The 11th Injection Well Approved in Pennsylvania



A sign protesting a proposed deep injection well sits on the lawn of a home in Brady Township, Clearfield County. Community opposition to deep injection wells is strong because of links with earthquakes and fears of drinking water contamination.

Injection wells are now being permitted in Pennsylvania.  Injection wells are installed to store fracking fluids from gas well drilling.  In other areas of the country, for example, Oklahoma, injection wells have been linked to earthquakes, seismic activity, and underground pollution of water.  I guess injection wells are going to be increasing in number.  It is truly troubling that, added to more and more pipelines and compressor stations, we must face the consequences of all these threats to our environment and our health.

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2017/06/05/pa-dep-approved-11th-underground-injection-well-for-oil-and-gas-waste/

A Good Decision Is Reversed: Cabot Oil Is Given An Undeserved Thumbs Up By Judge

I feel a personal connection to my dear friends in Dimock, PA, because I became friends with quite a few residents of Susquehanna County in 2009 when I had my epiphany about the natural gas industry and the destruction it was causing, especially in Dimock which was hit so hard early on when hydrofracking started tearing up everything underground, causing water contamination and illness.  This weekend a judge vacated a case against Cabot Oil, taking away a $4 billion award to two families who have suffered so much in the last 8 years or more since Cabot ruined their perfectly good water.  Now the judge says a new trial would be required.  Read about the devastating news here.

This is the first post I have posted since September 2015.  I am so angry about this decision that I was compelled to return to my blog and write about it. 

BREAKING: Oil and Gas Drilling Impacts Public Drinking Water in Potter County (PA)

Journalist writer Melissa Troutman, Executive Director of Public Herald, reports that drinking water systems have been impacted and at least five private water supplies  are contaminated due to ongoing pollution being caused by a natural gas fracking operation of JKLM Energy in Potter County, PA.  An emergency public meeting occurred  this week in downtown Coudersport (Ms. Troutman's hometown). The water contamination has been sourced to the Reese Hollow #118 shale gas well where drilling operations began on August 28, 2015.

An interesting side issue:  JKLM Energy, a young company, whose largest shareholder, Terry Pegula,  sold the former East Resources for $4.6 billion and then purchased the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.  A study revealed that East Resources ranked first among about 45 drillers cited for violations during the period of the study.

Another revolting aspect:  DEP is telling local residents to direct their complaints to JKLM Energy.  So they are kind of on their own I guess.

Read Troutman's report here. In the article, there are many links which will take you to other places to learn more about this horrible situation.

http://publicherald.org/breaking-oil-gas-drilling-impacts-public-drinking-water-supplies-in-potter-county/

Demand accountability!

Emergency Protest in Albany, NY, Against the Constitution Pipeline

Published on Aug 13, 2015

Governor Cuomo and Acting DEC Commissioner Gerstman must deny issuing a 401 Water Quality Certificate (WQC) fort the Constitution Pipeline.

Visit: www.stopthepipeline.org

Do not issue a 401 Water Quality Certificate (WQC) for the Constitution Pipeline!  Thank you to all the protestors who went to Albany August 11th!

What's Killing the Babies of Vernal, Utah?

A fracking boomtown, a spike in stillborn deaths and a gusher of unanswered questions

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/fracking-whats-killing-the-babies-of-vernal-utah-20150622#ixzz3gGGrLKMm
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Vera Scroggins: Anti-Fracking Activist Talks About Her Injunction

Uploaded on Jun 29, 2015

Vera Scroggins explains the injunction set by Cabot oil and gas against her she must follow in Susquehanna County. She also explains a new phenomenon: Vera sightings.

Vera has been revealing what is actually happening in Susquehanna County, PA, through her video documentation and the tours she gives of the area, during which she shows people the effects of the gas industry.  To say she is relentless is an understatement.  She has been sued by Cabot Oil and made several court appearances.  An injunction was given to her in May which has many orders in it, limiting her access to many places in her county, and will never expire.

She explains what Vera Sightings are here.  Cabot is trying to build a case against her even now after all she has been through. 

We Are Seneca Lake: Josh Fox Speaks Out About Nat Gas Storage Under Seneca Lake

"[Josh] Fox  put together this short documentary, which premiered exclusively at the Daily Beast on Wednesday—a call to action from him and fracking activist Sandra Steingraber, an ecologist and author who has been at the forefront of the We Are Seneca Lake campaign."

Horizontal slickwater hydrofracking was banned in New York State in 2014.  However, the infrastructure needed to support the natural gas industry, i.e. pipelines, storage facilities, trains, compressor stations, etc., are equally as disturbing and dangerous.  We must not let up on the fight to protect the planet.

