Westmoreland
Marcellus Citizens’ Group Updates May 30, 2013
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*
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* To contact your state
legislator:
For email
address, click on the envelope under the photo
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/
* For information on the state gas legislation
and local control: http://pajustpowers.org/aboutthebills.html-
Calendar of Events
***WMCG Steering Committee
Meeting June 4, 7:30 pm email/ call Jan for directions
***Gasland Part II Coming to Pittsburgh June 20, 7:00 pm-Organized
by Marcellus Protest (WMCG is a
supporter)
As part
of a national ‘preview’ tour, Gasland Part II will be shown free to the public
at the Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Oakland. Doors open at 6 pm with live music and the screening begins at 7 pm.
Director Josh Fox will be present.
***Grassroots Summer Summit-Mountain Watershed
MWA is proud to announce the Grassroots Summer Summit - June
21st and 22nd 2013 – the first in a series of events MWA plans to hold twice
per year for grassroots community and environmental advocates and citizens to
come together for organizing and rejuvenation. We aim to nurture a network of
support for those in the ‘Good Race’ to protect themselves, their families, and
their communities. Featured speakers include Lois Gibbs (of Love Canal), Simona
Perry, and Elliot Adams (Veterans for Peace). A tentative schedule is available
for download.
Registration
is only $10 and includes bunk accommodations (you may also bring a tent if you
prefer) and meals. Participation is limited and is filling up quickly! To save
your spot, contact Melissa at 724-455-4200 ext. 6# or Melissa@mtwatershed.com.
Featured Speakers
We’re happy to have Lois Gibbs, best known for organizing her
community of Love Canal and founding Center for Health, Environment, and
Justice (CHEJ), and Dr. Simona Perry, founder of the Community Awareness and
Solutions for Empowerment (c.a.s.e.) cooperative as featured speakers at our
first Grassroots Summit. Lois’s workshop will focus on reaching hard-to-reach
community members by shaping the message of our struggles to be relevant to a
wider audience. Simona’s workshop will cover strategies and messaging for
non-violent communication. Former President of Veterans for Peace, Elliot Adams, will also
conduct a workshop about developing a movement action plan.
Workshop & Activity Schedule (may change prior to Summit)
The Summit is
being divided into two main tracts: Strategy & Stress-Management. Each time
slot offers an option for each. Please download the schedule for more
information.
The Venue - McKeever & Sandy Creek
McKeever Environmental Learning Center is a perfect
venue for the Grassroots Summit for many reasons:
Centrally-located within the Marcellus/Utica
Shale fields for participants from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and West
Virginia, where most of the community leaders we work with live and organize. See
Directions below.
Nestled amidst 205-acres, ten (10) buildings
offer a private, natural atmosphere with indoor &
outdoor meeting areas.
Beautiful hiking trails along and around
McCutcheon Run, which flows through the McKeever property, a tributary of Sandy
Creek. Only a ¾ mile hike to Goddard State Park
for biking, boating, fishing and hiking, including beautiful Falling Run Trail.
WIFI is free and available in most
buildings.
McKeever uses sustainable energy
and building practices: renewable energy on-site via wind,
solar, and geothermal power sources, recycled building materials, and no VOC
paint.
Updated bunk lodges onsite for free
overnight stays - included with registration.
Directhttp://address.mail.yahoo.com/#
TAKE ACTION!!
***Berks Gas Truth Will Push for
Resolution on Fracking at PA State Democratic Committee-Sign Petition
Berks Gas Truth is coordinating an action at the PA State Democratic
Committee meeting on June 14th and 15th in Lancaster. The State Committee will
be considering a resolution for a moratorium on fracking. At their last
meeting, the resolution didn't make it to the floor for a vote. We want to make
sure that doesn't happen again. You can find lots more information on our
website: http://www.gastruth.org/?p=1328. We hope you'll join us! If you can be
there both days, great! If not, we'll be happy to see you either day. The main
event is on the 15th, but there's plenty to be done both days!
