Westmoreland
Marcellus Citizens’ Group Updates April 19, 2013
* For articles and updates or to just vent, visit us on facebook; https://www.facebook.com/groups/MarcellusWestmorelandCountyPA/
* 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-
Earth Day DEP Rally-North
Shore
(There are rallies in other parts of the state as well.)
The land march will begin at 2:00 pm in the North Shore
Trail Parking Lot closest to the Walking Bridge and proceed to the DEP
Southwest Regional Office, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. There
will also be a river march by boat across the Allegheny River. For more
information, please contact Patrick Young at 412-298-6361 or Mel Packer at
melpacker@aol.com
A quote from Michael and Tim Bagdes-Canning , Cherry
Valley Borough Council, Butler County:
“We are engaged in a battle for our
communities. Who has a right to
determine what our homelands look like: the people that live and love there or
strangers looking to extract a profit?
Who is in a better position to protect our communities: those with a
stake in its long term health or those looking for a short term pay off. We would posit that any procedure that may
irrevocably harm air, water, and soil is a price too steep. Any government that is not looking out for
the long term health of communities is not worthy of our support.”
***Special Earth Day Fair -
Renewable Energy
St Vincent College- Sunday , April 21, 12-4 pm and talk at 4 pm
Commercial providers of many renewable systems will be at
SVC
See details at SVC web site and Winnie Palmer web site
***A Public
Forum-Open Records and Right to Know-May 9
What do you know about your Right to Know when it comes to
records regarding drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale?
PANELISTS:
Gayle Sproul | Open government attorney | Levine, Sullivan,
Koch & Schulz
Kevin Begos | Reporter | Associated Press Pittsburgh
Robert Donnan | citizen activist
Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition
Free and open to the public
THURSDAY, MAY 9 •
6:30 pm
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh | Squirrel Hill
5801 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh Parking on street and in lot beneath library
It’s your government. You have a
right to know.
www.PaFOIC.org
TAKE ACTION !!
*** Moratorium in PA-Link Provided –Penn
Environment
“It's
time to stop the frack attack in Pennsylvania.
The
gas industry has gotten away with far too much for far too long, and the
pressure is on to put a moratorium on drilling that would protect the entire
state.
The moratorium would mean a
full stop to drilling; at least until a comprehensive study can show that
fracking is definitely safe for Pennsylvania's communities and climate. It
would also mean critical breathing room for the parts of the state that have
been overrun with drilling in the past few years.
Organizations
from across PA have gathered 85,000 signatures in support of a stop to
drilling, and the goal is to reach 100,000 before delivering them to the
Governor at the end of this month.
Can you add your name to the
call for a halt to fracking in Pennsylvania
From: Linda Capato -
350.org “
Click here to add your name, and let's keep putting the pressure on
***
Call/Email Senator
Tim Solobay-D Canonsburg regarding his statement about fracking activists.
Solobay's contact: (724) 746-3762 and
(717)-787-1463
tsolobay@pasenate.com
Sen. Solobay said: "A majority of the negative voices out there are paid activists
(that) do nothing but spread false rumors and scare people."
He also said about
environmentalists: “(they) enjoy spreading fear and uneducated comments.”
(Perhaps we uneducated
volunteers should send Sen. Solobay the thousands of pages of studies, reports,
surveys, journal and news articles on fracking that we study and cite.
Other than a handful of people
working for organizations, we are all volunteers-thousands of us. We get no
money, no perks, no accolades, no revolving doors. What we get is stressed and
disgusted having to observe representatives who are more than happy to
represent the industry, receive their enormous campaign contributions, and ignore
the rights of their constituents. Jan)
The news Article Quoting Solobay--
White: DEP Ignored Open Records Request Regarding Range Resource’s
Worstell Impoundment
“It's
been more than a week since state Rep. Jesse White made a formal state Right to
Know request for information associated with the Range Resources waste water
impoundment in Cecil Township.
And
the Democratic lawmaker from Cecil said Tuesday afternoon that he has yet to
get a response from the state agency. White made a request for permits and
other documents associated with the site after news surfaced that there was a
30-gallon leak from a storage tank located near the impoundment on Swihart
Road.
Solobay
also expressed frustration with the Range Resources' impoundment issue and the
publicity and reaction that is spawned.
