Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group Updates
November 14, 2013
* 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/
* Our email address: westmcg@gmail.com
*
To discuss candidates: http://www.facebook.com/groups/VoteProEarth/
* To contact your state
legislator:
For the email address, click on the envelope
under the photo
* For information on PA state gas legislation
and local control: http://pajustpowers.org/aboutthebills.html-
WMCG
Thank You
* Thank you to contributors to our Updates: Debbie Borowiec, Lou
Pochet, Ron Gulla, Marian Szmyd, Bob Donnan, Gloria Forouzan, Elizabeth Donahue,
and Bob Schmetzer.
* Thank you to
Jenny Lisak for working with the group’s suggestions to create our logo.
*Thank you to community organizer Kathryn
Hilton and the Mt. Watershed for their support and assistance.
Donations- Our
Sincere Thanks For Your Support!
Jan
Kiefer
Mary
Steisslinger
Wanda
and Joe Guthrie
Lou and Dorothy Pochet for donating to group
printing costs.
Joe
and Judy Evans for printing costs of fracking tri-folds.
Jan
and Jack Milburn for donating to group printing costs.
Calendar
*** WMCG Steering Committee Meeting We meet the second Tuesday of every month at
7:30 PM in Greensburg. Email Jan for directions. All are very
welcome to attend. .
*** Fall Summit, North Park- Nov
17
“November
17, 2013-- The 1st annual Fall Shindig at North Park in Allison Park, PA. ,
from 9-5pm. The building has a capacity
of 150 persons and we want to have great regional representation so please,
invite your friends and colleagues.
$10 registration fee
to cover the building and food.
Peace and solidarity,
Kathryn Hilton, Community Organizer, Mountain Watershed
Association”
Register at:
www.mtwatershed.com/blog
***Hike at Deer
Lakes-Nov 17
There will be a hike in Deer Lakes County Park on Sunday
morning (Nov 17). Organized by Venture Outdoors. Good opportunity to see this site beneath
which Fracking may take place.
Need to
register at: http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/Activities.aspx?id=57651
"Beginners looking for
an easy, rejuvenating experience outdoors will spend an afternoon in a nearby
park exploring a new trail, getting some exercise and discovering something new
about the natural world. With experienced guides to lead the way, participants
will learn about regional trails that are fun, inspirational and easily
accessible. We’ll learn about the trees, plants, flowers, birds and other
creatures that live in nearby natural spaces. The pace will be slow and we'll
cover 3-4 miles on each outing. (This hike is dog friendly!) - See more at:
Then report your findings to members of County Council at
their Nov 19 meeting!
***Raising Our
Voices on Fracking and Health- Nov 16
Edinboro
Alliance of Nurses
for Healthy Environments
Saturday, November
16, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM (EST)
Edinboro, PA
Agenda:
http://envirn.org/pg/pages/view/80155/raising-our-voices-on-fracking-and-health-agenda
Click here to
register:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/raising-our-voices-on-fracking-and-health-registration-8157540423?aff=efbevent
*** Shale Drilling
and Public Health: A Day of Discovery Nov. 23, Heinz History Center
By League of Women
Voters of Pennsylvania’s Shale and Public Health Committee Saturday
November 23, 2013, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Heinz History Center, Fifth Floor Mueller
Education Center, 1212 Smallman Street,
Pittsburgh, PA This event is free and open to the public
Speakers include Michelle Bamberger, Robert Oswald and Dr
Ingraffea, Dr Brown (SWPA), Lenore Resick (PHD Duquesne Nursing)
*** Facing the
Challenges Nov. 25, 26
Duquesne
University Researchers present on: Air and water, Animal and Human Health,
Geological, Biological investigations.
For a calendar of area events please see “Marcellus Protest”
calendar:
http://marcellusprotest.org/
Donations
We are very appreciative
of donations to our group.
With your help, we have handed out thousands of flyers
on the health and environmental effects of fracking, sponsored numerous public
meetings, and provided information to citizens and officials countywide. If you
would like to support our efforts:
Checks to
our group should be made out to the Thomas
Merton Center/Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group. And in the Reminder line
please write- Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group. The reason for this
is that we are one project of 12 at Thomas Merton. You can send your check to: Westmoreland
Marcellus Citizens’ Group, PO Box 1040,
Latrobe, PA, 15650. Or you can give the check or cash to Lou Pochet or
Jan Milburn.
To make a contribution to our
group using a credit card, go
to www.thomasmertoncenter.org. Look for the contribute
button, then scroll down the list of organizations to direct money to. We are
listed as the Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group.
Please
be sure to write Westmoreland Marcellus
Citizens’ Group on the bottom of your check so that WMCG receives the
funding, since we are just one project of many of the Thomas Merton Center. You
can also give your donation to any member of the steering committee.
Volunteers Needed!!