Please
sign and share this petition we'll take with us! http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/tell-pa-dems-stop-fracking?source=c.url&r_by=160982
Any questions? Let me know! You can always
reach me at 610-678-7726. If you can't make either call, but would like to be
involved, let me know that too!
Thanks!
Karen Feridun Berks Gas Truth
***TELL YOUR
SENATOR TO OPPOSE SB 739 That Subsidizes the Gas Industry
SB 739
represents a lose - lose proposition for
the environment. It takes money away from already limited energy efficiency
funding while it subsidizes a natural gas industry that is already very
profitable.
The gas industry is trying to expand the
markets for natural gas, while having taxpayers fund the construction of gas
delivery infrastructure. If they are successful, not only will they be able
to sell more gas, but the price of gas will increase, due to increased demand.
The natural gas industry doesn't need additional subsidies paid for by the
public.
Campaign Compiling Water Contamination by Shale Gas Drilling
***If Your Water Has
Been Affected or DEP Tested Your Water---
The
Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water is seeking help from Pennsylvanians whose
water supply has been affected by natural gas drilling (or other gas extraction
activities). Also of interest is if any tests were done by the DEP. Please tell
your story by filling out the form available HERE. http://www.pacleanwatercampaign.org/stories/
Your information will be kept confidential. If you would
prefer tell us your story over the phone, please call Steve Hvozdovich at Clean
Water Action, 412-765-3053, x210.
FRACK LINKS
***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.
***To sign up for notifications
of activity and violations for your area:
***To view companies with the most violations
***List of the Harmed--There are now
over 1200 names of residents of Pennsylvania who became sick after fracking
began in their area and have placed their name on the list of the harmed. http://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list/
*** Gas Drilling Records in Pennsylvania-Video
Squirrel Hill Panel - May 9, 2013 (1:11:05)
Penn State Gas Advocate Terry Engelder,
environmental activist Robert Donnan, AP reporter Kevin Begos, Penn Future
president George Jugovic and media law attorney Gail Sproul.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gas-rush-stories?c=activity
Large
screen version:
***Health Problems Forum-Video
Mac Sawyer former gas field truck driver, Joe Giovannini mason and resident of
Cannonsburg, Robert McCaslin who
worked as master driller. Larysa Dyrszka, MD, Board certified pediatrician, former director of pediatrics at Holy
Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ, attendee at the first US Health Impact Assessment
Conference in Washington DC., and affiliate member of Physicians Scientists and
Engineers for Healthy Energy and Lauren
Williams, Esq, PA attorney specializing in environmental and public law who
focuses on land use issues including those that relate to gas drilling. Lauren
William’s discussion of the gag order on doctors is a good explanation of the
problems surrounding the Act 13 order.
You must click on each speaker in turn to hear all the presentations.
FRACK NEWS
1.
Sunoco’s Pipeline in North Huntingdon Questioned
By Timothy Puko (Exceprt)
“I don’t want no parts of it,” said Barry Highberger, 61, of the plans to
build another pipeline through his 120 acre farm. “I look over
there and see what’s left of the last one and I don’t want to do it again.”
Highberger stands for a portrait with some of the 80 cows he raises on his farm
in Sewickley Township. 'My parents bought the farm in 1941 or '42… It's home,
that's all I can say.'
“A
Sunoco Logistics pipeline project to connect Washington County gas with a
Philadelphia export terminal is facing renewed protests in Westmoreland County,
despite the company's attempt to move it away from suburban opposition.
More
than a dozen landowners have contacted state Rep. Ted Harhai, D-Monessen, about
stopping Sunoco Logistics Partners LP from buying rights of way on their land
or using eminent domain to take them, his office manager Mary Jo Smith said.
The
residents cite frustration from other pipeline projects that are still scarring
their land, concerns over private property rights and value, and safety risks.
At
stake is part of a $600 million plan Sunoco Logistics has to ship Marcellus propane and ethane to Canada and Europe. It s
supported by Gov. Tom Corbett and Sen. Pat Toomey but ran into opposition from
homeowners along the project's first path through dense parts of North
Huntingdon. Sunoco Logistics responded this year by pushing the path farther
east, along two pipelines that already exist.
