Inergy Protested in Watkins Glen, NY, August 17th

More than 200 people protested loudly against the proposed Inergy propane and natural gas storage facility Friday, April 17. The people oppose putting millions of gallons propane (and eventually natural gas) in salt caverns below the glacier-built Seneca Lake. Already the company has been spilling salty brine water into the lake without even telling regulators of the violations.

NO NATURAL GAS STORAGE IN THE SALT CAVERNS BELOW SENECA LAKE!   OUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF OUR CHILDREN MUST COME FIRST.

Unearthed: The Fracking Facade

Published on May 4, 2012 by uneartheddocumentary Un•earthed: Setting the track record straight - A video exposing a flawed claim often abused in the sales pitch for promoting shale gas development across the world: "With a history of 60 years, after nearly a million wells drilled, there are no documented cases that hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') has lead to the contamination of groundwater." Brought to you by the team behind the upcoming South African feature documentary, Un•earthed, that is investigating natural gas development and the controversial method of extraction known as "fracking" from a global perspective. Should South Africa and other countries drill down?

https://www.un-earthed.com https://www.facebook.com/uneartheddocumentary

My Body of Water: Don't Frack NY

Don't frack New York State water!

Water Well Bubbling With Methane (PA)

Uploaded by veraduerga on Mar 23, 2012


taped 3-22-12. Looking inside the Manning Water Water and see the bubbling methane-laced water. Would you drink this? This is 73 inches down. I zoomed into it with camcorder. What else is coming up with the methane? This is Franklin Twp., Susquehanna County, Pa. Several gas wells surround this house and area.

Homicide Charge In Crash That Killed Elmira Woman

On Friday morning, October 21st, Lauralee Michelle Widmer of Elmira lost her life to a drunk driver. She was 36 years old.

Jackson Township, Pa. — A Texas man is facing a vehicular homicide charge in connection with Friday morning’s crash in Tioga County, Pa. that killed an Elmira woman...Davidson works in the natural gas industry and is an employee of T3 Energy Services, located in Elmira, according to Pennsylvania State Police. He was driving a company truck at the time of the accident, according to police... (The Corning Leader)

Read more here.

Yes, I know that accidents happen everywhere.  Yes, I know that people other than gas drillers drive drunk and abuse drugs.  Yes, I know that this accident is not the fault of the gas industry- not directly anyway.  So please refrain from posting comments that say these things.  I've heard it all quite a few times.  These gas employees work 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off.  They have a lot of time on their hands.  They are far away from their families.  They populate the local bars.  The police in Bradford County have said so.  These jobs invite problems.  The gas industry does add many problems to living in gasfields. 

Check here and here.

A quote from the DA of Bradford County: (August 2011)

In Bradford County, Pa., drunken driving arrests are up 60 percent. Criminal sentencing was up 35 percent in 2010. And in Towanda, the county seat, DUI arrests were up 50 percent.
Why? The frenzy of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, which has boosted the economies of some of Pennsylvania's smallest and most rural counties in recent years, has also led to rapid population swells and -- by extension -- more crime.

"Economic boom equals crime boom," said Daniel J. Barrett, the district attorney of Bradford County, which borders southern New York.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11227/1166928-499-0.stm#ixzz1bhhah0ii

Gas Wells in Floodplains Should Be Banned: CBF and TU

Flooded well pad next to Wyalusing Creek
Stone Energy
January 26, 2010
Photo: Susquehanna River Sentinel

February 18, 2009
Press Release

CBF and TU Call for Ban on Marcellus Gas Wells in Floodplains

Hydrofracking in Floodplains is an Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen

(HARRISBURG, PA)—In the rush to develop the Marcellus shale formation in Pennsylvania, natural gas wells are being permitted and drilled in floodplains. Two such wells, one operated by Stone Energy along Wyalusing Creek in Rush Township, Susquehanna County, and one operated by XTO along Muncy Creek in Shrewsbury Township, Lycoming County are already experienced flooding events. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and Trout Unlimited (TU) call upon the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to remedy this clear environmental and public health hazard.

