Dimock Residents Petition EPA to Stop Their Investigation

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A group of residents from the Dimock, Pennsylvania area have formed a group called “Enough is Enough” to combat the negative image being painted of their quaint, rural town in the Endless Mountains region of northeast PA. A steady drumbeat of negative press over the past three years, instigated by anti-drilling organizations, has created an image of Dimock as a chemical wasteland a la “Love Canal” (the Niagara Falls neighborhood that became famous in the 1970s because of widespread underground chemical contamination) in the minds of those who have never visited the area.

Dimock residents want to dispel that image.

The latest round in the public relations battle sullying the Dimock reputation as a good place to live (and to drink water) is the Environmental Protection Agency’s very public announcement that they will test water wells in the Dimock area and restart water deliveries for four families in the area (see this MDN story). Enough is Enough has launched an online petition to ask EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to “reign in” the “rogue Regional Office” of the EPA doing the investigating, and to end their involvement in Dimock (see and sign the petition here, or click on the image at the end of this story).

Enough is Enough was formed in December of last year in response to offered water deliveries from nearby Binghamton, NY Mayor Matt Ryan—a well-known anti-driller with an agenda. Nearly 150 Dimock-area residents gathered for a meeting in Dimock in early December to express they are “Dimock proud” and upset with the 11 families who have decided to sue Cabot Oil & Gas for big bucks rather than accept what most in town say is a more-than-fair offer dictated by the Pennsylvania DEP: Cabot will install a methane mitigation system for each home, and pay the homeowners twice the assessed value of their property.

The residents of Dimock have dealt with a lot for a long time. However, after three long years they are extremely upset that people are getting the wrong impression of their town because of a small group of neighbors constantly complaining and refusing any solutions that have been offered to them to fix their water supply. Ask the 99% in Dimock about the minority there and most will tell you their actions are upsetting, hurtful to the community and are selfish as the outcome they seek is only beneficial to themselves at the expense of the entire community of which they are a  part.(1)

Dimock residents Jim Grimsley and Ann Van Lenten are part of the Enough is Enough group. Writing for the Energy in Depth website yesterday, they said:

We are tired of having our gas leases put on hold (since April, 2010) because of 11 families that will not accept remedies handed to them – for free. The ENOUGH IS ENOUGH campaign has included a petition asking the Department of Environmental Protection to lift the drilling ban imposed on Cabot. That petition was sent to the DEP on December 14th and we are hoping it will not fall on deaf ears. While going door-to-door, I met so many people who have lived here for generations and who were more than willing to tell me how it really was to grow up here, and how they feel about the misinformation being spread about their town. We are here to pass that information on to you.(2)

Unfortunately, it seems that Dimock has become a divided community pitting neighbor against neighbor. However, when you look at the numbers, the vast majority of Dimock residents support the drilling industry and drilling activity in the area. That’s the part of this story you don’t often read about in mainstream media coverage.

(1) Energy in Depth/Northeast Marcellus Initiative (Dec 8, 2011) – Dimock Proud – Enough is Enough!

(2) Energy in Depth/Northeast Marcellus Initiative (Jan 31, 2012) –*UPDATE* Dimock: The Full Story

Note: Energy in Depth is one of the sponsors of MDN.

3 Comments

  1. Dimock residents Jim Grimsley and Ann Van Lenten are part of the Enough is Enough group. Writing for the Energy in Depth website
    FOR Energy in Depth. Enough said.

  2. So, what you’re saying is unless our last name is Sautner or Switzer or people get their information off GDAC, NYRAD, or what other host of anti-drill sites there are, or Gasland’s Facebook page, we, the MAJORITY of Dimock residents who want the other side of the story to be heard, should not be taken seriously.