Gas Pipelines Installed Next To Homes in PA

Published on Jan 23, 2015

Pipelines dug near homes in Vera's county, Susquehanna County, Pa. and there are no setbacks that I know of. See what it's like in this video near Montrose, Pa. in my county and we now have a spider web of high-pressure gas pipelines all over our county and more regularly being proposed and installed. We are exposed to this risk and change of our landscape with many trees being cut down and wetlands and waterways crossed and impacted...

Video:  Vera Scroggins

The FERC Rubber Stamp Song

Published on Jul 6, 2014

We all know FERC's a Rubber Stamp Machine!
(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
Recorded the 1 May 2014 (day of Minisink trial at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals).

LYRICS by Dave Publow:

We're here at FERC to have our say
So listen closely, don't walk away
This is your country It's yours to save
You're letting fossil fuels dig our grave

Across the land from sea to sea
The gas-men drill the earth so carelessly
They poison water, they cut down trees
To put in pipelines that we don't need

And we all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
it's not for you and me, it's paid by permit fees
We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
It won't protect you, it won't protect me

You guys at FERC, so you say
Will regulate the pipes, and keep us safe
Tell me then how industry
Puts dangerous pipelines in NYC

Our upstate friends are feeling down
The Constitution Pipeline, will wreck their towns
With leaky pipes and clear cut trees
Fracked wells and poisoned springs

We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
a rubber stamp machine, a rubber stamp machine
We all know your hearings are a total joke,
FERC is just a fraud, it's all a bunch of smoke

Voices:
Full speed ahead, Mr. FERC Inspector! Full speed ahead!
Full speed it is Mr. Gasman!
Cut the trees down! Carve up the landscape!
Spread that toxic waste on the roads!
Aye aye, Sir! Aye aye!


And we fight cause we believe
No one should be forced to ever breathe
Skies of ozone (Skies of ozone) and benzene (and toluene)
In our ferky (our ferky jerky) democracy (bureaucracy, ha-ha!)

We all know that gas is anything but green
It poisons all our wells, or blows to smithereens
And we all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
It won't protect you, it won't protect me

We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
a rubber stamp machine, a rubber stamp machine
We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
It won't protect you, it won't protect me.

FERC

Minisink Matters

Minisink, NY:  Our Story

Minisink Compressor Station Vented July 7, 2014
 

The Planet Testifies in Court

The Ethics of Fracking

Published on Jan 14, 2014

A film by Scott Cannon http://www.gdacoalition.org

This film explores the ethics of fracking though different professional and religious backgrounds. It also takes a look at the deceiving advertising the gas industry heavily relies on. It is for educational purposes only. If any groups would like a DVD or to host a screening of the film, they can request one by email at videoinnovation@epix.net

Acknowledgements for their participation in the film:
Bernard G. Prusak - Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at King's College

Congressman Matt Cartwright - Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District

Brother David Andrews, C.S.C. - Senior Representative of Food & Water Watch

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling - Director of the Social Justice Organizing Program at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Marleen A. Troy, Ph. D. - Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Wilkes University

Dr. Alfonso Rodriguez, MD - Nephrologists, President of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition

New Pipeline: Silver Lake Township, Susquehanna County, PA

Published on May 21, 2013
Taped 5-20-13. I was coming home yesterday from a funeral and saw this on the road to my home in my township. Ground broken open, trees cut down, 100 ft. swatches cut open and scraped to the ground, mounds of earth dug up. Shocking for me and disturbing. More compressor stations will be coming besides the 21 being built and permitted right now in our county of Susquehanna, Pa.. More pipelines will be coming also. These pipelines connect the gas pads with multiple wells in my area, within a mile of my home.

Video by Vera Scroggins, Independent Journalist/Videographer

"Who'd have thought that people would allow this?"

George Feighner of New Jersey: "I cry for my trees..."

Published on Feb 17, 2013 George Feighner, wept today (2/16) as 70-year old white pines were clearcut less than 100 feet from his front door by pipeline contractors who started cutting yesterday morning after receiving a Notice to Proceed from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday (2/4). George is an 86-year old man in Montague, NJ living just off the banks of the Delaware River, and had his 60-acre property condemned for eminent domain to be the path of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Loop 323. The upgraded pipeline will transport Marcellus Shale gas to Mahwah, NJ giving enormous incentives for the industry to fully develop the shale and build new natural gas power plants, including the one proposed in Newark, NJ. George has been involved in a legal appeal for over a year of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision. FERC members have all been appointed or re-appointed by Barack Obama who spoke in favor of "cutting the red tape for oil and gas permits" during his State of the Union. Obama holds the power to order his Army Corps of Engineers representative on the Delaware River Basin Commission to stop this project and put it under further review and has yet to act, as well as Governor Andrew Cuomo, Governor Jack Markell, Governor Chris Christie, and Governor Tom Corbett. Tennessee Gas Pipeline company is itself a subsidiary of El Paso, which is a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan of Tar Sands oil pipeline fame. Check out our website for actions you can take to support our struggle to stop the Tennessee Pipeline, even if you can't be with us here in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. www.notennesseepipeline.blogspot.com By: Stop the Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Aerial Photos of Pennsylvania Gas Development

Aerial photographs of the natural gas exploration being done in and around the Pine Creek Valley in Central PA. Photos by Bill Crowell.

Living the Drill: Bradford County Farmers Speak Out (Video Part 2)

Carol French and Carolyn Knapp, dairy farmers from Bradford County PA, describe how gas drilling has affected their lives, families, farms, and community, and relay warnings and advice to New York residents.

Video from Essential Dissent.

What is hydrofracking?

Rev. Billy says:

Fracking is murder.

Can that be any clearer?