Sharon Wilson: How She Became an Activist Against the Gas Industry in Texas

Sharon Wilson - Ft. Worth, Texas from Oceans 8 Films on Vimeo.

Sharon Wilson is a horsewoman and blogger from Texas whose bucolic property suddenly became prime real estate for hydrofracking. In response, she organized other landowners in similar predicaments and made sure their voices could be heard.

Earth Day Message from Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York

Happy Earth Day!

 

 

God bless Mother Earth, our island home.

Stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership!

To get involved in the movement to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership, click here.

#noTPP

 

The good news is that this is a plan we can stop. Today, Congress introduced a bill that would allow the TPP to be signed into law. This legislation, called Fast Track, faces a close vote -- if enough Members of Congress come out against this plan in the next few weeks, TPP stops in its tracks.

 

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being negotiated in secret because it is such a bad idea, and the corporations behind it are hoping it moves forward without too many people noticing. If our representatives know we're watching, they're much less likely to get behind this thing.

TPP could also be used to attack worker's rights, and so many other things that matter. For instance, if New York finally raises the minimum wage to $15, multinational corporations could sue the state and make taxpayers pay for lost profit. Every major organization fighting for economic justice for workers opposes it.

Fracking Intimidation: Vera Scroggins Edition

on Apr 21, 2015

Cabot Oil and Gas does not tolerate dissent. They've used lies and intimidation to silence Vera Scroggins, who does citizen tours around Dimock Pennsylvania. But the harassment of any and all critics is very common - I found this out personally as I filmed installation across America. I was reported to Homeland Security for filming a gas refinery - Homeland security gave my boss a call after they tracked the license plate on the rented car I was driving to him. "To know who rules over you, find out who you can not criticize" The fossil fuel industry - using the fracking boom - has decided we will remain on fossil fuels no matter what science says. Silencing critics is pone way they get this done - which destroying our democracy, our environment and our communities at the same time.

"Vera Scroggins, a Pennsylvania grandmother who gives tours of her local area to people interested in knowing more about fracking, could be jailed for her work. Cabot Gas and Oil has been trying to stop her citizen tours by using false claims to place a legal injunction against her. Cabot's attack on Vera reached a zenith this Spring when an industry worker falsely testified that Vera Scroggins violated the court's order.

Vera has many witnesses who testified that the worker was wrong and Vera was well within the boundary set for her by the injunction. But the judge, who has financial interests in the gas industry - rejected the testimony of three witnesses and accepted the testimony of the singular gas worker who had no proof of his claims.

Why is Cabot so dead set on punishing Mrs. Scroggins? Cabot takes this approach with anyone who defies them. The corporation uses local media propagandists and local pro-gas groups to harass, intimidate and obstruct all opposition. This time Cabot Gas and Oil hopes to jail a critic based on false testimony.

Vera is encouraging anyone in the area to come to the Montrose Courthouse on Thursday, April 23, at 1:30 to stand in support of democracy, decency and justice."

How Hilary Clinton's State Department Sold Fracking to the World

I want a woman to be president.  Hilary is running for president.  Can I support her?  Here is an article that appeared in Mother Jones last fall. An excerpt:

"One icy morning in February 2012, Hillary Clinton's plane touched down in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, which was just digging out from a fierce blizzard. Wrapped in a thick coat, the secretary of state descended the stairs to the snow-covered tarmac, where she and her aides piled into a motorcade bound for the presidential palace. That afternoon, they huddled with Bulgarian leaders, including Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, discussing everything from Syria's bloody civil war to their joint search for loose nukes. But the focus of the talks was fracking."

Hilary Clinton also urged Romanian officials to give fracking another chance.  She bent over backwards to encourage Bulgarian officials to go forward with fracking, including sending her special envoy for energy in Eurasia to stop fracking bans. With her help, Romania's parliament voted down its proposed fracking ban and Bulgaria's eased its moratorium.

Mrs. Clinton worked very hard to promote and spread fracking around the globe.  She employed the services of David Goldwyn as her special envoy for international energy affairs.  He had a long history of promoting drilling overseas- both as a Department of Energy official under Bill Clinton and as a representative of the oil industry.

I am very, very, very concerned about Hilary Clinton's position on fracking worldwide and, of course, global climate change.  I think it is painfully obvious that she is not going to promote sustainable energy policies.  And that is very unfortunate.

Here is the link to the article:  http://portside.org/2015-04-14/how-hillary-clintons-state-department-sold-fracking-world

We may have to sort out what we can live with when choosing our next president, and having a woman occupy the office may not be the most important consideration.