David Letterman on Fracking: We're Screwed

My grandson on the shore of the Susquehanna River, Bradford County, PA
He can't go there anymore.  It's not safe.

To get to Letterman's comments,  go to about 12:45-14:45.

 http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=3gL2O99nNHw6wJIelsmE_VSvi3YaGP5h

Worth taking a look.

The Colbert Report: Stephen Tackles Hydrofracking

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

You won't want to miss Stephen Colbert's discussion on hydrofracking and the Talisman Coloring Book.

No Seismic Testing Sign

Click the sign to enlarge.

This sign is by law, a binding and sufficient legal notice that will hold up in court. If you don't want seismic testing contucted on, or under, your property, post it. Never be afraid to stand up for your rights.

If you've signed a seismic testing letter and no longer wish them to do this testing on your property just contact the company.

It is also recommended that you post signs on your property that prohibit seismic testing so there is no error by Geokinetics or any other company as to your wishes.

Mining State Forests in PA: What Is Alan Walker Thinking?

Alan Walker

Alan Walker, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, has proposed that we solve all of the state’s fiscal problems by taking a strip mine approach to the state forest.

Secretary Walker would do well to consider his duty under Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution:

The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is distressed about Walker's appointment as Secretary of PA's Department of Community and Economic Development.
PennFuture's comment on this is compelling.

We can't drink (un)natural gas!

Protect public lands!

No drilling in state forests!

Update: Schlumberger Comes To Town

Update: Read the latest report on the Schlumberger Horseheads, NY, facility which has now been approved inspite of strong opposition from many local residents. The public hearings seem to have been for naught.

Here is the original post from August 2009:

Gas industry people are very intelligent shrewd. They hire people to deal with the public. There are employees, landmen, whose job it is to get the most land leased for the least amount of money. And then there are employees who go out into the community to build trust and confidence pacify and intimidate people into thinking that everything will work out and every effort is being made to protect them and the environment. This approach is very effective. Most citizens and landowners want to believe this fantasy, and that is why the gas industry can succeed so easily in getting them to go home feeling pretty good about the gas wells near or on their land. It helps that most of us still think that the regulatory laws and agencies are certainly not going to allow our lives to be ruined by pollution, contamination, illness, and death. How many people know that Pennsylvania and New York have fewer than 20 inspectors to oversee ALL aspects of the drilling industry? How many people realize that the gas industry is STILL exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act, The Clean Air Act, and many other environmental laws?

Now the big news in Horseheads, NY, is the huge $30 million facility Schlumberger plans to build in their town. This Texas corporation provides services and materials to oil and natural gas producers robbers. They intend to supply drilling sites within a 300-mile radius, primarily in Pennsylvania's Northern Tier. The proposed Horseheads facility would become the company's North American headquarters. The buildings would be 400,000 square feet and require 90 acres of land. The gas industry gobbles up much more than just a few acres for a well pad here and there. Does Horseheads really want to give up 90 acres of good land for such a purpose as this? Stephen Harris, spokesperson for Schlumberger, says the upcoming public meeting in Horseheads will give the local citizens a chance to ask questions and perhaps express their concerns.

The purpose is to open up to local residents to give them the opportunity to answer some of the concerns that come up at town hall meetings...We hope to give people a better sense of who we are, why we chose Horseheads and what kind of corporate neighbor we hope to be. We want to open up the dialogue on a more informal level. What we'll have are different stations on key issues. If you have a concern about traffic or storm water drainage, we'll have different stations residents can come to to get information.

Perhaps they'll have a little basket of toy Schlumberger trucks for the kids to take home and play with.

And what will be happening at this facility in the Holding Point industrial park in Horseheads? Fueling, washing and maintenance areas for a fleet of trucks which service drilling sites, as well as storage areas for materials toxic chemicals used at those locations. I can just picture this. What a nightmare for Horseheads! I hope the citizens will stand firm and deny whatever permits are required for this facility to be built. But, if not Horseheads, where will Schlumberger go next, looking for a place to put this monstrosity? It will ultimately go somewhere.

Read more about the Schlumberger's plans and upcoming meetings of the Horseheads Village Board of Trustees and the Horseheads Planning Board here.

To find out about a Schlumberger open house in Horseheads, NY, this Thursday, September 3, click here.

Read about an August 11th public meeting in Horseheads here.

For your information and just so you know, when you talk about Schlumberger, it is pronounced SCHLUM-BEAR-ZHAY! It rhymes with lingerie!

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
NO SCHLUMBERGER FACILITY IN HORSEHEADS!
JUST SAY NO!