"The handling of fracking chemicals and highly contaminated drilling wastewater in floodplains is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. It has to stop," said Matt Ehrhart, Executive Director of CBF's Pennsylvania Office. "Permitting well pads in floodplains causes a very serious threat of pollution. We call upon DEP to use its authority under the Clean Streams Law to order the companies operating these wells to permanently cap and abandon them, and then reclaim the sites to their natural condition."

While current regulations do not allow well pads to be located within 100 feet of streams or within the floodway without an encroachment permit, neither the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act nor its regulations prohibit siting wells in floodplains. Because horizontal drilling technology is used to drill into Marcellus shale, the gas underneath streams and floodplains can easily be accessed from a pad location in an upland area, avoiding risk of flooding and catastrophic pollution to Pennsylvania's rivers and streams. There is no reason to site wells in floodplains.

"This loophole must be closed immediately," said Dave Rothrock, President of the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited.

In late January, heavy rains hit northern Pennsylvania and several streams and rivers experienced flooding events, including Wyalusing and Muncy Creeks. Both the Stone Energy and the XTO sites were flooded as a result of these events.

"The risk of pollution to our streams will increase exponentially in a matter of weeks," said Rothrock. "As we head into the season of snowmelt and spring rains, there should be absolutely no more well drilling activity in floodplains anywhere in Pennsylvania."

The Stone Energy site was permitted along Wyalusing Creek by DEP without the necessary encroachment permits. While DEP issued a notice of violation to the company the week before the flood, the agency should have never issued the well drilling permit in the first place. CBF has previously highlighted serious flaws in the fast track permitting process implemented by DEP since April 2009, where permit applications do not receive careful environmental review but are instead pushed quickly out the door.

In August 2009, CBF appealed three erosion and sediment control permits issued by DEP for drilling sites in Tioga County. CBF's appeals resulted in a DEP review of the plans and revocation of all three permits because of serious deficiencies.

"The Stone Energy site is yet another example of permits being issued without the necessary review," said Ehrhart. "DEP should not have issued a drilling permit that close to the creek, plain and simple. If the agency was spending any time looking at the proposed location, it would have known that."

Governor Rendell recently announced plans to hire 68 new DEP staff to bolster inspection and environmental compliance as Marcellus shale development expands, and DEP announced plans to open a new regional office in Scranton to increase its presence in the northeast, where much drilling is already taking place.

"We are glad Pennsylvania has taken these actions," said Ehrhart. "We hope that DEP will take advantage of these new staff and resources to ensure more careful review of permits."

Credit: Don Williams
Susquehanna River Sentinel

A History of Flooding in the Susquehanna River Basin

Sinkholes and Gas Drilling Go Hand in Hand

A sinkhole in Troy causes a problem
Photo: Eric Hrin

 Tuesday a resident of Troy, PA,  found herself in a pickle.  Her car got stuck in a sinkhole in a parking lot.  My question is:  Is the gas drilling in the area possibly responsible for this sinkhole?    It was reported by the car's owner that there have been at least 7 cars stuck in the sinkhole before.

According to marcellusgas.org, there are 71 wells drilled so far in Troy.  It is something that should be investigated.

Read the Towanda Daily Review, click here.

 Here is a blog post dealing with the sinkhole issue in Texas:
http://txsharon.blogspot.com/2009/07/sinkholes-and-gas-drilling-go-hand-in.html

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?

Gas Wells Can End Up Anywhere

2009 near Independence, PA
Washington County near Pittsburgh


Yes, drilling sites can end up anywhere.  A Medal of Honor soldier, killed in Vietnam,  is buried to the right of this veteran's gravesite.

Collateral Damage: Tara Meixsell's Book About the Gas Industry

Meixsell's journey of discovery brings to light negative impacts of the gas drilling industry.

The book, "Collateral Damage," has been described as "a chronicle of lives devastated by gas and oil development" and a grassroots to fight that development through political action and the combined resources and power of people working together and keeping each other informed.

Meixsell came to Wysox, PA, this month to speak to a group of 150 people at the behest of the Pennsylvania Landowners Group for Awareness and Solutions (PLGAS), headed by local activists Carol French and Carolyn Knapp.  Her message is that it is up to the people to learn what is going on around them when it comes to the gas and oil industry. 

Also speaking at this event was Christopher Csikszentmihaly, Director of the MIT Center for Civic Media.  He told the crowd that as much as 40% of the water forced into the well doesn't come back up.

