Commissioner Mark Smith, Bradford County, PA, Is 100% Correct!

Wellhead

Commissioner Mark Smith blasts the DEP on gas well inspections


BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (Staff Writer)Published: May 7, 2011
Towanda Daily Review

TOWANDA - Only "a pretty low" number of gas wells being drilled in the Marcellus Shale are being inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the chairman of the Bradford County commissioners said.

"The DEP needs to take a look at how they are inspecting these (gas well) sites, at how many people are actually on site inspecting, and at how many sites are actually being inspected, which is pretty low," Mark Smith, chairman of the Bradford County commissioners, said in a recent interview with news and editorial staff from The Daily Review.

"Drillers are able to drill a lot of wells without any oversight, and that's not the correct way to do things," Smith said.

However, DEP spokesperson Katy Gresh on Friday denied Smith's assertion that well sites are not being inspected.

"If Commissioner Smith can point to specific examples of well sites that are not being inspected, we would like to hear about it, and we would investigate that," Gresh said. "I find that very hard to believe."

Smith said that more inspections might be able to prevent more spills at well sites and more blowouts.
He said the rate at which well permits are issued by the DEP may need to be scaled back. "I think that the number of permits issued ought to reflect the number of inspectors that are able to do the job," Smith said. "I don't think they should be permitting sites at a breakneck speed when none of the inspectors would be able to keep up with it. I think that the (rate of) permitting ought to match what they're able to achieve at a personnel level."

In a discussion of water pollution problems occurring locally, Smith said: "I think they (the DEP) should be on top of these things. I think they should be on top of these well casings. They're just not able to inspect them all." Smith also faulted the decision made a couple of years ago by then-DEP Secretary John Hanger to have the DEP do the permitting for erosion and sedimentation control at gas well sties. Prior to that decision, the permitting had been done by county conservation district offices, he said.

"I think that the erosion and sedimentation permitting that was pulled from the county level at the conservation districts should be restored so that we have some local boots on the ground, taking a look at every single one of these sites. And right now, those approvals for erosion and sedimentation, for instance, are done all at DEP, and they are approved on paper. There's no site verification for any of it. That's completely lacking."

Gresh also said: "If Commissioner Smith has facts to back up his assertions, we are willing to listen, but his political rhetoric about the DEP's commitment to the environment is ill-placed. A fact which Commissioner Smith may not be aware of is that since 2008, our Oil and Gas staff has more than doubled. Our team of inspectors are vigorously enforcing regulations as we work to oversee this industry in an environmentally and economically conscious manner."

Regarding Smith's comments about the DEP's permitting for erosion and sedimentation controls, Gresh said: "Commissioner Smith may misunderstand the role conservation districts played in permitting. Again, if he wants to discuss the facts, we are willing to listen and the (governor's) Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission will continue to welcome any suggestions he would like to offer."

However, Gresh declined to specify how Smith might be misunderstanding the role the conservation districts had played in the permitting. Regarding the permitting of erosion and sedimentation controls by the DEP, Gresh also said: "when we find violations at well sites, we have a record of taking strong enforcement action."

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or email: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMITH, FOR SPEAKING UP ON BEHALF OF US!

Bradford County, PA, Commissioner Smith Writes To Governor Re: Gas Drilling Problems



Looking down French Azilum Road in Asylum Township, Bradford County, PA, near our summer home established in 1930.
Photo credit: Carol Manuel

 Bradford County, PA

http://www.bradfordcountypa.org/
Bradford County, PA, 301 Main Street, Towanda, PA 18848

Mark W. Smith, Chairman
Gayle Kershner, Chief Clerk
Jonathan Foster, Solicitor

smithm@bradfordco.org

570-867-1757
Bradford County Commissioners
April 20, 2011

Governor Tom Corbett
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120

Dear Governor Corbett,

Issue after issue has arisen in Bradford County in relation to the development of natural gas in Bradford County. Most recently there was a major incident involving a well blowout in Leroy Township, Bradford County. This major incident is just one more issue our county is dealing with in regards to the development of the Marcellus Shale.

I have a number of concerns I would like to address in relation to these important issues that are unfolding in the county I was elected to represent. DEP officials are quoted in the media as saying they spend as little as 35 minutes to approve each gas well permit. This is an appalling statistic considering the significant operations and impact of a natural gas drilling site and even more appalling considering that there have been nearly 2,000 gas wells permitted in Bradford County.

In recent weeks it has been reported that DEP is now requiring Marcellus Shale violations to be approved by top DEP officials before being levied on gas companies. This practice strikes at the heart of the integrity of that organization. It does irreparable damage to the local areas in the Marcellus Shale with the environmental damage that has become an everyday reality in Bradford County.

Well water contamination in Bradford County is a real and serious issue that is affecting residents’ quality of life, livelihoods, families, and property values. Water buffalos, temporary water storage tanks, now lay claim to peoples’ front yards as a stark reminder of the extreme negative impact that natural gas development is having on our local communities.

