Westmoreland
Marcellus Citizens’ Group Updates March
7, 2013
To receive our news updates, please email jan at janjackmil@yahoo.com
*For articles and updates or to just vent, visit us on facebook;
* To view permanent documents, past updates,
reports, general information and meeting information
http://westmorelandmarcellus.blogspot.com/
*
To discuss candidates: http://www.facebook.com/groups/VoteProEarth/
* To contact your state
legislator:
For email
address, click on the envelope under the photo
* For information on the state gas legislation
and local control: http://pajustpowers.org/aboutthebills.html-
Calendar of Events
*** Fracking and
Your Health, Public Health Perspectives Public Meeting
* What common health
problems do residents experience?
* What are the
sources of exposure?
* How can you reduce
your exposure?
* What public health
studies are being done?
Speakers:
Nadia Steinzor -
Earthworks
Raina Rippel- Southwest PA Environmental Health Project
Linda Headley
–member of a SW PA affected family
Dr. Ralph Miranda-
Greensburg Physician, Speaker/Moderator
Where:
Fred Rogers Center, Saint Vincent
College, Latrobe, PA
When:
Tuesday, March 19, 7:00-9:00 pm
Free admission
Publicity-How
you can help Thank you to many of
you who have posted flyers for our March 19 health forum at St Vincent.
Please help us by copying the above information and:
--Posting
the meeting on your face book site
--Sending
out the notice to people on your email list and ask them to pass it on.
That action is
incredibly helpful in getting the word out to people who are not on our mailing
list. Jan
***County Commissioners Meeting- 2nd and 4th Thursday of
the month at the county courthouse at 10:00
*** Marcellus Protest Frack
Forum- March 9, 1:00 pm, at the Friends’ Meeting House in Shadyside. Updates and strategizing about upcoming
campaigns, sharing information and ways to work together.
*** Earth
Day Event-St Vincent
College, April 22
For a full calendar
of area events please see “Marcellus Protest” calendar:
TAKE
ACTION!!
***Tell President Obama that
natural gas is not a climate change solution.
Our race to curb climate change will not be won with
natural gas. Unfortunately, President Obama is under the impression fracking
for natural gas is a climate solution.
Today,
natural gas and oil production is the second largest emitter of greenhouse
gases, second only to coal.1 Not only does more fracking mean more climate
change pollution, but communities across the country will continue to suffer at
the hands of profit-seeking natural gas companies. It's time to set the record
straight.
Make your call today. Tell President Obama to
protect our communities from fracking.
Thanks for all you do to protect the environment,
Deb Nardone
Director, Beyond Natural Gas Campaign
Sierra Club
P.S. Please share this email with five friends and
family so we send a strong message to President Obama.
Call the White House today at (202)
456-1111,
and tell President Obama that natural gas is not a climate solution.
Talking Points:
Natural gas is not a climate solution.
It's time to put the brakes on creating
a fracking rush and exporting natural gas.
Protecting our communities' air and
water should be the President's first priority.
If the line is busy, keep trying!
Help track our progress -- report your
call below!
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Call_NAT_NG_PresidentObamaLNGAlert&autologin=true&AddInterest=6682&s_src=213BNGCN01
Oil and Gas Leases Create Conflicts for
FEMA
***********************************************************************
***Water Testing
Mystery, questions and concerns continue to surround
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) policies for
testing water that has been suspected of being impacted by Marcellus Shale
natural gas operations. These issues
were originally brought to light when it was revealed that DEP doesn’t report
full test results to residents, depriving them of critical health and safety
information. People have a right to know ALL the results whether good or bad.
Let the state know that you want them to release all water testing results from
gas drilling investigations!
When we found out about DEP’s
policies, Clean Water Action and a coalition of environmental groups sent a
letter to Governor Tom Corbett and Secretary Michael Krancer criticizing the
DEP’s policies as lacking transparency and inadequate to protect residents and
drinking water. We called for immediate reforms to DEP’s procedures and
demanded immediate disclosure of all data collected through DEP water
tests. We were optimistic that we might
finally get answers when Secretary Krancer suggested scheduling a meeting to
discuss these issues. DEP however left us still in the dark and extremely
disappointed when they abruptly cancelled the meeting.
DEP must provide Pennsylvanian’s
with answers. DEP is entrusted to oversee and regulate the oil and gas industry
in a manner that protects public health and the environment; water quality testing
and enforcement are clearly a key part of this mission. We continue to ask DEP
to reschedule the meeting and if nothing else, address the many questions
surrounding their procedures (click here to see our most recent letter and list
of questions). Help us apply pressure to DEP by emailing Governor Corbett and
Secretary Krancer TODAY!
Tell them they need
to reschedule their meeting with us and provide answers to the questions and
concerns surrounding their water testing policies.
For Clean Water,
Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Campaign Coordinator
Frack Links
Continuing Medical Education Series on Shale Gas Development
The medical community's experience
concerning the potential acute and chronic medical effects, injuries, and
disabilities is limited. This results in professional practice gaps concerning
the diagnosis and management of diverse toxicological effects and illnesses,
and in competencies related to obtaining toxicological history and physical
exams of patients. Additional gaps exist in the competent performance of risk
communication and public health education for individuals and communities.
