Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group Updates April 24, 2014
* For articles and updates or to just vent, visit us on facebook;
* To view past updates, reports, general
information, permanent documents, and meeting information
http://westmorelandmarcellus.blogspot.com/
Our email address: westmcg@gmail.com
*
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* 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, the Pollocks, Marian Szmyd, Bob Donnan, Elizabeth Donahue, and Bob Schmetzer.
Calendar
*** WMCG Group 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.
***Earth Day at St
Vincent- Sunday, April 27, 12-5:00
Earth Day Tables are in the gym area.
***Dr John Stolz "Well Water Quality and Unconventional
Shale Gas Extraction in a Butler Community" - April 26, 1:00
The environmental impacts and microbiology of
unconventional shale gas extraction is a major interest of Dr. Stolz and his
laboratory. Dr. Stolz and his team have been studying the water contamination
in the Connoquenessing Woodlands and Dr. Stolz will speak about their findings.
Free and open to the public.
When: Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 pm
Where: Butler Public Library
218
N. McKean St.
Butler,
PA 16001
John
F. Stolz, Ph.D.
Director,
Center for Environmental Research and Education; Professor, Environmental
Microbiology
Bayer
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
Department
of Biological Sciences; Center for Environmental Research and Education
***Webinar by TEDX –starting April 21 for six weeks
Natural Gas Development, Public
Health, and Protecting the Most Vulnerable Populations
Join Carol Kwiatkowski, TEDX's Executive Director April
21st at 2pm EDT for a webinar hosted by the Center for Environmental Health.
Dr. Kwiatkowski will be speaking about the public health implications of
natural gas development, with an emphasis on air pollution and the hazards it
might hold for vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women.
Recent studies pointing toward the endocrine disrupting effects of chemicals in
natural gas operations will be discussed.
This
webinar is the first in a six-week series
on Fracking, Natural Gas, and Maternal Health. The webinars feature
presentations by experts in the field of environmental health, medicine, and
public health. They will each run 45-60 minutes with 10-15 minutes for Q &
A.
http://endocrinedisruption.org/enews/2014/04/14/natural-gas-development-public-health-and-protecting-the-most-vulnerable-populations/
A little Help Please
Take Action!!
***Tenaska
Plant Seeks to Be Sited in South Huntingdon, Westmoreland County***
Petition !! Please forward to your
lists!
Please
share the attached petition with residents of Westmoreland and all bordering
counties. We ask each of you to help us
by sharing the petition with your email lists and any group with which you are
affiliated. As stated in the petition, Westmoreland County cannot meet air
standards for several criteria. Many areas of
Westmoreland County are already listed as EPA non-attainment areas for ozone
and particulate matter 2.5, so the county does not have the capacity to handle
additional emissions that will contribute to the burden of ozone in the area as
well as health impacts. According to the
American Lung Association, every county in the Pittsburgh region except for
Westmoreland County had fewer bad air days for ozone and daily particle
pollution compared with the previous report. Westmoreland County was the only county to score a failing grade for
particulate matter.
The
Tenaska gas plant will add tons of pollution to already deteriorated air and
dispose of wastewater into the Youghiogheny River. Westmoreland County already has a higher
incidence of disease than other counties in United States. Pollution won’t stop at the South Huntingdon
Township border; it will travel to the surrounding townships and counties.
If you know of church groups or other
organizations that will help with the petition please forward it and ask
for their help.
*********************************************************************************
Sierra Club Sues Texas Commission on Proposed Tenaska Plant
SIERRA CLUB VS
TEXAS COMMISSION On ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY,
I. CASE
OVERVIEW
Sierra Club seeks an order reversing Defendant’s
December 29, 2010, final order in Docket No. 2009-1093-AIR.1 The order
authorizes the construction and operation of a new solid fuel-fired power plant
by approving the application of Tenaska Trailblazer Partners, L.L.C. (Tenaska,
Trailblazer, or Applicant) for state and federal air pollution permits.
This new facility is a large
solid fuel-fired electric generating unit, or power plant, to be constructed in
Nolan County, Texas. The Tenaska facility will generate about 900 megawatts
(MW) of electricity and is authorized to emit over 9,207 tons per year of
criteria air pollutants.2
While under the jurisdiction of the State
Office of Administrative Hearings, the proceedings bore SOAH docket number
582-09-6185. 2 There are several “criteria” pollutants: carbon monoxide, lead,
particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10 micrometers, particulate
matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, nitrogen oxides, ozone,
and sulfur oxides. For each of these air pollutants, National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) have been established by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and are adopted through the Commission’s rules. See e.g 30 TEX.
ADMIN. CODE § 101.21 (“The National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality
Standards as promulgated pursuant to section 109 of the Federal Clean Air Act,
as amended, will be enforced throughout all parts of Texas.”) Criteria
pollutants must be evaluated prior to obtaining a PSD permit.
1.
Filed
11 March 14 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS
.3
The facility will also emit an estimated 6.1 million tons per year of the
greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2).
At the heart of this
lawsuit, Sierra Club alleges the approval of the permit application was made in
violation of:
a. the requirements of the Texas
Administrative Procedures Act (TEX. GOV’T CODE, Chapter 2001) regarding
Defendant’s authority and duties upon adoption of a final order;
b. the requirements for a
preconstruction application and approval by TCEQ, including:
i) Deficient information and legal
bases for the findings related to hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and the
corresponding maximum achievable control technology (MACT) determination.
ii) Deficient information and legal bases
for the findings related to prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)
review and the corresponding best available control technology (BACT)
determination.
iii) Failure to consider and minimize the
impact of greenhouse gas emissions. II. DISCOVERY
1. This case is an appeal of an
administrative agency’s actions, and therefore based on the administrative
record. Designation of a level of discovery is not applicable. If discovery
becomes necessary, it should be controlled by Level 3. TEX. R. CIV. PROC. §
190.4.
*******************************************************************************************
***Letters to the editor are important and one of the
best ways to share
information with the
public. ***
***Forced Pooling Petition
“The PA DEP announced the
first public hearing on forced pooling in PA to be held in less than two weeks. We're pushing on the DEP to
postpone the hearings and address the many problems we have with their current
plans. In the meantime, we're circulating a petition to the legislature calling
on them to strike forced pooling from the books in PA.
Forced pooling refers to the ability to drill under private property
without the owner's permission. It's legal in the Utica Shale in western PA,
but the industry has not made an attempt to take advantage of it until now.