If you want to
distribute information on fracking in your neighborhood, WMCG and the Mt
Watershed have handouts for you. You can
help to inform your own area or we can suggest an area. Some rural areas are
best reached by car and flyers can be put in paper boxes (not mailboxes) or in
doors. Please contact Jan if you would
like to help. Meetings are also good venues for distributing flyers as
well—church meetings, political, parent groups, etc. If you can only pass out
fifteen, that reaches fifteen people who may not have been informed.
Take Action!!
***As always letters to the editor are
important and one of the best ways to share information with the public. Pick
any frack topic and get it in the public eye.***
The following petitions
are active.
***Floating Toxic Frack Wastewater Down Our Rivers?
From Earthworks
Coal
barge passing Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA, on the Ohio River. Photo: Brian
Young
“Fracking
creates millions of gallons of wastewater that's laden with toxic and sometimes
radioactive chemicals.
Now, the
Coast Guard is considering allowing fracking waste to be shipped on barges down
the Ohio River.
A special oil &
gas industry loophole in national environmental law exempts its waste. The
result? Fracking's hazardous waste is magically called nonhazardous, even though it can contain heavy metals or
benzene.
So if
fracking waste is sent down our rivers it won't be governed by the same
safeguards as other toxics. It will be treated as nonhazardous.
Unfortunately,
spills are almost inevitable -- two 2013 barge accidents have already caused
serious oil spills. And when spills occur, they will contaminate the drinking
water of the 3 million people who get their water from the Ohio River.”
TAKE ACTION: Tell the Coast
Guard to keep fracking waste off our rivers!
***
Safeguard Federal Lands from Pro-Fracking Legislation!
“Our nation's public lands belong to
all Americans, but pro-fracking members of Congress have introduced legislation
to let states decide how the oil and gas industry will drill and frack our
national forests, wildlife refuges, and public lands. Congress may soon vote on
this terrible bill, H.R. 2728, which
would turn control of dirty and dangerous fracking and drilling on our federal
lands over to the states. “
***Tell FERC---Stop Rubber-Stamping
Frack Pipelines
On
September 29, Steven Jensen, a farmer in North Dakota, discovered a massive
865,000-gallon fracked oil spill in a wheat field on his land. The spill, which
is one of the largest inland oil-pipeline accidents in the United States ever,
may have gone on for weeks unnoticed before it was discovered.
The
spill in North Dakota is not an isolated incident. Every week there are news
reports about pipeline leaks and explosions that contaminate our land and water
and sometimes kill. But instead of fixing its crumbling infrastructure, the oil
and gas industry has embarked on a reckless spending spree. It wants to
build thousands of miles of new pipelines so that it can frack America and make
us dependent on dirty fossil fuels for decades to come.
We
have to speak out now to stop it. My petition, which is to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, says the following:
America
doesn’t need endless pipelines and related infrastructure that impact local
communities and that choke off the development of clean, renewable energy
supplies. It is time for FERC to put down its rubber stamp and place a
moratorium on new fracking and oil- and gas-related infrastructure projects.
Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Stop approving
oil and gas infrastructure.
Private
land is seized by eminent domain. Dangerous and polluting compressor stations
are constructed in the middle of residential neighborhoods. One gas pipeline is
slated to cut through the Gateway National Recreation Area. And now there’s a
plan to build another large and potentially explosive pipeline near a nuclear
reactor in one of the most densely populated areas of the country.
How
can this happen? Isn’t anyone looking out for the public’s safety and welfare?
That "someone" should be FERC, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission. It’s supposed to consider “public convenience and
necessity” before permitting projects like these. But it’s fallen down on the
job. Instead of critically examining all the impacts associated with oil and
gas infrastructure, it’s become a rubber stamp for an industry that has shown
that it doesn’t give a damn about the health and safety of the American people.
Tell FERC that America doesn’t need endless
pipelines and related infrastructure that impact local communities and choke
off the development of clean, renewable energy supplies.
Will you join me and add your name to my petition to
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to demand that it stop approving oil
and gas infrastructure?
Thank you for your
support.
Jill Wiener
***
Fossil Free Pittsburgh Petition
“ The campaign: City of Pittsburgh:
Invest in Thrive-ability - Divest from Fossil Fuel. Add your name to this fossil fuel
divestment campaign.
The divestment movement is
catching on like wildfire, and with good reason: If it is wrong to wreck the
climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. We believe that
educational and religious institutions, city and state governments, and other
institutions that serve the public good should divest from fossil fuels.
Every name that is added builds momentum
around the divestment effort and makes it more likely for us to win. “
*** ACT NOW TO PROTECT
ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS
(From
Sierra Club)
“Members
of Allegheny County Council are being heavily lobbied by County Executive Rich
Fitzgerald and Gov. Tom Corbett to vote down the call for a hold on drilling in
the regional County Parks system.