This series of online educational
modules has been developed, prepared, and implemented by Physicians Scientists
and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) and is jointly sponsored by the Medical
Society of the State of New York (MSSNY).
You
can access this Veomed platform to obtain CME credit and for the highest
quality viewing. While anyone can view
these courses for free on VeoMed, you must register to do so. Alternatively,
the videos can be accessed on Youtube.(Go to the PSE site to connect to You
Tube)
http://www.psehealthyenergy.org/COURSES
Shale Gas: Module 1
1: Introduction to Shale Gas
Extraction
Anthony
Ingraffea, PhD, PE
2: Potential Health Impacts of Natural Gas
Extraction
Jerome Paulson,
MD
3: Impacts of Drilling on Human and Animal Health
Michelle
Bamberger, DVM, MS &
Robert Oswald, Phd
Shale Gas Module 2
1:Fundamental Chemical
Toxicology with Exposure Related to Shale Gas Development David Brown, ScD
2: Endocrine Disruption Chemicals Adam Law, MD
3: Patient Evaluation
Denise DeJohn,
RN, MSN, CRNP
Shale Gas Module 3
1: Health Impact Assessment for
Shale Gas Extraction
Larysa Dyrszka,
MD
Additional Resources
The Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental
Health Project (SWPA-EHP) has published a Medical Toolkit for medical
professionals. The Toolkit consists of a series of interactive workshops
focused on addressing patient concerns and symptoms related to gas extraction
activities.
Physicians, Scientists, & Engineers
for Healthy Energy
404 North Cayuga Street • Ithaca NY 14850
***Air
Study Shows Regional Pollution Damages Are
Significant from Shale Operations
Study: “Estimation of regional Air Quality Damages from
Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction in Pennsylvania by Aviva Litovitz, Aimee
Curtright, Shmuel Abramzon, Nicholas Burger and Constantine Samaras
RAND Corporation, Published January 2013
“Damage
costs were based on effects on physical health and environmental damages,
including mortality, morbidity, crop and timber loss, visibility and effects on
anthropogenic structures and natural ecosystems. The total cost of region- wide damage ranged
from $7.2 million to $32 million dollars for 2011.
Emissions state- wide were only a few percent
of total polluting emissions but in counties where activities are concentrated,
NOx emissions from all shale gas activities were 20-40 times higher than allowable for a single minor source despite
the fact that single gas facilities usually fall below the major source
threshold for NOx.
*The authors did not consider
damages from flaring as it is to be phased out by 2015. (A New York study
estimates that flaring increases NOx and VOCs by 120%. PM 2.5 emissions
increase by 250%)
*Compressor stations represent
60-75% of all extraction-associated damages. *VOCs,
NOx, and PM 2.5 combined were responsible for 94% of total damages.
*10 PA counties constituted nearly
90% of wells in the state.
*Washington County had the highest
damages, estimated at $1.2-8.3 million. *
Damage in Washington County represents about 20% of damage statewide
*66 to 80% of damages are
attributable to long-term activities
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/1/014017/pdf/1748-9326_8_1_014017.pdf
County Damages-
2011
Westmoreland
County Damages—low
of $319,802 to high of $1,826,057
Washington
County- low of $1,296,604 to high of $8,306, 931
Fayette
County-$226,871 to high of $804, 966
Butler
County-- low of $127, 217 to high of $533, 192
Allegheny
County- low of – $22, 071 high of $133,172
For the data charts and information on
counties:
***DEP
Chided at Hearing in Washington County
Part
1 - http://youtu.be/m7QB_I01Sls
Part
2 - http://youtu.be/RPEYKIhxnQw
Part
3 - http://youtu.be/ZPiw3KAN8jI
Part
4 - http://youtu.be/3Dj06NR6KGs
Part
5 - http://youtu.be/EPnfh_M0Jpk
PCN-TV Schedule
***Residents of Wyoming
County Complain About Compressor-Dehydration Facility
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIg3vZFXxnk&feature=youtu.be
Residents complain of noise levels and want to know what
they are breathing.
***Triple Divide:
Fracking Documentary Premieres-Melissa Troutman and Joshua Pribanic
Pribanic
and Troutman take audiences on a cradle-to-grave journey to uncover how DEP and industry have handled
violations within Pennsylvania’s highest classified watersheds, what happened
in the 2011 Bradford County Blowout, water contamination complaints, health
issues, and the split-estate landowner dispute.
“Of the five films I have seen on fracking (Split Estate,
Gasland, Promised Land, Fracknation, Triple Divide) this one is the best at
showing a slice of the all-too-real and desperate situation as it relates to
water and fracking,” said Robert Donnan, who took part in a Pittsburgh test-screening in
February.
Both
filmmakers, who also co-founded the investigative news non-profit Public
For
clips of the film and more, visit www.tripledividefilm.org, and go to the Video
page. Also, follow PH’s Twitter, or Facebook to stay informed about Triple
Divide — and #TripleDivide for reference on twitter.