Man-camps Come With the Territory

This is a man-camp, folks. A 400-bed facility in Colorado. Gas drillers stay here. It looks like it takes up a huge area of real estate- just one more facet of the natural gas industry which is taking up space in otherwise beautiful landscapes, forests, and natural habitats all over our country. In Bradford County, PA, some motels are completely taken over by gas drillers, for example, the Towanda Motel. Tourists are just out of luck. So man-camps may alleviate that problem. It's still not a welcome addition to our communities. Finding lodging for gas drillers while they go from place to place is wreaking havoc. I have heard reports that some landlords are evicting tenants of longstanding in order to rent to gas companies from whom they can command high rents- as much as four times greater than the average rent now.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
SUPPORT LOCAL CITIZENS WHO NEED AFFORDABLE HOUSING!

Family Matters: Is Signing a Gas Lease Worth It?

Walking down our path to the Susquehanna River, French Azilum, PA. Our family's sacred spot since 1930.


Families are being stressed by the gas drilling industry, some almost to the breaking point. This serious effect of natural gas wells is not getting much press. I can tell you from personal experience that, in my case, a major rift has occurred in my family in the last year because of controversy surrounding our options. Should we sign a lease or not? That is the question. Here is an excerpt from a recent article in pressconnects.com of Greater Binghamton:

.... is it worth it?

Not for Pennsylvania landowner Wayne Smith. He told Reuters recently that he regrets the $1 million in royalties he earned over three years from drilling on his land. Smith says his blood has elevated iron levels, his drinking water is tainted, and four cattle have died from drinking contaminated water.

Then there's Stephanie Hallowich and her husband, Chris, who moved with their two children from suburban Pittsburgh to enjoy rural life in Hickory, Pa. Now they are hemmed in by four gas wells, a three-acre reservoir containing water for drilling, a liquid extraction plant, and a gas compressor station. Hallowich would like to relocate because of noise and health concerns but can't imagine that anyone would buy their home.

A reader commented:

Hello Jennifer - Tough decision about drilling for your family, the lure of easy money is strong, even though landmen can't say how much your royalties will actually be. Remember that most things that sound too good to be true usually aren't true.
I look back over the last 2 weeks around Hickory and Pittsburgh, oily-looking stream pollution from one spill by Red Oak cleaned up by Weavertown Environmental. That story never made the news, hence industry-types can continue to falsely brag that there are no documented cases of drinking water pollution -- Get Real! These streams run into the rivers where Pennsylvanians get their drinking water.

Another reader wrote:

Ms. Tomsey,
If you are asking advice - don't sign! We didn't. At least you can say you tried to stop the damage and put your ethics and morals above "dirty money". I have a neighbor that signed the lease some time ago and spent a lot of time trying to convince us to sign - I haven't spoken to him in quite some time because of this. He talked to my husband the other day and now wishes he didn't sign and that the drilling can be stopped. He signed in part because he was blinded by the prospect of all that money and because he wasn't aware of the damage to the environment because of the gas company's lies. Now that he is more aware he's sorry for the damage he may be a part of. It's not too late!

The writer of the article from pressconnects says she has educated her family "about the risks of the largely unregulated drilling process," but she is not sure what her family will ultimately decide. This hits home with me. I have spent a year researching the gas industry on behalf of my family, but have been shunned because of it. Most family members are apathetic or, worse, hoping to get free money in the form of royalties. The Board of Directors (we are incorporated) is not even convinced it should inform family members about potential health risks as the wells are drilled all around us. This industry is capable of breaking relationships between family members and neighbors alike. At a time when people need to come together and support one another, just the opposite can happen.

Read the article here.

ARE YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND RELATIVES NOT GETTING ALONG ANYMORE?
DON'T LET THE GAS INDUSTRY BREAK UP YOUR RELATIONSHIPS!

More Weight Restrictions on Bradford County (PA) Roads

Trucks line up during well drilling.

The residents of Bradford County have been noticing more signs regarding weight limits on state roads. This trend will continue. PennDOT reports that at least ten more roads will be posted with permanent, year-round, 10-ton weight restrictions. Weight limits will apply to all trucks with the exception of local delivery trucks and school buses. A major problem are the gas drilling operations now in progress in the county. An average truck used in hauling water or brine to and from gas well pads weighs about 80,000 pounds or 40 tons. The road damage caused by these large trucks is almost inevitable. Hundreds of trips back and forth to wells are required for each installation. Necessary repairs in Bradford County will be huge. Traffic and engineering studies have indicated the need for more restriction of road use.

Read more here.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
PROTECT YOUR LOCAL ROADS!

A Letter to My Family: Where Do We Go From Here?