Last year I put much effort working for a severance tax that would include an equitable share for local communities. It was a failed attempt but a sincere effort to ensure our county is taken care of through this development. I continue to see our county, townships, and boroughs struggle with complex issues of development with no financial or logistical support from the Commonwealth. Emergency responders, volunteers, state and local police and dispatchers are working at a break neck pace to respond to immense traffic accident increases, well site accidents, and other related issues.

I have heard politicians in complete favor of the gas industry use the phrase, “We don’twant to kill the golden goose”. I would like to state, for the record, that the “Golden Goose” does not exist. It is no more part of reality than the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, or the Easter Bunny.

Lastly, I would like to address the outstanding issue regarding Bradford County’s lack of representation on your appointed Marcellus Shale Commission. Bradford County has had the unique experience of being the most drilled in county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Yet, despite that fact, no one from our county was appointed to your commission. The fact our county was not taken into consideration is a direct insult to our county.

I have been working to, at least, find a way for some of our agencies to be heard by the commission or one of its work groups. To date I have not been successful. I have called and e-mailed the Lt. Governor’s Office and tried working through one of our state representatives to no avail. What a shame that a county with the most experience dealing with the impact of natural gas development seems to have been blackballed from comment to what will be your basis for setting Marcellus Shale policy.

I ask you to take our county and others like it seriously as you move forward setting policy in regards to Marcellus Shale development. The economic benefit of this development is unquestionable. However, it is also unquestionable that when left unattended, the negatives outweigh the positives quickly and heavily.

Best Regards,

Mark W. Smith
Chairman, Bradford County Commissioners

Cc: Secretary Michael Krancer
Representative Tina Pickett
Representative Matt Baker
Senator Gene Yaw

The Tale of the Golden Goose

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMITH, FOR WRITING THIS LETTER

Natural Gas Drilling: Bradford County (PA) Courthouse Becomes Gas Gang Hangout

The rotunda of Bradford County Courthouse

Photo by Wes Skillings

The situation at the Bradford County Courthouse has gotten out of hand.  The county commissioners have made some necessary changes so that the employees at the courthouse and the citizens who have business there can use the building for the purposes for which it was designed.  The" gas gang" as it is being called is having to do their business under new guidelines to which some are really objecting.  One gas industry contractor said,

Contractors like myself are out there working and bringing money to this county. I figured that my group alone brings in about five grand a month...I just don't understand why y'all wouldn't cater to us.

Commissioner McLinko responded at the April 8th meeting:

This thing about the money has been thrown in my face. We're not going to sell our county out for a dollar bill...I get tired of hearing how much money you are bringing in.

Commissioner Smith said,

The rotunda of the courthouse is not a corporate office. It's not a cafeteria, and it's not a social club.

The commissioners' outrage is certainly understandable and justified. However, do they remember that it was their idea to wholeheartedly bring the gas industry to Bradford County and lease 90+ acres of public land in order to make money for the county?

Read the article from the Rocket Courier.  There are many more details which will make you wonder:  Do the gas drillers own the place?  Why do they think they do?  Where are their manners?

Natural Gas Drilling: Bradford County (PA) Courthouse Has Unwelcome Carnival Atmosphere

The Rotunda at Towanda County Courthouse

[Photo: The Towanda Daily Review]

Even Commissioner Doug McLinko, a staunch supporter of gas drilling in Bradford County (PA), is drawing the line.  The three commissioners of the county have had to clamp down on unacceptable behavior at the courthouse in Towanda, the county seat.  It seems that as many as 80 people are descending on the courthouse rotunda daily to search for information on gas leases and properties on which leases will be signed.  Nothing wrong with these people except they seem to have gotten the idea that they are entitled to make themselves at home to the detriment of the normal courthouse activities.  They are monopolizing the tables in the rotunda area, eating their fast food lunches, playing loud music on computers, and watching movies.  The county has had to hire another custodian to help clean up the mess in bathrooms and even scrape food off the floor at night.  The commissioners tried to talk to representatives of Chesapeake Energy and Talisman, but to little effect.  Finally Mark Smith, head commissioner, took things into his own hands and removed some of tables, leaving room for only 42 people.  Rules of use were put at each table.  It seems the people doing the gas drilling work had forgotten they are indeed guests there.  The local people are beginning to resent the intrusion of the gas industry even at the courthouse.  The crumpling roads and long lines at the coffee shops are other reminders that "they are not in Kansas anymore."  It is now almost impossible to even find a motel room available, not even for social services who need spaces for the homeless.  The drillers have commandeered  every last room.  Perhaps that problem will be alleviated when dormitories are built to house these men, a plan which is in the works.

When will life return to normal for the residents of Bradford County?  Sadly, the answer is probably never.

Read all about it here.