“I
wasn't happy about two lines. Three lines is unacceptable. This is where I draw
the line because if I don't, it's going to be four,” said Barbara Frieze, 61,
of Sewickley. “If one of those babies blow, they're going to find bits of us
blown all over Herminie.”
Company
officials are still pushing to acquire land and start the project by this fall,
spokesman Joe McGinn said, adding that pipelines are the safest way to
transport fuel.
Officials
plan to do regular inspections to detect any defects and corrosion, McGinn
said. Before the line goes into service in mid-2014, Sunoco Logistics will lead
training sessions with emergency responders.
The
company has had 187 accidents causing about $34.5 million in property damage
nationwide since 2006, according to federal records. An incident occurred in
Murrysville in 2008, when a plug blew out during maintenance, sending a gusher
of gasoline into the air. More than 12,000 gallons leaked out, killing aquatic life in 3 miles of
Turtle Creek and causing several businesses and homes to be evacuated.
Investigators
at the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration blamed
the company. Sunoco Logistics paid $232,900 to PHMSA and $99,000 to the state
Fish and Boat Commission.
The Friezes and neighbor Barry Highberger are
suspicious of the industry. Both are still upset with Dominion Resources Inc.
for the condition of their land after the company dug out for an interstate
shale gas pipeline a little more than a year ago.
The right of way is rocky and partly bare as it runs
between their rolling countryside properties. On Highberger's dairy farm, the
path creates a clear divide in his crops.
Highberger is upset at Sunoco Logistics for repeatedly
telling him and other landowners it will use eminent domain to take land its
owners won't sell. And he's angry, too, that in the end, the project's goal is
to ship fuel abroad. If he can avoid it, he doesn't plan to sell a right of
way, no matter how much the company's offer is, he said.
“I don't want no parts of it,” Highberger, 61, said,
standing among the crops he's growing to feed his 80 cows. “I look over there
and see what's left of the last one, and I don't want to do it again.”
By Timothy Puko
Read more:
http://triblive.com/business/headlines/4076937-74/pipeline-logistics-sunoco#ixzz2UdbeHrkF
Hi Everyone!
2.
Industry Has Database On Water But Won’t Share Info
Sherry
Vargson, of Granville Summit, leased the mineral rights under a portion of her
farm to Chesapeake Energy. She illustrates her assertion that methane has
leached into her well water by lighting the water on fire. Scientists want more
access to "pre-drill" or baseline test results from private wells to
better understand whether these issues are caused naturally or by drilling.
More than two years ago the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a gas industry
trade group, began building an electronic database to house information about
the water quality in thousands of private wells across Pennsylvania.
It’s made up of
“pre-drill” or baseline data– critical information
that helps establish whether drilling operations may have caused water
contamination issues.
The
project is already up and running, but there are no plans to make it public.
Instead,
it’s available to gas companies, the state DEP which can access portions of the
database, and one researcher at Indiana University of Pennsylvania who has
signed a confidentiality agreement.
“I’m
disappointed to hear the Marcellus Shale Coalition is not planning to release
their data publicly,” says Dr. Susan Brantley, a professor of geosciences at
Penn State University.
For the article: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/05/28/gas-industry-building-database-of-water-test-results-but-wont-make-it-public/
3.
Erie, CO--Ethylbenzene found in blood of those near fracking
Carbondale, CO-- Residents
get blood tested to establish a baseline
by Nelson Harvey, Special to the Aspen Daily
News (Excerpt)
“A doctor who recently tested the blood of several Carbondale residents for
toxic compounds associated with oil/gas drilling said his results could be the
start of a baseline data.
Dr.
John Hughes of Aspen Integrative Health tested the blood of 10 Carbondale
residents for a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with gas
drilling, including benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene. He found low
levels of xylene in some subjects, but found no VOCs in concentrations above
federal health thresholds.
“The
original thought was that we would re-test some of these individuals later, and
see what happens if drilling takes place in the Thompson Divide,” Hughes said.