Forty percent of the fracking water that goes down the hole doesn't come back up.  What happens to it? Where does it go?

Csikszenthihaly also told his Wysox audience that the greater the damage when things go wrong the less is revealed to the public.  Landowners who lease are also sworn to silence.  If they talk about what happened to them, any compensation for damages is cut off.

According to Csikszenthihaly, Bradford County will likely resemble Garfield County in "a handful of years."  Garfield is now the 12th most populated of the 64 counties in Colorado.  There are more well sites than residences in Colorado.

There are more well sites than residences in Garfield County, Colorado.

Credit is due to The Rocket-Courier, a Wyalusing, PA, weekly, and to journalist Wes Skilling, for covering this event and for providing its readers with crucial information on this important issue.

PA Constitution: Is gas drilling constitutional?

William Penn, Founder of Pennsylvania

CONSTITUTION

of the

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Article I, Section 27

Natural Resources and the Public Estate

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.

Well, what do you think?  Is the gas drilling industry following this article in the PA Constitution?  Do the citizens of Pennsylvania have clean air and clean water? Are their natural resources and historic areas being preserved?  What part is the gas industry playing in this?

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

"I could smell his brakes, and I knew he was in trouble..."

Runaway truck crashes in Camptown, PA
Photo credit: David Keeler, Rocket-Courier

UPDATE:  The driver of this tanker was driving too fast.  His brakes had NOT failed as initially assumed.  The Towanda Daily Review report is here.

So it's 8:30 at night.  Rich and Hope Minyon were at home near Brewer Hollow Road on Route 409.  They heard the sound.  They ran to the other side of the house- away from the road.  The runaway water tanker had lost its brakes and was speeding downhill toward the Minyon home.  It flipped on its side, slid down the road, and careened over a small embankment, coming to rest in front of the Minyon's house.  Read more...

I am familiar with the terrain in Bradford County, PA.  There are many houses at the bottom of many hills on narrow country roads.  These houses are sitting ducks.  These large tankers are too big to drive on these winding, hilly roads.  Everyone knows that.  It is also known that the drivers of these trucks often drive too fast.  They drive while drowsy.  They drive while on drugs.  This is a formula for more accidents and injuries and deaths.  How many deaths will it take?

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

PUT SAFETY FIRST BEFORE PROFITS

DEP Investigating Source of Methane Bubbles In Susquehanna River

The French Azilum United Methodist Church
Located on the Susquehanna River, French Azilum, Bradford County, PA
Photo credit:  Carol Manuel

By Feed: PA Environment Digest in Gas Industry
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 16:02

The Department of Environmental Protection is continuing to investigate the source of stray methane gas detected in the Susquehanna River and at six private water wells in Wilmont Township, Bradford County, late last week. "Chesapeake Energy has been working at the direction of DEP to determine the source or
sources of the stray gas," said DEP Secretary John Hanger.

"Gas migration is a serious, potentially dangerous problem. Chesapeake must stop the gas from migrating."

Chesapeake has six Marcellus Shale gas wells located on the Welles well pads one three and four, located two to three miles northwest of the Susquehanna River. These wells are believed to be the source of stray gas that was detected on August 4 at a residence located on Paradise Road in Terry Township.

DEP issued a notice of violation to Chesapeake and required it to provide and implement a plan to remediate. Progress has been made, but, to date, this violation has not yet been fully resolved. While neither DEP nor Chesapeake have been able to conclusively show that the Welles wells are the source, DEP believes that they are the most likely source.

The wells were drilled between Dec. 2009 and March of this year; however the wells have not been fractured or "fracked" and are not producing Marcellus gas. For that reason, DEP believes that any stray gas migrating from these wells is not from the Marcellus Shale formation, but from a more shallow rock formation.

Chesapeake has screened 26 residences within a one-half mile radius of the river and found six water wells to have elevated levels of methane. Chesapeake monitored each of the houses served by an impacted water well and found no indication of methane gas in the homes.

On September 3, high levels of methane were detected in the crawl space under a seasonal residence. Emergency responders were contacted to ventilate below the home and gas and electric utilities were shut off to eliminate any potential for ignition.