**For images of the film
please see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29184238@N06/sets/72157632806240125/ — to use an
image simply click on the image, go to ‘view all sizes’ in the upper right hand
corner, choose a size, and drag and drop or right click to save the image.
Credit photos: Joshua B. Pribanic.
We'd
be happy to answer any questions you have.
Thank you,
Melissa Troutman & Joshua Pribanic
Managing
Editor & Editor-in-Chief
(419)
202-8503
MOVIE DETAILS:
Length:
Approximately 90 minutes
Filming
locations: Pennsylvania (primarily north central Pa.)
Narration:
Melissa Troutman, Mark Ruffalo
Producers:
Joshua Pribanic, Melissa Troutman
Music:
Nest, Gustav Holst, Sean Pribanic
DVD:
Available at the end of March 2013
Triple
Divide website:
Frack News
1. Blaine Lucas Leaves Babst Calland Law Firm to
Agitate for Range
From
the Observer Reporter:
“The gloves were definitely off Monday night when Range Resources
attorney Blaine A. Lucas addressed Cecil Township supervisors.
The township’s relationship with
Range has been tense for some time because of various issues, including
lawsuits Range filed against the township’s oil and gas zoning ordinance.
On
Dec. 6, the two held a workshop meeting to improve their relationship, after
Range canceled a previous meeting when state Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, posted
information about it on his Facebook page. Range was concerned a large turnout
would disrupt the discussion.
Lucas said he was now coming before
supervisors about the township’s Jan. 2 letter to the state DEP regarding the
Worstell Impoundment on Swihart Road. The
letter, which was submitted for the township by attorney William R. Miller,
contends Range failed to obtain proper approvals for the original use and
construction of the impoundment and never provided the township with plans for
it.
“Cecil
Township understands that Range Resources originally constructed the Worstell
Impoundment to serve gas wells on two well pads located beside the impoundment,
but that Range Resources now desires to expand their use to serve wells located
on other property and for general wastewater storage,” the letter reads.
Miller also wrote, “Cecil Township did not
issue a permit for the original use, and Range Resources has failed to apply
for approval to expand the use.”
Supervisor
Tom Casciola said the township did not independently contact DEP but instead
was asked by the agency to express concerns about Range’s intentions for the
impoundment.
“Why
didn’t you just call and ask us?” Lucas stated. “The township has done nothing
but stonewall our efforts.”
Lucas
also questioned Supervisor Andy Schrader’s recent statements at a Robinson
Township board of supervisors’ meeting in which he reportedly said Range could
not be trusted.
In
response to the township’s letter to the DEP, Lucas said Range filed a request
with the state’s Office of Open Records asking the township to turn over
documents relating to any discussion regarding the matter and the hiring of
Miller as legal counsel.
“You
won’t find it in any meeting minutes. I looked,” Lucas said. “You, as a board,
are running amok.”
Supervisor
Elizabeth Cowden said she did not know about Miller’s hiring but she did know that
it wasn’t done at an open meeting.
“I
asked the board to sit down and talk with Range,” said Cowden.
At
times during the lengthy discussion, conversation became heated between the
supervisors and Lucas.
It
was Supervisor Michael Debbis, board chairman, who seemed to calm the storm by
stating that the township wants an open dialogue with Range and would rather
work with them than fight them. Lucas said Range would like that also.”
http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130305/NEWS01/130309621/0/SEARCH
by
Linda MetzStaff Writer
Editorial
from local Washington, Pa newspaper, the Observer-Reporter….
2. More on Range
Resources--Not making Friends, Influencing People
Blaine Lucas Berates
Officials
Editorial From the Observer Reporter
“There’s
an old saying that you can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar. Some
of the folks in the Marcellus Shale industry in our area seem to be straying
further and further from that axiom. The relationships between local elected
officials and representatives of Range Resources have become especially
fractious of late.
In
Robinson Township, the gas driller has taken the township to court over
supervisors’ refusal to approve applications for a couple of new operations
there. Township officials say Range has not provided sufficient documentation
for the proposed gas wells. Range says that’s simply not the case. What is the
truth? We don’t know. Perhaps the court will be able to sort that out. But the
level of vitriol, particularly on Range’s part, doesn’t help to resolve
anything.
The latest exchange of harsh words occurred
earlier this week in Cecil Township. Range sent one of its attorneys to the
supervisors’ meeting, and he ended up berating township officials,
essentially for cooperating with a request from the state Department of
Environmental Protection to address the township’s concerns about a
Range impoundment on Swihart Road.
The township’s attorney, William R. Miller,
told the DEP in a letter that Range had failed to obtain proper approval for
the initial construction and use of the impoundment, nor for its expanded use,
and also did not provide the township with plans for it. In part, the
letter read, “Cecil Township understands that Range Resources originally
constructed the Worstell Impoundment to serve gas wells on two well pads
located beside the impoundment, but that Range Resources now desires to expand
their use to serve wells located on other property and for general wastewater
storage.”
