Old Pipelines: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Old pipelines are ticking time bombs

Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers Tell Their Story About the Effects of Gas Drilling in Bradford County, PA

Dairy farmers Carol French and Carolyn Knapp tell their stories about their experiences with gas drilling in Bradford County, PA.  They speak on the theme of economic impacts of gas drilling on their lives.  Listen to them and find out what is really happening in PA. 

Here is the video:  LINK

If you have an hour, watch this video.  It is a MUST SEE!  You will not believe what these Bradford County dairy farmers are going through! You will be amazed!

Marcellus Shale: Economic Impacts Not All Good

Economic Impacts of Heavy Industrial Activities in the Town of Ulysses, New York

A talk by Dr. Jannette Barth, PhD, given in May 2011.

Jannette Barth, PhD (Economist). Other speakers include Carolyn Knapp and Carol French (PA dairy farmers); and members of the Ulysses Town Board. May 21, 2011, Trumansburg Fire Hall. Co-sponsored by Back to Democracy, Concerned Citizens of Ulysses, and Ulysses Gas Drilling Advisory Board.

Watch this outstanding talk by Dr. Barth here: LINK  (Total time: 38 minutes)
Introduction of Jannette Barth prior to her talk: LINK
Read an article by Dr. Barth (Economic Impact of Gas Drilling in the Catskills) here.

Breaking News: Fishkill in Mt. Pisgah State Park, Bradford County, PA

Ken Gwin, park manager, said he counted 250 dead fish -- mostly pan fish (perch, crappie and blue gill) in Stephen Foster Lake at Mt. Pisgah State Park. Due to spawning stress, some dead fish always turn up this time of year, he said, but this is an unusually high number. The park, Bradford County Conservation District and the Pa. Fish and Boat Commission are all trying to find out why.

Conservation District Manager Mike Lovegreen confirmed they routinely monitor the water quality in the lake. They are anxious to get the most recent results back, saying he hopes the chemistry of the samples give them some leads. Gwinnn said they have a working theory, that the usual spring spawning stress, coupled with a temperature gradient from runoff coming in to the lake, could have caused the problem. But they are taking steps to make sure.

Look for additional information as it becomes available in the print and Web editions of The Towanda Daily Review.

Access the article here.
Related article here.

Will keep you posted as details emerge.

Natural Gas Drilling: Hunting Club Faces Contaminated Water in PA

The Susquehanna River in French Azilum, PA
Site of the old Rod and Gun Club
Photo: Carol Manuel

A local watering hole called Reeds Spring is a well-known spot for hunters to get clean water.  People from nearby hunting camps used to line up with water jugs.  It was a place to meet people from other camps.  But now instead of clean water, there stands a big sign saying,  "CONTAMINATED WATER."  A torn liner under a drill cuttings pit allowed leakage of toxic chemicals which contaminated groundwater feeding the spring nearly two years ago.

Read the rest of the story here.

The economic impacts of gas drilling are affecting this major industry.  Pennsylvania would do well to protect the forests and streams and rivers in order to preserve the hunting and fishing industry which brings in money to the commonwealth.  Once the environment is destroyed, there will be no re-starting the vast areas of pristine areas thousands of people come to enjoy every year.

Note: If you look very carefully in the above photo, you will see tiny dots about midway in the picture.  These dots are members of my family floating down the river in inner tubes, a family tradition for decades. 

The Magnificent Susquehanna Comes In First: Most Endangered River

My grandson fishing in the Susquehanna in 2009

The Susquehanna River is one of the longest rivers in America and provides over half of the freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay and drinking water to six million people.  It is now threatened by natural gas development, which requires millions of gallons of water per well, produces toxic waste, and threatens clean water and the river's health.

My family has gathered every summer on the banks of the Susquehanna River as it flows past French Azilum in Bradford County, PA.  Since 1930, we have enjoyed the river- swimming, boating, tubing, fishing, picnicking, skipping stones.  We stand to lose a lot.  It's a personal issue with us.

For more information about the river, click here.

To visit the American Rivers site, click here.

Save the mighty Susquehanna!

Stop the drilling!

Chesapeake Energy: "Good" Neighbors

The Big Check from Chesapeake Energy
Photo: The Rocket-Courier

Chesapeake Energy spends a fair amount of time coming up with ways to endear themselves to the local residents of Bradford County (PA).  They have given money to schools, given an old vehicle to a charitable organization, and even replaced the roof on the local Elks Club.  Now they have given a little money ($25,000 chump change to them) to the Hometown Heroes street banner program which was started two years ago by Kelly Bradley.  The money is enough to cover the cost of 193 banners which feature pictures of veterans from the county, both young and old, dating from the civil war to the present.  If you drive down Main Street in Towanda, you will see them mounted on lamp posts.  There is going to be a dedication ceremony today, June 4th, for these banners.  I am almost certain that Chesapeake Energy will be represented at this ceremony and that Chesapeake will be thanked profusely for its donation. There will be entertainment, singing of the National Anthem and patriotic songs, even an invocation by the pastor of the Wyalusing Presbyterian Church.  Local dignitaries will speak, including congressional leaders.  Refreshments will follow. 