CONTACTING YOUR COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER IS ESSENTIAL
and then find your member’s email address by clicking on
their photo in the member’s directory.
The message is simple:
"Please vote YES in favor of Councilwoman Daly Danko's resolution
that places a hold on any drilling within or beneath all county parks until a
thorough examination of the risks and liabilities has been
completed."
The important preamble to Danko's resolution is at
http://alleghenysc.org/?p=14140
Sign the ‘No Fracking in Our Parks’ PETITION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP”
Frack Links
*** Health Effects
of Drilling with Theo Colburn-6 minutes
Short
Excerpt: “Gas in not all methane-at most 82%.
The rest of the composition is short -chained hydrocarbons and
benzene-like compounds. Tons per day are emitted from just one well. Toluene come up from the well in higher
concentrations than benzene. Toluene
goes right for the brain. Workers are experiencing peripheral neuropathy which
is irreversible. The government has ignored these problems completely.”
*** Ads Sponsored by Frack- Free Colorado Whistleblower
Wes Wilson and Professor Ingraffea
About 2 minutes each.
*** Dr. Brasch
Hosts Fracking Program-- Dr. Walter Brasch, author of the critically
acclaimed book, Fracking Pennsylvania,
is hosting a weekly half-hour radio show about fracking. "The Frack Report" airs 7:30 p.m.,
Mondays (beginning July 29) and is re-run 7:30 a.m., Wednesdays, on WFTE-FM
(90.3 in Mt. Cobb and 105.7 in Scranton.) The show will be also be live
streamed at www.wfte.org and also available a day after the Monday night
broadcast on the station's website. He will be interviewing activists, persons
affected by fracking, scientists, and politicians.
***PA has only
seen tip of fracking iceberg-Dr Ingraffea
Short excerpt: Dr Ingraffea explains that fracking has just
begun, far more is planned, and consequently there will be increased impacts.
30-40% of all gas wells are leaking presently and this will be the case in the
future.
5-10% leak immediately.
Of all wells drilled between 2010 and today in PA, 10 % are leaking.
Over 1000 people in PA have said their water was affected by
fracking. DEP has confirmed 161 incidents.
***To sign up for
notifications of
activity and violations for your area:
*** List of the Harmed--There are now
over 1600 residents of Pennsylvania who placed their names on the list of the
harmed when they became sick after fracking began in their area. http://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list/
Fracking News
1. Report: Oil and Gas Regs Fail to Protect
Communities’ Water
“The report
identifies and examines the dangers to water quality posed by oil/gas
production in the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
The
report, Watered Down, shows how
regulatory systems fail to protect residents and communities from the harmful
effects of oil and gas development.
The report’s findings
are:
* Oil and gas
drilling uses massive volumes of water and produces massive volumes of waste.
* No federal law sets
comprehensive standards for oil and gas production.
* State regulation is
piecemeal.
* A movement toward
local ordinances to provide better protections could be useful to address local
concerns, but the oil and gas industry generally prefers state oversight. Many
states discourage or prevent oil and gas regulation at the local level.
Bob Leeches,
a member of the Powder River Basin Resource Council and Western Organization of
Resource Councils spokesperson said the report documents blowouts, pipeline breaks, increasing radioactive waste and
saltwater contamination of both water and soil in the four states,
including the massive oil pipeline spill near Tioga, ND, oil well blowout in
southern Wyoming and new hazardous waste landfill in eastern Montana servicing
radioactive drilling waste from North Dakota.
“What is
needed are strong, clear, comprehensive and enforceable national performance
standards for oil and gas drilling, production and delivery—standards that
would help us to protect our communities from the kind of damage outlined in
this report,” LeResche said. “Critical to the success of such standards are
effective monitoring systems, the capacity to enforce the law with fines that
will deter carelessness, and outreach programs that encourage the public to
report spills and other violations in their often remote communities.”
The report recommends:
* Setting clear and enforceable performance standards, such as well
site construction, waste stream testing and waste disposal.
* Providing and
funding comprehensive monitoring and
testing systems, including pipelines.
* States should not permit more wells than
they can properly oversee. State legislatures should provide regulatory
agencies with the personnel and authority to manage oil and gas development.
* Agencies should
establish, promote and adequately staff hotlines
enabling residents to report problems at oil and gas sites and should respond
promptly to calls from residents.
“The
extraction processes, transporting methods and disposing of the associated
waste are an imperfect process that will eventually result in more cases of
contamination and pollution,” said Terry Punt, a rancher from Birney, MT, and a
member of Northern Plains Resource Council. “This is why our states must have
stricter standards, increased transparency and less self-monitoring.”
http://ecowatch.com/2013/11/07/oil-and-gas-regulations-fail-to-protect-water/
Link to the report by Western Organization of Resource
Councils:
2. Exxon & Range Resources get an F in Fracking Disclosure
“Two dozen public oil and gas producers got failing grades for not doing enough to publicly disclose
the steps they take to mitigate the risks of fracking, according to a report by four leading investment groups.