"It is frustrating when people spin and challenge every bit of
information and action out there with the sky-is-falling mentality," he
said, adding that some seem to "enjoy spreading fear and uneducated
comments."
Solobay added: "A majority of the negative voices out there are
paid activists (that) do nothing but spread false rumors and scare
people."
***Write letters to Assoc. Press About
Bias of AP Reporter Kevin Begos
Begos is
the AP natural gas reporter. The vast
majority of his reports have a clear pro industry slant-- we need to respond to
that kind of biased reporting.
This is the email address I found for AP: info@ap.org
And if
you receive a local paper that publishes Begos, please write a letter to your
news editor complaining about the lack of objectivity in his columns. I
cancelled my subscription to the Latrobe Bulletin because of this AP reporter.(jan)
Frack Links
***Environmental
Justice Film Series:
The Price of Sand and Triple
Divide.
Please
visit:
EnvironmentalJusticeTMC.blogspot.com
For
additional information contact: Wanda Guthrie 412-596-0066 or email:
environment@thomasmertoncenter.org
The Price of Sand:
Saturday evening, April 20, 7pm Saturday evening, The Episcopal Church
of the Redeemer, 5700 Forbes Avenue (Squirrel Hill Community) 15217
In parts of rural Wisconsin,
the presence of sand mines is something you can feel, smell or taste. The presence of those mines and the trucks
hauling its powdery sands toward natural gas drilling sites has been
devastating. The sand is an essential ingredient in the fracking process.
Sand,
fracking, and health : It has been tough for residents of Pennsylvania to prove
that natural gas production is harmful to health. It has been equally difficult
for our Midwest neighbors to convince
the public of the health hazards posed by the frack sand mining.
Triple Divide:
Monday evening, April 29, 7pm, 5401 Centre Ave Pittsburgh, PA (Shadyside Community)15232
The film begins at one of only
four triple continental divides on the North American continent in Potter
County, Pennsylvania, where everything is downstream. From this peak, rain is
sent to three sides of the continent—the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada,
Chesapeake Bay on the eastern seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. This vast water
basin is drained by three major rivers—the Allegheny, Genesee and Susquehanna.
These waterways rank among the most coveted trout streams in the U.S., helping
to create a regenerative tourism economy upon which locals have depended for
generations. At this “watershed moment” in Pennsylvania’s history, which way
will the future flow?
The documentary filmmakers,
Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman, will lead a question and answer session.
***New Outstanding Video by Geomicrobiologist Yuri Gorby
15 Minutes
Excellent short video to pass on. Includes Raina Rippel,
Carol Moten, Randy Moyer, Rep. Jesse White, Ron Gulla, the Headleys. Families and workers discuss health problems.
***Watch Triple
Divide Online for 13 Days
The
filmmakers of Triple Divide, a new investigative documentary co-narrated
by actor Mark Ruffalo, will host an Online Premiere between April 8th and 20th.
For a $5 donation, online users can watch the film for 48 hours at rent.tripledividefilm.org.
This
18-month, cradle-to-grave investigation by Public Herald, an investigative news
nonprofit co-founded by journalists Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman,
features uncovered state documents, never before seen interviews with industry
giants and advocates, exclusive reports with impacted landowners, and expert
testimonies.
With stunning
cinematography, the film reveals how state regulators are using compliance as a
means of “regulating” without enforcing the law, abandoning the public and
environment in the wake of shale gas development.
Organizations United for The
Environment call it the “best documentary on fracking, ever!”
Writer Elizabeth Hoffman said,
“Troutman and Pribanic document several cases of people sickened by fracking...violations
with no consequences...drillers proceeding without authorization...drillers
with violations nevertheless getting new permits...[and] scientists raising
serious questions about the whole mess.”
Judy Bear, a water well driller
and the first female director of Pennsylvania Groundwater Association, provides
her insight in Triple Divide and asks what should concern every citizen: “Who
is protecting the residents of this state if our own state is not willing to do
it?”
Note:
Screeners of the film are available for those wishing to write a review.