My family owns property in French Azilum Township, Bradford County, PA. Since July of 2008, our family corporation, which has about 150 members, has been engaged in debate about gas drilling. The gas industry has arrived in our valley, the Susquehanna River valley. Cousins, aunts, and uncles who used to be glad to see each other now dread the sight of one another. Our summer home we call Camp used to be a place of refreshment, peace, and tranquility. It has become a battleground, a war zone. I hope some people who specialize in social implications of gas drilling will do research and publish their findings. Family dynamics and neighbor-to-neighbor relationships are becoming more and more strained as gas drilling moves in. Here is a letter written by a family member which may cast some light on the complexities that many families face. The names have been changed to protect the innocent!

Dear Family,
Inspite of strong denials that we will ever be offered a gas lease of any kind, and inspite of strong assurances from Steve and Mona that there is no lease to consider (even though there was one offered last fall which has never been seen), and, if there were a lease, the Board of Directors, which now has complete control over any gas-related decisions, would likely not sign it for Camp, I remain concerned. Why? Because since the family meeting I have heard talk of consulting a high-powered attorney from Williamsport should we have a lease to consider. I guess I am supposed to be pleased about that, but I am not. Why? Because consulting a lawyer begs the question, "Should we even be considering doing this in the first place?" A lawyer, especially one who deals with gas leases for a living, is only going to look over a lease to make sure everything is supposedly in there that should be and advise some deletions, etc. But a lawyer is not necessarily going to counsel us on the rightness or wrongness of signing a lease. A lawyer is not going to make ethical or moral decisions for our family. We have to make those decisions first before we would ever go to a lawyer. We have to know what questions to ask. Otherwise we will open ourselves up for legal entanglements which will require many hours on the part of someone in our family to sort things out. Who will that person be?

So while Steve and others still adamantly claim that they are not necessarily in favor of signing a lease, nevertheless, their discussion of finding a lawyer indicates that the idea of a lease is still alive and well. I do not think that going to a lawyer comes close to doing our homework first. Just running a lease by a lawyer before signing may give some people a sense of security, but it is a false sense of security at best. Have any of you read about people who have signed great leases and still had major problems with gas companies? There is a myth going around our family which I have heard quite often that the only way we can cover ourselves against damage from gas drilling is to have a lease. This really has not worked well for a lot of people who thought a lease protects a landowner. It really protects the gas company first and foremost. Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, for example, can declare bankruptcy and skip town if the going gets rough, and its parent company Chesapeake Energy is not liable. The first thing a gas company does is deny responsibility for anything no matter what it is. Then a long process of legal proceedings ensues. The DEP has been known to come out of the gate talking tough, but then backs down. Some litigation I've read about has gone on for a decade or more. So perhaps a lease could eventually cover us down the road, but who in the Sam Hill is going to be around to collect the money? And in the meantime, if it involves water, who is going to fight to get a water supply put in at Camp? Gas companies have supplied water to some people after trying to avoid doing that, but it is not automatic, and it can take months to actually get a tank put in (which has to be maintained and filled up frequently). Talk to the people in Dimock just a few miles from Camp. They will tell you how their lives have turned into nightmares and things continue to get worse there as I write. I encourage anyone who would even consider any lease with any gas company to go to well sites locally in French Azilum (there are quite a few to choose from) or go to Dimock which is probably in the shape we will be in a few years from now, but they are already there. Nothing can compare with actually seeing what gas drilling really is and what it really looks like. Before any lease is signed, go see for yourself.

Frenchtown will be unitized soon (a unit is 640 acres). Your board will most likely be approached when this happens. So decisions will have to be made in the near future. There are agreements for wells, pipelines, rights of way for above ground water pipes, seismic testing, even compressors, meter stations, injection wells, all sorts of things which come with gas drilling. This is only the beginning. I, as probably everyone knows by now unless you have been living under a rock, am not interested in signing a lease or any agreement with a gas company. For one thing, we don't have to do it. And secondly, I want Camp to remain unattached to such an industry. Any money we would get, and there are no guarantees, would probably not make us more solvent in the future, at least long term. All we can do is protect Camp from the industry and make the drillers go around us. It is not good, no matter how you look at it, but at least we can say to our children and grandchildren, "We did everything we could to save and protect Camp from harm and destruction. "

Love to all,
Evelyn

August 14, 2009

IS YOUR FAMILY SUFFERING FROM THE GAS DRILLING INDUSTRY?
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Wyalusing Council Struggles With Pipeline Issues

Wyalusing Hotel, Wyalusing, PA

The Wyalusing (PA) Borough Council monthly meeting last month opened with a presentation by Anson Belcort of Mason Dixon Energy. His company is busy securing agreements with local landowners to install a gas pipeline for Chesapeake Appalachia. It will run right through Wyalusing Township. However, there was a problem, Belcort said. They need about 12 miles of pipeline, and one landowner was dragging his feet. Pipelines need 50-60 feet width. (The pipe is buried 3-5 feet, or beneath the frostline.)