Ranking near the bottom were Exxon and Range Resources. None of the companies scored higher than 44
percent out of the 32 indicators and the majority only scored on 6 or less.
The report was done “very fairly” because the
indicators are things that investors have been asking for since at least 2009,
said Lucia von Reusner, a shareholder advocate for Green Century Capital
Management. Questions included management of toxic chemicals, water and
waste, air emissions, community impacts and governance.
More communities
are raising concerns about air and water quality and that has investors
worried, too, she said. Questions included management of toxic chemicals, water
and waste, air emissions, community impacts and governance. Exxon scored a 2
out of 32. The biggest concern with Exxon was the lack of disclosure on the
handling of toxic chemicals. Range Resources scored a 3 on the ranking.
Water management was again the biggest concern for the investors ranking the
companies.”
3. Gas Wells/Compressor Station Study -- Air pollution Is Present 100% of the Time
“Dr.
Deb Cowden, a family physician in Knox County, Ohio said, "I became
interested in the process of shale gas drilling after we received a notice from
a gas and oil company asking to lease the family farm where my husband and I
live." After reviewing medical journals, Cowden became concerned enough
that she read research studies providing evidence about adverse health effects
on gas industry workers and people living near large wells.
Cowden reported, "Air pollution is the main cause for concern. Sources of air
pollution are the fine grain sands used in the fracking process which float in
the air and, if inhaled, can cause lung disease; diesel fumes from drilling
engines, fracking pumps, and truck traffic; and volatile organic chemicals that
off-gas from condensate tanks, compressor stations, and evaporative pools or
leak from gas lines and piping."
Cowden
summarized a Colorado study where
researchers monitored air quality around gas wells and compressor stations
every 6 days for 22 months. She reported, "They found a number of
chemicals in the air 100 percent of the times the monitoring was done. I'm most concerned about the high
concentrations of benzene, which is linked to blood cancers, and xylene, which
has neurological effects. In the Colorado study, people living within a half-mile of the wells experienced the most
severe health effects, although those living further away were more likely to
have respiratory problems." Cowden pointed out that Ohio regulations
allow drilling within 100 to 150 feet of occupied buildings. “http://www.daily-jeff.com/business/2013/11/10/-it-s-not-your-father-s-gas-well-part-2-at-muskingum-university
4. Landfills Accept Radioactive Frack Waste
(Residents quoted in
this article complain of odors from the landfill. Interestingly, we have recently
been told that drill cuttings (that can contain toxic chemicals and be
radioactive) are being used to cover odors at landfills.)
“Officials
from the Tervita landfill in Rostraver Township insist every material disposed
at their site is legal. But that's not
enough for some residents who fear the landfill is accumulating naturally
radioactive byproducts from gas drilling that could cause long-term health
hazards to themselves and their families.
Michael Wood, (Tervita
manager from Canada) clarified a question from last month's meeting when
residents heard conflicting answers when
they asked if a truck carrying Marcellus shale drill cuttings that was turned
away from a South Huntington Township landfill in April could have been
accepted at Tervita.
Wood said the
landfill could accept that truck, but only because the company is capable of
dealing with such disposal safely and under state-mandated regulations. “No two landfills are alike,” he said, adding
his company is equipped and trained to handle such disposals.
The truck at the
South Huntington landfill measured at 96 microrem, well over that landfill's
limit of 10 microrem.
But, Wood stated, the Tervita
landfill is permitted to accept material up to 140 microrem.
Microrem are
miniscule units that measures radiation. The average annual radiation exposure
for a person in the United States is 620,000 microrem, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
Fought and
Pricedale resident Jack Kruell brought in Therese Aigner, a retired
environmental consultant who discussed potential dangers of “cumulative” effects of low-level radioactive
material at the site.
“No one knows something is wrong until they have a reaction physically
to it or they see their health deteriorating because of radioactivity
exposure,” she said.
Wood said nothing
the landfill has accepted has been either hazardous or toxic.
Township Solicitor
Al Gaudio said that the board cannot pass any ordinance preventing permitted
business at the landfill. However,
Commissioner Andy Temoshenka said the board would be willing to hire a private
firm to conduct testing around the landfill if the price was reasonable.
He invited Wood to
have his company share in the cost.
As for the stench
emanating from the landfill – the situation that sparked the controversy – Wood
and John Schwalbe, regional director of operations, said they're continuing
progress on vertical and horizontal well drilling that will eventually capture
and burn all the gas carrying the smell offsite.
Dr. George Felder,
who owns a farm on Lenity School Road, said he was less concerned with the
smell than from the burning eyes he said he's experienced the past few months.
“I know it's
within the limits of what the permits allow, but what the permits allow are
going to cause people illnesses, because some people's systems aren't as strong
as other people's,” Felder said.
