Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group Updates
June 12, 2014
* For articles and updates or to just vent, visit us on facebook;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MarcellusWestmorelandCountyPA/
* To view past updates, reports, general
information, permanent documents, and meeting information
http://westmorelandmarcellus.blogspot.com/
* Our email address: westmcg@gmail.com
* 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-
In
Memory Of Terry Greenwood
Many of us know Terry Greenwood as one of the first fractivists in the area. He was there at government hearings to speak truth to power. He spoke of stillborn cattle- a farmer who had not had reproductive problems with his animals until there was a water contamination problem on his farm due to gas drilling.
Many of us know Terry Greenwood as one of the first fractivists in the area. He was there at government hearings to speak truth to power. He spoke of stillborn cattle- a farmer who had not had reproductive problems with his animals until there was a water contamination problem on his farm due to gas drilling.
Terry has died of glioblastoma,
brain cancer, and we are greatly saddened by this loss. Blessings on Terry and
may our heartfelt gratitude for his hard work to protect the environment and all
living things serve to sustain us in this fight. Jan
Terry’s Request by
Cynthia Walter
Wearing
blue jeans, a baseball cap and a crisp, white, Western shirt, Terry waited with
my husband and I for the van ride to visit legislators at the state capital. He
carried a manila envelope with pictures of his small farm. Unknown to us, he
also bore the brain cancer that would take him within the year.
At the
Senator’s office, he sat next to the legislator’s aid and balanced his photos
on thin knees. Terry’s long fingers
pointed out details in the photos as he told his story. He and his wife raised
beef cattle. They all depended on water from wells and springs. For decades the
small herd yielded a few dozen calves to sell each year; stillborn calves were
rare, about 1 every few years. After a gas well was drilled, all water supplies
became dark and foul smelling. That year 10 out of 18 calves were still-born,
later, cows died and a bull became sterile. Terry’s steady voice recounted
years of exchanges with local government officials and drilling company men.
The result was temporary delivery of water buffalos for a few remaining cattle,
but no admission that water was harmed. He buys bottled water for drinking. At
the office visit’s end, Terry’s lanky frame rose from the leather office chair,
he put on his cap and thanked the aid for listening.
All Terry asked was for someone to listen.
We must ask for more.
Doug Shields--We will all morn the loss of our dear friend Terry
and, what this means to his family. He was a good man. I will miss his
friendship and company. All we can do is
to continue to fight the madness in his memory. Briget and I are deeply
saddened.
Briget Shields I have known Terry Greenwood for the past 4
years. He, Dorothy, Ron and Steph H.
were the reason I became so committed to doing everything I could to stop this
toxic industry.
I spent a day with Terry May
17th in Coshocton Ohio. He and Ron came to tell his story. He was too weak so Ron read Terry's story for
him. We had a great day together and I will miss him so very much.
He
lost his water in 2007 and the family has been drinking bottled water since
then. The replacement water was for his cattle. I just found out that he and his wife have
been bathing in their contaminated water.
We need to make sure his story
is never forgotten and continue to tell it when ever we can. He would want that.
Thank you to everyone who
continues to fight this fight. It is a
sad day for all of us.
Gloria Forouzon Terry Greenwood, a farmer in southwestern PA,
passed away today from brain cancer. Terry was one the earliest in our region
to sound the alarm about fracking. It began when some of his calves died after
drinking Frack poisoned water.
Terry did not lease his land for
fracking, but neighboring farmers did.
We will miss his gentle
guidance.
From a Group Member: Terry's
drinking water was confirmed by the Pa DEP to be contaminated from oil and gas
drilling operations. He was provided a temporary water source, but to my
knowledge, despite several years of waiting, was never provided a permanent
replacement source. He was a good man
who fought for all Pennsylvania citizens to have pure water. He will be missed.
Bob Schmetzer: Terry Greenwood, died from Brain Cancer today. He fought for everyone to have clean water.