Why does this interest me?  On the surface it seems like a very nice gesture to give money for a project honoring the U. S. military.  People will drive by these banners daily and see the faces of these men and women who have served our country.  The problem is this: The money is dirty money.  It comes from an industry which is slowly but surely destroying the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one well, one compressor station, one flare, one accidental spill at a time.  Despite claims that this natural gas industry is an economic boon to the community, and there is some truth to that,  I ask, At what price?  Is this a safe industry?  What about the many water wells in the county which have been ruined for good?  What about the people who have become seriously ill?  What about the air pollution which is unavoidable in a gas field like this?  What about habitat destruction which disrupts the ecology of this beautiful area?  What about the long term effects of a boomtown?  Where will we be in 40 years?  Some of us will be dead, but hopefully not all of us.  Who will be taking the helm from us, and what will they have to work with?  Our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  What will they face because of our misuse of the environment?  What will be our answer when they ask, "Mom and Dad, did you do all you could to preserve the Earth for us? 

It will take more than a little money thrown our way to make up for the damage being done every single day by the natural gas industry.  And just in case you are wondering what the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, billionaire Aubrey McClendon, gets paid, he got $21 million in 2010, $2 million of which was a bonus!   McLendon earned more than the CEOs of Chevron, GE, and Conoco Phillips which are much bigger corporations.  His 6-year average compensation package is $51.65 million.  So while PA is being destroyed, he is raking in the dough.  Read more here.

The next time you read in the newspaper about the generosity of Chesapeake Energy, Cabot Oil, or any other gas drilling company, just remember the reason behind the seemingly nice donation.  In my opinion it is an attempt, and a successful one at that, to keep us quiet and cooperative and supportive of what they are doing.  It is nothing more than a tactic.  I don't think there is much heart behind it.

This is my humble opinion.

Read the article published in Wyalusing's Rocket-Courier here.  LINK

Marcellus Shale: Susquehanna County Residents Accept "Growing Pains"

Flaring operations in Susquehanna County
Photo used with permission

Read how some residents of Susquehanna County are able to rationalize about the great benefits of the gas drilling industry while seemingly ignoring the downside of this misguided search for energy. What are they looking at?  Restaurants are thriving. The stone quarry business is going great guns. Heavy equipment rentals are through the roof. School districts are getting money which keeps shortfalls for education at a minimum.  Roads are being improved.  Welding companies and the trucking industry are in full swing.  Rental units are full. A restaurant patron in the Stables Restaurant said of the gas industry:

Plain and simple, it's a plus.  It's going to improve a lot of people's lives.

What are we missing here?  Citizens For Clean Water, a Montrose-based group, syas that drilling in the area continues to wreak havoc on the water supply and atmosphere. Its director, Vera Scroggins, stated:

We have eco-system and habitat destruction from all of the infrastructure, with pipelines and noise from the compressor stations and well sites.

Habitat loss, noise pollution, water contamination,  pipelines, light pollution, wells within 300 feet of homes and within 100 feet of waterways, truck traffic, flaring- what about these issues?  Are they being addressed along with those "good effects"? 

I am constantly amazed at how people will act against their own best interests.  The proper way to approach the gas industry is:  research, science, and then action.  We are doing it in reverse.  Public health and the environment should be taken into account.

Click on this link to read the Rocket-Courier article.  LINK

Stop the Megaloads Now: Alberta Tar Sands Need US Help

Monstrous machines over wild and scenic Idaho and Montana highways will destroy the wilderness and roads. Exxon is destroying our natural resources while taking in $40 billion a year in profits. They destroy our public lands which we own and pay taxes on.

Block Exxon's Tar Sands Operations!

Health Effects of Natural Gas Drilling: Sandra Steingraber, PhD

PhD distinguished scholar in residence at Ithaca College, Sandra Steingraber speaks at the New York Assembly Public Hearing on Health Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing Techniques, Thursday, May 26. The audio is a little hard to hear, but listen carefully! Dr. Steingraber has a PhD in Biology from the University of Michigan. Her book, "Raising Elijah: Protecting Our Children In an Age of Environmental Crisis", is worth checking out.

Marcellus Shale: Shift Happens

Gas drilling and healthy living?
Dimock, PA
Used by permission

Is healthy living compatible with shale gas extraction?  Spectra Energy Watch has published an article entitled "Shift Happens" which suggests that public opinion may indeed be shifting in regard to the advisability of continuing down the path of shale gas drilling.  Apparently gas companies are starting to get worried.  The testimony of people whose lives have been destroyed, whose health has been seriously affected, whose property has been irreversibly damaged,  is having a major impact on public opinion.  Will the shattered lives of these people serve as a warning to all of us to reconsider the direction we are taking?  Will our national energy policy, now determined by gas company CEOs and their corporate boards,  veer off the present path to a saner, healthier, and sustainable future?  The nuclear industry lost the confidence of the public after Three Mile Island, and billions of dollars that had been invested were abandoned.  David Ciarlone, manager of Global Energy Services for Alcoa, said,

It's been 30 years since Three Mile Island, and nuclear is just gaining traction again...Without significant changes, shale gas, like nuclear power, could be more remembered for promises made than hopes realized.