“Between the smell and the chemical reactions going on at your
landfill, you're contributing to this area's medical problem … and we're the
guinea pigs.”
http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmonvalley/yourmonvalleymore/4143156-74/landfill-wood-tervita#axzz2kf7tNMhR
5. Bob Donnan Reports on Mt. Pleasant Twp. Activity
Residents
Starting to Ask for Blood/Urine tests
DEP
and EPA Back Down —Hope for CDC
“I sensed the
community had come together at last night’s meeting and it was impossible to miss the sense of urgency when
you heard a few residents speak of blood and urine tests clearly indicating
their deeply troubling levels of exposure to all the nearby fracking-around
activities. How do you react when you learn you have benzene and toluene in
your blood, or more importantly, when it also affects your 7-year-old child?
Most people in
that area gave up on the PA DEP years ago (..remember when one DEP inspector
came to inspect Carter Impoundment complaints and was wearing monogrammed Range
Resources sunglasses?), then there was great hope for the EPA riding in on
a white horse, at least until they got reined-in by those up the chain of
command. I learned last night that their new hope is the CDC, that’s right, the
Centers for Disease Control. And unlike the PA DEP who always telegraphed their
punches, the CDC does not announce when they will visit and do
testing. 100 to 1 odds say that will get you more accurate data. Hopefully
the CDC isn’t subject to any political influence or revolving doors like we have
seen with the EPA and DEP.
Range personnel were not at the meeting last night to
support or answer questions on their
‘bundled deal’ which would make their notices of violation disappear, respond to litigants who want 2
or 3 of the township impoundments closed and restored, and possibly permit the
installation of a 10-million gallon wastewater tank farm on the
restored site of the Stewart Impoundment which is suspected to have caused many
of the Hallowich’s water well contaminants… things like acetone and acrylonitrile.
No, it wasn’t her nail polish remover.
… a supervisor said during last night’s meeting that a couple of the Range
representatives stopped by the township to see him last week.
The message they were there to
deliver is that IF Mt Pleasant Township (dared to) deny
their bundled package, they would begin refilling the emptied Carter
Impoundment the next morning with fluids. The Carter Impoundment is the
largest bone of contention in the township, mirroring some of the issues
around (and beneath) the Worstell Impoundment in nearby Cecil Township and the
Yeager Impoundment in Amwell Township. See a pattern?
In closing, a take home message for all
Pennsylvanians is that your legislators worked through the night in Harrisburg, hand-in-hand with
the oil and gas industry, to craft the onerous Act 13, which could easily put
one of Range’s impoundments within
300 feet of your front door. Your best hope is that the Pa.
Supreme Court stays deadlocked and does not overturn the Commonwealth Court’s
decision that strikes this insult to all common sense zoning currently in
place. Just imagine, one of these huge pits could be built in ANY zone under Act 13, including
premiere R-1 high end
residential zones!”
By Bob Donnan
6. Range Does Not Succeed in Mt. Pleasant
Supervisors Reject
Impoundment Agreement
“Nov 7 – Mt.
Pleasant supervisors turned down an
agreement proposed by Range Resources that included closing one impoundment and
converting the Stewart impoundment into an above-ground holding facility.
Supervisor Larry Grimm made a motion to approve the agreement, but supervisors
Bryan Smith or Arden McCartney did not second the motion. Range Resources first
made the offer in September as a compromise to end ongoing zoning board
hearings that began when the township issued notices of violation to Range’s
four impoundments.
The proposal included a clause
that would have required the township to retract its notices of violation and
recognize the nonconforming status of the impoundments. The township maintains
Range violated zoning ordinance by failing to restore the impoundments after
completing all nearby frack wells. In June, Range filed notices of appeal
regarding the notices of violation the township issued, and the appeals are
pending before the Mt. Pleasant Township zoning hearing board. A hearing
before the zoning hearing board will be held, as planned, Tuesday at the
township fire hall.”
Exclusive video of the meeting:
Mt Pleasant Twp - Range Resources Impoundments -
Special Meeting (1:25:39)
Nov 7 - Mt. Pleasant Township supervisors decide
not to adopt the "Agreement for Revisions to Water Handling in Mount
Pleasant Township by Range Resources-Appalachia, LLC" after hearing
citizens speak and weighing their options.
Video:
Previous meeting (9-28-13) on this same topic.
People have commented on how nervous Range representatives look:
7. The Silica
Cloud
“Something we are probably overlooking in air quality
testing around well sites is respirable crystalline silica (dust). For those living around here, we are the ‘end
users’ with silica dust billowing-off drilling pads during fracking. We have
also seen a photo of silica dust clouds being created on a railroad siding
right next to a youth league baseball field during sporting activities! And when you consider the close-up, repeated
exposure of frac workers, where is OSHA on this one?”