He told truth to power who has refused to listen. He is listed in the book
" List of Harmed. " I had the
book hand delivered to President Obama, Senator Casey, Senator Toomey, and Rep.
Keith Rothfus , while in Washington DC. Terry's passing should pull all of the
resources together to change the direction this government has taken by
ignoring life threatening facts. Bob
Schmetzer
Debbie Lambert It is with a
heavy heart that I share this news that one of the kindest, gentlest and most
caring persons I have encountered has passed away. Farmer Terry Greenwood
passed last night of brain cancer.
Rest in peace Terry and please
pray for his family.
Carolyn Knapp If Terry were still alive he would still be fighting
and for that reason I will continue to fight as long as my mind and body allow
me to do so! God's Speed Terry- you were one in a million and I will forever be
grateful for your dedication to stop this madness! You fought to the end- thank
you with all my heart and soul! You are the wind beneath my wings!
Denise Garott WE ALL LOST A
GREAT EARTH WARRIOR LAST NIGHT, REST IN PEACE MY FRIEND, TERRY GREENWOOD.
PLEASE PRAY FOR HIS FAMILY.
Celia Janosek Terry fought
hard to show everyone that the drilling industry is not "milk and
honey". Thanks Terry for all you did and our thoughts are with your
family.
*********************************
Obituary
Greenwood, Terry L. 66
Daisytown
On Sunday, June 8, 2014, after
a brave three month battle with cancerous brain tumors, Terry L. ''Crow''
Greenwood, 66, of Daisytown, died in Monongahela Valley Hospital. Born in
McKeesport on Oct. 26, 1947, he was the son of the late Harold and Eleanor
(Kles) Greenwood. Crow was a retired truck driver from Supervalu in Belle
Vernon and also enjoyed farming. He was a member of the Harry Enstrom Chapter
of the Izaak Walton League of America and the St. Dominic's Social Club in
Donora. His interests were many and included riding his motorcycle, going to
auctions, and he was especially interested in protecting our environment. His
motto was, “Water is more important than gas.” He is survived by his wife of 43
years, Kathryn (Yanachik) Greenwood and their children, Terence Greenwood of Daisytown,
Todd (Amy) Greenwood of Charleroi and Tracy Greenwood of Bentleyville; his son,
Jeffrey (Tina) Greenwood of Cincinnati, Ohio; two grandchildren, Cassidy and
Eric Greenwood; two brothers, Dennis (Cindi) Greenwood of RuffsDale and Randy
(Jo) Greenwood of Rostraver Township; two nieces; a dear cousin, Gaylen
Spinnenweber; and his best friend, Barry "Sunday" Nartowicz. In
addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two nephews, Tim Greenwood
and Allan Greenwood. Friends will be received 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and 2 to 4
and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the JAMES C. STUMP FUNERAL HOME INC., 580 Circle
Drive, Belle Vernon/Rostraver Township, 724-929-7934,
http://www.jamesstumpfuneralhome.com, where a blessing service will be held at
11 a.m. Friday with Msgr. Roger Statnik officiating. Interment will follow in
Monongahela Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of
one’s choice.
Stump Funeral Home
580 CIRCLE DRIVE,
Rostraver Township PA 15012-0511
More info on Terry's courageous
fight against fracking:
http://www.friendsoftheharmed.com/terry-greenwood.html
https://vimeo.com/31702628
From an Article About
Terry’s Farm
Protecting Our Waters
by Iris Bloom, November 2011
“Pennsylvania
farmer Terry Greenwood said in an interview last week that the negative impacts
his animals have been experiencing for years due to gas drilling got even
worse: of the thirteen cows remaining on
his farm, not one gave birth to a live calf in 2011.
In an
interview last week, Greenwood said he believes the lack of any calves born
this year on his farm may be due to his bull becoming sterile after being
exposed to gas drilling chemicals. He
said, “I talked to Tara [Meixsell, author
of Collateral Damage: A Chronicle of Lives Devastated by Gas and Oil Development]
and she said bulls went sterile” due to contaminants from heavy gas drilling in
Garfield County, Colorado.