As
far as Range is concerned, that sort of cooperation with the agency that
oversees gas-drilling operations in the state apparently is out of bounds. “Why
didn’t you just call and ask us?” said Range attorney Blaine A. Lucas. “The township
has done nothing but stonewall our efforts.” The fact that Range already has undertaken more than a few drilling
operations in Cecil Township would seem to indicate that Lucas, to put it
kindly, was twisting the truth. He also noted that Range has filed a
request with the state Office of Open Records to require the township to
surrender any documents pertaining to the impoundment issue and the hiring of
Miller as counsel. “You won’t find it in any meeting minutes. I looked,” Lucas
said. “You, as a board, are running amok.”
This
kind of language certainly doesn’t bode well for future relations between the
parties, but township officials have the right, at least currently, to use
existing zoning laws to make sure citizens are well-served by any decisions
made about gas drilling in their backyards. The gas industry had hoped to
change that with Act 13, but the state Commonwealth Court threw a monkey wrench
into those efforts by striking down the zoning provisions of the new
gas-drilling law. The matter is now before the state Supreme Court, and we have
expressed before our hope that the high court upholds the prior ruling, which
found that the law’s zoning provisions were unconstitutional because they
prevented municipalities from controlling drilling operations through use of
their own regulations.
While we always have recognized the
great economic benefits of natural gas drilling in our region, there must be
limits on how the drilling companies can operate, and dispatching attorneys who
browbeat local officials benefits no one. Drilling companies should not be
allowed to run roughshod over local elected officials. If Range or any other
drilling company is not satisfied with the decisions of township supervisors,
they can seek redress in the courts, as Range has in the Robinson case. But the
company should show some respect for those chosen by the residents of the
townships to look out for their best interests.” http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130306/OPINION01/130309540/-1/opinion
3.
Private Treatment Plants Expanding in Marcellus Region
“About 4 million
gallons of water go into a typical Marcellus well during the fracking process.
As much as 20% of what went in comes back out right away. That’s what’s known
as flowback water. Over the life of a producing well, more than a million
gallons comes out, and after the initial flowback, the rest is known as
produced water.
In Pennsylvania,
treating that water for metals and total dissolved solids and radioactive
materials at public treatment plants has caused problems. Hydrofracking is on hold in New York while the Department of
Health reviews its potential health impacts. If New York permits the
controversial drilling technique, one of the obstacles is how to handle the
huge amounts of wastewater produced by each fracked well. In Pennsylvania, drillers are increasingly using private treatment
plants as a way to deal with all that waste.”
Story & Audio:
4.
Beaver Falls Water Authority Never Notified of Illegal Dumping
“When officials
failed to immediately inform the public of the
illegal dumping of thousands of gallons of fracking wastewater in Youngstown,
Ohio, last month, they also failed to do something else -- notify those
downstream.
The first municipal treatment plant downstream of the spill is the
Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, which provides water for 17,000 customers in
22 communities in Beaver County, and
Zelienople.
The Beaver Falls
Municipal Authority has long struggled with its susceptibility to contamination
from hazardous river spills, so it closely monitors reports of any incidents.
However, authority
general manager Jim Riggio said they did not get that chance with the recent
dumping of fracking wastewater and drilling mud into a tributary that feeds the
Mahoning River. The river converges with the Shenango River to form the Beaver
River, from where the authority draws its water.
Riggio said Thursday that officials did not warn the authority.
“We weren’t even
aware of it until after the fact,” Riggio said.
He said by the time his people became aware of what had happened Jan.
31 it was far too late because the contaminated water would have already passed
through. Riggio pointed out that his authority is the first intake on the river
below the dump area and should have been notified.”
For the entire article: http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/beaver-falls-water-authority-never-notified-of-illegal-dumping/article_4bf0efdb-8eb2-5998-ae59-454b2ba73216.html
And from the Triblive:
Beaver
County Unaware Of Potential Threat to Drinking Water
(Benzene
Toluene in Water, jan)
By Timothy Puko
Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 9:38 p.m.
“Several state and federal agencies failed
to communicate about a threat to drinking water in Beaver County last month,
raising questions about emergency communication across state lines, officials
and experts said.
The Pennsylvania
Emergency Management Agency, the state police, the region's U.S. Coast Guard
district and 15 other agencies received notice within 24 hours of illegal
dumping Jan. 31 that Ohio investigators witnessed in Youngstown, federal
records show. It appears in the days that followed none of them told the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection or two Beaver County drinking water suppliers downstream, state
officials said.
The pollution
probably diluted in the Mahoning River, but investigators don't fully know the
extent of the risk, said Chris Abbruzzese, a spokesman for the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency.
The communication
breakdown led to finger-pointing among agencies and frustrated local officials
across Beaver County, where 17,000 customers drink the water. Pennsylvania
officials blamed Ohio for using only the National Response Center to send
alerts out of state. The DEP was not signed up to receive alerts from the NRC,
a federal agency primarily responsible only for notifying other federal
responders, its operations officer Lt. Andrew Kennedy said.
Agencies in both
states and the federal agencies in the region all deserve some blame, said
Louise Comfort, director of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Disaster
Management. DEP officials should have known and been signed up for the alerts,
but other agencies should have passed critical information to DEP officials,
she said.