We've got a deadline, said Belcourt. If we had you guys signed up, we could go ahead and go around Chadwick.

When asked if there was big problem with negotiations, Belcourt assured the Council that there was no big issue or concern with the private landowner. It was just a matter of timing. Mason Dixon needed the right of way right away! Several members of the Council, including President George Anderson, were prepared to vote yes, but toward the end of the meeting before a vote could be taken, Mayor Joan Cashin cautioned the group:

Doing this without consultation with an attorney is, I think, irresponsible.

It was agreed that an attorney should be consulted.

Hats off to the Wyalusing Borough Council for exercising caution rather than giving the gas industry the green light. There are things that local governing bodies can do to at least slow down the process. This is not just an effort to make trouble. It is the smart, responsible thing to do when so much is at stake for local citizens. It is their environment, health, and well-being that may hang in the balance. The gas companies don't live in Wyalusing.

Read the Rocket-Courier article here.

ASK QUESTIONS! TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED!
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

The Daily Review Thanks Voldemort

Main Street, Towanda, PA

Heaping praise on a corporation which is bringing air, water, and soil pollution, health hazards, deforestation, road deterioration, and habitat depletion to the county is questionable. Thanking Chesapeake Energy Corporation for a paltry $6,000 donation for Partners in Education is like thanking your executioner for cooking your last meal steak to perfection. We all realize, do we not, that $6,000 to Chesapeake Energy, which reported a top line income of 1.67 billion this past June, is imperceptible and only given to create the illusion of community support. Why do some Bradford County citizens feel they must be grateful and appreciative for this little manipulative "gift?" Isn't it obvious that they are being led down a rosy path that leads to a gravel road and a toxic well pad? Make that hundreds of well pads. Some gifts carry a heavy price.

Read the Daily Review article here.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Poison Sumac Is Bad, But Well Pads Are Worse

Photo by David Keeler
It is interesting what people spend their time worrying about. For instance, the view from Wyalusing Rocks (PA) has been a highlight of my visits to the area since childhood. Looking down from there, and with the aid of my binoculars, I can see my family summer home on the banks of the Susquehanna River. A white steeple can be seen through trees. That's what I call "The Little White Church," otherwise known as French Azilum United Methodist Church. My great grandparents attended there faithfully every Sunday in the summer months years ago, starting around 1930, and are now buried in the old adjacent cemetery.

In a recent article in the Wyalusing Rocket-Courier, David Keeler laments the overgrown sumac trees that block the spectacular view of the Susquehanna River and French Azilum below.

Beneath those famous rocks, the future is being changed irreversibly by the day. Almost every land owner in French Azilum, except for my family, has signed a gas lease, mostly with Chesapeake Appalachia. And before long drill pads will begin to show up on this beautiful landscape. Frenchtown, as I call it, will be an industrial zone in a year or two. Maybe sooner. The view from these rocks will reveal the future of our family's land. There will be no future. There will be well pads everywhere you look. No more floating down the river in inner tubes, no more sitting on the cottage porch enjoying the rain or the full moon and stars, the brightest stars on the planet. No more family gatherings. No more introducing our grandchildren to "Camp," as we call it. No more walking down the country road to that Little White Church for Sunday worship. No more skipping flat round stones from the river bank. No more peace and quiet and fresh country air. It will be gone soon. The dangers of living in a toxic chemical area with its air, soil, and water pollution, will make it an unsuitable place to come in the summer.

Sumac can be cut back. Well pads cannot be erased. After the gas is gone from these wells, the land will never be able to support crops, animals, or people, at least not for decades, and probably never again. These areas will be Superfund sites. I understand why it is easier to worry about sumac. Sumac is a problem that can be solved. Gas drilling is a problem that will outlast all of us and will ruin our children's and grandchildren's future in the Susquehanna Valley in Bradford County.

Read the Rocket-Courier article here.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
FIGHT FOR OUR LAND AND THE BEAUTY IT PROVIDES!

A Personal Testimony: Seismic Testing

Here is a personal story told by a member of a family from French Azilum, PA, which tells of her dismay about seismic testing on her family property, lovingly referred to as "Camp."