Forced pooling is a clear violation of private property rights and should not
be legal anywhere.
I know I've asked a lot of you.
Unfortunately, we're fighting battles on many fronts and they just keep coming.
But with your help, we've made lots of progress, so I'm asking you to help me
again by signing and sharing this petition.”
Appreciatively,
as always,
Karen”
***Sunoco Eminent
Domain Petition “PA PUC for public utility status, a move that would impact property
owners and municipalities in the path of the Mariner East pipeline. As a public utility, Sunoco would have the
power of eminent domain and would be exempt from local zoning requirements.
A December 2013 PA Supreme Court ruling overruled Act 13’s evisceration of
municipal zoning in gas operations and upheld our local government rights. We petition PA PUC to uphold the
Pennsylvania Constitution and deny public utility status to the for- profit
entity, Sunoco.
That's why I signed a petition to
Robert F. Powelson, Chairman, Public Utilities Commission, John F. Coleman Jr.,
Vice Chairman, Public Utilities Commission, James H. Cawley, Commissioner,
Public Utilities Commission, Gladys M. Brown, Commissioner, Public Utilities
Commission, Pamela A. Witmer, Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission, and
Jan Freeman, Executive Director, Public Utilities Commission, which says:
"We, the undersigned,
petition the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission to uphold the
Pennsylvania Constitution and deny public utility status to the for-profit
entity, Sunoco."
Will
you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
Frack Links
***The Daily Show
Public Herald
Public Herald’s Josh Pribanic and Melissa Troutman with Bradford
County Residents
If
you missed this Daily Show segment based on the reporting of the producers of
Triple Divide, a video will be available on line at the show’s website
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/ or go to www.publicherald.org.
Joshua
Pribanic [@jbpribanic] describes water contamination in Leroy Township,
Bradford Co., PA to Daily Show with Jon Steward correspondent Aasif Mandvi and
crew. Photo by Melissa Troutman elissat22].
***The Fight For Deer Lakes Park
Allegheny County Council Meeting ( 4 hours long)
***Act 13 Forum Video Is Up
The
video is split into 2 parts for a total viewing time of about 2 hours. There is a small amount of blank time (about
a minute) at the beginning of Part 1, but just let it play...
Our
Water, Our Air, Our Communities — And Forced Gas Drilling?
What: Delaware Riverkeeper
Network hosted a forum with the lead litigators and litigants of the landmark
Act 13 case – the case in which the conservative Pennsylvania Supreme Court
declared that the rights of pure water, clean air, and a healthy environment,
across the generations, must be protected by state and local legislators.
The forum included a discussion
of how Act 13 came to be passed, how and why the legal challenge was
formulated, including the interesting alliance between the 7 towns and the
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and the implications for environmental,
municipal, and legislative decision making going forward.
***Concerned about the air quality in
your community due to drilling?—Speaker Available
Southwestern Pennsylvania
Environmental Health Project will provide a professional speaker if you host a
community meeting. “Tyler Rubright is available throughout the next couple of
weeks to come to meetings and present and/or help to facilitate and answer any
questions.”
Contact Jessa Chabeau
***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 have 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/
***US Chamber of
Commerce is Prime Supporter of Fracking
From Journalist Walter Brasch:
DID YOU KNOW . . . The U.S. Chamber, 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. Under new Supreme Court ruling last week,
the cap is off on contributions. The anti-fracking movement doesn’t have the
money to counter such massive financial outlays by lobbyists AND INDIVIDUALS.
But, it does have the spirit and can use social media, rallies, and music to
try to reach the people.
For more information about fracking and its health and
environmental effects, get a copy of FRACKING PENNSYLVANIA, available at
http://www.greeleyandstone.com, amazon.com,
bn.com, or your local bookstore.
***The West Virginia
Host Farms Program
The West Virginia Host Farms
Program is a volunteer-based initiative.
The goal of the program is to provide opportunities for the
environmental community to study the impact of Marcellus shale natural gas
drilling in the state. This includes an invitation to academic researchers,
journalists, environmental scientists, public policy and environmental law
professionals, public health advocates, and other advocacy groups concerned
about drilling impacts.
West Virginia landowners living on or near drilled properties and/or
compressor stations opt to participate in the program by becoming volunteer
“host farms” for researchers and journalists. Through a managed database of participant
landowners throughout the state, the WV Host Farms Program serves as a point of
contact between those in the environmental community seeking suitable locations
for study of Marcellus in WV, and those who are landowners able to provide
them.
Who We Are.....
We
are a grass roots effort of concerned landowners in WV who are willing to
provide access to our private properties on or near drill sites. This enables environmental researchers,
journalists, environmental advocacy groups, and others to come to WV to observe
and study the effects that Marcellus drilling and fracking has on the
environment, water quality, public health, and safety in our rural WV
communities. Those interested in
visiting a WV Host Farm will be able to access the private properties of our
many volunteers who live right at "ground zero," of the Marcellus
shale drilling activity in West Virginia.
We do not charge a fee for this
access. We are all volunteers who opt to
participate as "host farms” in order to increase public awareness as well
as research opportunities. We volunteer
because we are committed to providing unfettered access to the environmental
research community, so that they can more easily evaluate the impacts of shale
gas drilling and fracking.
DEP Activity
DEP Response on Herminie
Compressor Station—Many of you commented on this station
Apr
2 at 1:19 PM
Dear
Commenter,
On March 31, 2014, the Department modified Plan Approval PA-65-00979A to
reflect the removal of the Waukesha L5794LT compressor engine, require
installation of an oxidation catalyst to control the Caterpillar G3516LE
compressor engine, prohibit the simultaneous operation of the Caterpillar
G3516LE and G3512LE compressor engines, and allow the second new Caterpillar
G3612LE engine currently authorized under PA-65-00979A to begin temporary
operation at the Herminie Compressor Station located in Westmoreland County.
This notice is being provided in accordance
with the requirements of 25 Pa. Code §127.51 to all protestants who have
submitted comments.
A
summary of the comments received during the public comment period and the
corresponding Department responses can be found in the attached Comment and
Response Memo which is included in the Plan Approval file. I have also attached a copy of the modified
plan approval. All other documents
relating to the Herminie Compressor Station air quality plan approval are
available for review at Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
Southwest Regional Office, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Instructions for scheduling a file review may
be found under the Regional Resources section of the Department’s website (www.dep.state.pa.us).