Read the article here.

Vintage 2010: Susquehanna County and Bradford County, PA

Get the wine glasses out!  Water from Dimock and Granville Summit coming right up!

Photo used by permission.

Professor Ingraffea Lecture: Development of Natural Gas from Shales

Well Head on Well Pad

A presentation by Cornell Professor Dr. Anthony Ingraffea. Dr. Ingraffea's presentation evaluates myth and facts concerning some of the more notable issues involved in development of unconventional natural gas wells in shale formations. The presentation was sponsored by Penn State Eco-Action and the Sierra Club Moshannon Group.

May 10, 2011

Professor Ingraffea addresses myths and realities of slick water, high volume fracturing from long laterals.  The four myths he included were:

1.   Fracking is a 60-year-old well-proven technology.
2.   Gas migration from faulty wells is a rare phenomenon.
3.   Use of multi-well pads reduces surface impact.      
4.   Natural gas is a clean fossil fuel.

All of these statements contain a kernel of truth, according to Ingraffea.  However, he explains why each of these myths is flawed in major ways.  After hearing his talk, one has a better understanding of the real truth.  The problems with these mythic statements are highlighted in detail.  Ingraffea uses data from the gas industry whenever possible to prove his points.  He insists that all statements be backed up by peer-reviewed scientific research.

This video presentation is two hours long.  It took me 4 sittings to get it all.  I took notes!  It is well worth the time if you have the motivation.  I hope you will watch it.

View Dr. Ingraffea's lecture here.

Flaring in Susquehanna County, PA

King Site; Cabot Gas Site; Dimock, Pa. ; 1 and 1/2 miles from Elk Lake School; very loud-- like jet engines on the runway; can be heard miles away; houses nearby right around this site; goes on for 24 hours for several days; horrible; videotaped on 5-14-11.

My Water's On Fire (The Fracking Song)

This music video is great!  David Holmes, Andrew Bean, and Niel Bekker and others collaborated on this effort. Congratulations to all involved!

Marcellus Shale: You Be the Judge- Interviews With Bradford County Residents

Lawyer Todd J. O'Malley interviewed local people in Bradford County, PA.  These people, the faces of fracking, are sick, their children and babies are in jeopardy of becoming sick, their dreams have been shattered.  Why?  Because they live near gas wells, and most of them have suffered the loss of their water wells which are now ruined with no chance of getting their good water back.  They drink bottled water.  They cannot cook or wash with their bad water.  Their lives are turned upside down.

To visit O'Malley's website, click here.  There you will find links to recent articles related to the problems caused by un-natural gas drilling.  A sandbox within feet of a wellhead?  Gas company says this poses no problem.  Read more and watch the You Tube videos.

*I get no money from Todd O'Malley!  I just like the work he is doing in Bradford County to help those in need.  We have never met.  We need more people like him to work with families in distress due to Big Oil/Gas Greed.

Read about the lawsuit O'Malley filed in April on behalf of Bradford County residents who have been harmed by gas drilling here.

The Sights and Sounds of Natrual Gas Drilling: Susquehanna County, PA

Gas Drilling in Beautiful Susquehanna County, PA from VeccVideography on Vimeo.

Air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, they all come with the territory.  Welcome to an industrial zone, aka a sacrifice zone, because every single gas well site has the potential to becomes superfund site after all is said and done. Remember Love Canal?

http://gasmain.org/
http://un-naturalgas.org/
http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/chemicals.introduction.php

Sign at Love Canal Protest:  We have better things to do than sit around being contaminated.

Going Green Can Work For a Clean Enviroment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body of the world's leading climate scientists convened by the United Nations, has found that renewable energy could account for 80% of the world's energy supply within four decades.

This counters the corporate media line constantly blasted at us that we have to keep using oil, coal and nuclear because natural clean energy sources are not ready to carry the load. The reason they lie like this on behalf of their owners, board members and advertisers is that their masters can't figure out a way to own and control the sun and wind, instead forcing the masses to pay them money each month for dirty power that is produced to profit the ruling Forces of Greed at great public expense.

Taken from Liberty Underground news service.  To join and receive posts from Liberty Underground, send e-mail with "join" in the subject (e-mail is linked above).

To join the Liberty Underground talk group, click here.

Tell your friends about LUV News because some people just don't get it. ☻

Frack Pit Love Song

Download song at http://www.kriskitko.com. Kris Kitko's song about toxic frack waste pits. For more info about fracking, especially in North Dakota: http://www.bakkenwatch.org. (This link sometimes doesn't work on the first click; try again and you should be taken to the Bakken Watch site.) Thanks to Texas Sharon for submitting photos: http://txsharon.blogspot.com/. JOIN the effort to stop fracking for oil and gas before it's too late. Proceeds from download sales go to Bakken Watch, North Dakota's only fracking awareness non-profit.

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?

Bin Laden: Financed and Trained By the US

The news of the apparent murder/execution of bin Laden has been met with jubilation by many Americans.  I do not share this emotion.  Amy Goodman, in her 2004 book, The Exception To the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them, writes

After 9/11, Osama bin Laden became a household name across the globe. But for decades before the attacks, his name was familiar to a small, powerful group in Washington. The reason? Osama bin Laden was financed and trained by the United States.