"Permission was given by a family member last November for Geokinetics to do seismic testing on Camp property. The family received $5 per acre. These tests are not connected with any gas company. They are done by an independent company which hopes to cash in big time on the gas drilling frenzy, which undoubtedly they are. The testing, in which dynamite is buried 20 feet down and then detonated, is all set to begin on our property in the next two weeks or so. Workers have been all over our property marking with ribbons, orange, pink, blue, and white. Big tire vehicles have trampled down vegetation and left big tire tracks in the mud on our path to the river.

It gave me a sick feeling to walk down that beautiful path and see the evidence of newcomers who do not know they walk on sacred land.

They do not know the animals and the flowers and trees that live there and will soon be traumatized by earth-shattering blasts. Here is a little information that we probably should have found out about before we agreed to have this done. Also, if we are not thinking about leasing, WHY DO WE NEED TO HAVE TESTING DONE?" [Read my comments at the end of this post.]

Seismic Exploration—Issues and Impacts
• Survey stakes for mapping out the exploration area should be wooden, and not wire pin flags, because farming activities like making silage or hay can shred the wire flags. The resultant metal bits can kill livestock that eat the feed. Also, all stakes and markers should be removed after exploration is completed, because livestock and wildlife can die from eating ribbons or flags.

• Seismic lines will destroy vegetation and may cause erosion, which could lead to sediment entering surface waters.

• 3-D tests tend to cause greater surface disturbance and companies use your land for longer periods of time than with two-dimensional surveys.

• If dynamite is used during exploration, the "shot" holes may intercept the water table, and water may begin to flow or seep to the surface. These flowing holes have caused problems for some landowners, e.g., by making the land so wet that farmers were unable to cut hay. These holes need to be plugged from bottom to top. Ensure that the company properly plugs and abandons these holes.

• Seismic work crews may generate different types of waste (plastic, paper, containers, fuel leaks/spills, food and human wastes).

Seismic Exploration—Tips for Landowners
• Prior to any exploration, it is advisable to ask the company to show you, on a map and on an aerial photograph of your property, where they intend to conduct their seismic operations. [WAS THIS DONE?]To minimize damage, try to ensure that work is conducted as far away from surface waters as possible. Ask companies to avoid steep slopes, as this could lead to erosion. As well, request that the company avoid any areas of ecological sensitivity or importance to your use of your land. [WHAT ABOUT WILD FLOWERS ON OUR PATH?]

• Landowners may want to negotiate more payment and negotiate stronger surface-damage provisions if they consent to 3-D seismic tests, due to a greater degree of surface disturbance caused by this type of testing.

• It is advisable to get water wells tested before and after seismic testing, because seismic shot holes can provide a path for surface contaminants to come into direct contact with groundwater. The seismic explosions may also create pathways for water to flow to the surface, which could decrease pressure in the reservoir and affect water quantity in water wells. You can request that the company pay for these water quality and quantity tests.

• After the company leaves, do some ground-truthing: ensure that holes have been properly filled; that no flags, pins or trash are left around to endanger livestock or wildlife; and that water is not flowing into or from any holes. [WILL THIS BE DONE?]

• Review the state regulations governing exploration (contact state agencies to obtain copies of any regulations pertaining to exploration). There will likely be a number of things that the company is required by law to do (e.g., plugging of seismic holes; notification of exploration; posting a bond to cover potential surface damages, etc.). The more you know, the more you can ensure that the company is acting responsibly. For example, if notification is required before a company can enter your property, you may want to use the opportunity to make some requests of the company, e.g., negotiate a surface damage agreement, or right-of-way (access) agreement.

It should be stressed that geophysical techniques and remote sensing cannot identify oil or gas accumulations directly; they can only indicate the potential for reserves. The presence of oil and gas can only be confirmed by actual drilling. So, if the preliminary tests indicate a high likelihood of oil and gas, the company may decide to drill an exploratory well.

THERE HAS DEFINITELY BEEN SURFACE DAMAGE ON OUR PROPERTY. WAS THAT ADDRESSED WITH GEOKINETICS? WERE THEY ASKED TO NOTIFY US WHEN THE TESTS WOULD BE DONE? I DO NOT BELIEVE SO. WERE WE AWARE OF WHAT SHOULD BE DONE BY THE COMPANY AFTER THE TESTS ARE COMPLETED? I DO NOT THINK SO. DID WE KNOW WHERE THE DYNAMITE WOULD BE BURIED? I DO NOT THINK SO. WAS THERE A COMPELLING REASON TO HAVE THIS DONE ON OUR PROPERTY IN THE FIRST PLACE? I DON'T THINK SO. DO I WISH OUR FAMILY REPRESENTATIVE HAD BEEN MORE RESPONSIBLE AND DONE RESEARCH BEFORE AGREEING TO THIS TESTING? YES!