Greenwood,
who lives in Daisytown, PA, spoke appreciatively of his bull, “He was a real
long-legged one, a limousine, a beautiful, laid-back bull,” who had
successfully impregnated the cows for several years. “I didn’t want to [get rid of him], but I had
to… He’d follow you to the gate, he wouldn’t hurt you, he’d follow you to the
barn,” Greenwood said. “I would have had
19 or 20 calves this year if not for the gas drilling; I had to downsize my
herd to 13 after they took my hayfields and pastures. But I should have had at least 13
calves. And I didn’t have one.”
Cows,
deer and other animals are especially attracted to drinking from flowback
spills, leaks and overflows due to the salty taste. Such spills are extraordinarily common in
Pennsylvania, where regulations allow this liquid toxic waste to be stored in
huge open-air fracking pits which overflow easily and are lined only with plastic,
which routinely tears and breaks.
Marcellus Shale gas drillers currently commit an average of eleven known
(discovered and officially documented) environmental violations per day.
Terry
Greenwood blames Dominion Resources Appalachian for the escalating impacts of
gas drilling on his land, animals, and life.
Dominion first began drilling on his land in 2007. Consol Energy bought natural gas properties
from Dominion in March 2010. As
Greenwood puts it, “It was Dominion beating me up then, Consol beating me up
now. That’s who I’m fighting now,
Consol….”
It was early 2008 when Greenwood first
noticed the fracking flowback water “flowing out of the pit into the field,
into the pond the cows drink from.
It was flowing brown and muddy-looking in the snowy field, that’s how I
knew” what was going on, he said.
He called DEP but was shocked at their
response. “They wouldn’t test my water
in that pond because they said, ‘that isn’t for human consumption.’ “
Instead
of being concerned about the toxic waste flowing across his field, he said, the
DEP inspector told him ” ‘they dump it on the fields in West Virginia.’ “
Among the cows which drank water from the
contaminated pond, one died and ten had calves which were born dead and in some
cases deformed.
When
Greenwood travelled all the way to Philadelphia to participate in the
Protecting Our Waters press conference here on September 7th of this year, he
was too shy to speak in public. But his
neighbor, Washington County resident Ron Gulla, did speak out and held up a
photo of one of Greenwood’s dead calves (to see that clip from the press
conference click here on Ron Gulla).
When Greenwood reported the dead and
deformed animals in 2008, Greenwood says the DEP inspector responded, ” ‘That’s
a farmer’s luck, losing cattle.’ “
Dominion
was told to restore his water, but instead Greenwood has been living with a
water buffalo– a large container which has to be re-filled frequently to supply
his cows with water — for four years.
“They haven’t restored my water and when Dominion decided to leave, in
2009, they said, ‘We’re done with you.’
That’s what they do to you, they ignore you,” he said.
Greenwood described a standoff in 2009 when
Dominion told him to sign a release form, threatening to take the water buffalo
away if he did not. Greenwood says he
told them, “You know what you can do with that piece of paper,” and called
Channel 11 News and the newspaper. He
said Dominion then backed down.
Greenwood
reported other troubles along the way. ”When the gas company put the fence up,
and the horse got hurt, got all tangled up, it was because they didn’t put
ribbons on it [the fence]… They hooked their temporary fence into the electric
fence and the horse had skin taken off his legs, it hurt him, it scared him. I had to have the vet come right out… The
horse is ok now but it took a while. The
gas company doesn’t care what they do, they don’t have respect,” Greenwood
concluded.
“Look at
my hayfields, all the parts they ruined,” Greenwood said in an interview on October
19th, 2011. “They took 1 1/2 acres of
good pasture, they took 6 acres of hayfields when they put the well pads and
the roads in…. It hurt me big-time. I
had to downsize my herd from 19, 20 healthy cows to 13 cows…. There’s a lot
more problems than people realize. Since
November 2007, it’s been four years and my son calculated the gas drilling cost
us $50,000 in losses.”
