South Caddo (LA) Evacuees Return Home

Residents of South Caddo Stop By the Firehouse To Pick Up Water

Photo by Greg Pearson/The Times

The residents of South Caddo, evacuated this week due to hazardous gasses in their homes from gas drilling-related causes,  were allowed to return to their homes yesterday.  But first they went to the Shreveport Fire Station No. 22 to pick up water.  The water was not provided by the offending gas company, Exco Resources, Inc.  The water was provided at taxpayers' expense by the fire department.  A team of 23 people escorted the residents back to their homes and went in first in groups of three to test and make sure it was safe. 

Some residents could not return to their homes yet.  They live too close to the drilling site (within a half mile).  It will be at least Monday before they can return.  The well must be sealed first.

The most dangerous situation, other than the risk of explosion, was the presence of VOCs- volatile organic compounds.  These VOCs pose a health risk to liver and kidney function.

One hundred thirty-five families were affected.

A resident whose water was contaminated during this incident commented to the newspaper:

Well, I am still here with no water.. the company responsible for this still has not contacted any of the people left in their homes for now 5 days with no water...I think our first responders have done what they know to do.. it is the company that should have sent water to our homes. That is the least they could have done.. well, today most of the residents are coming home.. now they can see what it is like to be at home with no water..I am not sure how they can say it is safe when they don't know for sure..Gas stays at the bottom until it is bubbles to top.. I think I am going to need some counseling after this..I am afraid to even wash clothes,flush the toilet, or even wash the dishes.

Read the entire article from The Shreveport Times.

Trouble on Hedgehog Lane

Thanks to Ohio-based Schreiner Oil Company, at least seven Hedgehog Lane residents in Bradford Township, PA, (Mckean County) have tainted well water. The company is not disputing the damage or its responsibility for it. Cause: recent oil and gas drilling in the area. Schreiner has been ordered to restore clean water to the affected households. Meanwhile the families are being supplied with bottled water. This has reportedly been going on for weeks.

I'm wondering how one takes a bath or shower with bottled water...

One family, the Baileys, chose to move out of their home seven weeks ago. It remains to be seen how much longer they will be in exile away from their home. Bradford Township Supervisors' Chairman Don Cummins believes that the best way to resolve the dilemma is to hook up the homes to city water "in case any further issues arise with future drilling." Getting funding for such a project is a major issue which government officials are working on. Further complicating the situation and the cost of bringing city water to Hedgehog Lane is the high elevations. Water pressure would be very limited to higher-up houses. Cummins says the residents definitely want city water.

They don't want to deal with the taste and the smell and the methane gas (infiltration)- they're just living that every day.

Meanwhile the drilling is expected to continue. Schreiner has plans for more wells in the area. The residents of Hedgehog Lane will just have to wait. Disrupted lives is just the price we pay for the mistakes and industrial accidents of the big gas companies.

Read more about the story here.
Here is the news release from the PA DEP regarding this incident.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!