cabot is what really allowed this office to grow,” Walentosky noted. The staff in the Athens office now has 16 full-time employees. “Moody also serves as the eyes and ears for the corporate guys in the Southwest part of the state.”
“I look at it more as a partnership than a relationship. A lot of times, we are the first face they see,” Bennett said, in reference to the landowners. Bennett explained that the growth of the company also allowed them to diversify their services to include asbestos surveying for municipalities and adding a full-time engineer when they noticed that local engineering firms were hiring environmentalists.
Walentosky told us that what he likes best about working with Cabot’s managers and employees is that we are passionate about our work. “That seems to be a common theme across the board,” he stated. “They are also so community-minded, which has motivated us to increase our community involvement.”
Moody has been one of the biggest supporters of our annual holiday toy drive and participates in the annual clay shoot we started with the Lackawanna College School of PNG.
“What Cabot has done for Susquehanna County is amazing,” Walentosky remarked. “They have created life- sustaining jobs and contributed to the workforce.”
“They are a leader in the industry,” Bennett concurred. “They are at the forefront in the Marcellus shale.”
“It’s important to us to help with natural resource development in Pennsylvania,” Walentosky added. “We’re looking to diversifying our services by looking for new opportunities and things that we haven’t done for Cabot before.”
Moody and Associates has evolved as full-service environmental specialists and consultants who are trusted leaders in their field, and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.