Sincerely,
Alan Binder | Air Quality Engineering
Specialist
Department
of Environmental Protection
Southwest
Regional Office
400
Waterfront Drive | Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone:
412.442.4168 | Fax: 412.442.4194
www.depweb.state.pa.us
Frack News
All
articles are excerpted. Please use the links to read the full article
Page 122 of Robinson v. Commonwealth Is Worth Repeating
The court ruled that
governments have trustee obligations.
"Proper exercise of a Trustees discretion is
measured by benefits "bestowed upon all [the Commonwealth's] citizens in
their utilization of natural
resources" rather than " by the balance sheet profits and
appreciation [the Trustee] realizes from its resource operations".
1. Truck Crash
Spills Frack Water and Diesel Into Chartiers
Creek, Washington County
“Two trucks carrying discharged fracking water stopped
at a red light on Route 18 in Canton when a tractor trailer hauling more than
2,500 gallons of diesel fuel slammed into them from behind, said John Poister,
a spokesman for the state DEP. All three trucks overturned.
About 1,300 gallons of
diesel and 400 gallons of fracking water spilled, though most of it was
contained on the roadway and in the storm water system, Poister said. An
unknown amount reached the creek.
Poister said the tankers had been hauling frackwater
from one Range Resources site to another.
Local fire departments and county
hazmat workers are on scene with DEP officials and Weavertown Environmental
Group, which has contained the spill to 1 1⁄2 miles of the creek and started
cleaning, Poister said.
“We don't know the
environmental impact on the creek,” he said. “The diesel fuel, obviously, is a
major concern.”
2. Range Resources Impoundment -500 Tons of Contaminated Soil Leak In Amwell Twp.
by Amanda b Gillooly
“Crews have removed 500 tons of contaminated soil from a Range Resources
centralized impoundment located in Amwell Township, Washington County – the
site where the state DEP said was a “significant leak.”
Although Matt Pitzarella, the Marcellus Shale drilling company’s director of corporate
communications, disputed there was, in fact, a “leak” at the site, DEP’s
spokesman John Poister was clear: Yes, there was a “significant leak” at the
impoundment – one that will require even more soil to be removed.
Poister indicated that a DEP inspector
was on scene Tuesday, and said two crews are working at the John Day impoundment
to remediate the area. One crew is removing soil, he said, while the other is
using plastic to cover the ground in an effort to shield it from rainfall. Rain, Poister said, would “just push the salt
further into the ground."
Poister
said the DEP was not aware of where the soil is being transported, but
confirmed that Range Resources is in the process of having its contents
analyzed.
The DEP, he said, has not yet received a form from Range Resources that
shows what chemicals are in the soil. Such a form is required by the state
before contaminated soil can be dumped into a landfill.
Poister said DEP also did not
know how much soil would potentially need to be removed from the John Day
impoundment. However, a confidential source has said it could be as much as
3,000 tons.
The spokesman said DEP officials
are in the process of drawing up a notice of violation, but could not say when
it would be finalized and sent to Range Resources.
Poister could not provide further details about whether the John Day
impoundment in Amwell Township had been used to store fresh water or waste
water, but said there “is not distinction” and could have been permitted
either way.
He did say, however, that he did
not believe the impoundment was being actively used when the leak was reported
last week.
It was not clear how 500 tons of soil could be
contaminated by a leak if the impoundment was empty.
Centralized impoundments are used to store millions of gallons of water
used during fracking.
Range Resources impoundments in
Washington County have been the subject of both controversy and national
headlines this past year – mostly over questions about what exactly is in the
water stored at the sites.
State Impact reported that company executives testified in a civil
court case that they do not know what chemicals they are using in the fracking
process.
Critics have long maintained that
impoundments, sometimes called frack pits, are not an industry best practice,
and have pushed for safer storage methods, such as closed-loop systems.”
amandabgillooly
3. Robinson
Meeting
“Two hundred eighty one people
signed a petition to try to keep the old zoning ordinance, which provided some
protection against fracking (via conditional use). The two new supervisors (Kendall and Duran -
on the right side of the screen) are planning to pass a new ordinance which
will allow drilling as a permitted use in all districts.
Go to
the 50 minute mark to see Carolyn Vance present the petition and hear her
comments. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MrxxiBrwS_
4. Tempers Flare At
Middlesex Twp Meeting
Supervisor
Sprand says fracking near schools is ok because DEP allows it .
“MIDDLESEX
TWP — Tempers flared on both sides of the controversy regarding the placement
of six Marcellus Shale gas wells near five Mars schools and a residential
development.
More than 150 people poured into
the supervisors meeting, where about 75 percent cheered those who oppose the
Bob and Kim Geyer wells on Denny Road. About 25 percent of those in attendance
cheered those who told supervisors that taxpayers should be permitted to do
what they want with their properties.
Supervisors Chairman Mike Spreng made it clear before the public
comment period that only taxpayers in the township would be allowed to speak.
That rankled the group that opposes the wells due to
safety concerns, because it precluded a presentation by attorney Jordan Yeager.
Yeager is a Philadelphia attorney
who was instrumental in the state Supreme Court’s overturning of the local
zoning portion of Act 13, the state’s gas act. The group that opposes the Geyer
wells brought Yeager to the meeting to convince the supervisors that they have the power to prohibit the
wells because they would be an industrial use in a residential-agricultural
zone.
Those opposing the wells shouted that the attorneys there who planned
to discuss a new phase of the Weatherburn Heights plan should also be
prohibited from speaking if they were not residents of the township.
Yeager himself implored the board to give him five minutes to share his
zoning information, but was denied.
Spreng also made it clear at the
beginning of the meeting that he opposes any changes to the township zoning
ordinance or a zoning overlay around the schools.
The group that brought Yeager to the meeting is trying
to have a 2-mile overlay placed around the schools where unconventional gas
drilling would be prohibited.
Spreng said if the state DEP
experts thought school children could be endangered or sickened by nearby
drilling, they would have prohibited it themselves.
Spreng had to bang the gavel
several times to tame the shouts of “No!” precipitated by his comment.
Resident Jason Yost read the uses
permitted in the township’s residential-agricultural zones after Hnath said he
feels unconventional gas wells are an accessory to farming.
The accessory uses read by Yost
included riding academies, veterinarians, and helipads for private use.
“I think I’m missing something,”
Yost said. “Tell me how you read in that zoning how you put an industrial
facility in these people’s backyards and so close to the schools?”