From
the Offices of Public Herald Nonprofit Investigative News
Website:
www.publicherald.org
For
more information contact:
Apr Editor-in-chief and Triple Divide filmmaker
Joshua B. Pribanic
joshua@publicherald.org,
419-202-8503
Investigative
fracking documentary available April 8 thru 20
*** ‘Fracking & Public Health’ on You Tube
Seminar held at St. Vincent
College in Latrobe, Pa
***To sign up for notifications of activity and violations for
your area:
***Headley Story on
WTAE
***List of Harmed Now on Fracktracker
FRACK NEWS
1. Jesse White Proposes
Legislation to Ban Frack Pits
From: Representative Jesse White
To All House members:
“I will be introducing legislation which
will ban the use of open air impoundments (or pits) to store wastewater from
the hydraulic fracturing process.
Wastewater impoundments are NOT an industry
best practice, as per the industry itself. The new Center for Sustainable
Shale Development, which includes industry partners Shell, Chevron, CONSOL and
EQT, recently identified eliminating wastewater impoundments as one of their
performance standards. Unfortunately, less reputable operators will not be
bound by these standards and will continue to dump this hazardous material in
this highly dangerous manner. Wastewater
impoundments are banned in North Dakota and are not used in Texas and other
drilling-friendly states.
Under my
legislation, "freshwater" impoundments, used to store water before
the hydraulic fracturing begins, would still be permitted for a period of seven
(7) days and then would have to be closed. Under
no circumstances would wastewater, produced water, flowback water, drill cuttings
or any similar waste be permitted in the freshwater impoundment. DEP announced
last week that they would begin testing for radiation in this wastewater,
as it can contain naturally-occuring radioactive material brought up as part of
the drilling process.
Currently,
a company can build a freshwater impoundment, then convert it to a wastewater
impoundment and haul hazardous material from anywhere and dump it there. DEP documents confirm these impoundments
often leak and impact drinking water and nearby streams.
Even if there are no leaks, the water evaporates and the chemical emissions into the air can present a
serious health hazard for nearby residents. Under Act 13, water
impoundments are a permitted use in all zoning districts, including
residential; not only would municipalities have no way to regulate them, the
municipality and the residents have no way of knowing they even exist. Just
last week, we learned about a possible
leak at an impoundment in my hometown in Washington County of a 12,000,000 gallon wastewater impoundment no one even knew was there because it was
built on top of a hill. This impoundment was originally built as a freshwater
impoundment and then converted through a simple permitting process with the
DEP.
We all
talk about trying to develop Marcellus Shale "the right way";
wastewater impoundments do not fall under any definition of the "right
way". These impoundments are hazardous waste dumps that are totally unnecessary
for any responsible company operating in Pennsylvania. They are not a best
practice and should be banned to safeguard the health and safety of
Pennsylvanians living and working in the Marcellus Shale region.”
2. DEP Wants to Weaken
Protection from Water Pollutants
“After receiving public comment the (DEP)
has proposed removing chloride and sulfate standards from the final version of
the state water quality standards. These are pollutants commonly found in oil and gas wastewater
as well as from mining and coal power plants, its critical that we have these
standards protecting our rivers and streams. Seen as concessions to industry,
member groups of the state-wide Clean Water Campaign are asking the state
Environmental Quality Board to reject the DEP proposal.
The
groups claim that DEP itself has not provided any scientific justification or
data to rationalize the removal of their proposed chloride water quality
standard. DEP based its draft chloride standard on a standard that Iowa
developed in coordination with EPA.
Sulfates
are discharged in large quantities by coal mines, power plants, and a number of
other industries, and data from DEP’s sampling in the Monongahela River
watershed indicates that there are significant issues for protecting aquatic
life from sulfate discharges.
The
Clean Water Campaign also urges the EQB to establish a bromide water quality
standard that is protective of potable water use as soon as possible.”
3. Rep. Jesse White Keeps
Asking Questions- Ignored by DEP
From Rep Jess White
To the PA DEP:
I am
writing to express my extreme disappointment with the lack of response by DEP
to my request for a meeting to discuss environmental issues relating to the
Worstell Wastewater impoundment in Cecil Township, Washington County. On April
8, 2013 at 1:07 PM, I sent the following email to DEP employees Tom Santanna, John
Poister and Brian Shimmel:
As you
are likely aware, I recently filed a
request under the Right To Know Law regarding any potential leak or other
issues at the Worstell Wastewater Impoundment site in Cecil Township,
Washington County. To expedite the process, I would be interested in any
information you can provide me that could potentially limit the scope of that
request. I would also like to be included in any meetings regarding the
situation, including any meetings which may occur with legislators and/or
staff.
