NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday said Cabot Oil & Gas Corp had 60 days to "permanently fix water supplies" that were affected by the company's natural gas drilling operations in Susquehanna County.
The DEP said the directive was part of a modified consent order and agreement between the agency and the company requiring Cabot to continue providing temporary water services to local residents until a permanent solution can be implemented.
"The 60-day timetable represents an extension that was made necessary when residents in the affected area objected to the company's previous proposal to fix the water contamination issue," the DEP said in a statement.
In April, the DEP and Cabot modified an original consent order and agreement from November 2009, with provisions requiring whole-house water treatment systems to be installed in 14 homes as a permanent water supply resolution.
Due to some resident dissatisfaction with the solution, Cabot requested an extension of the consent order and agreement time frame to install a permanent solution.
Also in April, the DEP suspended its review of Cabot's pending permit applications for new drilling activities statewide until the company fulfilled its obligations to plug and repair the wells that caused the gas migration and in turn the water contamination.
The DEP said this week's modification "acknowledges Cabot's progress to date under the earlier agreement. In particular, Cabot has plugged three gas wells, as required, and has made repairs to another well."
The DEP said it would resume reviewing Cabot applications only for permits to drill gas wells outside of the affected area in Dimock Township.
Except for the permanent water supply and permit application review provisions, all other terms and conditions of the November 2009 consent order and agreement and April modification remain in effect, including the restrictions on drilling and hydrofracturing within the affected area.
Gas drilling in Pennsylvania, and in particular in the Marcellus Shale, which stretches across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia, has drawn the attention of major energy companies due to estimates that the region holds enough gas to meet total U.S. needs for a decade or more.
But attention is also being drawn to the region by groups concerned about possible health risks from controversial drilling techniques.
Last week Range Resources, which was the first natural gas company to drill and complete a Marcellus Shale well in Pennsylvania using the technology, announced voluntary disclosure about additives used in the process of hydraulic fracturing of gas wells in the state.
(Reporting by Eileen Moustakis; Editing by Walter Bagley)
