Ron Slabe's Marcellus Citizen Commission Testimony

     My name is Ron Slabe and I reside at 516 Angelcrest Drive in Upper Burrell, PA. and  I address you today as a concerned citizen and spokesperson for CAMP, Citizens Against Marcellus Pollution.

     Before I begin my list of concerns, let me remind everyone of the scientific Duke study that showed a clear correlation between Marcellus gas drilling and the contamination of water wells.  The study showed that the closer one’s well is to the Marcellus drilling, the more likely the well water would be contaminated by migrating methane.  Further, it strongly suggested that as a result of the underground explosions used to created the fractures or fissures, not just methane but other pollutants used in the fracking process may also migrate sooner or later into the ground water.  As Anthony Ingraffea of Cornell points out, the fractures created do not stay strickly in the Marcellus layer but extend some 5 to 6 times beyond the shale layer. He further states that if just 5% of the 100,000 or more projected wells in Pa manifest such migration, we are looking at a figure of ominous proportions.  And within a thirty year period, the number of wells experiencing gas migration grows to a whopping 50%.  I believe this is an extremely important factor to consider when attempting to regulate and control the overall impact of hydraulic fracturing.

     Now, I would like to give you a list of concerns and recommendations that I would like to see put in place in PA.

1. In the area of setbacks, no drilling should occur within 3000 feet of a protected structure, such as a home, barn, school, hospital, etc.  The current setbacks of 200 feet from such structures in the antiquated PA Oil and Gas Act are not applicable for Marcellus or unconventional drilling as is the Corbett Commission’s recommendation of an increase to 500 feet.
2. In like manner, no drilling should occur within 3000 feet of a water well, stream, lake, pond, or any other body of water. This recommendation reflects the Duke University study indicating methane migration at this distance.  Moreover, the PA Campaign for Clean Water strongly recommends a 5000 feet setback “to provide a margin of safety.”  The Corbett Commission recommendation of simply tripling the current distances from 100 to 300 feet is just totally inadequate.
3. There should be absolutely no drilling in a public reservoir or watershed or in areas that supply drinking water to downstream communities.
4. Any and all Marcellus fracking or impoundment ponds should be prohibited and only steel containment tanks used, otherwise known as a closed loop system, for the storage of flowback water. That an impoundment pond, for example, can be located at almost any distance to a water source is a recipe for disaster. These plastic lined ponds, filled with toxic saline cocktails of strontium, barium, heavy metals, and radioactive materials, are a huge source of pollution for water, soil, and air through leakage as well as natural and man induced evaporation.  Furthermore, there are no regulations for enclosing such impoundments with fencing or bird netting to keep out wildlife animals or birds as well as domestic livestock.  It is unconscionable that our DEP has done nothing to regulate these toxic water dumps.  Thus, the current use of impoundment ponds must be eliminated and supplanted with a closed loop system at the very least.
5. All well water testing should be done by an independent testing lab and paid for by the gas companies wishing to drill within 2500 feet of a home’s water source.  Liability for any damage should be extended to at least two years for it may take that amount of time or longer for methane or other pollutants to migrate and become evident in such wells.
6. All well water testing should be done by an independent testing lab and paid for by the gas companies wishing to drill within 2500 feet of a home’s water source.  Liability for any damage should be extended to at least two years for it may take that amount of time or longer for methane or other pollutants to migrate and become evident in such wells.
7. Before any Marcellus wells are drilled, all abandoned gas wells in the area must be located and capped properly as recent studies show such wells as possible conduits for further methane migration.  Moreover, the expenses for doing so should be born by the gas companies wishing to drill a Marcellus well.  PA taxpayers should not be footing the bill for such activities.
8. Before any Marcellus wells are drilled, an environmental impact statement should be formulated and submitted by the PA DEP.
9. Under no circumstances should forced pulling be allowed in Pennsylvania.
10. Any impact fee or tax imposed upon Marcellus gas drilling should be done with no strings attached, especially in regards at attempts to impose a “model ordinance” on local communities. No attempts should ever be State mandated  to curtail a communities’ efforts to protect the public at the local level.
11. All local ordinances should be respected by the State be they attempts to regulate where drilling occurs or attempts to outright ban it within local boundaries.
12. Support should be given for the concept of local cooperatives, as envisioned by State Rep. Jesse White, in attempts to monitor and investigate the proper enforcement of local community ordinances as well as state regulations.
13. Make it mandatory, not voluntary, that all Marcellus waste water or produced water be taken to deep injection wells and not disposed of in municipal treatment plants when such facilities cannot properly treat such wastes.
14. All pristine designated wild places and public lands, especially forests, should be declared off-limits to drilling.
15. In all reclamation processes, insurances must be demanded that drilling companies pay for such reclamation and for any pollution and environmental damage created.
16. In light of the fact that each Marcellus well can use an estimated 5 to 10 million gallons of fresh water in its fracking process, water withdrawal limits must be put in place and strictly enforced.
17. And finally, total and complete disclosure of chemicals and toxins must be required.  In the hydraulic fracturing process, where the public health and safety is involved, there should be no such thing as secretive or proprietary protections.

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