The problem stems
from Youngstown's Hardrock Excavating LLC. Federal prosecutors indictedthe
company, its owner and another worker last week, accusing them of dumping brine and oil-based drilling mud in
a Mahoning River tributary from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31. Samples showed signs of the carcinogen benzene along with toluene and
chlorides in public water, Abbruzzese said.”
Read more:
http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/3600898-74/beaver-state-agencies#ixzz2My0xtSvK
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
Read more:
http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/3600898-74/beaver-state-agencies#ixzz2Mxznvs7U
5. Robert Kennedy Jr. and Gov. Cuomo
Discuss Fracking
Health Study Awaited
( New
York’s Governor Cuomo’s move to await studies highlights the fact that Gov.
Corbett requested no health studies prior to pushing fracking in PA and, in fact,
cut the funding for health studies in PA.)
“The
turning point, which could delay a decision for up to a year or longer, came in
a series of phone calls with Kennedy. The two discussed a new health study on fracturing …
"I think the issue suddenly
got simple for him," Kennedy told the AP, then went on to paraphrase Cuomo in their
discussions: "If it's causing health problems, I really don't
want it in New York state. And if it's not causing health problems, we should
figure out a way we can do it.'"
Kennedy
believes Cuomo held off in large part because of the prospect of a new $1
million study by the Geisinger Health System of Pennsylvania, billed by
property owners seeking safe fracking and environmentalists as a
"large-scale, scientifically rigorous assessment" of drilling in
Pennsylvania.
The study will look at detailed
health histories of hundreds of thousands of patients who live near wells and
other facilities that are producing natural gas from the same Marcellus Shale
formation that New York would tap.
Unlike most studies funded by
advocates or opponents of hydrofracking, this
study would be funded by the Sunbury, Pa.-based Degenstein Foundation, which is
not seen as having an ideological bent.
Sandra Steingraber, a biologist
and founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking, said Saturday, "As Health
Commissioner Shah said, the right time to study fracking is before fracking
begins. We expect that Governor Cuomo will listen to scientists and medical
experts and let evidence dictate whether or not to lift our state's moratorium,
and we further expect that he will wait for national studies and a real New
York-specific study."
"I
think it will be pivotal," Kennedy said. Preliminary results are expected
within the year, but there is no specific timetable and final results could be
years off. Kennedy is opposed to fracking unless it can be proven to be safe
for the environment and public. He said he's unsure what the Geisinger report
will conclude.
"What's
interesting is Andrew is trying to figure this out," Kennedy said.
"It's interesting to see this ... that usually doesn't happen. (Most
governors) take a poll, or they take industry money and just do it ... but I
think this is the harder route."
6. Energy- In- Depth
Writer Attacks Area Supervisor
According to news reports, Range Resources
did not receive the permit it requested in Robinson Township based on the lack
of information provided to township supervisors. Joe Massaro of Energy- in-
Depth (the Independent Petroleum Assoc. of America’s website), wrote an article
attacking Coppola, publishing pictures of his home and information referring to
his personal finances. Range has been criticized in the media for its bullying
tactics.
Jan)
Here’s what the Bloomberg
News had to say about Range’s bullying tactics:
“When a Texas
landowner took his fear that a gas driller had poisoned his well to federal
regulators, the company, Range Resources Corp., turned around and sued him for conspiring “to harm
Range.”
Critics say the Fort
Worth-based company, which pioneered the use of hydraulic fracturing in
Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale, has taken a hard line with residents, local
officials and activists. In one case it threatened a former EPA official with
legal action; in another it stopped participating in town hearings to
review its own applications to drill, because local officials were asking too
many questions and taking too long.
“Range Resources is different from
its peers in that it chooses to severely punish its critics,” said Calvin
Tillman, the former mayor of Dish, Texas, and an activist who has been
subpoenaed and issued legal warnings by Range. “Most companies avoid the
perception of the big-bad-bully oil company, while Range Resources embraces
it.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-19/texas-fracker-accused-of-bully-tactics-against-foes.html
7. 18 PA Homeowners Are Denied Hazard Mitigation
Assistance Due To Oil/Gas Leases
“Tropical Storm Lee caused historic
flooding across a wide swath of PA last year. Over 100,000 state residents were
displaced by the
floods.
Some affected areas, like Susquehanna County and Wyoming County, are home to Marcellus shale’s fast-and-furious drilling.
According to agency emails, at least
18 homeowners in Pennsylvania have been denied access to the Hazard Mitigation
program because of oil and gas leases or pipeline rights-of-ways on their
properties.
“When a landowner signs an oil and
gas lease, part of the rights to use the surface of the property transfer from
the landowner to the oil company,” wrote Michael C. Hill, a FEMA attorney in a
June 14 email to a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency official. “The landowner and the oil company now
co-own the rights to use the surface of the property and the oil company owns
all of the oil and gas under the property.”
“Thus the landowner alone cannot
transfer all of the surface rights nor the oil and gas rights,” he added,
explaining that this prevents landowners with leases from meeting FEMA’s
standards for purchasing land because oil and gas development is not allowed on
land that FEMA purchases to protect open space and flood plains.