SG Interests and Ursa Resources say they
intend to develop 18 gas leases in the area. The Thompson Divide Coalition, a
Carbondale advocacy group, is negotiating with the companies to purchase and
retire those leases.
While
there has already been baseline water quality sampling done in parts of the
Thompson Divide, Sheahan said, much less is known about how drilling will
affect the health of Carbondale residents.
“We
now have baselines here from the human standpoint,” Sheahan said. “My family is
part of the baseline test group for this blood testing, and we intend to go to
the mat with the oil and gas community if they follow through with drilling in
this area.”
Because
the blood of the Carbondale residents was relatively clean, Hughes also decided
to compare it with blood samples from 10 residents of the Front Range city
of Erie, CO where some 17,000 natural gas wells have already been drilled.
He
found high levels of the carcinogen ethyl benzene in the blood of nine of the
11 Erie subjects, while none of the Carbondale subjects showed high levels of
ethyl benzene.
“The
EPA standard for benzene is 5 parts per billion (ppb), and the highest
levels that I found in the Erie patients’ blood was 118.5 ppb,” Hughes
said.
The
Erie patients all lived between 300 and 1,800 feet from gas wells, and
the level of ethyl benzene that Hughes detected was highest in those living
closest to wells.
Hughes readily acknowledged that his small study has
many limitations, and shouldn’t be construed as conclusive.
“ To really do
a good study, you need at least 500 people, I think.”
Hughes also said that before publishing the study in a
scientific journal he would compare the Erie patients to a more pristine
control group than the Carbondale cohort, since some Carbondale residents had
trace levels of VOCs in their blood which might have come from gas drilling in
nearby Rifle, coal rich soils in Carbondale or from a range of non gas related
sources.
“If there is a follow
up to this, I’d like to get a control group from somewhere where there is
absolutely no fracking going on,” he said.
Another step in testing the link between gas drilling
and VOC blood concentrations would be to look at the chemical footprint, or
isotope, of the chemicals present in the blood of Erie residents, and see
whether it matches the footprint of chemicals being emitted from nearby wells.
“If there is a high concentration of one isotope in
the blood and there are high concentrations of the same coming out of the
wells, we could draw an association between those two,” Hughes said.
The fact that the study was privately funded
highlights a paucity of state-funded research on the long-term health effects
of gas drilling. Colorado State University is currently conducting a three-year
study on the effect of gas drilling on air quality in Garfield County, but the
study stops short of taking blood or tissue samples from residents.
“The state has no incentives to do this type of research,”
said Hughes. “They get tons of tax revenue from the industry.”
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/158039
4.
Gas Industry Overturns Colorado Fracking Ban
“Fort Collins city council decided to overturn
a ban on hydraulic fracturing that had been in place for only a few short
months. The decision to overturn the ban was based solely on the threat of a
lawsuit from the oil and gas industry.
The
mere threat of a lawsuit from – Prospect
Energy – was enough to send the city council cowering in submission, placing
the entire town at risk of the negative health impacts associated with
fracking.
The
gas industry was aided by Colorado’s Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper, who
warned Fort Collins that if the ban were to remain in place, they could face
legal intervention from the state .
Hickenlooper’s
announcement is less than surprising. He has received more than $45,000 from
the energy industry during his campaigns, along with another $104,000 from the
real estate industry (a sector that stands to gain a lot with the leasing of
property to fracking.)
Prospect
Energy was aided in their efforts by the industry front group Energy in Depth.
The
ban would have eventually been overturned by the court system in Colorado. At
least two challenges to fracking bans have been brought before the Colorado
Supreme Court, and in both instances, the Court sided with the dirty energy
industry. This set the precedent for future challenges to be handled
swiftly and soundly in the lower courts.
But this raises another important issue, and that is
the importance of the American judiciary, the forgotten branch of government.