Supervisors Vice Chairman Don
Marshall said Marcellus Shale gas drilling is not a long-term industrial use.
Three people told the supervisors
they have young children, and they feel safe sending their students to the Mars
schools after having studied unconventional gas drilling.
A
registered nurse in the crowd said wells should be on 100 acres with only a few
homes, not near a school district with 3,200 students and right beside a
residential development like Weatherburn Heights.
The supervisors took no action on
the matter.
Rex Energy submitted the permit
application to the DEP.” Fridayhttp://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20140416/CRAN05/140419960/-1/CRAN#sthash.Xb6gA5U1.dpuf
5. Parr Family Wins Fracking Suit--$2.9 Million For Loss Of Property value, Pain and Suffering
Mental Anguish
“A jury in Dallas, TX awarded $2.925 million to plaintiffs Bob and
Lisa Parr, who sued Barnett shale fracking company Aruba Petroleum Inc. for
intentionally causing a nuisance on the Parr's property which impacted their
health and ruined their drinking water.
The jury returned its 5-1 verdict confirming that Aruba Petroleum
“intentionally created a private nuisance” through its drilling, fracking and
production activities at 21 gas wells near the Parrs' Wise County home over a
three-year period between 2008-2011.
Plaintiffs attorneys claimed the case is “the first fracking verdict in
U.S. history.”
The pollution from natural gas
production near the Parrs' Wise County home was so bad that they were forced to
flee their 40-acre property for months at a time.
The
Parrs were represented by attorneys David Matthews, Brad Gilde and Rich
Capshaw.
“They’re vindicated,” said Mr.
Matthews. “I’m really proud of the family that went through what they went
through and said, ‘I’m not going to take it anymore. It takes guts to say, ‘I’m
going to stand here and protect my family from an invasion of our right to
enjoy our property.’ It’s not easy to go through a lawsuit and have your
personal life uncovered and exposed to the extent this family went through.”
According to Mr. Matthews' blog post, the verdict
included $275,000 for the Parr’s property loss of market value and $2 million
for past physical pain and suffering by Bob and Lisa Parr and their
daughter, $250,000 for future physical
pain and suffering, $400,000 for past mental anguish.
The Parrs' petition to the court
is attached below. The case was Parr v. Aruba Petroleum, Inc., No. 11-1650
(Dallas Co. Ct. at Law, filed Mar. 2011) http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/04/22/breaking-3-million-jury-verdict-texas-fracking-nuisance-case
6. DEP Should Not
Have Been Barred From Explosion Site
April
16, 2014 8:09 PM
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
“On Feb. 11, in Dunkard, Greene
County, something went fatally and spectacularly wrong. A Marcellus Shale gas
well exploded and burned for five days. One worker — Ian McKee, 27, an employee
of Cameron International who was working for the well owner, Chevron Corp. —
was killed.
Now we learn that for two days after the accident, Chevron refused to allow investigators in
an emergency response team from the state Department of Environmental
Protection to come onto the site — this despite the permit for the well
stipulating that the operators should allow “free and unrestricted access” to a
properly identified DEP employee.
That is outrageous. It took the
arrival of DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo, reminding the company of its legal
obligations, before Chevron relented. Until then, DEP had to take air samples
from locations farther away.
Chevron’s excuse, relayed through
a spokesman, was that “Chevron’s first priority was to ensure the safety of all
responders and prevent additional injuries” and therefore access to the site
“during the initial stages of the incident was restricted. ... No one,
including Chevron personnel, was permitted access to the pad on the day of the
incident, until experts ... arrived on the scene and were able to assess the
situation.”
Thanks for the concern, but Chevron
was breaking the law. DEP could have called the state police and forced its way
onto the property, but it decided that a confrontation did not further the goal
of dealing with the crisis. Fair enough, but it does raise the question of who
is ultimately in charge of drilling in this state.
DEP has brought nine citations
against Chevron as a result of the incident — one of them specifically dealing
with the illegal failure to allow DEP staff access. If a similar situation
occurs in the future, state officials should not be so patient.”
Read
more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2014/04/17/DEP-access/stories/201404180001#ixzz2zCkXX3aI
7. Study: Fracking
Causes Ozone Problems
12%
Summer and 21% Winter Increase
“New research suggests that pollution from fracking contributes a much
larger share of Dallas-Fort Worth’s smog problem than state officials have said.
The study, conducted by Mahdi Ahmadi, a graduate student at the University of
North Texas,
Ahmadi
analyzed data from 16 air-quality monitors in the Metroplex going back to 1997,
looking for a connection between oil and gas production and ozone. Seven of the
sites were east of Denton, outside of the Barnett Shale, and nine were located
in the shale area, close to oil and gas activity.
Ahmadi’s twist is that he adjusted for meteorological conditions,
including air temperature, wind speed and sunlight—key ingredients in ozone
formation. Backing natural factors out of the data allowed Ahmadi to better
pinpoint human factors, including the link between fracking and ozone
formation.
He
found that while smog levels have
dropped overall since the late 1990s, ozone
levels in fracking areas have been increasing steadily and rising at a much
higher rate than in areas without oil and gas activity.
“This is a small but important
victory for real science in this process, as opposed to the completely
politicized approach by TCEQ to prevent the imposition of new controls of any
kind,” said Jim Schermbeck, director of North Texas clean-air group Downwinders
at Risk.
Since 2008,
meteorologically-adjusted ozone in the fracking region has increased 12 percent
while in the non-fracking region ozone rose just 4 percent.
The trend during the winter was
“even more striking,” said Dr. Kuruvilla John, the UNT engineering professor
who oversaw the study. During winter months, the fracking region saw a
21-percent increase in ozone, while in the non-fracking area it went up 5
percent.
That’s significant because ozone
season has traditionally been confined to the summer months. Moreover, EPA’s
smog standards have become increasingly stringent over time, as scientists find
more evidence for health problems at lower levels.
Regardless,
Ahmadi’s research directly challenges the message from Gov. Rick Perry and
Texas’ top environmental officials, who routinely dismiss links between smog,
and oil and gas activity. On its website, the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality claims that because the wind “blows emissions from the Barnett Shale
away from the DFW area,” those emissions from fracking are “not expected to
significantly affect ozone in the DFW area.”
http://www.texasobserver.org/studies-links-fracking-smog-pollution-stronger-state-claims/
8. Former Mobil
Exec Says Safe Fracking Is Not Possible
Retired Mobil VP confirms technology is dangerous and
untested
“In a message "straight from the horse's mouth," a former oil
executive urged New York state to pass a ban on fracking, saying, 'it is not
safe.'