Mr. Hill lists seven properties,
including those owned by Oakland Township, which he says do not meet federal
standards for the flood zone program.
Other
agency documents reviewed by DeSmogBlog indicate that other property owners in
Pennsylvania have been similarly turned down.”
8. Pennsylvania
Fails to Cite Drillers for Well Violations
“According to a white
paper delivered to New York state
regulators by Cornell engineering professor, Anthony Ingraffea. Inspection data
from PA indicate that over 150 Marcellus shale wells in Pennsylvania had
severe flaws that have led to sometimes large leaks and yet the operators
of those wells were never issued violations by regulators
By failing to cite
drillers when things go wrong, Pennsylvania environmental regulators have for
the past three years obscured the rate at which Marcellus wells leak, creating
a falsely optimistic picture. Leaks at dozens of wells were described by
state inspectors in their report notes, but violations were never issued. If
analysts relied on data about violations alone, it would seem that 6.2 percent
of wells drilled in 2010 failed. In fact, the rate was 6.9%, according to notes
in inspection reports, leaving a difference of 0.7%. By 2011,a full 1 percent
of well failures were going uncited. For the first half of 2012, the DEP’s
violation data showed a 7.2% rate of well failures, while a review of
inspection reports shows an 8.9% failure rate for the full year. Put another
way, Pennsylvania officials discovered that 76 Marcellus wells drilled in
2012 lost integrity but never cited drillers for these problems.”
See:http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/03/05/pennsylvania-failing-sanction-drillers-fracked-well-failures
9. U.S. Approves
Natural-Gas Tax Breaks
“The U.S.
government has cleared the way for up
to $490 million in tax incentives for both fleets and manufacturers to help
spur demand for natural-gas powered trucks. Congress cleared the way for
$340 million in refunds when it passed the tax measure known as the “fiscal
cliff” bill at the start of 2013, while the U.S. Depart. of Transportation and
the Treasury have approved $150 million in incentives for equipment makers.
The congressional
bill renewed an expired 50-cent tax credit per gasoline-gallon equivalent of
compressed natural gas and a 50-cent credit per gallon of liquefied natural
gas. Whoever owns the natural gas put into a vehicle earns the tax credit. A
second program allows for a tax credit of up to $30,000 for investing in a
natural-gas fueling station or for adding equipment there. Meanwhile, those who
are building equipment powered by the fuel can take advantage of $150 million
in tax credits for clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing projects.”
10. Livestock
Sick in Fracking Regions Raising
Concerns About Food
By Elizabeth Royte for the Food
and Environment Reporting Network
“In
the midst of the domestic energy boom, livestock on farms near oil-and-gas
drilling operations nationwide have been quietly falling sick and dying. While
scientists have yet to isolate cause and effect, many suspect chemicals used in “fracking” operations are poisoning animals
through the air, water, or soil.
Earlier
this year, Michelle Bamberger, an Ithaca, New York, veterinarian, and Robert
Oswald, a professor of molecular medicine at Cornell’s College of Veterinary
Medicine, published the first and only peer-reviewed report to suggest a link
between fracking and illness in food animals.
The
authors compiled 24 case studies of farmers in six shale-gas states whose
livestock experienced neurological, reproductive, and acute gastrointestinal
problems after being exposed—either accidentally or incidentally—to fracking
chemicals in the water or air. The article, published in New Solutions: A
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, describes how scores
of animals died over the course of several years.
The
death toll is insignificant when measured against the nation’s livestock
population (some 97 million beef cattle go to market each year), but
environmental advocates believe these animals constitute an early warning.
Exposed
livestock “are making their way into the food system, and it’s very worrisome
to us,” Bamberger says. “They live in areas that have tested positive for air,
water, and soil contamination. Some of these chemicals could appear in milk and
meat products made from these animals.”
In
Louisiana, 17 cows died after an hour’s exposure to spilled fracking fluid--the
most likely cause of death: respiratory failure.
In
New Mexico, hair testing of sick cattle that grazed near well pads found
petroleum residues in 54 of 56 animals.
In
northern central Pennsylvania, 140 cattle were exposed to fracking wastewater
when an impoundment was breached. Approximately 70 cows died, and the remainder
produced only 11 calves, of which three survived.
In
western Pennsylvania, an overflowing wastewater pit sent fracking chemicals
into a pond and a pasture where pregnant cows grazed: Half their calves were
born dead. Dairy operators in shale-gas areas of Colorado, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, and Texas have also reported the death of goats.
Drilling
and fracking a single well requires up to 7 million gallons of water, plus an
additional 400,000 gallons of additives, including lubricants, biocides, scale-
and rust-inhibitors, solvents, foaming and defoaming agents, emulsifiers and
de-emulsifiers, stabilizers and breakers. At almost every stage of developing
and operating an oil or gas well, chemicals and compounds can be introduced
into the environment.
After
drilling began just over the property line of Jacki Schilke’s ranch in
northwestern North Dakota, cattle began limping, with swollen legs and
infections. Cows quit producing milk for their calves, and they lost from 60 to
80 pounds in a week and their tails mysteriously dropped off. Eventually, five
animals died, according to Schilke.