Bob Donnan
8. LPG Pipeline
Explosion in Texas
Today at 3:03
PM
Commentary by John
“Did anyone knowingly sign on to take this risk, or were asked
how they felt about their children being placed in harms way?
This is exactly why it is irresponsible, if not negligent,
to allow this kind of dangerous industrial activity in residential,
agricultural, or recreational areas, or anywhere where people live.
FYI: Are you aware that your
homeowners insurance does not cover industrial damage, and the gas industry cannot
get insurance to cover damage to private property, because of the high risk
factor? But please don't take my word for it. Call your insurance
representative and find out for yourself. “
Texas Town Evacuated ---Pipeline Explosion
http://www.krem.com/news/national/Texas-town-being-evacuated-after-pipeline-explosion-231914841.html
Updated today at 9:59 AM
MILFORD — Emergency crews are working at the scene of a
pipeline explosion where an active fire is reported south of Milford in Ellis
County.
The explosion was reported near FM 308. Evacuations in the
area are underway.
The fire chief in Milford has reported no known injuries.
Milford is located about 14 miles northeast of Hillsboro.
The area of the explosion is a rural area.
Milford Explosion From A
Mile Away
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/video/9529242-milford-explosion-from-a-mile-away/
Hill Co. EMA Talks About Milford Explosion (10’
Pipeline)
9. Water in Wyoming Will be Pre-Tested
“The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved a new rule that will require energy companies to
test nearby water before drilling oil and gas wells.
Starting
March 1, industry operators will have to
test water quality once before drilling oil and gas wells, a second time 36 to
48 months after drilling and a third time at least 24 months after that.
The
rule identifies chemicals, bacteria and
other substances that must be tested for in groundwater. The rule also
specifies that if there is an increase of substances beyond specified levels,
operators must notify the state and property owners.
Groundwater
subject to testing is water a half-mile
from the oil and gas wellheads found in springs and wells used for domestic,
livestock, industrial, municipal or irrigation purposes. If there are more
than four water sources within a half mile, the rule allows operators to submit
a plan to the Wyoming oil and gas supervisor to choose wells located in a
radial pattern around the well.
The
rule requires that operators test for
dissolved methane. The approved rule set a lower tripwire than the previous
version for the tested level of dissolved methane that would require operators
to notify the state and landowners of methane’s presence in the water. The
change was requested by
environmental groups.
Jerimiah
Rieman, a policy adviser for the governor and a member of a group that worked
on the rule, said dissolved methane can appear in water naturally or be
introduced by industry operations.
“The concern is if you have methane in the water, it’s an
explosion risk,” he said.
Jon Goldstein of the
Environmental Defense Fund
said he’s happy the threshold of dissolved methane was lowered. He said that
the presence of methane at the lower levels doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a
problem with the water, but it’s a good way to detect a potential problem.
Nitrates will be tested under the rule.
John Robitaille, vice president of the Petroleum
Association of Wyoming industry trade group, was
unhappy with that. He said nitrates are associated with agriculture and
shouldn’t be tested.
State government staffers did additional
research and determined nitrates or nitrate
derivatives are occasionally used in drilling, particularly with fracking,
Rieman said.
“We know that some
industry folks aren’t too keen on it,” Mead said. “We know some environmental
folks aren’t too keen on it. The fact is- it’s been a productive opportunity to
work through this.”
Mead also said that if there are problems with the
rule, the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission can always amend it. Robitaille said he’ll hold Mead to that.”
10. WVA Citizens Speak To Health Dept.
“Nov 13 – A group of citizens concerned
with the development of a GreenHunter water
treatment plant in Wheeling shared their thoughts with the Wheeling-Ohio County
Board of Health. Individuals expressed their concern regarding the environmental,
community and health impacts of drilling and fracking. They included Patricia
Jacobson of FaCT-OV/Wheeling Water Warriors. Ben Stout, a professor at Wheeling
Jesuit University, then spoke of the dangers of frackwater disposal.
Stout referenced his own study,
titled "Wheeling, West Virginia Experience With Frackwater: What
'Brinewater' and 'Residual Waste' Trucks Are Really Carrying," to
describe how such water can contain
hazardous waste and toxic substances. Stout emphasized that Wheeling water
quality should be a primary concern. He proposed that local ordinances are part
of the solution to preserve the community from dangerous fracking impacts.”
11. Pope Francis Expresses Environmental Concerns
Good News -- It’s not Photo shopped
“ The
Pope was photographed with environmental activists holding T-shirts with
anti-fracking slogans.
The
photographs were taken after a meeting in the Vatican on Monday in which the
Pope spoke with a group of Argentine environmental activists to discuss
fracking and water contamination. He reportedly told the group he is preparing an encyclical -- a letter
addressing a part of Catholic doctrine -- about nature, humans, and
environmental pollution.