MY HEARTFELT APOLOGY TO ALL THE CREATURES WHO LIVE ON OUR PROPERTY AND WHOSE HABITAT WILL BE BLASTED OR SHAKEN DURING THESE NEEDLESS TESTS.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

What Is the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act was enacted in 1986 to establish a process for informing people of chemical hazards in their communities. Companies are required to report the locations and quantities of certain chemicals stored, released, or transferred. Some of this information is made available to the public in an annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Congress originally specified which industries were required to report to the TRI, but gave the EPA the authority to add or delete industries. The EPA was also given discretion to require reporting from any facility, based on criteria including the toxicity of the chemicals involved, proximity to other facilities that release a toxic chemical or to population centers, and the history of releases at the facility. While petroleum bulk stations, terminals, refining and related industries are required to report to the TRI, oil and gas exploration and production are not.

This information is part of testimony presented by Amy Mall, Natural Resources Defense Council, on the applicability of federal requirements that protect public health and the environment to oil and gas development. Ms. Mall appeared before the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Henry Waxman, on October 31, 2007. On that day, the NRDC released a report entitled, “Drilling Down: Protecting Western Communities from the Health and Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Production." This report discusses hazardous materials that can enter the environment during oil and gas exploration and production, the loopholes in federal laws that allow industry to legally release these contaminants into the human environment, and the technologies readily available to control pollution and minimize toxic waste in order to reduce any impacts to human health.

Summary: The oil and gas industry has expanded rapidly during the last decade in the United States, particularly in the Rocky Mountain region, and predictions call for that trend to continue. Oil and gas production is a dirty process; many of the steps involved can be sources of dangerous pollution that can have serious impacts on the region’s air, water, and land—and on people’s health. Despite the number of dangerous materials involved in oil and gas production—and the frequent proximity of these operations to residences and other community resources—the oil and gas industry enjoys numerous exemptions from provisions of federal laws intended to protect human health and the environment.

To examine the entire report, click here.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Glenn Williams and Candace Mingins: Stories From the Front Line

At a recent meeting held at Broome Community College (NY), several speakers gave their testimony about the effects of gas drilling on public health and family economic stability. This video is about 18 minutes. There are a few introductory remarks prior to Mr. Williams' and Ms. Mingins' talks.

Glenn Williams, Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coaltion (BRSC)

Mr. Williams is affiliated with the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition (BRSC). His story is an eyeopener. He tells of discovering that the DEC has not ever collected data about problems with gas drilling. Therefore people can say there is no evidence of any problems with gas drilling. He tells of the 300 chemicals in fracking fluid, 65 of which have been identified as carcinogenic or causing endocrine disruption. He reports that Lebanon, NY, which has 55 wells drilled, ran up a bill of $300,000 for road repair due to heavy traffic from gas drillers and were compensated only $12,000 by the gas drillers. He says a landowner will be taxed 42% on profits (federal and state) and possibly face law suits from neighbors for damages done to adjacent properties. He questions how much money can actually be made by landowners. He explains how a company like Chesapeake Appalachia, a limited liability corporation, can just walk away from any harm they have done and declare bankruptcy while the larger corporation, Chesapeake Energy cannot be held responsible. He believes firmly that gas companies must pay for well testing before, during, and after drilling, pay for replacement loss of home values, and replace the water they take from aquifers.

Candace Mingins, farmer, Van Etten, NY

Ms. Mingins lives with her husband and three children on their family farm in Van Etten near Ithaca, NY. They have an orchard which is in its 34th garden year. A well was drilled on their property in 2006 on the Trenton Black River formation. In 2008, she helped organize Shaleshock Citizens Action Coalition. Listen to Candace as she tells what it is like to deal with a multi-national gas corporation. Hear what it is really like to sign a lease and then have to live with the consequences. It will shock you.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
Thanks to Essential Dissent, Binghamton, NY for this video.
http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com

Gas Drilling, Wildlife Don't Often Mix

The effects of natural gas drilling can have both indirect effects leading to population declines and direct mortality in wildlife. So claim the Colorado Division of Wildlife officials in an article published in the Valley-Journal last December (2008). Click here to read the original piece. John Broderick, DOW senior terrestrial bioloigist said,

...if and when intensive drilling comes to the Thompson Creek area where several gas leases have been sold, the impacts will be unmistakable.

Waterfowl suffer the greatest direct mortality rate. Ducks land in reserve pits or production pits and are coated with oily substances. Sometimes these birds can be cleaned by hand and saved. However, usually they die of respiratory failure, according to Broderick. Elk calves and deer also get into these pits to drink. But unless the animals keel over and die right in or near a pit, it is difficult to establish the cause of death in animals.