"Making
fracking safe is simply not possible, not with the current technology, or with
the inadequate regulations being proposed," Louis Allstadt, former
executive vice president of Mobil Oil, said during a news conference in Albany called by the
anti-fracking group Elected Officials to Protect New York.
Up until his retirement in 2000
Allstadt spent 31 years at Mobil, running its marketing and refining division
in Japan and managing Mobil's worldwide supply, trading and transportation
operations. After retiring to Cooperstown, NY, Allstadt said he began studying
fracking after friends asked him if he thought it would be safe to have gas
wells drilled by nearby Lake Otsego, where Allstadt has a home. Since that
time, he's become a vocal opponent of the shale oil and gas drilling technique.
"Now the industry will tell
you that fracking has been around a long time. While that is true, the
magnitude of the modern technique is very new," Allstadt said, adding that
a fracked well can require 50 to 100 times the water and chemicals compared to
non-fracked wells.
He also noted that methane, up to
30 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is found to be
leaking from fracked wells "at far greater rates than were previously
estimated." https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/23-1
9. The Closer you
Are, The Greater Your Risk
Physicians Scientists and Engineers For
Healthy Energy
Third
Report in Three Days Shows Scale of Fracking Perils
“The fracking industry is having
a bad week.
In the third assessment in as
many days focused on the pollution created by the booming industry, a group of
researchers said that the controversial oil and gas drilling practice known as fracking likely produces public health risks
and "elevated levels of toxic compounds in the environment" in nearly
all stages of the process.
The latest research, conducted by the Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy, compiled
"the first systematic literature review" of peer-reviewed studies
on the effects of fracking on public health and found the majority of research
points to dangerous risks to public health, with many opportunities for toxic
exposure
“It’s clear that the closer you are [to a fracking site], the more
elevated your risk,” said lead author Seth Shonkoff, from the University of
California-Berkeley. “We can conclude that this process has not been shown to be
safe.”
According to the "near
exhaustive review" of fracking research, environmental pollution is found
"in a number of places and through multiple processes in the lifecycle of
shale gas development," the report states. "These sources include the
shale gas production and processing activities (i.e., drilling, hydraulic
fracturing, hydrocarbon processing and production, wastewater disposal phases
of development); the transmission and distribution of the gas to market (i.e.,
in transmission lines and distribution pipes); and the transportation of water,
sand, chemicals, and wastewater before, during, and after hydraulic
fracturing."
Citing the recent research, the
report continues:
Shale gas development uses
organic and inorganic chemicals known to be health damaging in fracturing
fluids
(Aminto and Olson 2012; US HOR 2011). These
fluids can move through the environment and come into contact with humans in a
number of ways, including surface leaks, spills, releases from holding tanks,
poor well construction, leaks and accidents during transportation of fluids,
flowback and produced water to and from the well pad, and in the form of
run-off during blowouts, storms, and flooding events (Rozell and Reaven
2012). Further, the mixing of these
compounds under conditions of high pressure, and often, high heat, may
synergistically create additional, potentially toxic compounds (Kortenkamp
et al. 2007; Teuschler and Hertzberg 1995; Wilkinson 2000). Compounds found in these mixtures may pose
risks to the environment and to public health through numerous environmental
pathways, including water, air, and soil (Leenheer et al. 1982). [...]
At
certain concentrations or doses, more than 75% of the chemicals identified are
known to negatively impact the skin, eyes, and other sensory organs, the
respiratory system, the gastrointestinal system, and the liver; 52% have the
potential to negatively affect the nervous system; and 37% of the chemicals are
candidate endocrine disrupting chemicals.
The
group also warns that while numerous studies have proven the alarming and
destructive nature of fracking, there is still not nearly enough research on
the issue, particularly on the long-term effects of fracking on public health,
such as future cancer rates.
"Most importantly," say the authors, "there is a need for more
epidemiological studies to assess associations between risk factors, such as
air and water pollution and health outcomes among populations living in close
proximity to shale gas operations."
The review follows on the heels
of two other reviews on the dangers of fracking released earlier this week.
The first report, a scientific
study released Monday, found that
methane emissions from fracking could be up to 1000 times greater than what the
EPA has estimated. Methane is up to 30 times more potent than carbon
dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
The second report, a review conducted by Bloomberg News on
Wednesday, detailed how industrial waste from fracking sites is leaving a
"legacy of radioactivity" and other toxic problems across the country
and spawning a "surge" in illegal dumping at hundreds of sites in the
U.S. “
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/17-3
Published
on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 by Common Dreams
Here's What Fracking Can Do to Your
Health
By Physicians Scientists
& Engineers for Healthy Energy,
A
new study examines the potential hazards of natural gas extraction.
Gas extraction produces a range
of potentially health-endangering pollutants at nearly every stage of the
process, according to a new paper by the
California nonprofit Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy,
released today in Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal
published by the National Institutes of Health.
The study compiled existing,
peer-reviewed literature on the health risks of shale gas drilling and found
that leaks, poor wastewater management, and air emissions have released harmful
chemicals into the air and water around fracking sites nationwide.
"It's clear that the closer you are, the more elevated your risk,"
said lead author Seth Shonkoff, a visiting public health scholar at the
University of California-Berkeley. "We can conclude that this process has
not been shown to be safe."
Shonkoff cautioned that existing
research has focused on cataloging risks, rather than linking specific
instances of disease to particular drilling operations—primarily because the
fracking boom is so new that long-term studies of, say, cancer rates, simply
haven't been done. Still, how exactly could gas drilling make you ill? Let us
count the ways:
Air pollution near wells: Near gas wells, studies have found both
carcinogenic and other hazardous air pollutants in concentrations above EPA
guidelines, with the pollution at its
worst within a half-mile radius of the well. In one Colorado study, some of
the airborne pollutants were endocrine disrupters, which screw with fetal and
early childhood development.
Several studies also found precursors to ground-level ozone, which
can cause respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Silica sand, which is used to prop open underground cracks and
which can cause pulmonary disease and lung cancer, was also found in the air
around well sites; one study of 111 well samples found silica concentrations in
excess of OSHA guidelines at 51.4 percent of them.