Goodman explains that bin Laden was "the answer to Washington's prayers" in the 1980s when the US government tried to lure the Soviets into Afghanistan. Between 1982 and 1992 we spent $3 billion training and arming Islamist radicals to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. It was the largest US covert operation since WW II.

The US aided and trained the Afghan mujahedeen, or holy warriors, months before the Soviets invaded. President Carter's national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, had no regrets about the operation. He was asked about this in 1998, and he responded:

What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?

Goodman states: "Brzezinski got his answer on 9/11."

Osama bin Laden was a paymaster for the Afghan mujahedeen. The bin Laden family brought in millions of dollars for the war. The US was happy about this help since the Soviet Union was our chosen enemy then. But after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the devastation of Afghanistan, we had no more need of the Islamic groups who had helped us. So we cast them off. In 1991, when 540,000 US troops arrived in Saudi Arabia to fight in the Persian Gulf War, we became enemies to bin Laden. He fell out of favor. He ended up in Afghanistan and became patron to the Taliban. That's how he came to hate the US.

This information was gleaned from Amy Goodman's book, The Exception To the Rulers, Chapter One: Blowback. Goodman used the heading:  Our Guy: Putting the U-S-A in "Usama".

I have friends who have said that bin Laden deserved to die because he killed 3000 Americans on 9/11.  You don't hear much about the thousands of US soldiers who have died and thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan who have been killed and millions more severely injured and made into refugees, all in an effort to get bin Laden- to avenge the loss on 9/11.  I personally would have preferred to have captured bin Laden alive and to have tried him in a court of law.  This would have created an important historical record at least.  The US says it stands for law and order.  Wouldn't this have been more in keeping with our stated beliefs?

Everything is connected.  Our foreign policies, the wars we are now engaged in, globalization, oil, all are related.  So our actions in regard to Osama bin Laden have everything to do with  the natural gas/oil corporations and their control of governments worldwide.  The neoconservative notion of American Empire underlies what we see in the headlines.  Visit the website of The Project for the New American Century.

Members of the PNAC: Elliott Abrams, Gary Bauer, William J. Bennett, Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Eliot A. Cohen,  Midge Decter,  Paula Dobriansky,  Steve Forbes, Aaron Friedberg,  Francis Fukuyama, Frank Gaffney,  Fred C. Ikle, Donald Kagan,  Zalmay Khalilzad,  I. Lewis Libby, Norman Podhoretz,  Dan Quayle, Peter W. Rodman, Stephen P. Rosen, Henry S. Rowen, Donald Rumsfeld, Vin Weber, George Weigel, Paul Wolfowitz

Do you recognize any of these names?

Sometimes it is necessary to zoom out from the un-natural gas industry destruction of our country and look at the big picture.

Mother's Day Message

Used by permission

Stevo says OK ☺

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

Wellhead

Commissioner Mark Smith blasts the DEP on gas well inspections


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gas Drilling Waste Moves through Sunbury (PA) to Ohio

Bound for Ohio via Sunbury, PA

In Sunbury's Caketown neighborhood, Moran Industries has been moving drill cuttings from trucks to train cars and shipping them to an undisclosed location in Ohio.

The trucks contain a mixed substance that gives off a strong chemical odor and appears to have soil, rock, mud, and woodchips in it, according to information published by Pennsylvania from Below .

The people who live near this transfer station are very concerned about the health effects of breathing the air. Moran Industries bought property for this new facility for $525,000 after demolition of a manufacturing plant that had polluted the neighborhood for 40 years.  One resident said that "everybody in this neighborhood that has died has died of cancer."

Ohio allows residual waste to be dumped as cover on top of landfills.  This is unlawful in PA. In PA this kind of toxic waste must be disposed of inside a landfill, or buried on the drill site.  Not any better of a solution really.  Moran says that the gas industry is lobbying to have PA's regulations changed to be more like those in Ohio.

Read more here.



Happy Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

PA DEP Says: "We can't tell you yet..."

Towanda Creek was contaminated by this spill.
Photo credit: Don Williams

Remember the 30,000 gallons of wastewater that spilled at the Atgas 2H well in Leroy Township, Bradford County, PA, April 19th?    PA DEP sent a violation notice to Chesapeake Energy demanding answers.  The deadline for a response from the gas company was April 29th. However, DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said:

We are not making this information available at this time as we need to carefully examine it as part of our on-going review of the blowout.

Chesapeake Energy is supposed to supply information as follows:

1)what chemicals and other materials were used at the well, 2)what failed at the wellhead and caused the spill, 3)what exactly spilled into the environment, and 4)why it took Chesapeake 12 hours to bring a well control specialist to the site from Texas when a similar firm is located in Pennsylvania.

In my opinion, chemicals used during fracking should be right on the computer and should therefore be available at any time for any reason.  Many of these chemicals are toxic for humans, animals, and plants.  We should know what we have been exposed to without waiting for weeks.  Are we being kept in the dark unnecessarily?

Read the article from the Towanda Daily Review here.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE IS A MUST!