The less obvious effects of gas drilling on animal populations is more significant. The drilling and road construction that goes along with it disturb animal habitat and fragment the areas where animals live and breed. In the long term, this results in significant population declines. Raptors- hawks, owls, and eagles- are particularly vulnerable to this stress. Raptor pairs will often not mate, or they abandon eggs or even their young.

Roads are a big factor, too. They cut through unbroken habitat and expose ground areas which provided cover for the animals. This interferes with the temperature and with shelter from wind and cold. The animals, such as deer and elk, are left with less hiding cover. Roads and gravel well platforms increase runoff. Less water goes into the soil, and toxic chemicals end up in nearby streams. Roads upset the native vegetation, allowing weeds to establish themselves, thus reducing the forage for the animals. People, who would never have had access to pristine forest areas, now have easy ways to drive around. Roadkill is on the rise. With this problem of humans entering the animal habitat, poaching and other illegal activities become more common.

It is hard to come up with scientific evidence that will hold up when confronting regulatory agencies. However, Colorado officials concerned about these issues are looking to Wyoming for data. Scientists in Wyoming have discovered that, while one well per square mile may have minimal effects on mule deer populations, multiply that by 16 wells per square mile, and the detrimental effects can be measured more convincingly.

Fish can also be affected. In the Colorado River, cutthroat trout are common. Trout streams can become inhospitable to fish when sediment gets into the water, sinks to the bottom, and fills in the spaces between gravel stones. These areas provide habitat for aquatic insects which the trout love to eat. Sediment from drilling operations buries and smothers the insect larvae which normally develop and grow among the stones. Spawning is also affected. Trout lay their eggs in hallowed out places in the gravel. When the eggs are fertilized, the female sweeps the eggs into the spaces between the stones where they remain until hatched. After the baby trout are hatched, they stay in the gravel until they are old enough to feed. Ken Neubecker, president of Trout Unlimited, said,

If sediment coats the stream bottom during this time, the brood will be smothered.

Spills are another threat to fish. There are a number of ways in which industrial materials or toxic chemicals can end up where they shouldn't be. Spills from tanker trucks and leakage from holding ponds are common. Depending on where the spills originate, they can contain hydrocarbon chemicals, bentonite, and other harmful substances. Neubecker describes the result:

You get a bunch of that in a stream and it would be like lining a pond with concrete.

Some toxic hydrocarbon substances would be even worse, especially in smaller streams with low water.

It'll sterilize a stream for a long distance. A small stream would take a lifetime to recover.

Some gas leases in the Thompson Creek area in Colorado have stipulations that no roads or well pads can be placed within 350 feet of streams. While that may seem like a good thing, the gas companies can and do ask for waivers. The Bureau of Land Management often allows the gas industry to skip the restriction. Enforcement is also problematic. If a spill is reported, if it is not investigated in a timely way, the volatile chemicals evaporate before any testing is done.

Since human beings are equipped with abilities that presumably far exceed those of other animals, it behooves us to use care when extracting natural gas from the shale beneath us and to proceed in a manner that does not hurt wildlife and the habitat they depend on for their existence.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE

The Faces of Dimock

Dimock, Pa, was the scene of contaminated wells. PA DEP ruled that the contamination was most likely due to nearby gas well drilling by Cabot. Here is a photo essay, poignant and compelling, which is a must see. Be sure to click on the captions link so that you can read them as you look at the pictures.

Here is the link.

Photographs by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica - April 26, 2009
Pat Farnelli, top left, Ronald Carter, bottom left, Richard Seymour, top right, and Norma Fiorentino, bottom right, live in Dimock, Pa. A year after Cabot Oil & Gas landmen knocked on their doors to sign drilling leases, they are finding that their drinking water now contains methane, the largest component of natural gas.

Here is the article to read if you want to find out more about what happened in Dimock.
And here is another related ProPublica article for those of you who want to read "Natural Gas Politics." Here is a synopsis of that article:

"Four years after Vice President Dick Cheney spearheaded a massive energy bill that exempted natural gas drilling from federal clean water laws, Congress is having second thoughts about the environmental dangers posed by the burgeoning industry. With growing evidence that the drilling can damage water supplies, Democratic leaders in Congress are circulating legislation that would repeal the extraordinary exemption and for the first time require companies to disclose all chemicals used in the key drilling process, called hydraulic fracturing. The proposed legislation has already stirred sharp debate."

Thanks to ProPublica and author Abrahm Lustgarten for this excellent piece.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Can your water do this?