Recycled frack water: About a third of the water/chemical/sand
mixture that gets pumped into wells flows back up, bringing back not just the
toxic fracking chemicals but other goodies from deep underground, including
heavy metals like lead and arsenic. Some of this wastewater is treated and
recycled for irrigation and agriculture or dumped back into lakes and rivers. Multiple studies found that because the
menu of chemicals is so diverse, treatment is often incomplete and has the
potential to pollute drinking water supplies with chemicals linked to
everything from eye irritation to nervous system damage to cancer, as well as
the potential to poison fish. Even if wastewater is contained, spills can be a
problem: One Colorado study counted 77 fracking wastewater spills that impacted
groundwater supplies, of which 90 percent were contaminated with unsafe levels
of benzene.
Broken wells: Drinking water
supplies can also be contaminated when the
cement casings around wells crack and leak, which studies estimate to
happen in anywhere from 2 to 50 percent of all wells (including oil wells,
offshore rigs, etc.). Methane getting into drinking water wells from leaky gas
wells is the prime suspect in Pennsylvania's flammable faucets; a study there
last year found some methane in 82 percent of water wells sampled but concluded
that concentrations were six times higher for water wells within one kilometer
of a fracking well. A Texas study found elevated levels of arsenic at water
wells within three kilometers of gas wells. (While the Texas study linked the
contamination to gas extraction in general, it was unclear what specific part
of the process was responsible).
10. Fracking Boom Is Creating Illegal Toxic Dumping
“Industrial waste from fracking sites is leaving a
"legacy of radioactivity" across the country as the drilling boom
churns out more and more toxic byproducts with
little to no oversight of the disposal process, critics warn.
According to a new report in Bloomberg,
fracking is "spinning off thousands
of tons of low-level radioactive trash," which has spawned a
"surge" in illegal dumping at hundreds of sites in the U.S.
"We have many more wells,
producing at an accelerating rate, and for each of them there’s a higher volume
of waste,” Avner Vengosh, a professor of geochemistry at Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, told Bloomberg. Without proper handling, “we are
actually building up a legacy of radioactivity in hundreds of points where
people have had leaks or spills around the country.”
Bloomberg reports:
Some states allow the contaminated material to be buried at the drill
site. Some is hauled away, with varying requirements for tracking the waste.
Some ends up in roadside ditches, garbage dumpsters or is taken to landfills in
violation of local rules, said Scott Radig, director of the North Dakota Health
Department’s Division of Waste Management.
Fracking for oil and gas is particularly radioactive because of shale
rock, "the dense formations found to hold immense reserves of gas and
oil," Bloomberg reports. "Shale often contains higher levels of
radium—a chemical element used in industrial X-ray diagnostics and cancer
treatments—than traditional oil fields."
Those radioactive elements often
mix with wastewater and a list of undisclosed chemicals used in the process. Past reports have shown that water
treatment does little to clean this toxic water. In one recent case, wastewater
from a hydraulic fracturing site in Pennsylvania, which is treated and released
into local streams, was found to have elevated levels of radioactivity in the
public water supply.
When radioactive fracking waste
is not dumped illegally or buried on site, it is brought with other waste to
landfills, but the skyrocketing amounts of fracking waste are pushing those
sites to their limits.
"West Virginia landfills accepted 721,000 tons of drilling debris
in 2013, a figure that doesn’t include loads rejected because they topped
radiation limits," reports Bloomberg. And in Pennsylvania the industry
sent 1.3 million tons to landfills last year, including 16,000 tons of
radioactive material.
While some states such as North
Dakota scramble to deal with the growing problem, the list of reasons to halt
the fracking industry altogether may become more enticing.
A report released on Monday found
fracking sites are emitting up to 1000 times the amount of methane than federal
regulators previously reported.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that
is up to 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
11. Gas Explosion
Causes Evacuation of Wyoming Town
“Residents and emergency crews
were waiting for a fire to burn itself out after an explosion at a natural gas
processing plant in Opal, Wyoming.
No injuries were reported. All of Opal was evacuated. It wasn't clear when residents would be allowed to go
home.
"They were downwind from the
plant," Lincoln County Sheriff Shane Johnson said. "The fire was still
very active, and because of the nature of the processing that goes on there,
that was the call that was made for safety reasons."
The explosion occurred in a cryogenic processing
tower, which chills unrefined natural gas to remove impurities.
The
Opal plant removes carbon dioxide and other impurities from natural gas that
comes from gas fields in the region. It can gather up to 1.5 billion cubic feet
of gas a day, and it sends the refined product into pipelines that go to urban
centers to the east, west and south.
Williams said in a statement it
has suspended collecting gas from surrounding areas and is looking for ways to
resume production.
Renny MacKay, spokesman for Gov.
Matt Mead, said investigators would look into the cause of the explosion once
the site was secured.”
http://www.wset.com/story/25326836/wyoming-gas-explosion-prompts-evacuation-of-town
12. Heinz Endowment
Has New President After Fracking Fallout
Former
Endowment President Now VP of Rice Energy
The Heinz family is rebooting its foundation's
leadership following a mess under the previous president. After weathering a controversy over fracking in which the philanthropy
appeared too cozy with the oil and gas industry, the Heinz Endowments have
appointed longtime associate and former staffer Grant Oliphant as the new
president.
Oliphant
is returning to the endowments in the aftermath of a rough patch that ended
with key Heinz leaders either being ousted or resigning, including
then-President Robert Vagt, who stepped down.
The trouble began with the launch of the Center for Sustainable Shale
Development, of which Heinz was a founding partner, which supports voluntary
best practices for the shale gas drilling industry that's exploded across the
region. Other partners in the center are Shell and Chevron. Members of the
environmental community slammed the center and the foundation, which has backed
clean water and other environmental efforts.
The fray was worsened by the fact
that Vagt holds a ton of stock in and sits on the board of gas pipeline company
Kinder Morgan.
A management shakeup followed,
which many speculated was engineered by board member and environmentalist Andre
Heinz, the son of board chair Teresa Heinz Kerry. Mrs. Kerry said the board had
never authorized the creation of the Center for Sustainable Shale Development,
and more recently said it was the result of “misunderstandings.”
As for Robert
Vagt, don’t worry he’s going to be fine. He’s the new chairman of oil and gas
company Rice Energy. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2014/4/16/clean-up-guy-heinz-turns-to-old-friend-after-fracking-fallou.html
13. EPA Focuses on
Fracking and Methane
You
can link to the charts:
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday released five technical papers as the first
step to enacting President Barack Obama’s recent plan to reduce methane emissions.