Endocrine Disrupters: Updated List From TEDX

There are about 800 chemicals known to be used in gas drilling that are called endocrine disruptors.  Take a look at this list here. 

Endocrine effects include direct effects on traditional endocrine glands, their hormones and receptors (such as estrogens, anti-androgens, and thyroid hormones), as well as signaling cascades that affect many of the body’s systems, including reproductive function and fetal development, the nervous system and behavior, the immune and metabolic systems, the liver, bones and many other organs, glands and tissues.

So if you are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant,  have an immune system-related illness (such as MS, ALS, lupus, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, gluten sensitivity, diabetes Type 1),  liver disease, or osteporosis, etc., stay away from gaslands wherever they are.  Young and old alike are at risk around gas wells.  I am not a doctor, but this is just common sense.

Take a look at the list of endocrine disruptors used in gas drilling.  It is an eye-opener.

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.

The Hidden Fumes of Gas Drilling

EPA EVIDENCE OF HARMFUL INVISIBLE EMISSIONS NEAR A SCHOOL IN COLORADO

This video (no sound) shows a condensate tank, part of a gas well, which functions to separate liquids and other materials from saleable gas. These tanks emit the unwanted by-products into the air. Note the building in the background. It is a school. The video following the initial normal color image is in black and white and was taken by the EPA with a special camera that makes normally invisible hydrocarbons visible. These hydrocarbons are harmful. Note the prevailing winds carrying the emissions toward the school. These invisible emissions add to the greenhouse gas footprint of gas.

from: http://www.DamascusCitizens.org

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Gas Wells Drilled Near Schools, Hospitals

Today's Towanda Daily Review reports on a study by PennEnvironment which found that Marcellus Shale gas wells have been permitted or drilled within two miles of 320 day care centers, 67 schools, and 9 hospitals in Pennsylvania.  State law restricts drilling within 200 feet of an occupied building, but local and state officials have introduced bills and ordinances to expand that buffer.

The study found that one day care is 400 feet from a permitted well site and one school is 9 feet away.  The closest hospital to a gas well is ½ mile.  Proximity to gas processing plants and compressor stations was not included in the study.

The recent gas well accident in Bradford County, during which thousands of gallons of flowback spilled out into farm lands, streams, and Towanda Creek,  points to the danger of anything living, plant, animal, or human,  being near a well site.  Basic brain work would tell us that putting wells next to schools and other facilities where people are is wrong.

Read the article from the Towanda Daily Review here.

Mother's Day Proclamation



Ruth Shippee (my mother) at the helm of the Fair Dinkum, cruising on the Erie Canal
(also in the picture: Bruce Manuel and Robert Shippee)

 Until we as a nation cease to thrive on and promote war all over the world, until we cease our empire-building,  we will continue to destroy the earth through fossil fuel extraction until there is nothing left.  Julia Ward Howe wrote a proclamation for Mother's Day in 1870.  She implored all women to seek peace and justice.

Julia Ward Howe's "Mother's Day Proclamation" was based on her experiences as a wife and mother throughout her suppressive marriage and the atrocities she witnessed while living through the Civil War. It was her belief that women should have more social responsibility beyond tending to her husband, and she used her gift of prose to spread the message:


Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

"We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country

To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

In honor of Ruth Betty Shippee, born September 3, 1923
Dedicated to peace and justice all her life and
Still going strong!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
♥♥♥♥♥♥
Mother of six

Lightening Strike in Texas Causes Gas Well Fire

Just another serious danger when you live near a gas well.

Leroy (PA) Well Spill: Update?

Here is an excerpt from the Daily Review article published today:

Progress has been slower than anticipated due to the adverse weather conditions that were experienced throughout the weekend, hampering work efforts, according to Chesapeake spokesperson Brian Grove.

The Atgas 2H has remained in stable condition since late Thursday and is expected to continue in this state through final preparations.

Katy Gresh, community relations director for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, reported that DEP personnel remained on the scene Monday, testing the water of Towanda Creek, as well as an adjacent tributary, and where Towanda Creek empties in the Susquehanna River in Wysox 16 miles away. Gresh reported that not all testing results are back yet from the scene, but no adverse effect has been detected at this time.

My questions are several.

•  Do gas drillers NOT realize that Pennsylvania has actual weather which can actually be adverse, especially in winter and spring?
• What is "stable condition"?  Is this like a report on a sick patient who is expected to pull through given time?  Does it mean that no more spillage is occurring?
• What are "final preparations"?   Is that like getting ready to kill and bury this well?
• Why is a premature report of "no adverse effect detected at this time" even put in print?  This statement can conveniently be lifted out of context and reprinted anywhere, possibly giving people the impression that this actually caused no adverse effect at all.  Once people read that, they can feel free to go back to their lives and forget about it.  It leads to a false security which can be deadly. 

Another way to put it is this:  Media can create a baseless sense of optimism, and worse, a belief that spills and blowouts are fixable.