While a few states actually elect their judges, most states (and the federal
government) rely on appointments from governors and presidents. If a governor,
like Hickenlooper, has received tens of thousands of dollars from the energy
industry, it is fairly safe to assume that he’s going to appoint judges who the
industry approves, regardless of their party affiliation. As the politician
goes, so goes the court.
The town of Fort Collins needs to lawyer up
themselves. The second that any toxic fracking fluids leak into their water
supply, they need to file suit.
Unfortunately, given the reactionary nature of our
country, we only address problems after they occur, but having a team of
skilled environmental attorneys on hand will be a necessity for Fort Collins
once the fracking begins.”
5. Radioactive Drilling Waste Sets Off More Radioactivity Alarms
“Fracking
industry truck drivers have been blowing the whistle for some time, saying that
radioactivity alarms are going off “all the time.” Workers report that the radioactivity levels are sky-high, even in
empty trucks that have already dumped their load of drill cuttings at
landfills. Now the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Associated
Press, StateImpact PA, Shale Reporter and other news outlets are revealing some of the numbers
supporting an increased urgency to stop dumping radioactive waste all over
Pennsylvania.
The
AP story includes alarming numbers followed by empty reassurances from DEP with
no data and no information to back up the myth that everything is just fine. No
physicians, impacted residents, radioactivity experts or workers are
interviewed — just the PA DEP spokesman, Kevin Sunday, whose job is to stifle
public outrage. Here is the Shale Reporter version of the AP story:
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gas drilling waste is setting off more
radiation alarms at Pennsylvania landfills.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the alarms
went off 1,325 times in 2012, with more than 1,000 of those from oil and gas
waste, according to Department of Environmental Protection data.
DEP says past research has shown problems are unlikely.
DEP started a review in January to examine radioactivity in drilling waste and
on all the equipment that handles it.
One
wonders what this “past research is” that indicates that “problems are
unlikely.” To the contrary, past research, in fact, has shown flowback returning from Marcellus Shale
drilling in Pennsylvania with Radium 226 levels thousands of times the safe
limit for drinking water. It is well known that fracking waste pits
all over PA (like the one in Lycoming County where the plastic liner was found
full of over 100 holes) leak toxic radioactive waste into our soil and
groundwater every day. Flowback spills
are a daily occurrence at frack pads, so routinely so that workers endure
18-hour shifts doing nothing but vacuuming up spills. And Mac Sawyer, a
former fracking truck driver and environmental cleanup worker in the Marcellus
Shale industry in Pennsylvania, has stated that sometimes “they just disable the alarm” rather
than treating flowback or drill cuttings waste with the special care
required of radioactive waste. Uranium is mobilized by fracking, along with
radium 226.
Radium
226 causes bone, liver, and breast cancer, according to the ATSDR (Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry). Radium 226 has a half-life of 1,500
years. Radium has also been shown to impact the blood, eyes, teeth, and
more.
Former PA Governor Ed Rendell, who now invests
in and profits from Marcellus Shale industries, looked the other way while
three of his former staffers approved the policy allowing trucks to carry toxic radioactive fracking waste while
labeling it “residual waste” and not carrying a manifest, or placard, saying
where the waste came from, what’s in it, how much there is of it, and where
it’s going. Rendell’s former staffers jumped ship to work for the industry, and
Rendell himself has become an industry cheerleader.
In a
state that still allows fracking flowback to be dumped on roads legally for
“dust suppression” and “de-icing” purposes, where spraying fracking waste on
land is reported to continue, and where trucks with toxic radioactive waste are
allowed to be labeled “residual,” we’d like to hear some outrage, instead of
outrage management, from policymakers, opinion-makers and legislators.
Two-Thirds
of Pennsylvanians Support a Gas Drilling Moratorium Now
On the good news side, PA Senator Leanna Washington has
joined the list of co-sponsors for PA State Senator Ferlo’s gas drilling
moratorium bill. The two-thirds majority in Pennsylvania
who support a gas drilling moratorium are starting to wake up and
speak up. Radioactive fracking waste is one more reason to step up the
support for a moratorium now.