Hopefully
this approach will allow us to get some answers in a direct and
concise way.
Thank you,
Jesse
****************************
I never received any
response of any kind from anyone at DEP to that request, which was designed to
hopefully reduce the scope of my Right to Know Law Request. As per the letter I
received today from DEP, the agency is requesting an additional 30 days to
review my request, which could have been avoided.
But more troubling is the lack of
response from DEP in light of the following comment made by DEP Spokeswoman
Katy Gresh in the Washington Observer Reporter on February 13, 2013, in an
article about DEP’s refusal to participate in a Democratic Caucus Policy
Committee Hearing: “DEP’s attention is focused on our core mission of
protecting the environment, not wasting time on political theater. When our
staff and the secretary are invited to legislative hearings and other meetings
that are productive and professional, we are willing to attend.”
I am curious. What part of the
email I sent requesting a meeting failed to meet
your
own standard of “productive and professional”?
Although you were unwilling to
respond to my April 8 email, I was highly
disturbed
to learn that DEP did in fact meet with Senator Tim Solobay in what he
described
to a reporter as an “extensive” meeting on this issue. (See
http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/white-still-no-word-on-range-resources-worstell-impondment-from-dep
for the exact quote.) I believe it is fair to ask the following question. What
could you discuss with Senator Solobay regarding the Worstell Wastewater
Impoundment
that you couldn’t discuss with me?
The DEP’s strategy of delay and
denial of information is well-documented, as the tactic appears to be focusing
on the process story to distract from substance. You hope that by attempting to
make me appear unreasonable or irrational, it minimizes the legitimacy of my
requests. Due respect, the DEP is engaging in exactly the kind of “political
theater” you claim to abhor.
I get it. You don’t like me. But
whether you like someone or whether they’re willing to blindly accept your interpretation
of facts without supporting evidence is not a legitimate prerequisite for
compliance with the law. You claim you have nothing to hide, yet deliberately
avoid responding to my very reasonable requests for information. This is a slap
in the face not just to me as a duly elected member of the General Assembly,
but to the 60,000 Pennsylvanians I represent.
This should have been simple. DEP
originally said there was a leak at the 12 million gallon Worstell Wastewater
Impoundment. Then the story changed. There was an extensive sign-in sheet from
a DEP meeting with Range Resources from a meeting last year; the sheet was in
the DEP file on the Worstell Impoundment, but according to DEP the impoundment
was not discussed at the meeting. Was
there a leak or not? Was it freshwater or wastewater? Why was no one notified?
If the leak detection systems in the impoundment showed an issue, isn’t that by
default a leak? Was the impoundment drained? Matt Pitzarella from Range
Resources told the Washington Observer-Reporter that the impoundment hasn’t
been used in six months, which directly contradicts what my constituents and I
have seen with our own eyes.
These are reasonable questions
that anyone living next to this 12 million gallon waste dump would want to have
answered, and DEP’s clear contempt for me and the people impacted by the highly
questionable performance of your regulatory duties is not a valid excuse to
simply ignore these people and their elected representative. I am not looking
for political theater, glib spin or delay tactics; I just want facts. I don’t
think that’s too much to ask for, and I hope the DEP is willing to change their
approach in a more positive and forthright manner.
Respectfully,
-Jesse
Jesse
White
State
Representative, 46th District
Washington/Allegheny/Beaver
Counties
I have included my
colleagues and counsel in the House of Representatives Democratic Caucus as
well as several media contacts on this email to avoid any misrepresentation of
my position.
Worstell Impoundment
Video of the Worstell Wastewater Impoundment:
http://youtu.be/dt4b1T66s6A
(2:03)
4. Impoundments & Groundwater-from Bob
Who Knew Leakage was Allowed?
(The chart
being referred to below is from the DEP document “Design and Construction Standards
for Centralized Impoundment” and it states that the allowable leak rate of
frack pits is based on the maximum depth of the impoundment fluid.