Methane gas has been known to escape into aquifers and end up in the water pipes of people's homes. This problem has been attributed to natural gas drilling activity. Methane is an odorless gas. How can anyone feel safe?

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

SRBC Warns of Water Challenges If Drought Occurs

In April the Susquehanna River Basin Commission convened its interagency Drought Coordination Committee to assess growing impacts to water resources in the Susquehanna basin due to ongoing precipitation shortfalls. Three consecutive months of shortfalls have caused streams and groundwater well below normal for this time of the year, particularly in the Lower Susquehanna region in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

If drought is a concern, why are gas drillers given permission through the permit process to extract millions of gallons of river water for their drilling operations? This water is consumptive in nature, meaning that it ends up as hazardous waste and cannot be reused as water again. It is gone forever. Should not drilling be halted until a drought subsides? Why are the citizens of PA asked to fixed their leaky toilets to save 200 gallons of water per day, take shorter showers instead of baths, and repair dripping faucets while gas drillers are allowed to take as much water as they need for their operations?

I think the answer lies in the money the state stands to gain by gas drilling. We've heard about selling someone down the river. What about selling the river? Our river is now a commodity. This is unconscionable.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will meet in Binghamton, NY, on June 18th. Go to the website here. Read the press release about the drought and rainfall deficits here.

Read an article from the Baltimore Sun about the threatening drought. All kinds of measures may be put in place, including mandatory water restrictions on golf courses, power plants, and big water users. There is not a mention of the hydrofracking of gas wells. Will the gas drillers be asked to curb their water use like everyone else?

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Let Those Who Have Ears, Hear!

Read this description of what the people of Texas have experienced.

Marcellus Shale is next.

In the last few years in North Texas we have seen the BOOM of the BARNETT SHALE GAS FIELDS. We have all seen the TV ads by Tommy Lee Jones and Chesapeake Oil & T. Boone Pickens, telling us how great the benefits of Natural Gas are for the Texas economy.

What they haven’t told you about is the devastation the Barnett Shale has done and is doing to the Texas environment!!

If you don’t have a gas well yet, then take a drive in Wise, Tarrant, Johnson or Hill Counties in the rural areas--not Ft. Worth, they have regulated the drilling somewhat, but in the country. You might have seen the drilling rigs up for 6 to 8 weeks, but look at the completed wells! You will recognize them by what looks like storage tanks in the fields surrounded by a fence. Listen to the NOISE the compressors make. Notice the PONDS of Drilling Sludge. Those big tanker trucks you see, that are speeding and destroying your streets and roads, Notice they have big HWP permit numbers! HWP, “HAZARDOUS WASTE PERMITS”. The TV ads tell us we are SAFE, NOT TO WORRY!

Why do these trucks have these PERMITS?

Notice the PIPELINES being laid. Notice where fences have been cut, trees torn down, and the pipe above ground, (that can be tampered with by anyone who chooses to do so) and ask a property owner if they were threatened with eminent domain? Ask them how their peace and quiet has been disturbed and if they would sign a lease now with what they have learned? Ask the towns people of Dish, Texas, what they think about the pipelines!

Notice what seems to be Large Storage Tanks, sometimes as many as 10 sitting together. These are water reclamations farms or where they inject the Drilling Salt Water back into the ground from those trucks you see.

Notice the Compressor Stations and the Noise and visual effect it has on property owners close to them!

Ask the people of Grandview what happened to their water wells and their animals.

They tell us not to worry about what is called “NORM”(Normal Occurring Radioactive Material) being pumped out of these wells, that it won’t hurt us. Again notice the trucks hauling this waste with the HWP permits!

Go see a “LANDFARM or MUDFARM”, this is where they dump all the Toxic Sludge from the pits at the drilling sites. These farms require commercial permits; however, they can take 100 acres and divide it into 30 three-acre cells and get what is called a “MINOR PERMIT.” They say they don’t have to notify the adjacent landowners to issue a MINOR PERMIT! My home is 50 feet from a 100 acre landfarm across the road!

Ask a mineral owner who is in a gas pool, how long it took to receive their first royalty check. Was it within 120 days from the first on line sale? Are they being paid the correct amount according to the “RULES”?

Ask a SURFACE OWNER who doesn’t have the mineral rights, what happened to their property and what were their rights?

Check on what has happened to Property Values around these sites. Would you want to live next to one of them?

As a property owner and mineral owner, I have found out that the “TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION” REGULATES the PROPERTY OWNERS and NOT THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY!

4/26/09
Dick Ross
Itasca, Texas

Read the whole article here at Bluedaze Drilling Reform for Texas
www.txsharon.blogspot.com

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!