Pennsylvania
Fracking Company Featured in ‘Gasland’ Faces Criminal Pollution Charges in Pennsylvania
A natural-gas drilling firm going through prison prices for allegedly contaminating the consuming water in a rural Pennsylvania city is predicted to enter a plea Tuesday.
Coterra Vitality Inc.
is scheduled to look in Susquehanna County Courtroom, two years after the Pennsylvania lawyer normal charged its predecessor, Cabot Oil & Fuel Corp., with 15 prison counts for allegedly inflicting flammable methane to leak from natural-gas wells into residential water provides in Dimock, Pa.
A spokesman for Coterra declined to remark Monday. The corporate has lengthy maintained that the methane in residents’ wells was naturally occurring.
Dimock, a small group within the northeast nook of the state, gained nationwide consideration when the 2010 documentary “Gasland” confirmed residents lighting their faucet water on hearth.
Since unconventional fuel drilling, often known as fracking, took off within the late 2000s in Pennsylvania and neighboring states to faucet the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale formations, the Dimock case has been amongst these cited most frequently to focus on the dangers to native consuming water.
A spokeswoman for Lawyer Common
Josh Shapiro
declined to touch upon the plea listening to. Mr. Shapiro, a Democrat elected earlier this month to grow to be the state’s subsequent governor, mentioned in June 2020 that Cabot “took shortcuts that broke the regulation, and broken our surroundings—harming our water provide and public well being.”
In 2016, the Environmental Safety Company mentioned fracking can have an effect on consuming water provides in sure circumstances, however that the variety of recognized instances of contamination was small. The company cited floor spills and situations the place the cement casing of a nicely was poor as potential causes.
The Pennsylvania Division of Environmental Safety web site lists 392 personal water provides which have been impacted by oil and fuel actions since 2008. The listing consists of each standard and unconventional drilling, and impacts vary from a discount in water to a rise in pollution equivalent to methane.
In 2010, the DEP discovered that Cabot Oil & Fuel was accountable for permitting methane emigrate to water wells for 19 houses in Dimock, together with one which had exploded a yr earlier. Cabot reached a settlement with some residents in 2012, however the go well with continued. A federal decide overturned a $4.24 million jury award in 2017. The state lawyer normal filed prison prices in 2020.
Ray Kemble, seen pumping water in 2012, says his nicely water turned brown and started to scent shortly after fracking started close to his house in Dimock, Pa.
Picture:
Matt Rourke/Related Press
For greater than a decade, some residents who mentioned they didn’t belief their nicely water have relied on shopping for bottled water, or purchased water commercially in bulk or else gathered it from creeks and artesian wells.
Pennsylvania American Water says it plans to ship water to Dimock residents via a venture developed with the lawyer normal’s workplace. The corporate mentioned the venture will embrace a therapy system that can eradicate contaminants within the space’s groundwater and disconnect residents’ plumbing from current wells to keep away from cross-contamination.
In keeping with a grand jury presentment, Cabot Oil & Fuel leased mineral rights from residents in Dimock starting in 2006, and shortly after natural-gas drilling started residents complained about modifications to their consuming water, together with discoloration and foul odors.
Residents turned extra involved after one water nicely exploded in 2009, in keeping with the grand-jury report. On the time, Cabot denied accountability for the explosion however started putting in vents to residents’ water wells to assist take away methane.
After the Pennsylvania DEP discovered that Cabot’s drilling had triggered methane emigrate to water wells of 19 houses, the corporate agreed to a consent order during which it stopped new drilling over a 9-square-mile space that included these houses.
Some residents who had methane of their consuming water skilled rashes, dizziness, imaginative and prescient issues and issue respiration, in keeping with the grand-jury report. Residents additionally reported losses within the worth of their property, the report mentioned.