“ If the fluid
height is less than 10 feet- the allowable leakage rate is 340 gallons per acre
per day
If the fluid
height is 15-20 feet the allowable leak rate is 490 gallons per acre per day
If the fluid
height is 25-30 feet the allowable leak rate is 610 gallons per acre per day”
Comments from a professional
hydrogeologist on recent items in Marcellus from Bob Donnan’s Morning Reports:
“The concern
regarding the 490 gal/acre/day (Pa DEP permitted leak rate from a new
impoundment) permitted is that, for a 3.68 acre impoundment, it corresponds to
658,168 gallons per year. Depending
on what is in the water even 490 gallons could be a concern. Also, it is unlikely that fluid losses are
closely monitored, or even noticed until the leakage is substantially greater
than 490 gal/acre/day. About the only
way to detect leakage is with downgradient monitoring wells. If the O+G industry were required to install
monitoring wells around their impoundments many would be found to be
leaking. That many of these impoundments
are on public and private lands adds further to the concerns.”
5. PA Taxes Go to Gas-- Not
Clean Energy Sources Wind and Solar
“Gov.
Tom Corbett and like-minded members of the state Legislature scoff at the
notion that taxpayers should subsidize the development of an alternative energy
industry. They have killed a
once-promising solar manufacturing industry in the state and have slowed wind
development.
Meanwhile, they treat some of the
wealthiest companies on the planet as if they will be swallowed by the earth
without assistance from the commonwealth's taxpayers.
Tuesday,
the state House passed a bill to provide tens of millions of dollars in tax
credits to help develop or expand in-state markets for gas, directly benefiting
the wealthy energy companies now drilling and fracking across the Marcellus
Shale.
Lawmakers
have yet to explain why subsidizing market development for Exxon-Mobil,
Chevron, Chesapeake or others is a good idea, while doing so on a much more
modest scale for solar energy companies is a bad idea.
One bill would provide $25 million in credits to help businesses
convert vehicle fleets to natural gas. But if doing so is in those businesses'
interest in the marketplace, why do they need state help?
Another
bill would provide $5 million a year in credits to help service centers along interstates install natural gas fueling equipment.
Yet if the market demands it, wouldn't they just do so?
Who
knows what other potential tax credits state taxpayers could give to wealthy
energy companies? Well, the energy companies know and they'll be happy to
advise compliant legislators. Both bills would provide industry representatives
with seats on advisory committees that would recommend future tax credits to
legislators - a giveaway not just of tax credits, but of policy itself.”
http://citizensvoice.com/opinion/say-no-to-gas-industry-subsidies-1.1471661
6. Frack Facts from
Journalist Walter Brasch
*** “The U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, which spends more in lobbying expenses than any company or
organization and has been a prime
supporter of fracking, spent about $901.2 million between 1998 and 2012,
with $95.7 million of it spent in 2012.
***Between 1990 and
October 2012, the oil and gas industry
(PACs, individuals, and outside soft money) contributed about $238.7 million to
candidates for elected positions; about three-fourths of the contributions
went to Republican candidates. Among those who received money was Pa. Gov. Tom
Corbett, who received about $1.8 million, and now says he wants his state to be
the Texas of the Natural gas Industry. The natural gas industry contributed
$3.7 million in campaign contributions to current members of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee.”
“If you're interested in learning
more about the problems of fracking, now a pervasive presence in about half the
country, get a copy of FRACKING PENNSYLVANIA: FLIRTING WITH DISASTER ( Fracking
Pennsylvania is written by Walter Brasch and available at :
http://www.greeleyandstone.com/) Find out what fracking is doing to YOU as an
individual. (And, yes, even if you don't live in Pennsylvania, your health can
be directly affected by any of the 650 carcinogens already identified in the
fracking fluids.)”
Water Brasch
7. Benzene and Breast Cancer Article
(Benzene is a pollutant related to gas operations. jan)
And
in 2011, an institute of the National Academies of Sciences reported “a
possible link” between breast cancer and some common ingredients of vehicle
exhaust, benzene and 1,3-butadiene. Some scientists say timing of exposure may
be the single most important factor when evaluating how chemicals may
contribute to breast cancer risk.
The
breast is a complex tissue that undergoes several important periods of
development and remodeling over the course of a woman’s life. During these
periods – before birth when the bud of the mammary gland forms, at puberty when
breast cells are rapidly growing and dividing and during pregnancy as the
mammary gland transitions to lactation – the breast may be especially
susceptible to outside chemicals.