For the Article By Iris Bloom
http://protectingourwaters.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/radioactive-gas-drilling-waste-sets-off-more-radioactivity-alarms/
6. Americans Against Fracking March At Conference of Democratic
Governors
Only 33% of Democrats Favor Increased
Fracking
A
coalition led by Americans Against Fracking, 350.org, Democracy for America and
Food & Water Watch, among others marched at the Spring Policy Conference of
the Democratic Governors Association
(DGA) calling for a ban on fracking and demanding that the organization “Stop
Taking Dirty Money,” citing the more than $3.5 million the DGA has taken from
companies in the oil/ gas industry since 2008. (Food Water Watch Study)
New research released by the Pew
Research Center for People and the Press that shows that nationally, only 33 %
of Democrats polled favor the increased use of fracking.
The march is the beginning of a
summer-long effort with planned actions at other DGA meetings in Colorado and
possibly other cities to pressure five governors in particular— Maryland Gov.
Martin O’Malley, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, California Gov. Jerry Brown,
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn—who are currently
facing stark opposition to efforts to frack for oil and gas in their states.
“While it’s not surprising that
the oil and gas industry is supporting a political organization, what is
surprising is how much their support of the DGA has increased in the past five
years—contributions are up more than 140 percent between 2008 and 2012,” said
Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “We need to expose
their support of this organization, many of whom are presently the key decision
makers on whether or not fracking goes forward in their states.”
Maryland
Gov. O’Malley, the host of the DGA’s Spring Policy Conference, has attracted
criticism from activists for his failure to use science to guide his decision
on opening up the state to fracking. The
O’Malley-appointed Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission issued a draft report
warning that fracking could have significant negative impacts in Maryland.
Still, O’Malley and other Maryland leaders are pushing forward with drilling as
if it is inevitable.
Opponents
of fracking believe that through O’Malley’s alliance with the Center for Sustainable
Shale Development (CSSD), an industry group led by representatives from CONSOL
Energy, Shell, Chevron, EQT Corporation and the Environmental Defense Fund, the
governor is promoting the idea of industry-sponsored self-regulation. This
week, Americans Against Fracking, Democracy for America and MoveOn.org will
deliver to O’Malley more than 3,000 petitions urging him to ban fracking.
Ehttp://ecowatch.com/2013/hundreds-march-ban-on-fracking-end-to-dirty-money/http://ecowatch.com/2013/democratic-governors-received-3-5-million-in-dirty-energy-money-in-last-five-years/democratic/
7. Laura Legere Won Battle for DEP Water Records
DEP’s
Record-Keeping Blocks Transparency
“A
simple request that could shine light on at least how many cases of water
contamination the DEP determined were due to gas drilling operations, turned
into a legal battle. In an open records case settled last year between DEP and
the Scranton Times-Tribune, the Commonwealth Court criticized the DEP for
poor record keeping.
But the DEP remains unapologetic about their
unsuccessful argument to the court that providing copies of their water
investigation determination letters would be “burdensome.”
Sunday said it would be “inaccurate” to describe the
agency’s record keeping as incomplete and disorganized. This despite several
affidavits from DEP staff describing the enormous difficulty of providing these
letters, which are sent to each resident who makes a complaint that gas
drilling has impacted their water supply.
Commonwealth Court Judge Anne E. Covey wrote in the
three-panel decision against the DEP, and in favor of Times-Tribune reporter
Laura Legere:
“In fact, the burden on DEP comes not from some vast array of documents
requested by Legere, but from the DEP’s method of tracking its records,” wrote
Judge Covey. …A requester cannot control how an agency catalogues or organizes
such files. As such, an agency’s failure to maintain the files in a way
necessary to meet its obligations under the RTKL should not be held against the
requestor. To so hold would permit an agency to avoid its obligations under the
RTKL simply by failing to orderly maintain its records.”
About a year and a half ago, Scranton Times-Tribune
reporter Laura Legere began her quest by filing a right-to-know request with
the DEP.
“I was trying to answer the question of how many water
supplies the state has determined had been impacted by drilling,” said Legere.