But it’s
not the money Greenwood is most concerned about. He’s worried about more than his “limousine”
of a bull. “There’s been dogs died,
goats died, and people sick. You put the
sick people and the animals together and you have a big problem. There’s
been more stillborn [human] babies around here too.”
Without
a large-scale epidemiological study, it may be hard to confirm or deny
Greenwood’s comment about human stillbirths.
What we do know, however, is that with volatile organic chemicals,
particulate matter and aromatic hydrocarbons pouring into the air (no, aromatic
does not mean they smell good — rather the opposite; in fact, people have been
known to scream in pain and pass out from breathing the air near fracking
wastewater impoundments) and with hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous
chemicals being injected underground, an actual Health Impact Study is called for.
Before
one more permit is issued, that is. The
logical sequence SHOULD be: Ready
(immediate moratorium). Aim (conduct
Health Impact Study along with cumulative impact studies). Fire (issue regulations based on science, if
in fact there is any consensus to proceed with gas drilling at all).
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.
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.
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.
***Rally and Lobby to Protest Fracking of Our State Forests
and Parks, Harrisburg, June 17
Clean
Water Action and Sierra Club are sponsoring a rally and lobby day at 1 pm on
June 17th in Harrisburg to protest Gov. Corbett’s recent decision to allow
further fracking beneath our state forests and parks. Unlike the recent fight in
Allegheny County, State Democratic legislators are united in their opposition
to this move by the Corbett administration. Rides from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg
are being co-ordinated by Clean Water Action – please contact Tom Hoffman at
412.523.2255.
*** Rally June 13,
Washington DC Stop Fracked Gas Exports!
“Join thousands of people to
rally to Stop Fracked Gas Exports – Cove Point and beyond!
Our nation is racing towards the
export of natural gas to get rid of the glut of gas the fracking frenzy is
producing, despite the destruction left in its wake for communities and the
environment and despite the escalating global climate change fed by this fossil
fuel.
Sign
up, find out about buses from your area and get details as they emerge:
http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=82078
Please
share the Stop Fracked Gas Exports Rally on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1412140832399683/
And Tell FERC NO! On Cove Point
Natural Gas Export by June 16!
In the meantime, please take
a moment to send a letter opposing the approval of the Dominion Cove Point
Liquified Natural Gas export facility.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Environmental
Assessment and draft General Conformity Determination in response to the
Dominion Cove Point’s application to export natural gas overseas from its
Maryland facility in Lusby, Maryland.
They basically wave away all the serious problems with the application,
ignore basic facts about the proposal, and try to say the impacts are so minor
that they don’t even need to do a full environmental impact study.
Lots
of letters are needed to FERC during the public comment period that closes June
16, 2014. Please send a letter telling FERC to reject the Cove Point Export
terminal for the sake of public health, the environment, and the future of our
climate. You can submit a letter easily
at this link, sponsored by our colleague organization, CCAN:” http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15740
To
read comments submitted to FERC in February by DRN and seven other Riverkeeper
organizations on the application by Dominion Cove Point to export natural gas
from its LNG terminal: http://bit.ly/1hgKFab
To
learn more about how Liquified Natural Gas exports hurt the environment and
only benefit the gas companies go to: http://bit.ly/1paXuD5
Please
share the Stop Fracked Gas Exports Rally on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1412140832399683/
To
get more info about the Stop Fracked Gas Exports Rally July 13:
http://bit.ly/ScWfqX
*******************************************************************************************
TAKE ACTION !!
***Letters to the editor are important and one of the best ways to share
information with the public. ***
***See Tenaska Petition
at the top of the Updates
***Petition- Help the Children of Mars School District
Below
is a petition that a group of parents in the Mars Area School District are
working very hard to get signatures.