Ambient
air testing by a certified environmental consultant detected elevated levels of
benzene, methane, chloroform, butane, propane, toluene, and xylene—and well
testing revealed high levels of sulfates, chromium, chloride, and strontium.
Schilke says she moved her herd upwind and upstream from the nearest drill pad.
Although
her steers currently look healthy, she says, “I won’t sell them because I don’t
know if they’re okay.”
Nor
does anyone else. Energy companies are exempt from key provisions of
environmental laws, which makes it difficult for scientists and citizens to
learn precisely what is in drilling and fracking fluids or airborne emissions.
And without information on the interactions between these chemicals and pre-existing
environmental chemicals, veterinarians can’t hope to pinpoint an animal’s cause
of death.
The
risks to food safety may be even more difficult to parse, since different
plants and animals take up different chemicals through different pathways.
“There
are a variety of organic compounds, metals, and radioactive material [released
in the fracking process] that are of human health concern when livestock meat
or milk is ingested,” Motoko Mukai, a veterinary toxicologist at Cornell’s
College of Veterinary Medicine, says. These “compounds accumulate in the fat
and are excreted into milk. Some compounds are persistent and do not get
metabolized easily.”
Veterinarians
don’t know how long chemicals may remain in animals, farmers aren’t required to
prove their livestock are free of contamination before middlemen purchase them,
and the Food Safety Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
isn’t looking for these compounds in carcasses at slaughterhouses.
Documenting the scope of the problem is difficult:
Scientists lack funding to study the matter, and rural vets remain silent for
fear of retaliation. Farmers who receive royalty checks from energy companies
are reluctant to complain, and those who have settled with gas companies
following a spill or other accident are forbidden to disclose information to
investigators. Some food producers would rather not know what’s going on, say
ranchers and veterinarians.
“It takes a long time to build up
a herd’s reputation,” rancher Dennis Bauste of Trenton Lake, North Dakota,
says. “I’m gonna sell my calves and I don’t want them to be labeled as tainted.
Besides, I wouldn’t know what to test for. Until there’s a big wipe-out, a
major problem, we’re not gonna hear much about this.”
Fracking
proponents criticize Bamberger and Oswald’s paper as a political, not a
scientific, document. “They used anonymous sources, so no one can verify what
they said,” says Steve Everley, of the industry lobby group Energy In Depth.
The authors didn’t provide a scientific assessment of impacts—testing what
specific chemicals might do to cows that ingest them, for example—so treating
their findings as scientific, he continues, “is laughable at best, and
dangerous for public debate at worst.”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association, the main lobbying group for ranchers, takes no position on
fracking, but some ranchers are beginning to speak out. “These are
industry-supporting conservatives, not radicals,” says Amy Mall, a senior
policy analyst with the environmental group, Natural Resources Defense Council.
“They are the experts in their animals’ health, and they are very concerned.”
Last
March, Christopher Portier, director of the National Center for Environmental
Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called for
studies of oil and gas production’s impact on food plants and animals. None are
currently planned by the federal government.”
Food and Environment Reporting Network. Originally posted at
http://thefern.org/2012/11/livestock-falling-ill-in-fracking-regions-raising-concerns-about-food/
Read more at
http://livinggreenmag.com/2012/12/17/energy-ecology/livestock-falling-ill-in-fracking-regions-raising-concerns-about-food/#63BUjkMG9CBh84HV.99
11. Fracking Can Hurt Property Values of Nearby
Homes With Water Wells
“Property
owners near shale gas wells are liable to suffer a major loss in value because
of worries over water contamination, according to economists from Duke University
and the nonprofit research organization Resources for the Future.Their study
found PA homeowners who use local groundwater for drinking lost up to 24
percent of their property value if they are within a mile and a quarter of a
shale gas well.
But
the news was far better for neighbors who get their water piped in. They saw
values rise by nearly 11 percent, likely because of lease money from gas
drillers and no worries about polluted water, the researchers found.
The
researchers looked at property values of all homes in Washington County, Pa.,
near Pittsburgh. It’s an area at the heart of the shale gas revolution. They
found just over 200 homes within a mile and a quarter of a shale gas well.
Ohio
State University researchers came out with an earlier study, also in Washington
County near Pittsburgh. They looked at a narrower time period – about two years
rather than five – and suggested drilling had less of an impact on property
values.
The
Ohio State researchers found about a 4 percent drop in property value for
households that rely on private well water within a mile of a shale gas well.
The drop was bigger and lasted longer for more rural homes surrounded by
farmland, according to the Ohio State researchers. They saw a dip of more than
7 percent in value.
“We
find evidence that households are negatively impacted by shale gas exploration
activity, but this impact largely depends on the proximity and intensity of
shale activity and diminishes over time as risk perceptions adjust following
the (end) of exploration activity,” they found.”