When
breasts are exposed to hormone-like substances during those sensitive times, it
could “influence susceptibility of the tissue to carcinogens or other hormonal
stimuli that could increase cancer risk later on,” said Ruthann Rudel, a
researcher at the Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit research group in
Massachusetts, and lead author of a 2011 review.”
8. Authorities Investigating Tyler County, WVA Explosion
“Authorities are investigating
the cause of an explosion at a gas well compression station in Tyler County. Four
people suffered injuries.
According to the Tyler County
Sheriff's Office, there was
an explosion with storage tanks on fire and at least two people injured at the
Twin Hickories Road compression station near Wick, W.Va. Three people were
flown by helicopter to West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh. A fourth person was
taken to Sistersville General Hospital. The condition of the victims is
unknown.”
9. Diesel has Reached Gates to Parachute's Drinking Water Reservoir-Colorado
By The Denver Post
“State environmental overseers
said diesel organics detected in Parachute Creek near a hydrocarbon spill has
reached gates to a town drinking water reservoir. The gates have been closed
since the spill by William’s energy company's gas processing plant was reported
last month.
The
results of water test taken on April 6 and 7 showed diesel organics at 0.71 and
0.49 parts per million. Diesel organics at a slightly higher of 0.73 ppm had
been found on the creek upstream of the suspected source of the spill.
Cancer-causing benzene was detected in groundwater drawn from a test
well about 10 feet from the creek at a concentration of 340 ppb, state
natural resources spokesman Todd Hartman said. Colorado's limit for benzene in water is 5 ppb.
Williams
crews are sucking up contaminated groundwater from interceptor trenches dug
near the stream, as close as 10 feet from the creek. They also are pumping
groundwater for the purpose of drawing the flows away from the creek.
Williams
officials orally reported "contaminated soil" to the state on March
8. Clean up crews rolled into action about a week later, after company
officials reported liquid hydrocarbons had been spilled.
Earlier
this week Williams said the spill actually happened in December and that they
stopped it on Jan. 3. But state officials still are investigating that
scenario.”
Read more: Diesel has reached gates to Parachute's drinking water
reservoir - The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23015415/diesel-has-reached-gates-parachutes-drinking-water-reservoir#ixzz2QUGuz8sq
10.
Bradford, Susquehanna, and Washington Top Marcellus Air Pollutors
“Bradford and Susquehanna
counties led the state in the volume of air pollution released by companies producing
and processing gas from the Marcellus Shale in 2011, according to data
published this week by the DEP. The Northern
Tier counties ranked first and second in nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide,
sulfur oxides and total shale-related air pollution tallied in the
first-ever statewide inventory of the industry. They ranked second and third after Washington County for emissions of volatile organic compounds.
Total air pollution was down
significantly in the state for the period between 2008 and 2011.
The DEP said
regulations requiring pollution controls and the increased use of natural gas
instead of coal to generate electricity spurred the decline in statewide air
pollution, especially a 500,000-ton cut in annual sulfur dioxide emissions,
which translates to between $14 billion to $37 billion in annual public health
benefits.
The state is required to compile
the emissions inventory every three years and submit it to the U.S. EPA.
Marcellus Shale-related emissions from wells and compressor stations were added
to the inventory for the first time in 2011 and will now be submitted to the
state annually.
"The data show that
emissions from drilling represent a small fraction of air pollution in the
state," DEP Secretary Michael Krancer said Tuesday.
The data also show that Marcellus Shale operations are now significant
emitters in rural counties with few other so-called point sources of air
pollution.
The 2,600 tons of shale-related nitrogen oxides emitted in Bradford County
in 2011 dwarfed the 235 tons of NOx pollution emitted from all other facilities
in the county that year, according to DEP data. And without the 2,440 tons of
shale-related NOx emissions in Susquehanna County, DEP's facility emissions
report for the county includes just one source: a compressor station on the
Tennessee Gas Pipeline that emitted 17 tons of NOx in 2011.
The combined shale-related nitrogen oxide emissions in Bradford and
Susquehanna counties - 5,000 tons - are
nearly a third of the statewide shale-related NOx of 16,500 tons. Both
together and separately, they surpass
the single-largest industrial source of NOx pollution in the 11-county
northeast region, GenOn Energy's Portland Generating Station, a coal-fired
power plant in Northampton County that emitted 2,000 tons of NOx in 2011,
according to DEP facility reports.