The five
white papers address different emissions sources and mitigation
techniques regarding methane and volatile organic compounds. The sources of
focus are fracking, leaks, compressors, liquid removal and pneumatic
devices.
14. How Fracking Destroys the
American Dream
Excellent Piece on Property Value,
Mortgages, Insurance
“The following examples begin to piece together
the ways in which the threats posed by drilling
and the deep pockets of the oil and gas industry quite literally hit home.
Taken together, they are a call for decision-makers to start quantifying data
and asking tough questions about drilling vs. the American Dream.
In a 2013 survey of 550 people conducted by business researchers at the
University of Denver, a strong majority said they would decline to buy a home near drilling site. The study, published in the Journal
of Real Estate Literature, also showed that people bidding on homes near
fracking locations reduced their offers by up to 25 percent.
◦
Realtors
in Colorado are taking note as clients become increasingly hesitant about
buying homes near drilling sites, with fewer and fewer bids rolling in. “Some
don’t want to even look at
anything remotely close to any existing or proposed well sites,”
Boulder County real estate agent Nanner Fisher told the Colorado Independent.
She also told Boulder iJournal that “if there is a well that’s
visible when you show a property, [the prospective
buyer] will ask to look for something else. A lot of it is
the visual effect of the well site,” she said. “And, they think if you can see
it, it’s gotta be close enough that it’s not healthy.”
◦
An
economic analysis by the Headwaters Institute undermines the idea that oil and
gas developments fatten the bank accounts of communities and leave them better
off than before drilling started. While there may be short-term windfalls, the
study of six western states found that over the long-term “oil and gas
specialization is observed to have
negative effects on change in per capita income,
crime rate and education rate.”
◦
Denver Realtor Adam Cox wrote in a column
in the Colorado Statesman that “potential buyers balk at buying homes near a drilling site, even though that’s often where the
discounted homes are” because they are so close to oil and gas activity.
Similarly, he said, homeowners near drilling sites “often have to sell at
significantly lower prices than when originally purchased due to the oil and
gas industry neighbors.”
◦
The fumes, lights and deafening noise that
came after a neighbor leased adjacent land for fracking became unbearable and
forced to move from their Cleveland suburban home. In an interview with
Reuters, she said they were able
to sell their house for $225,000, only half its appraised
value.
◦
In
the Catskills, fracking fears have already impacted the real
estate market even though the state has yet to make a
determination on whether to allow drilling. The prospect that the state will
open the region to drilling, as the New York Times reported,
“has spooked potential buyers” in upstate New York. The Times story
also quoted a realtor who shut down her business In Wayne County, PA. Agents there, the woman said, are having trouble
selling rural properties “because people don’t want to be anywhere near the
drilling.”
◦
A study
conducted by researchers at Duke
University found that the risks and potential liabilities of drilling
outweigh economic benefits like lease payments and potential economic
development in Washington County, PA. Even though lease payments can add
overall value to homes with wells drilled on them, the possibility of
contaminated water decreases property value by an average of 24 percent.
The boost that comes from signing a lease offsets the increases, leaving a net
decrease in value of 13 percent.
◦
A 2010 study
of the Texas real estate market in the heavily drilled suburban-Dallas
area near Flower Mound concluded that homes
valued at more than $250,000 and within 1,000 feet of a drilling pad or well
site saw values decrease by 3 to 14 percent.
◦
Faced
with a boom in coal-bed methane development in the early 2000s, officials in La Plata County, CO studied the impacts of
oil and gas development and
found that properties with a well drilled on them saw their value decrease by
22 percent.
◦
In
a 2005 peer-reviewed study, researchers found that oil and gas production “significantly affect the sale price for
rural properties.” The study determined that the presence of oil and gas
facilities within 2.5 miles of rural residential properties in Alberta,
Canada
reduced property values between 4 percent and 8 percent, with the potential for
doubling the decrease, depending on the level of industrial activity.
◦
In
Pavilion, WY, where the EPA has linked groundwater contamination with fracking, Louis Meeks saw
the value of his 40-acre
alfalfa farm all but disappear completely. In 2006, his land and home were appraised at $239,000. Two years
later, as ProPublica reported, “a local realtor sent Meeks a coldly worded
letter saying his place was essentially worthless and she could not list his
property. ‘Since the problem was well documented … and
since no generally-accepted reason for the blowout has been agreed upon,’ she
wrote, ‘buyers may feel reluctant to purchase a property with this stigma.’ ”
◦
Similar
nightmares have befallen residents of Dimock, PA, where
fracking problems decimated home values, and the drilling
company responsible, Cabot Resources, was ordered to pay impacted families
settlements worth twice their property values, a total of more than $4 million.
◦
In
North Texas, the Wise County Central Appraisal District Appraisal Review
Board knocked down the appraised value of one family’s home and 10-acre ranchette from $257,000
to $75,000—a decrease of more than 70 percent. The board agreed to the
extraordinary reduction as a result of numerous environmental problems related
to fracking—just one year after the first drilling rig when up on the property.
Property
Rights
◦
Unbeknownst
to many suburban homeowners, homebuilders are starting to quietly retain
mineral rights beneath the subdivisions they build in suburban areas. DR Horton
has been perhaps the most notable construction company to employ this new
tactic. In 2012, after an investigation by the North Carolina Attorney
General’s Office and the state’s Real Estate Commission, officials pressured
the Texas-based homebuilder to return mineral
rights it had retained from beneath about 850 homes.
Residents who live in a Florida subdivision built by Horton were equally
surprised when they found out that the company also held the rights to
prospect for whatever minerals
lie beneath 2,500 of their homes near Tampa.
◦
As
documented by Reuters, homeowners in subdivisions in Colorado, Florida, North
Carolina, Louisiana and other states have all purchased homes
without disclosure about severed mineral rights only to
see drilling rigs spring up next door too late for them to do anything about
it. “This is a huge case of buyer beware,” University of Colorado-Denver Law
Professor Lloyd Burton told reporters. “People who move into suburban areas are
really clueless about this, and the states don’t exactly go out of their way to
let people know.”