Read more
here:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/06/173814/fracking-can-hurt-property-values.html#storylink=cpy
The
report:
http://public.econ.duke.edu/~timmins/w18390.pdf
12. Idea for Philadelphia
LNG Export Terminal Floated at Council Hearing
“Philadelphia’s deep water port and access to
rail lines would make the city an ideal location for a liquefied natural gas
terminal, industry representatives told City Council members on Wednesday. But
they need to move fast. “Through some confidential discussions that we’ve had
we know there’s a keen interest in Philadelphia as a location to export LNG,”
said Mitchell Bormack, the vice president of TRC Engineering Services.. The
discussion focused on how Philadelphia could take advantage of the Marcellus
Shale drilling boom. “We’ve got an oversupply of gas here, and tremendous
demand in Japan and India,” said Bormack.
With low
domestic natural gas prices, and a glut of gas supplies due in large part to
Marcellus Shale production, the industry has been pushing the Department of
Energy to approve new export terminals to sell their product at higher prices
overseas. Push-back has come from manufacturers, who are enjoying a resurgence
due to both the cheap energy natural gas provides, as well as the less
expensive raw materials for plastics, which come from natural gas liquids like
propane and butane. Natural gas liquids or NGL’s are different from liquefied
natural gas (LNG). Natural gas gets converted from its gaseous state to a
liquid state in order to ship it overseas. The DOE is debating whether to allow
new export terminals in the U.S., and has 16 pending applications.”
http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/02/28/idea-for-philadelphia-lng-export-terminal-floated-at-council-hearing/
John Trallo posted this comment in response to the article:
“This is not
about energy independence, never was, never will be. It's about multinational
corporations reaping huge profits by selling this gas on the global market to
the highest bidder. China, Norway, and India are the major investors in US
shale gas and oil. As for it lowering pollution, not when you consider the CO2
emission during the extraction phase, and the tons of VOC's emitted from
compressors stations. I would also like to point out that methane is 20 times
more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2, and a greater threat to global warming.
It is necessary to constantly vent or burn off methane to control the pressure
during the life of a gas well.
In a USDOE study comparing the Marcellus and
the Barnett shale plays, the Barnett has an approximate 50% drop-off rate in
production every 12 to 14 months. The Marcellus has an approximate drop-off
rate of 67% every 105 days. That means the Marcellus shale is much more dense
and has less 'gas in place' (GIP) than the Barnett. So, in order to maximize
Marcellus production, there will have to be more wells drilled in a closer
proximity, and they will have to be re-stimulated (re-fracked) at twice the
rate of those on the Barnett, making Marcellus gas more labor intensive, less
cost efficient, and ultimately less profitable for landowners expecting to
collect royalty payments, since the 'pre/post production costs are deducted
from the landowners royalty share.
With the 'gas glut' in the US, it's not
profitable for these companies to sell their product here, until the price goes
up domestically to compete with the overseas markets. It's not an energy policy
we're following, it's the standard corporate business model whose only goal is
to increase shareholder profits and increase their bottom line. It should also
be pointed out that oil and gas jobs are temporary, transient, high risk, and
not what most people would consider 'family friendly' local jobs. It follows
the classic 'boom/bust' economic cycle. Also, the jobs that are lost in
tourism, agriculture, small businesses, real estate and new home construction
will be gone forever. No one wants to live, farm, hunt, fish, camp, or vacation
in an industrial zone. The 'boom' is always
short-lived, and the 'bust' is always long-term, if not permanent.” -John Trallo
13. List of the
Harmed
A
group member comments: Next time someone tells you about Fracking's "Golden
Opportunity," read them these names, from the List of the
Harmed.
Charles E. Bevins III (DEAD),
Terry and Dustin Smith (DEAD),
Brian Norberg (DEAD),
Jeffery Todd Kinkaid (DEAD),
Paul C. Sherman (DEAD),
Stephanie Boggs (DEAD),
Jimmy Dale Deweber (DEAD),
Sandra Mora DeHerrera (DEAD),
Mike Krajewski (DEAD),
Elizabeth Mobaldi (DEAD),
David Chappel (DEAD),
Dennis Peterson (DEAD),
Roy and Amy Heady and their children (ALL DEAD);
Troy Orth (DEAD),
Adbal Audeh (DEAD),
Sharon Ward (DEAD),
Robert Blackcloud (DEAD),
Joseph “Jay” Buchanan, Jr (DEAD),
Chris Albert (DEAD),
Charles and Dorothy Harper and grandson (ALL DEAD),
Donald Allison (DEAD),
Carl Stiles (DEAD),
Glenda, Kirsten and Don Sumler (ALL DEAD),
Maggie Golden (DEAD),
Dustin Bergsing (DEAD),
Brian Wallace (DEAD),
Timothy Roth (DEAD),
Randy Baumann (DIED),
Jose Lara (DEAD)
The
list is incomplete.
Video:
List of the Harmed:
The
List of the Harmed:
Westmoreland
Marcellus Citizen’s Group—Mission
Statement
To raise the public’s general awareness and understanding
of the impacts of Marcellus drilling on the natural environment, health, and
long-term economies of local communities.
Officers:
President-Jan Milburn
Treasurer-Wanda Guthrie
Secretary-Ron Nordstrom
Facebook Coordinator-Elizabeth Nordstrom
Science Subcommittee-Dr. Cynthia Walter