  When accidents happen at gas wells,  reports so often use wording like this, very vague and also bordering on or actually misleading the public.  Readers want to believe that there were no adverse effects of 30,000 gallons of frack fluid spilling out on the ground and flowing out over farmland and into streams and rivers.  We know in our heart of hearts that such a wish will not be granted in the real world.  But when the media provides only general information based on very little actual fact, or at least not enough facts, it is a disservice to us all. Will the public take the time to follow up and keep abreast of what is happening, or will people just console themselves that all is well because they saw an article in the paper or, for that matter, heard an interview on NPR?
 
LINK

FRACCIDENTS HAPPEN

Frack Spill in Leroy, PA: Press Conference in Towanda

Chesapeake Energy - Frack Spill in Leroy, PA from Melissa Troutman on Vimeo.

Attorney Todd O'Malley held a press conference outside Chesapeake Energy's office in Towanda, PA following a hydraulic fracturing flowback fluid spill that leaked toxins into a nearby waterway and led to the evacuation of seven families. Many people whose private water wells have been contaminated and who've had health problems due to contamination were present to share their stories.

Natural Gas Drilling: Forgive Us, Mother Earth

Credit: Apollo 17 crew

A friend wrote this message today:

I can't say "Happy Easter"-- our Mother Earth is being crucified and defiled by countless gas and oil wells and industries--- She is being pierced with long , metal drills, pipes in her Body and she is bleeding her water/blood out of these wells full of toxic chemicals injected into her Body--- her Skin is being peeled back and scraped by giant , metal , noisy, diesel belching machines--- She is Crucified right now--- dying --- can we stop and save Her?? Please---

FORGIVE US, MOTHER EARTH

Protest in Towanda (PA) April 22nd

God bless the people of Bradford County and others who stood in solidarity on Friday, Earth Day, across the road from Chesapeake Energy's headquarters in Towanda, PA, to protest the environmental and human costs that they have suffered from the gas industry so far.  We stand with them.

More on this event from The Morning Times (Sayre)....

Natural Gas From Fracking Could Be Dirtier Than Coal

I'm hearing a lot of talk lately about natural gas being a great bridge fuel while we figure out what to do next, facing peak oil and what not.  Well, according to a Cornell University study released and published in the May issue of Climatic Change Letters, getting natural gas out of the ground could do more to aggravate global warming than mining coal.  While natural gas has been described as clean-burning and producing less carbon dioxide than coal,  hydrofracking produces dangerous methane which is a much more potent greenhouse gas.  Horizontal gas drilling can account for up to twice the methane emissions than conventional gas drilling.

Robert Howarth, Tony Ingraffea, and Renee Santoro analyzed data from published sources, industry reports, and Powerpoint presentations from the EPA.  The study is the first peer-reviewed paper on methane emissions from shale gas, and one of the few exploring the greenhouse gas footprints of unconventional gas drilling.

Read more here:  LINK

The Gasketeers

Used with permission from Stevo

In days of yore, long ago, the King of France had his own private guard to

protect him," the Musketeers". Our new King Gas has come up their own private

guard, " the 3 Gasketeers". Fear not my fellow fighters, for there was another,

known as " the fourth Musketeer".

That is you my friends, you are " the fourth and greatest Musketeer of all !

You prove daily that the pen is mightier than their sword. So, draw that pen from

it's scabbard, raise it to the sky, and say " I'll never go thirsty again"! Thanks.

Gasfucius says : " Our lives are the sum total of our experiences. But it is not just

the experiences, it's the people we experience it with. So let's not be a "Mouseketeer" ! "

                                                                                                                -Stevo

DOWN WITH KING GAS!

From Penn Future: Update on Gas Well Spill, Waste Water Disposal

From Penn Future:

The spill and its aftermath

Chesapeake Energy shut down all hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania in the aftermath of a massive spill of 30,000 gallons of frack water in Bradford County. The incident polluted a tributary of Towanda Creek. PennFuture has called on DEP to shut down all Chesapeake operations, not just fracking, until the company can prove it can operate safely.

The Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) pilot policy that prevents inspectors from citing drillers for violations of environmental laws until approved by Secretary Krancer is more than unwise. It is dangerous and must end immediately.

DEP asks drillers to stop dumping waste at sewage treatment plants

DEP Secretary Michael Krancer this week asked Marcellus Shale drillers to stop delivering gas well waste water to 15 sewage treatment plants. This action came in response to new reports showing that bromides that pass through plants without treatment can interact with drinking water treatment chemicals and form new substances that cause cancer. Last year DEP enacted strict limits on the disposal of toxic and salt-laden wastewater into our waterways, but the 15 plants were exempt from the new regulation.

The drilling industry's reaction to the request has been positive so far. Secretary Krancer should order the drillers to comply if any companies do not promptly honor the request.

Fraccident in PA: Popular Mechanics Weighs In

We're not supposed to drink what?