In the pictures, one of the men standing with the Pope is
movie director and Argentine politician Fernando 'Pino' Solanas, known for his
activism against "environmental crimes" and his film "Dirty
Gold" about mega-mining. In particular, Solanas is a vocal opponent of an August agreement between the
Argentine government and Chevron to develop shale oil and gas, which he calls
"the largest environmental disaster in the Amazon." Drilling for
these resources often requires hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," which
is criticized by opponents for relying on toxic fluid and posing water
contamination risks.
The Chevron deal is just one
instance of American oil companies looking further and further afield to
develop shale oil and gas as vast foreign reserves promise imitations of the
United States' own shale oil revolution. Particularly in lower-income countries
like Argentina, the promise of such a revolution is too lucrative to resist --
especially with so many betting on its potential. The United States Energy
Information Administration has ranked Argentina fourth behind Russia, the
United States, and China in terms of shale oil reserves. In terms of shale gas
reserves, Argentina is ranked second only after China. But the government's
embrace of Chevron has been met with fierce protests, some of which have
prompted a brutal crackdown from police with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Argentina's indigenous Mapuche Indian community has been a firebrand group
behind the protests, claiming they weren't consulted on the deal as required by
international treaties covering indigenous peoples.
According to one report of the meeting, His
Holiness's concern was "clear" when hearing about the Chevron deal in
Argentina and other environmental disputes in the region. On Tuesday, Sarah
Palin said she was shocked by the pontiff's "liberal" statements.
Wait 'til she hears about his new role as the face of Argentina's
environmentalist movement.” “http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/11/13/pope_francis_anti_fracking
12. Minnesota City First to Monitor Air for Silica
“Winona, Minn. will become the first local
government in the nation to monitor air pollution that may be escaping from mounds
of sand being trucked through town for delivery to fracking fields in North
Dakota and elsewhere.
The move
puts the city of 28,000 people at the forefront of initial efforts to address the health effects of silica sand, an
ingredient used in fracking that has been linked to lung disease. It is
part of a larger trend to understand the various impacts of natural gas and oil
development on communities.
The data
Winona collects will be used to determine if the city is within pollution
standards set by the federal and state government, and it could help other
towns build a case for monitoring frac sand pollution. ““http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131111/tiny-minnesota-city-draws-line-frac-sand-boom
13. How Gas Industry Uses Semantics to
Mislead the Public
from Skytruth
Photo: Shutterstock
The debate over
fracking is distorting the public understanding of drilling practices and
interfering with good decision making.
The track record of
modern fracking is shrouded in incomplete information, a misleading history and
distorted by semantic arguments. We often hear statements like this from
industry and pro-drilling politicians:
America has drilled and
fracked more than 1 million wells over the past 60 years, and in all that time
there has never been a proven case of groundwater contamination caused by
fracking.
Upon closer
examination, however, this claim is a half-truth that muddles the debate on whether
natural gas can be a bridge fuel to a cleaner energy future, or a dead-end.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these claims.
America has drilled
and fracked around 1.3 million wells over
the past 60 years…
First, has fracking
really been around for over 60 years? That depends on what you mean by
fracking.
In 1947, Stanolind
Oil—now Halliburton—completed their first conventional hydraulic fracturing
operation using 1,000 gallons of water, chemicals and sand to frack a shallow
Kansas well; the first fracks used pressures as low as 700 pounds per square
inch (psi). This accounts for much of fracking’s history, with small operations
that were barely noticeable once they were completed.
In 1997, Mitchell Energy completed their first high-volume, slickwater
hydraulic fracture operations using an average of 800,000 gallons of fracking
fluid and 200,000 tons of sand on horizontally drilled wells in the Barnett
Shale of Texas. We refer to this type of fracking as “modern fracking.”
Unlike their humble origins, modern fracking operations use millions of
gallons of fluids pumped into bedrock at pressures as high as 15,000 psi to
break open shale and tight sandstone formations. This is more than 20 times the
pressure and 800 times the volume of the first fracking operations. Modern
fracking has as much in common with early fracking as an SR-71 Blackbird spy
plane has in common with the Wright Flyer. Yet advocates of modern fracking
cite those decades of old-fashioned fracking as proof that modern fracking is
also safe.
…and in all that
time, there has never been a proven case
of groundwater contamination…
Modern fracking was
one of SkyTruth’s first projects, because satellite images and aerial
photography revealed a spider’s web of roads, well pads, pipelines and other
infrastructure transforming massive tracts of western public lands. But as the
practice spread from relatively uninhabited wilderness to the more populated
eastern U.S., media coverage of modern fracking and fracking-related accidents
began to increase. Journalists and academics began to investigate claims that
modern fracking had caused health problems and water contamination. Then a
documentary filmmaker from Pennsylvania ignited one of the biggest
environmental movements in several generations: by lighting water on
fire—again.