Legere says she thought of her request as fairly easy
to fulfill.
“They really
didn’t have a sense of how many of these documents they had or how best to find
them,” said Legere. “But
they were willing to give us something.”
That something turned out to
be — not much.
So Legere first sought help from the Office of Open
Records, a neutral agency that reviews cases where a citizen wants to challenge
the state’s right-to-know response. The open records office sided with the
paper, telling DEP to turn over all the letters. But DEP appealed to the
Commonwealth Court, saying Legere’s request was too broad and too burdensome.
The Commonwealth Court ruled against the DEP. It
said the agency’s poor record keeping was not an excuse to withhold the
records.
So Legere ended up getting 969 records, and spent more
than six months poring over them. She found that in the majority of cases, in
fact, about three-quarters of those letters, reported that water contamination
was not connected to gas drilling. In 161 cases, the DEP did determine that gas
drilling was the cause. She describes these letters sent to property owners as
formulaic.
“DEP says: These are not simple documents; these are
not form letters,” said Legere. “But actually very many of them are almost
entirely the same.”
Sometimes, Legere says, the state did warn residents
of high levels of contaminants such as manganese or methane. But, in cases when
DEP exonerated drillers, only rarely did the agency offer a theory as to what
else caused the pollution.
“There was never any sign of what the state went
through in its investigation,” said Legere. “Regardless of whether or not it
found a drilling impact. Usually it was just simply here is your water test,
and here are the things we found in it. They are not the most revealing documents.”
In fact, sometimes the industry provides more
answers than the state. Legere points to a case in Franklin Forks, where
the DEP determined gas drilling was not the cause of resident’s water problems.
But the DEP issued more information about their investigation in a press
release, than in the letter to residents. And while the gas drilling company,
WPX Energy, published their investigation, the DEP would not.
Gayle
Sproul is a media lawyer and legal director with the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information
Coalition.
“And this is why I congratulate
her for pursuing that case,” said Sproul. “So that case is very important
because it takes [DEP] by the shirt collar and says look, look at stuff, go
look at it, find the people who will go into the dusty places, put it somewhere
where its more easily accessible. Find it.”
“Although I wrote the initial
request, not a lawyer,” says Legere. “I don’t have any confidence that I would
be able to successfully argue the way the attorneys did. So that to me is a
problem.”
Legere says scientists,
researchers and the public all have a legitimate interest in DEP’s drilling and
fracking records.”
Fro the
article: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/05/24/deps-fracking-record-keeping-blocks-transparency/
BY SUSAN PHILLIPS STATEIMPACT
8. Wastewater Plants Fined by EPA
The
EPA is fining three western PA wastewater plants for discharging gas drilling wastewater into the Allegheny River or
tributaries that feed it.
The
fines are contained in a consent agreement with Hart Resources Technology Inc.
and Pennsylvania Brine Treatment Inc., which ran the plants in Indiana and
Venango counties when the discharges happened between February 2007 and August
2011.
The
companies have since merged to form Fluid Recovery Services of Canonsburg,
where officials didn’t answer the phone Friday and didn’t respond to a request
for comment by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which first reported the story. http://www.stargazette.com/viewart/20130524/NEWS10/305240012/Pa-water-plants-fined-by-EPA-drilling-wastefines.
9.
Cecil Election As Proxy War
“How long do you have
to live somewhere to be considered a local? In the recent Cecil Township supervisors’
race, some strange and sometimes angry fault lines emerged. Intertwining
interests of culture, longevity and economics intersected in this little country
township to create anger and hard feelings over diverging views of what Cecil
will be in the future, and who will run it.
My wife and I built our house nine years ago. Our
daughter was born here. Our pets lived and died here. This is our home. In the
years since we moved in, we’ve made almost $150,000 in mortgage and tax
payments, not to mention physical improvements to our home. We have invested
heavily in our life in Cecil Township, and so have our neighbors.