Please take a moment to look at the petition and sign it. It only takes 5 minutes. We are fighting to keep our children,
teachers, and community safe here and across the state of Pennsylvania.
Please share this with your
spouses, friends, family, and any organizations that would support this
cause. We need 100,00 signatures
immediately, as the group plans to take the petition to Harrisburg within a
week.
Your
support is greatly appreciated!
Best
Regards,
Amy
Nassif
***Petition For Full Disclosure of Frack Chemicals
From Ron Slabe
I
created a petition to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which says:
"We, the undersigned, in conjunction with the public
comment period currently underway, call on the EPA to conduct public hearings
in areas where fracking operations are either occurring or have occurred so
that we may voice our concerns over the lack of full disclosure of the fracking chemicals used in hydraulic
fracturing. (Docket number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2011-1019)"
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
Thanks!
Ron Slabe
***Don’t let Gov Corbett Frack More State Parks and Forests
Gov. Corbett just lifted the
moratorium on leasing our state parks and forests for fracking. Our legislators
could stop him--but only if you act now. Send a message to your legislators
today.
Gov. Corbett just lifted a
three-year moratorium on leasing of state forests and parks for gas drilling.
He is hoping we’ll all just
forget about the ways fracking has already devastated Pennsylvania. We’re no
fools. We know more drilling means more blowouts, more spills of toxic fracking
wastewater, and more ruined landscapes.
The governor’s order will allow
drilling under our state parks for the first time. The Legislature is the last
line of defense for our state parks and forests--and that’s why I need you to
act immediately.
Tell
your state representative and state senator to fight Gov. Corbett’s effort to
open more of our state parks and forests for fracking.
Already more than 700,000 acres of our state forests
have been leased for gas drilling. That’s more than 40 percent of our existing
state forestlands.
But the drillers want
more--and sadly, Gov. Corbett is happy to hand it to them.
Tell the Legislature to stop this
wrong-headed idea.
It
just makes sense: Our parks are some of the best natural places in our state.
They should not be sold off for private gain and put at risk.
We
cannot stand back and watch as more of our state is opened to drilling.
Click
here to stand up for our state parks and forests today.
Sincerely,
David
Masur
PennEnvironment
Director
***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
***Link to Shalefield Stories-Personal
stories of those affected by fracking
***PCN TV Court Hearing- Act 13 –The remaining 4 issues (from
Debbie)
The May
14th Commonwealth Court session from Philadelphia aired Tuesday, May 27. Here is the link. It is now posted on the
site but will only be available for about a month so watch it now.
***Video Beaver
Meeting –“Living in a Fracking Sacrifice Zone “
Panel
with Yuri Gorbi, Bill Hughes, Jill Kriesky
***Dr. Jerome Paulson-
Links Between Unconventional Gas Extraction and Human Health Thank you to Bob Donnan for taping and putting this video on you tube
Jerome A. Paulson, MD, FAAP, is a Professor in
the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at The George
Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and a
Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The George Washington University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Dr.
Paulson is the chairperson of the executive committee of the Council on
Environmental Health American Academy of Pediatrics, serves for the Children's
Health Protection Advisory Committee for EPA and on the technical advisory
board for the Blacksmith Institute. Dr. Paulson has served as a special
assistant to the director of CDC's National Center on Environmental Health,
again focusing on children, and in 2000 received a Soros Advocacy Fellowship
for Physicians from the Open Society Institute working with the Children's
Environmental Health Network.
At Children's National
Medical Center, Dr. Paulson serves as the Medical Director for National and
Global Affairs of the Child Health Advocacy Institute.
Dr. Paulson is an expert on
the health effects of hydraulic fracturing and has presented and lectured
frequently on the subject.
***To sign up for Skytruth 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/
Frack News
All articles are excerpted. Please use links for the full
article.
1. Robinson Township Zoning Battle Continues
A proposed overhaul of
zoning and gas drilling rules in Robinson, Washington County, drew support and
opposition during a public hearing Monday.