Aimee Curtright, Ph.D., a
researcher in the RAND Corp.'s Pittsburgh office, helped author a recent study
of Marcellus Shale-related air quality impacts in the state that also found
that gas drilling emissions are a small percentage of the statewide total and
overall emissions are declining.
"Not everyone benefits equally from that," she said. "In
these more remote places where the activity is happening, the air tends to be
relatively clean, so you're adding pollution where there really wasn't any
before."
Allen L. Robinson, Ph.D., a
professor in Carnegie Mellon University's mechanical engineering department who
is researching Marcellus Shale-wide air emissions, said drilling-related
pollution is significant in aggregate and in rural pockets without established
air pollution sources.
"For rural counties that
don't have a few big coal-fired power plants, this is going to be the big
source" of some pollutants, he said.
Short-term DEP monitoring at
shale sites throughout the state in 2010 did not find any compounds at levels
that would trigger air-related health issues or exceed federal ambient air
quality limits, DEP spokesman Kevin Sunday said. The state is also conducting a
long-term air monitoring study in Washington County and is adding stationary or
movable monitoring devices in Bradford, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties to
evaluate any shale-related changes.”
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com
11.
From Iona: Dear Friends,
Angel and Wayne Smith are now friends of mine through my anti-fracking work.
Perhaps you saw her featured in my newspaper a couple of times. The story below
is tragic and she has given me permission to share it with you all.
For the Earth,
Iona
Letter from Farmers Wayne and Angel Smith
“We are just farmers, claim to be nothing else. We
awake every morning to see if our cows are up on four legs, or flat out dead.
March 31,2013- Our pond was beautiful, not red, not
brown just blue as could be [took pictures]
April 1st 3013- We had a beautiful black angus bull
calf. We called him big boy, we were happy, he has 4 legs, 2 eyes handsome. Every
evening we would scratch him on the neck, he seem to like it.
April 4th 2013- The compressor station started
hammering away, loud enough that 1/2 mile away we heard it as plain as
anything.
April 5th, I had a bloody nose.
April 6th and 7th -The compressor station just
hammering.
April 11th 7:54 am- Gas man called, said there
would be a little extra activity at the station today
April 11th at 7:55 am- Compressor station blew off.
April 12th Compressor
still running along, loud as ever.
April 13th, around 3:30 pm- Had to close a grave up
at cemetery (There is a cemetery right beside the compressor
station. My husband closes the graves, and then donates the money back to the
cemetery) Talking
with a friend of a worker that works at compressor station. My buddy said that
there was a problem over there at the station.
April 14th, 2013 We buried our big boy. 14 days old and gone.
Took pictures of the pond too, turning brown..I guess in the morning we will go
check our cows, see which one is up on all fours... or laying out flat dead. Like
I said.. WE ARE JUST FARMERS!
Wayne and Angel Smith
.
12.
Seismic Testing Notification
(I am reposting the seismic testing
notificationff. Jan)
NO TRESPASSING
NO SEISMIC TESTING
My property extends to the middle of the road. The limited right of way that PennDOT, the County or the Township may have for
transportation of vehicles on the road and maintenance of the road surface does
not include any right to give permission to or authorize anyone to perform
seismic testing. Any use of my property
(including my portion of the road) for seismic testing without my express
written permission obtained in advance of such testing is a DEFIANT TRESPASS under 18 Pa. C.S. 3503 and may subject you to
criminal liability.
Seismic testing from this road that is directed downward or
outward under my property may damage my property including any wells or other
structures installed on my property.
Such testing also would collect data from my property without my
permission and is a violation of my property rights and a trespass. Any data collected from my property is part
of my property rights and cannot be used or sold without my express written
permission obtained in advance of any data collection or testing activity.
I will pursue and
enforce my property rights and in any lawsuit that may be filed to protect my
rights, along with other appropriate relief, I will request the court to order
that 1) the defendant(s) immediately deliver all copies of any data to the court
pending the resolution of this lawsuit, 2) the defendant(s) are barred from
using or transferring to any other party any of the data collected from my
property, and 3) the defendant(s), at their sole expense, must fully repair or replace any damaged wells,
structures or other portions of my property.
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
Blogsite –April Jackman
Science Subcommittee-Dr. Cynthia Walter
To remove your name from our list please put “remove name from list’ in
the subject line