The truth about
proven cases of contamination remains elusive for a number of reasons. For one,
the EPA has repeatedly backed away from completing research on claims of
polluted groundwater in Pennsylvania and Texas, and stopped short of finalizing
a report that blamed modern fracking for groundwater contamination in
Pavillion, WY. Also limiting our knowledge about contamination cases is the
growing number of contamination claims settled out of court with strict non-disclosure
agreements. One settlement with a Pennsylvania family went so far as to prevent
a family, including their children aged 7 and 10, from ever publicly speaking
about the issue of fracking.
What we do know is
that a growing list of individuals are coming forward with reports of illness
and contaminated drinking water in the immediate vicinity of wells that that
have been fracked. Is drilling and modern fracking the cause? In many cases we just don’t know because
pre-drilling water quality and public health studies don’t exist, and the
information is simply not available to the public.
…caused by fracking.
On these three words
hinges a delicate and disingenuous argument about the safety of modern
fracking. Watch congressional hearings on this subject and you will hear this
qualifying statement tacked on to nearly every remark about the safety of
drilling and modern fracking—but what does it mean?
Proponents of drilling use the term “fracking” in a very narrow
(and technically accurate) way—referring exclusively to the well
stimulation process known as hydraulic fracturing. Period. Based on this
definition, only contamination caused by subterranean fractures that occurred
during the process of hydraulic fracturing counts as contamination “caused by
fracking.”
By this criteria:
If the cement job on a well fails when it is subjected to the high
pressures of modern fracking, like in Dimock, Pa., Colorado, and Ohio, the cause is bad cementing, not fracking.
If a pond containing fracking fluid fails and dumps contaminated
water into a stream, or a truck carrying fracking chemicals loses control on a
narrow West Virginia road and overturns into a creek, fracking itself is not the “cause” of the contamination.
Meanwhile, the public generally
uses the term “fracking” as shorthand to cover all of the activities related to
drilling and completing a well.
Since more than 90 percent of the drilling being done today would not be
happening if it weren’t for hydraulic fracturing, this is understandable.
Unfortunately there are many documented incidents where contamination of the
air, land and water can and has occurred because of oil and gas drilling. And
the homeowner who can light their tap water on fire, or discovers they’ve been
drinking cancer-causing benzene, probably doesn’t give a damn if the
contamination was caused by a poor cement job that blew out, or by the
hydraulic fracturing operation itself. That’s a word game only politicians and
engineers care about.
The bottom line is the track
record of modern fracking is shrouded in incomplete information, a misleading
history and distorted by semantic arguments that narrowly define what counts as
contamination from fracking. While cases of contamination caused by fracking
remain obscured by lack of information and tricky linguistics, we know that a
growing number of citizens are reporting harm and environmental contamination
in unconventional oil and gas fields, and especially from wells that have been
fracked.
By David Manthos, Skytruth
14. Oklahoma Dumpsite Contaminated with Frack Waste
“The battle over a toxic Oklahoma dumpsite has taken a remarkable
turn. Three years ago, Channel 6
Investigates reported about pollution problems in Bokoshe. People there
claim they are being poisoned by a coal ash disposal. But residents have just learned wastewater from fracking has added to the
contamination, and they say it's reached Oklahoma's underground drinking water..
The tanker trucks that so often lined the rural roads there had been dumping
hundreds of millions of gallons of fracking wastewater in Bokoshe's dumpsite.
Channel 6
uncovered documents from 2009, tracking
truckloads of fracking wastewater directly from oil and gas wells in Arkansas
to Bokoshe. Documents show some of
the Arkansas frack jobs used thousands of gallons of hydrochloric acid and
millions more gallons of undisclosed chemicals. Officials with the Arkansas
Oil and Gas Commission say all fracking wastewater has to be disposed of in
injection wells in that state. It cannot be dumped there.
Dub Tolbert and
his neighbors claim that pollution is putting their health at risk. As their
lawsuit states, there are "significant concentrations of cancer
victims" near the dumpsite. They say 14 of the people who live closest to
it were diagnosed with cancer in the last seven years.” http://www.newson6.com/story/23938227/fracking-wastewater-dumped-in-small-oklahoma-town
15. Speakers:
Corbett and George Bush At Pittsburgh Shale Convention
“The 5th
DUG East (Shale Gas) conference and exhibition, scheduled November 13-15 at the
David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the premier
conference focused on resource development in the Marcellus and Utica region.
This event produced by Hart Energy — the creator of the DUG conference series —
attracts more than 3,000 industry professionals from companies working in the
Appalachian Basin.”
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizen’s Group—Mission Statement
WMCG is a project of the Thomas
Merton Society
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 and Thomas Merton Society liason-Lou Pochet
Secretary-Ron Nordstrom
Facebook Coordinator-Elizabeth Nordstrom
Blogsite –April Jackman
Science Subcommittee-Dr. Cynthia Walter
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