Board chairman Rodger
Kendall, who is a leaseholder with driller Range Resources, proposed major
changes to the township’s zoning and drilling regulations after he and Vice
Chairman Stephen Duran took office in January.
Mr.
Kendall said the vote will occur after the township receives an opinion from
the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission on the appropriateness of his voting
on drilling issues.
The proposal would alter the
zoning ordinance and map approved in December by Mr. Brositz and former
supervisors Brian Coppola and Terrence Love.
A May letter from the five-member
township planning commission lists
concerns about the proposed zoning amendments, including lack of control over
natural gas development, instances of spot zoning, possible noncompliance with
state law and inconsistencies with the comprehensive plan that “could create
controversy and potential litigation issues.”
The planning commission points to a concern that some gas drilling
applications would be approved as a permitted use rather than a conditional
use.
“With the diverse population of rural and residential, different rules
may need to be applied depending on location and proximity to residential
areas,” the letter says. “The proposed ordinance changes do not allow for
specific ‘conditions’ to be applied in different situations.”
Under the proposal, the township
may approve natural gas well development in two ways.
Township staff may review and OK
gas well development as a permitted use in areas zoned for industry,
agriculture, rural residences and Southern Beltway-related Interchange Business
Development.
Gas wells in commercial, special
conservation, single-family residential and general residential zones must go
through a more rigorous conditional use
process, including public input, review by the planning commission and the
possibility of additional restrictions or safeguards being required by the
supervisors.
Judy
Kramer, a former planning commission member, urged the supervisors to consider
all applications as a conditional use.
“The conditional use format, as opposed to the
permitted use application, affords the local government a great deal of power,” she said. “It also affords
the supervisors and the people of the township ownership of their community.”
Some speakers
said Robinson’s proposed drilling rules resemble the parts of Act 13—the state
drilling law—that the state Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional last year.
“If the zoning
ordinance as currently proposed is passed, it will not pass constitutional
muster … [and] will inevitably result in legal challenges against the
township,” said Michael Oliverio, an attorney representing former supervisor
Mr. Coppola and his wife, Susan.
Robinson had been a plaintiff in
a multi-party challenge of Act 13, but supervisors Mr. Kendall and Mr. Duran
voted to withdraw from the lawsuit soon after taking office.”
2. Westmoreland County Reservoir
It is unbelievable
that Westmoreland County has approved 37 frack wells next to the drinking water
reservoir that serves communities from Delmont to North Huntingdon.
Thank you to Dr Cynthia Walter for being the only voice of reason.
Jan
“By the end of this year,
royalties from Marcellus shale gas drilling could provide 10 percent of the
revenues generated by the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, according
to agency officials.
And while the sale of drinking
water will remain the primary moneymaker for the authority, the publicly owned
utility is aiming to maximize the amount of cash it earns from the deep gas
wells on its properties, officials said.
On Wednesday, authority board
members agreed to hire the LitCon Group, a Pittsburgh auditing firm, to oversee
gas revenues expected to top $6 million this year.
The authority will pay the
auditing firm up to $40,000 to review the drilling operations. Authority
manager Chris Kerr said the audit could find as much as $810,000 in new
revenue.
“I
think it will be money well-spent by the authority,” Kerr said.
The authority has 37 Marcellus shale gas wells on its
Beaver Run Reservoir property in Washington and Bell townships.
The reservoir provides drinking water to more than
half of the nearly 121,000 authority customers in five counties.
In
April, gas wells generated more than $731,000 in royalties to the authority,
the first month of the new fiscal year.
Originally, authority officials
expected gas royalties would generate about $5 million this year, but revised
expectations increased that amount by $1 million.
More wells are tentatively scheduled
to be drilled in October on the authority's 1,600-acre property in Fayette
County.
“It's
a good idea to try to pick up additional revenue,” said authority board
Chairman Randy Roadman.
But Hempfield resident Dr. Cynthia Walter, an ecology professor at St.