◦
Senate
and House committees in the Colorado Legislature have passed a measure that,
much like disclosures for lead paint, would require sellers to notify prospective homebuyers
about separated mineral rights and whether a property may be subject to
oil, gas or mineral development. Senate Bill 14-009 is awaiting approval by both chambers to
be forwarded to the governor.
◦
In
at least 39 states, there are laws that compel
“holdout landowners” to join gas-leasing agreements with
their neighbors, allowing oil and gas companies to drill horizontally to tap
into oil and gas reserves that cross property lines—whether the owner of a
property wants to allow the drilling or not. Called “mandatory pooling” or
“compulsory integration,” these laws basically create eminent domain by private
enterprise.
◦
Pooling
gives the owner an interest in the well, including royalty payments, but as in
Colorado, where forced pooling orders were issued by the state’s Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission 48 times in 2010, the law also makes the unwilling owner “liable
for the further costs of the operation, as if he had participated in the
initial drilling operation.”
◦
The
intent of forced pooling is to create more orderliness in drilling underground
oil and gas reserves, which rarely adhere to the patchwork of surface
ownership. Forcing holdout landowners into leasing agreements is supposed to
lead to fewer wells drilled and more efficiency in the ones that are. But it’s
also frequently used as a threat by landmen looking to cash in
on leases.
◦
Mortgages and Fracking
Recognizing
the numerous ways that drilling and fracking could damage value, the mortgage
industry is starting to refuse to take on the financial liabilities and is
tightening policies that prohibit lending on properties with wells on them or
that are subject to leasing.
◦
Following the debacle in North Carolina
over severed mineral rights (see above) the State Employees’ Credit Union in
North Carolina officially has decided it will no longer approve mortgage
financing for properties where the drilling rights have been sold off to
someone else. The credit union, which manages almost $12 billion in residential
mortgages, said it considers loans on such land to be riskier than those where
the mineral rights remain with the land.
◦
According
to American Banker, at least three mortgage lending
institutions—Tompkins Financial in Ithaca, NY, Spain’s Santander Bank and State
Employees’ Credit Union in Raleigh, NC—are now refusing to make
mortgages on land where oil or gas rights have been sold
to an energy company. The publication quoted the president and CEO of the North
Carolina credit union saying that if a landowner allows a drilling rig to go up
on his or her their land, “We’d have to tell their neighbors, “We’re sorry,
your property value just went down.’ ” (Also quoted in the Motley Fool.)
◦
Language
in Freddie Mac’s standard mortgage contracts prohibit a “borrower from taking
any action that could cause the deterioration, damage or decrease in value of
the subject property,” and if the prohibition is broken by say, a landowner
signing a drilling lease or entering into a mineral-rights agreement, Freddie
Mac has the legal authority to exercise a call on a
mortgage’s full amount if a borrower, according to an
agency spokesman.
◦
According
to a white paper
prepared for the New York State Bar Association, Wells Fargo, one of the
largest home mortgage lender in the U.S. is approaching home loans for
properties that have gas drilling leases attached to them with a high degree of
caution.
◦
In addition to Wells Fargo, Provident
Funding, GMAC, FNCB, Fidelity and First Liberty, First Place Bank, Solvay Bank,
Tompkins Trust Co., CFCU Community Credit Union are either putting hard-to-meet
conditions on mortgages or denying loans altogether on properties with oil and
gas leases. (Excellent summary
of oil and gas issues related to mortgage lending from a brokerage vice
president is available online.)
◦
The
backgrounder prepared by the
NYSBA about gas leasing impacts on homeowners
also includes a section on residential mortgages and says the combination of
home-ownership and drilling, “creates a perfect storm begging for immediate
attention.” Risks include:
– Homeowners being confronted with uninsurable
property damage for activities they cannot control.
– Banks refusing to provide
mortgage loans on homes with gas leases because they don’t meet secondary
mortgage market guidelines.
– Impediments to new construction starts, long a
bellwether of economic recovery, since construction loans depend on risk-free
property and a purchaser.
– The possibility of a property owner defaulting on a
mortgage by signing a gas lease.
– Prohibitively expensive appraisals and title
searches that are complicated by assessing the value of risks and the arcane
paper trail of mineral rights and attached liabilities.
◦
A
Pennsylvania couple was recently denied a
new mortgage on their farm by Quicken Loans because of a
drilling site across the street. According to the lender, “gas wells and other
structures in nearby lots…can significantly degrade a property’s value” and do
not meet underwriting guidelines. Two other lenders also denied the family
mortgages.
◦
Federal
lending and mortgage institutions (FHA, Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac) all have prohibitions against lending on properties where drilling
is taking place or where hazardous materials are stored. A drilling lease on a
property financed through one of these agencies would result in a ”technical
default.” FHA’s guidelines also don’t allow it to finance mortgages where homes
are within 300 feet of an active or planned drilling site. Also see http://bit.ly/1dIen28.
Insurance Coverage
Homeowners who think damage to
property incurred by drilling accidents is covered by insurance need to think
again. Such damages are typically not covered.
◦
Last July, Nationwide Insurance
spelled out specifically that it would not provide coverage for
damage related to fracking. According to an internal memo outlining the
company’s policy, “After months of research and discussion, we have determined
that the exposures presented by hydraulic fracturing are too great to ignore.
Risks involved with hydraulic fracturing are now prohibited for General
Liability, Commercial Auto, Motor Truck Cargo, Auto Physical Damage and Public
Auto (insurance) coverage.”
◦
Often,
a driller or well
operator’s insurance won’t cover damages, according to the
NYSBA summary. Homeowners may have to sue for damages and, even if they win,
may not get paid for all damages since drillers admit in their regulatory
filings that they may not carry enough insurance.
Other
online resources:
◦
The New York Times has compiled hundreds of
pages of documents related to drilling and property
rights and values that include federal guidelines, emails from realtors and
mortgage brokers, memos from bankers etc.
◦
Reuters investigated
the mushrooming issue of split estates and the conflicts
between mineral rights and property rights, finding numerous instances across
the country of homebuilders and developers holding on to ownership of oil and
gas deposits while selling off subdivision lots, while providing little to no
information about the issue to buyers.
◦
And in-depth look by the Colorado Independent at
ways the fracking boom is coming into conflict with homeowners.”
Visit EcoWatch’s FRACKING page for mo http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/20/udated-fracking-vs-american-dream-resource-guide/
Donations
We are very appreciative of
donations, both large and small, 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
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can give the check or cash to Lou Pochet or Jan Milburn.
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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
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Nordstrom
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