LINK

Popular Mechanics featured an article on Tuesday's well spill in Leroy Township, Bradford County, PA.  The well operated by Chesapeake Energy erupted just before midnight April 19th, sending thousands of gallons of contaminated frack fluid over the earthen berms surrounding the well pad and down through farmlands to a nearby creek which flows into the Susquehanna River.  The well is Atgas 2H located about 175 miles northwest of Philly.  The mishap occurred while the crew was in the middle of a "frack job."  Although the investigation into this accident is not complete, officials believe a steel coupling located beneath the well's blowout protector, but above ground, failed, allowing the flowback to gush out.  This blowout protector is the same technology as the device that failed in the Gulf oil spill one year ago this week.  What happened in Leroy is not being described as a blowout which would have involved an explosion and methane release into the air.  However, there was no way to immediately stop the flow of water.  As the PM article siad, "there was a lot of water."  Normally this flowback is collected in pits or tanks, processed to remove some of the contaminents, and then partially reused in other wells.  However, some of the waste is trucked out of state or worse, diluted and released by treatment facilities into rivers and streams.

Prior to the incident this week,  there had been days of steady rain which had partially filled the containment pits, causing the pits to overflow when the accident occurred.  Then the berms failed as well.  DEP officials have warned farmers  to stop their cows from drinking surface water. [And we know how easy it is to monitor cows.]

Investigators did not immediately disclose the chemical make-up of the fracking fluid that escaped.  Some of the chemicals are proprietary, making it impossible for emergency workers to know what to test for or treat for.  Popular Mechanics said,

If initial estimates are accurate, it would make Wednesday's incident the most serious fracking accident in the history of Marcellus Shale development.

That is quite a claim to make. 

Methane bubbles in the Susquehanna in Sugar Run
Credit: Don Williams

Happy Earth Day from Whale News Network

Used by permission of Mr. Matson

Anyone remember Tony Hayward?  That treasure chest that Mr. Hayward has on the big hook says "One Million Dollar Pension." And the newspaper in the lower lefthand corner is the Wall Street Journal.  Cool shirt on Hayward. You bet your BP.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

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



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

 Bradford County, PA

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

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

smithm@bradfordco.org

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

Governor Tom Corbett
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120

Dear Governor Corbett,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best Regards,

Mark W. Smith
Chairman, Bradford County Commissioners

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

The Tale of the Golden Goose

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMITH, FOR WRITING THIS LETTER

BREAKING NEWS: Chesapeake Energy Suspends Hydrofracking in Pennsylvania

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20110421/NEWS01/104210373/Chesapeake-Energy-suspends-fracking-Pa-?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Chesapeake Energy has suspended hydrofracking in Pennsylvania until the cause of a well blowout in Leroy Township  late Tuesday night can be determined.  The well is still out of control.  Toxic fluids were spilled onto farm fields and into a tributary of Towanda Creek which flows in the Susquehanna River.

One man who lives near the well is worried his water well will be ruined.  The well is located several hundred yards from the blown-out well.  His well and several other nearby water wells are being tested for contamination.

It's an Occupation: No Room at the Inn in Towanda, PA

Gas drillers literally move in and occupy any area in which they operate.  It is tantamount to a military invasion.  Where once the local people went about their daily lives in peace,  now the roughnecks are in charge.  They are everywhere, in the coffee shops, restaurants, motels, and clogging the highways and little country roads.  There is hardly room for the local residents or tourists or hunters or fishermen who may try to find a place to stay.  It's Boomtown USA.  Great for the merchants for a while, maybe even decades.  But bad for the environment and human beings who reside in the area.  Great for a few landowners who will make some good money.  Bad for everyone else who suffers the consequences with no benefits whatsoever.

http://thedailyreview.com/news/towanda-motel-branches-out-1.1135269

BREAKING NEWS: Well Blowout in Bradford County, PA

A gas well emergency is underway in LeRoy Township near Canton, PA, at this hour.  Thousands and thousands of gallons of fracking fluid have been spilled due to a blowout.  The fluid has contaminated Towanda Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River. 

We must stop gas drilling unless we don't mind this happening many times more in the future.  A contaminated creek cannot be saved.  Damage done.  Reports are that the creek was stocked with trout April 5th.

LINK:  http://www.wnep.com/wnep-brad-leroy-gas-drillingemergency20110420,0,1884646.story
TV Report:  http://www.wnep.com/  (video)

Bradford County USA

Beautiful Bradford County is now an industrial zone.  One of  the saddest sights I have seen ever because my family summer homestead is there on the Susquehanna River.  It won't be long before our family cannot go there anymore.  Worse yet, some family members refuse to accept the dangers of air, water, and soil contamination and plan to continue to visit there as we all have for decades.  Some local people get upset with people like us because we can come and go.  They have to live in this Sacrifice Zone twelve months a year.  What are they supposed to do?  Many have no safe water to drink.  Many have devalued properties which are hard to sell.  Many are low-income and have no means to relocate.  What are they going to do?  Some have signed gas leases; others have not.  All are at risk.   They are considered collateral damage.  Humans and animals are just collateral damage, dispensible, vulnerable.  Lives ruined.  For what?  A few years of un-natural gas energy?  Perhaps it's legal, but is it right?

Gas Drilling in Bradford County, PA

This video was done by TIME magazine.  Listen to Greg Morell who owns two motels in Wysox, PA, say how much he is benefiting from gas drilling.  He recommends gas drilling to everyone.  The addition to his motel (Riverstone Inn) he is now building in Wysox is ALREADY rented 100% by the gas industry.  Our family who has its family reunion in French Azilum every July still can't find rooms.