Vincent College who has lobbied against drilling near the reservoir, said on
Wednesday the financial windfall the authority receives from the gas wells does
not outweigh potential safety risks to the water supply.
“Ben Roethlisberger can throw a
football from one well to the reservoir. They have increased the risk just
having those wells there,” Walter said. “It's absolutely not worth the risk.”
Authority
officials said gas revenues have stabilized water rates and minimized potential
future rate hikes. Walter said it's still a gamble because gas revenues will
decrease over time.
Kerr said the authority expects
to be flush from the gas revenues for the next 15 to 20 years.
“We
want to take advantage of this opportunity while it exists,” Kerr said.”
Read
more:
http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/6266124-74/authority-gas-drilling#ixzz34TmV2DWM
3. Radiation Levels
in Pipes , Dr Resnikoff
(Notes from the video, Jan)
Solid waste that goes to landfills can be 20%
liquid which can be radioactive. Radium is soluble in water and is present in
the production brine; brine contains up to 15,000 picocuries per liter. The
safe drinking water limit is 15 picocuries per liter. Radium calcifies in the
pipes, in the separator, the feeder lines to the condensate tanks, and a lot of
the above ground apparatus.
The question is- what are we
going to do with these radioactive pipes. After 5 years the pipes clog with
scale and are radioactive. These pipes have to be removed and cleaned and that
releases the radioactive material into the air. Dr Resnikoff has worked on a
large number of personal injury cases where people have inhaled this material.
Workers who clean pipes have
developed cancer due to inhalation of particles, as have residents who live
near the yards where they clean the radioactive material from the pipes.
Radiation levels were measured on
the outside of the pipes:
- 2/3 had radiation greater than NY is proposing
(50 microroentgens per hour)
- 5% had no radioactivity
- The remainder had less than 50 microroentgens
per hour
Inside the pipes, the radiation
levels from radium 226 were calculated to be 1300 picocuries per gram. The EPA
standard is 15 picocuries per gram.
Dr.
Marvin Resnikoff is an international consultant on radioactive waste issues. A
nuclear physicist and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Dr. Resnikoff
has worked on radioactive issues since his first project at West Valley, New
York in 1974. Throughout his career, he has assisted public interest groups and
state and local governments across the US in order to identify and create
solutions for radioactive waste storage and transportation issues. His recent
research focus has been on the risk of transporting and storing radioactive
waste and the health impact of radioactive waste from oil and uranium
production. He has studied NORM issues for the past 20 years and more recently,
NORM in Marcellus shale. Dr. Resnikoff has also co-authored four books on
radioactive issues, including Deadly Defense and Danger Below, regarding
contamination at DOE facilities. In June 2000, he was appointed by DOE
secretary Bill Richardson to a Blue Ribbon Panel on Alternatives to
Incineration.
4. The Real Story Behind Fracking Exports-
Slideshow
5. On The Mariner Pipeline-
Excerpted By a Group member:
“If
you live in Pennsylvania or Delaware, now’s a good time to start writing and
calling your state and local legislators to get them on board to stop this
project, which turns our communities into sacrifice zones for exports to
Norway.
But
please remember. Sunoco applied for public utility on Mar. 21, 2014.
If they receive that classification from the PUC, they'll be able to
install anything they want in residential areas.
And another EXCERPT:
Mariner East will be
transporting ethane and propane exclusively in the liquid state. The operating pressures required to transport
liquid propane and ethane are significantly
higher than the pressures used to transport refined products, like
gasoline and diesel fuel. This is
because gasoline/diesel are liquids at room temperature and atmospheric
pressure, while ethane/propane exist as gases. The only way to keep ethane and
propane in the liquid state is to keep them under high pressure.