In
this week’s election, Cindy Fisher, a relatively recent arrival who, like my
family, lives in a newer subdivision, ran against Frank Egizio, a 51-year
resident of Muse. Fisher’s effort to become the first supervisor from one of
the new residential neighborhoods created tensions that I’d not witnessed in
the decade since I moved here. She, and by extension all of the newer
residents, were denigrated as “plastic house people.” At a meet-the-candidate
event in a local park, another resident confronted us over a plate of cookies
that she claimed was not allowed. Pictures were taken of our group, I suppose,
as evidence of the transgression. The police had to intervene. In a separate
incident, a local man was arrested for threatening Fisher with physical harm in
a voicemail message.
We
live in Mayberry. This is ridiculous.
Intersecting
economic and cultural issues caused friction. Zoning to protect residential
areas, particularly with respect to the gas industry, has come into conflict
with longtime landowners who are understandably seeking the economic benefits
of the gas boom. Unfortunately, with agitation from a few individuals, the race
became a proxy war between longtime residents and new ones for the future
direction of Cecil Township, and it got pretty ugly. From there it seemed to
become an argument about control over township institutions and whether or not
the newcomers are welcome to the decision-making process that guides life in
Cecil.
After
living in Cecil for the better part of a decade, I would have thought that my
family and my neighbors would have been accepted into the fabric of township
life. To some extent we have – Fisher won her race, but it was disheartening to
find such animosity in the community. Whether it was control, or fear, or
economic self-interest that drove the debate, I was disappointed to learn that
there are still people who think of us, the newer residents, as outsiders.
We’re not. We live here and we’re staying here, and over time, as development
continues, we’ll have more say in township affairs, not less. We’re not here to
deprive existing residents of anything, but we do expect our significant
investment in Cecil Township to be protected. That’s not too much to ask.
Greg Simmons
Cecil Township”
http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130524/OPINION02/130529630/0/NEWS
10.
Jesse White Introduces Bill to Protect Leasers
State
Rep. Jesse White this week introduced a trio of House bills to protect
landowners who lease property to natural gas and oil drillers in Pennsylvania,
and help others obtain mineral rights that may exist under their property but
are deemed abandoned.
White,
D-Washington/Allegheny/Beaver, said Pennsylvania currently has no reporting
requirements or standards for royalty payments, and that his bills promote
simple best practices designed to increase transparency and accountability to
benefit residents who have signed or are looking to sign leases to develop oil
and gas resources.
House
Bill 1442 would require companies to clearly show on royalty check stubs,
payment forms, or other remittance, details of the well’s productivity and any
deductions taken by the company, including the total amount of severance,
production taxes or other deductions permitted under the lease.
The legislation is
similar to S.B. 259, which unanimously passed the state Senate.
House Bill 1443 would mandate a “Pugh Clause” in gas
and oil contracts to define what happens to the portion of acreage leased that
either does not contain a well or is not included within a producing pool or
unit, allowing landowners to remove this land from contract.
Without Pugh Clause language, landowners may have
limited or no options to sell or re-lease their property, as it could be held
indefinitely in limbo while yielding no income.
House Bill 1444 would provide a judicial process by
which a property owner could petition the courts to have mineral rights
rejoined with surface rights in instances when those mineral rights are deemed
abandoned after a period of 10 years of non-use.
The bill, which is similar to legislation White
introduced in previous sessions, would not take away mineral rights from any
legitimate owner. Instead, it is designed for situations in which the owner
cannot be determined after a lengthy title search and proper notification to
all parties who may have a legal interest in the mineral rights.
“Signing a gas lease is undoubtedly one of the biggest
decisions a family will make in their lifetime regarding their property,” White
said. “Anyone who signs a lease deserves at the very least some basic and commonsense
protections under the law.
“To be clear, this legislative package would not cost
leaseholders any money, but instead would guarantee that every penny they
deserve is accounted for, while promoting natural gas development to provide
opportunities for landowners, business and the local workforce alike.”
Originally posted at:
http://www.pahouse.com/White/PAHouseNews.asp?doc=29540
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
Day Unit Near
Trinity South Elementary School, Washington PA
Photo by Bob
Donnan
