Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation (COG) Failed to Fix Faulty Gas Wells and the Resulting Water Pollution
Cabot has a history of polluting Pennsylvania's water supplies, endangering citizens, and facing governmental scrutiny for its environmental liabilities. On February 27, 2017, Cabot filed with the SEC a Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, disclosing that it had entered into a Consent Order and Agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) on December 30, 2016, relating to gas migration allegations in an area surrounding several wells owned and operated by Cabot in Susquehanna County and agreeing to pay a civil monetary penalty of $300,000.
On July 26, 2019, Cabot filed a Form 10-Q for the quarter ending June 30, 2019, disclosing that the company had received two notices of violation from the PaDEP in June and November of 2017, for failing to prevent the migration of gas into local fresh groundwater sources, which had exposed the Company to civil monetary penalty. On this news, Cabot's shares fell 12.07% the same day. Then, on June 15, 2020, following a grand jury investigation, the PA attorney general's office charged Cabot with fifteen criminal counts related to the company's failure to fix faulty gas wells and the resulting water pollution. On this news, Cabot's shares fell 3.34%, closing at $19.40 per share on June 15, 2020. The stock has yet to recover.