Chesapeake has equipped water wells with high levels of methane with ventilation systems and installed five methane monitors in the homes associated with the impacted wells. Additionally, Chesapeake has provided potable water to the effected residents. No residents have been evacuated from their homes.

DEP first received information about water bubbles in the Susquehanna River late  on September 2, with additional reports received the next morning of bubbling in two private drinking water wells nearby. In response, DEP sent two teams of inspectors to investigate the source of stray methane gas on September 3.
One team of DEP inspectors went to the Susquehanna River near to Sugar Run where bubbling had been reported. DEP collected samples of the gas for isotopic analysis which is used to identify the source. Analysis of the lab results will be complete within 2 weeks.

Biogenic methane gas is formed at shallow depths from the natural organic decomposition of waste, such as one would find in swamp gas. Thermogenic methane gas is produced in deeper geologic formations and is the gas typically developed for economic purposes.

Both DEP and Chesapeake have taken gas samples from the water well heads and the natural gas wells. The results will help to determine if the source of the stray gas detected at the river and in the water wells is the Welles wells.

Anyone who notices unusual bubbling in surface or well water should notify DEP immediately by calling 570-327-3636.

LINK

Also click here to read the Chesapeake Bay Foundation blog.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

In memorium

Karen Korell

1944-2010

Tennessee Gas Pipeline: The 300 Line Project

Here is the Project Summary.

When will Federal Energy Regulatory Commission complete its review?

Plans call for a pre-filing application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the fall of 2008. The initial review process could range from 12 to 18 months to complete. Following that, Tennessee expects to file a full application to construct the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in July 2009. If approved, the project would be built in two phases.

Following receipt of all applicable approvals, construction may begin as early as July 2010. The project is planned to be in service by November 2011. Public outreach, which began in the summer of 2008, will continue throughout construction of the project.

New Report From Texas: The Ill Effects of Gas Drilling on Public Health

Below is a report delivered by Sharon Wilson on behalf of the Texas Oil and Gas Project and the Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Operations.

Hello. My name is Sharon Wilson. This afternoon, I'm making a joint statement on behalf of the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project and Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Operations. Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project has put forth Drill-Right Texas, the best oil and gas development practices for Texas.

Texas OGAP considers the new ozone standard one of several essential tools needed in a regional plan to clean our air. Tougher standards will prevent natural gas extraction from continuing to foul our air and harm our health. A 2009 study by SMU found that emissions from Barnett Shale natural gas extraction were as much as vehicular emissions in the entire Dallas-Fort Worth region. This study was based on text book examples but the reality could be a much worse picture. Researchers at Rice University followed the SMU study to see whether Barnett Shale gas production could be affecting our air quality. Using both condensate production data and ambient air data from Denton County, those researchers found a strong correlation between natural gas production and what was showing up in the air.

This really isn't news. In 2003, atmospheric researchers from the University of California were surprised to find extraordinarily high hydrocarbon levels in North Texas at concentrations higher than what they expected for the entire country. We know that fugitive emissions occur at every stage of production from flow lines and gathering lines, from vents and condensate tanks, dehydrators and compressors, metering stations and valves. A single compression facility can emit six times the volatile organic compounds as a cement plant.

Natural gas is methane, and methane is the most powerful greenhouse gas—at least 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And methane is a surrogate gas that carries a host of bad guy carcinogens and neurotoxins with it.

From cradle to grave, the extraction process is filthy and brings with it its own intense source of on-road and off-road diesel and NOx emissions. In Texas, the permit by rule process is abused allowing all these emissions to go unchecked. Eleven compression stations and 4 metering stations operate side-by-side in Dish, Texas, each considered a separate source. Residents suffer a host of ailments including irritated skin, eyes, nose throat and lungs, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, weakness and irregular heartbeats. A whopping 61% of those health effects were directly attributed to the emissions. And throughout the Shale, children suffer stunning asthma rates -- 25% of 8 and 9 year-olds have asthma -- compared to 7 percent of children statewide.

TCEQ knows our air is bad! When asked about the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's testing in the Barnett Shale, Shannon Ethridge, TCEQ toxicologist, said they had seen some of the highest benzene concentrations they have monitored in the state. She compared the DFW area emissions to those found in the highly industrialized Houston Ship Channel area. Michael Honeycutt, chief of TCEQ's toxicology division, told Channel 8 News that air samplings around some gas wells revealed high levels of cancerous toxins.