More about Rev. Billy here.

A Pipeline Comes To Town: Dallas, PA

In Dallas, PA, this pipeline preparation gouges the forest, plucking up the old trees like matchsticks and hauls them off as if they are of no value. A resident who treasured this place wrote:

Every school day for 8 years, I traveled past this corner . Admiring the beautiful stone walls on the property - wondering: who built them, how did they build such magnificent perfect walls, where did the stone come from, how long did it take to build it.... now it's all gone. Breaks my heart.

Check out Susquehanna River Sentinel.  Excellent views about the gas drilling industry from a PA resident.

This Picture Is Changing Due To Gas Wells and MARC1 Pipeline

Join 22,000 other people who’ve already spoken out against the construction of a huge gas pipeline that would ruin the beauty of Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains – a region of rolling green hills, farms, covered bridges, and waterfalls. Trouble is brewing as developers plan a massive 39-mile gas pipeline, known as the MARC 1 Hub Line Project, that would cut through 610 acres in Bradford, Sullivan, and Lycoming Counties and bring with it heavy machinery, roads, and other unwanted development.  It will cross high quality streams as well and spur gas drilling in previously undeveloped areas while threatening public health and the environment. 

EarthJustice hopes to persuade a court that a full environmental impact statement is necessary to approve the MARC 1 pipeline.  If this effort is successful, it will be the FIRST such study of Marcellus Shale impacts in Pennsylvania.

Click here to go to the EarthJustice page. There is a map of the pipeline there.  Look for the Take Action button to take you to the page where you can click on "Which do you like better? Picnics or Pipelines?  You can add your name to those opposed!

Take action now before the July 11th deadline!

The photo above: You are looking down at French Azilum in Bradford County as seen from Route 6 at the Marie Antoinette Lookout.  Why do we need to destroy this view?

Marcellus Shale: Cabot Hearts Animals?

Mule deer

Cabot Oil and Gas has done it again.  It is showing us how much they care about the local community and animals.  Their gas drilling is destroying animal habitat and providing light and noise pollution that disrupt the lives of animals.  And well pads cause runoff which puts toxic chemicals in local fields and streams which serve as water sources for animals.  Fish kills and sick and dying farm animals are reported with regularity.  Nonetheless,  Cabot is offering to match donations to True Friends Animal Welfare Shelter in Montrose, PA.  The gas company is described as "a good corporate citizen for the community."  They are offering $10,000.  Such a pittance compared to the harm they are doing to animals every single day.  If only animals could read signs:  Do not drink the water.

Read the article in the Rocket Courier: LINK

Gas Drillers Destroy Archeological Sites In a Matter of Minutes

What's 9,000 years of history stacked up against a gas well?  Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette reports that an excavation at a Westmoreland County (PA) site occupied by Monongahala Indians produced abundant evidence of two villages and allowed researchers to piece together the violent end of the later settlement at the hand of invaders who sacked it, massacred its inhabitants and burnt houses and food stores, according to William Johnson, who served as an adviser to the project. Last year Mr. Johnson returned to the dig site.  He was stunned by what he found:

"There is a drill rig and catchment basin sitting on half the village," said Johnson, who received a doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh and served as senior prehistoric archeologist for Michael Baker Jr. Engineering, Inc. "You have something there-- which is better than you get with [excavations of] other villages-- that has been destroyed by drilling."

Pennsylvania's state laws offer little or no protection from archeological resources.

How often do we consider archeological sites as part of our valuable natural resources?

Mike Kotz, a Washington County vegetable grower with an interest in the artifacts he has found while farming his land is concerned about the destruction of land by gas drilling. He says

A bulldozer can destroy 9,000 years of history in 15 minutes.

One more sad example of how corporations can move in and do whatever they wish for all intents and purposes. Are we going to buy into the philosophy of former president George W. Bush when asked about his legacy? He said he isn't concerned about his legacy. By the time people figure that out, he said, "I'll be dead."   Will we show concern for our children and grandchildren by taking care of the environment in all its aspects, including areas where our history is entombed?

A Local Bradford County Citizen Speaks Out On the Downsides of Gas Drilling

Below is a letter to the Editor of The Towanda Daily Review (3/22/2010):

Another hurdle relative to the roads will be for the townships to deal with the question of how the gas pipeline crossings will be made in their townships. Townships without water, sewer, or natural gas service to their residents do not have standards already in place relative to how a road crossing will be done. Many townships will be dealing with this question, maybe COG or Bradford County Planning could provide some leadership so that the townships who would like to can all go work together to set the standards, rather than each township setting its own standards, or worse yet, having no standards at all. There is also a massive 16" fresh river water pipeline being planned to cross several counties and many townships. This water line would connect a river source like the Susquehanna to the water impoundments that are being built. The system would require booster pumps to pump the water. Private ROW agreements will be sought for this line, right now the people don't know what the going rate for such a facility should be. The water line would be buried 4 feet underground to frostproof it so building it is a major undertaking. This line would have to cross many roads to get across the many townships it will serve. The line is expected to be technically temporary but will serve for 10 years or more. I'd like to see Bradford County Planning involved in the siting of this line, rather than just finding out where it is going and putting in on the maps that they are keeping up. Engineering support for this project is contacting the townships to get copies of their ordinances which might relate to this project. No one has said how wide the clear cut for this water line will be, but between the gas gathering lines and these 16" river water lines, forest fragmentation will clearly become an issue of the future. Runoff from the deforested areas will change, and again roads will be impacted.

But worse than the road impacts is the looming potential of drinking water issues. These impacts when they occur on a house by house basis in the rural environment are shattering, since there is no infrastructure for the townships to use to supply those impacted. And what will we do if an entire town's water source became undrinkable?

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!