Ray Kemble,
a 67-year-old Dimock resident, mentioned he has been driving 24 miles spherical journey each week to fill a 250-gallon truck with water from a hydrant within the county seat of Montrose. He mentioned he and one other Dimock resident every pay the water utility about $50 a month for the water.
Mr. Kemble mentioned his nicely water had turned brown and started to scent in 2009, shortly after Cabot started drilling close to his house. He mentioned his faucet water on the time additionally contained excessive sufficient ranges of methane that he might ignite it.
“We haven’t had water in 14 years,” he mentioned. “I’m simply attempting to get peace in my life.”
Write to Kris Maher at Kris.Maher@wsj.com
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Believe it or not, the pretzel capital of the world is not in Munich or Würzburg, but rather in the small Pennsylvania city of Reading. In the 1700s, German immigrants who moved to Pennsylvania brought with them a love of soft, lye-boiled, hand-twisted breads. These immigrants settled in areas like Lititz and Lancaster, where early bakers laid the foundation for large-scale commercial pretzel making.
According to the Berks History Center, Julius Sturgis opened a commercial pretzel bakery in Lititz, near Reading, in 1861, widely credited with being the first. However there are also reports that a man named Benjamin Lichtenthaler built the first such bakery in 1860, or that a baker named John Sauermilch set up shop even earlier, around 1846.
Regardless, what is certain is that the city attracted a host of pretzel makers, and by the late 19th century, dozens of bakeries operated across the city, producing everything from traditional twists to innovative pretzel sticks. According to a local history website, at one point, Reading was home to 26 different bakeries, which earned it the nickname “Pretzel City.” By the 1940s, Reading was responsible for producing one-third of all pretzels baked in the United States. According to a local tourism guide, Pennsylvania continues to dominate the pretzel industry today, with about 80% of U.S. pretzels made in the state.
Read more: Foods Anthony Bourdain Hated With A Passion
From pretzel twists to pretzel sticks
A bunch of salty pretzel sticks. – Bhofack2/Getty Images
Prior to ever reaching U.S. shores, pretzels were popular in western Europe as soft breads, with that characteristic twist. But once they reached the U.S. their form and texture began to shift. The Tom Sturgis company (operated by descendants of the original Julius Sturgis) states it produced the first crisp, hard pretzels in the U.S. While soft pretzels remain beloved, hard pretzels became the industry standard as they are easier to store and ship.
Other companies such as Unique Snacks, and Faller’s Pretzels established themselves in Reading and surrounding Berks County and similarly began experimenting with these hard pretzels. Faller’s Pretzels became known for thin crunchy pretzel sticks, cut to snacking size.
From pretzel twists dipped in chocolate or pretzel nuggets stuffed with peanut butter, Pennsylvania bakeries keep reinventing a centuries-old snack. Today’s pretzel aisles are filled with modern spins, like pretzel sandwich buns, and super light extra thins. And let’s not forget, the introduction of the butter pretzel — which adds shortening to the dough for a richer, more indulgent taste — is a distinctly modern twist on the original austere recipe.
Ways to enjoy your salty Reading treat
A handful of crunchy pretzel twists. – New Africa/Shutterstock
The enduring appeal of pretzels lies in their remarkable salty flexibility. If you’re seeking a traditional, hands-on experience, you can easily make soft pretzels at home, using a bit of lye to achieve that fresh chewy taste.
However if you want to enjoy the crunchy hard-baked Reading speciality, there are endless options. Try crushing hard pretzels for a salty pie crust that goes great with a creamy pumpkin cheese cake and delivers an unreal sweet-and-salty combo. Or crumble some pretzel sticks on top of a rich baked mac and cheese right before you put it in the oven for a crispy crust. Similarly add a fine layer of crushed pretzel dust to your next shepard’s pie for a crunchy finish. Of course, the simplest and perhaps most authentic way to enjoy this Pennsylvania specialty remains enjoying them in their purest form: straight from the bag as a perfectly portable and satisfying snack.
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Read the original article on Food Republic.
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