"That would be equivalent to opening a can of gasoline and holding it up under your nose."

He added that a year or more of exposure to benzene can lead to health problems including anemia, immune disorders and leukemia. We're way past that one year mark. The technology is there to reduce the emissions and industry can afford to implement it but they wont unless its mandated. We are depending on you to protect public health by mandating and enforcing vigorous new regional ozone standards.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Fatality At Gas Drilling Rig in Towanda, PA

A sad day in Towanda, PA. A worker on a gas well rig fell 20 feet to his death on March 11th- 31 years old. The gas industry is a very dangerous industry. This accident may have been prevented perhaps by the use of a safety belt.

The rig is owned by Nomac Drilling, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

A resident of the area where the well pad is located reported that she saw an ambulence and emergency crews when she got home. Her property overlooks the well site.

Accidents accompany this industry: fires, spills, traffic accidents, falls, chemical contamination of air, soil, and water, to name a few. Are these harmful effects worth it to get tight gas out of the shale? At what cost will we proceed with hydrofracking? With gas drilling activities so near homes, schools, nursing homes, and in state parks, these scenes will be repeated over and over. In addition to the basic environmental and human health concerns, there is the psychological and emotional impact of looking out one's window or from one's porch and witnessing death and destruction firsthand. In many cases, young families will be trying to explain what happened just across the road or over the back fence to their little children. Close encounters with emergencies, ambulences, flashing lights in the night, and sirens blaring can be very disturbing to children. They won't forget. Their homes will seem less safe.

Read the article from The Daily Review, Towanda, PA.
[The above photo by C. J. Marshall]

Flaring at a New Well Near Montrose, PA

A resident of Montrose, PA, took this picture and wrote:

"Drove by the Markovitch well tonight and saw this spectacular sight. The sound was like a train or a jet engine. The flames were 30-40 ft. high. Flaring the newly fracked well. This is a Alta well, just north of Montrose, PA."

Especially eerie in the winter night scape.
Picture by Lynn Selnick

Rents Skyrocket in Bradford County, PA

Rents have doubled, tripled, quadrupled in Bradford County, PA, as gas drillers arrive with plenty of money to spare. Landlords aren't renewing leases for local residents in favor of renegotiating new lucrative leases with gas companies. Who wouldn't want all that money? Low-income residents and the elderly can't find housing. Waiting lists are getting longer and longer. It looks like many of the local people will become homeless. Local motels are booked for months in advance. Tourists are out of luck. Drive by the Towanda Motel, and look at the pickup trucks. Look at the license plates- Texas, Oklahoma.

Where are the gas companies? Can't they help? They make a lot of profit. Are they going to share the wealth? I seriously doubt it.

Read more here.

MAKE GAS DRILLERS SUBSIDIZE HOUSING FOR THE NEEDY!

Chesapeake Energy: Cheapskate of 2009

A big truck barrels down a country road.

You have to admire companies that give gifts out of the goodness of their hearts. Or do you? Chesapeake Energy, a major player in PA's natural gas industry, and thus one of PA's destroyers, has seen fit to donate a big gas guzzling SUV to an agency serving the people of Bradford, Sullivan, and Tioga counties in NE PA. But this vehicle, a Ford Escape, is not a new model. It is vintage 2005. Couldn't they have at least sprung for a 2009 vehicle? Just another example of throwing a little bone to people to make them think Chesapeake cares about them. Actually this agency which provides mental health services and drug and alcohol treatment will need more and more help as the area takes on boomtown qualities and the need for services expands by leaps and bounds.

Read this article from the Rocket Courier.

A Day In Dimock, PA

A preview of coming attractions, brought to you by the oil and gas industry. (October 2009)

If corporations were to consider the future generations, could they rape the land and make people sick? Corporations exist to make money. The planet and the human beings who live on it now, to say nothing of the next generation or seven generations to come as the Iroquois took into account, mean nothing to corporations. We are collateral damage, nothing more.

In November, a group of families from Dimock brought a lawsuit against Cabot Oil. Read about it here.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seven generation sustainability is an ecological concept that urges the current generation of humans to live sustainably and work for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future.^[1]

"In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine."

—Great Law of the Iroquois