Listen to Bonnie and Truman Burnett tell about their new home and the spills that have occurred, making it impossible for them to enjoy their once beautiful property.  Two years ago 100,000 gallons of frack water were spilled and ruined their little pond and their well.  Contaminated water from this spill still trickles downhill toward Towanda and the Susquehanna River every time it rains, they say.  Another accident occurred when 300-500 gallons of hydrochloric acid spilled onto the ground.

The Johnsons cattle drank frack fluid containing strontium which went to their bones and proved deadly.  Look at the faces of these people as they tell their story.

But for Mr. Morell, it's all fantastic.  He's making money hand over fist.  And that's the name of the game, of course.  MONEY. 

A Fracking Cartoon from Earth Justice

And now a word from EarthJustice.............

Natural Gas Industry: Garfield County, CO

Residents of Garfield County are sick and their animals are dying.  Watch this video from the New York Times.

Frack! the Movie Trailer

FRACK! The Movie Trailer from David Morris on Vimeo.


This gives a short glimpse of what happens when unconventional gas drilling comes to town.

Another Truck Overturns in Towanda, PA

A truck carries residual waste in Hickory, PA

A driver of a truck owned by Texas Transco sustained minor injuries on Tuesday when the vehicle overturned at 4:30 a.m. as he drove on Bridge Street in Towanda.  The tractor trailer was carrying water, according to the Daily Review report, and the water leaked from the vehicle when it rolled over after leaving the north side of the road.  No other vehicles were involved.  After rolling, the truck went down a slight embankment. 

Truck accidents are not uncommon in areas where gas drilling operations are on-going.  Because of this, local citizens must use extra caution when on the roads of Bradford County.  Be ready to take evasive action at all times.  These trucks are often operated by people from Texas where the terrain is very different, and the drivers may be fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  In addition, time is of the essence, which may cause the drivers to speed.  This is not to say that most drivers operate these huge vehicles improperly and unsafely.  However, being alert is essential.  I have nearly been driven off the road in this area by gas trucks.  I have a friend in Texas who has ended up in a ditch more than once.

Here is the article from the Daily Review:  LINK

How Much Water?

Kayaking at Wysox, PA
Photo: Don Williams

The gas drilling industry is crafty at presenting facts to the public.  For instance, it tries to downplay how many chemicals and how much is put into the ground during drilling and fracking.  You'd think it was nothing to worry about- just stuff you find underneath your sink!  This article by Wes Skillings of the Rocket-Courier writes about the calculations of Dan Barrett, Bradford County District Attorney, who likes to play around with numbers in his spare time.  He set out to help readers visualize how much water two million gallons is.  He concludes that

two million gallons would fill a one-acre pond to the depth of six feet, two inches.

How many tanker trucks would be required to haul two million gallons of water?  Barrett estimates it would take 400 loads, each carrying 5,000 gallons (20 tons).  Here's another visual:  A million gallons would fill a football field surrounded by a wall 3.71 feet high and filled to the top with water.

Wikipedia says it takes 660,000 gallons of water to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.  You could fill that pool more than three times every day with a reservoir of two million gallons, Barrett calculates.

Now think of how many gas companies are all lined up day after day, night after night, sucking water from our rivers, streams, and lakes.  In Bradford County, PA, there are many water withdrawal sites in operation.  Companies apply to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and get permission to steal withdraw millions upon millions of gallons of perfectly good water every day.  After the gas industry gets a hold of this precious resource, it soon becomes toxic waste and must be disposed of, never to be returned to the Earth again, except as unusable, poison waste.

Do we want to take all this water, a finite resource,  and throw it away by the millions of gallons every single day in thousands of places?  The scale, the enormity, of this situation is mind-boggling.  So those who would minimize the impact of consumptive water use are not thinking about the big picture.  I think it is the seduction of the Almight Dollar at work.

Here is the Rocket-Courier article:  LINK

PA Laundromats Struggle With Gas Drilling Clothes

The clothing worn by gas drilling workers gets pretty nasty.  Nothing new, I suppose.  Industrial workers get dirty.  However, what do the drillers get on their clothes?  We don't know what chemicals are used in the drilling process (proprietary, you know), so I guess we just have to hope that it's okay.  The washing machines at laudromats are getting all gummed up with a brownish film.  Sometimes the machines have to be serviced to clean them out for other customers.  I personally would not wash my baby's clothes in a machine that had just been used for contaminated clothes soaked in toxic chemicals and grease.  It would seem that laundromat owners are going to have to invest in industrial machines or at least designate certain machines for use by gas drillers. 

This does not, however, address the problem of the wash water and what it has in it after swishing around these clothes.  Presumably the water goes into the local sewer system.  Where does that water end up?  I hope the local municipal authorities are in the know about this.  But my hunch is that this potential problem has not been thought of properly.  As is the case so often with the gas industry,  the motto is:  Drill now; figure out the kinks later.

Read the Daily Review article here: LINK

Another related article here. (from pressconnects.com)

Oh, and another serious problem:  What about car washes?  Gas drillers bring their muddy trucks to wash them in self-service car washes.  What is in that wash water?  I shudder to think.