Why
does this matter? Sunoco claims to be reusing
existing pipelines that previously carried refined products. This means
that pipe in Mariner East will be seeing 150-200% more pressure than it
has ever seen before. I’m sure that the pipe sections are rated for the increased
operating pressures, but these ratings are given by pipe manufacturers for new
pipe, not pipe that has been sitting in the ground for decades. When you look
at the heavily populated areas that Sunoco is planning to run Mariner
East through, this seems like the recipe for disaster.”
6. How Controlled Is Fracking?
“Terry Engelder, a Penn State University geoscientist, who
has been a longtime booster of shale gas development in the state:
He
said fracking "can't
be controlled" horizontally, sometimes cracking shale and releasing gas as
much as 2,000 feet from the end of the well pipe, even under adjacent,
non-leased property. And, he said, although the
oil and gas are locked into the shale, they are still treated as "fugitive
resources," which means they aren't owned by the surface property owner
until they are extracted.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2014/05/18/Neighbors-sue-driller-Utica-Shale-forced-pooling/stories/201405180097#ixzz349flhlQT
7. Mahoning Twp.
Approves Wells/Compressor Station
But
Trees will Mitigate Noise and Gas Burns Clean.
“NEW CASTLE — Mahoning Township
approved 11 Hilcorp Energy Co. gas and oil drilling wellpads and a compressor
station.
The unanimous approvals — by
Supervisors Vito Yeropoli, Mark Sackin and Gary Pezzuolo — followed a
four-and-a-half-hour session Tuesday attended by about 100 people.
Lou Perrotta, Mahoning Township’s
solicitor, conducted the conditional use hearing and warned those attending
that no audiotaping or videotaping was allowed, threatening to prosecute them
if they did not comply. Twice, he ordered people to stop recording with
electronic devices.
Initially,
Perrotta told several who wanted to speak that according to the zoning
ordinance, they had no official standing in the hearing because they were not
Mahoning Township residents.
But they were allowed to comment after
several pointed out they have children in the Mohawk school district who could
be affected by traffic, pollution and safety concerns from the Leeper wellpad,
which is about a mile from the school complex.
Chris Miller of Hillsville Road
said she fears for her three children’s health “10 years down the road” from
the wells. Margaret Henry of Columbiana Road said, “We have no right to expose
those children to 12 years of crap that is coming out of that well.” She added
the proposed Gebhardt wellpad “is even closer to the Mohawk school district.”
Stephanie Carter said that while
she is not a Mahoning Township resident, she also lives in the Mohawk school
district and is concerned about the proximity of the well to the facility. “At
least put conditions restricting the flaring or drilling while children are at
recess or on the bus,” she said.
Lisa DeSantis of Pennsylvania
Avenue, New Castle, asked whether anyone has addressed methane migration from
old abandoned wells in the school area.
“Those
comments are taken to heart by Hillcorp and me,” replied attorney Michael K.
Vennum, of Burleson in Canonsburg, who represented Hilcorp. He commented that
setbacks and the well’s distance from the school meet state standards. He said
residents with concerns can pursue a grievance process by contacting the DEP’s
Meadville office.
Resident
Mike Angelo of Hillsville Road objected to the Siegel wellpad and compressor
station being built in a rural area near his home.
“I enticed my daughter to move
there and now she is stuck,” he said, adding “Who’s going to want to buy a home
by a well or a compressor station?” If he had known the wellpad and compressor
station were coming, “I’d have moved out of the area ... ” he said, adding “I
never thought our supervisors would have morally let this happen.”
He
added the DEP’s own figures state that seven percent of all new wells leak
“from day one.” He said that some of the chemicals from the wells can cause
cancer and other illnesses and include benzene, toulene, xylene and ethylbenzene.
Angelo’s lawyer, Michael Oliverio of Lynch Weis in
Cranberry Township, called John Trant Jr., a certified community planner, to
testify. Trant said the conservation districts where the wellpads will be
located are not compatible with heavy industrial use and there will be visual,
noise and traffic impacts on nearby residential property.
Oliverio also argued that
deep well drilling is not specifically permitted in the zoning ordinance and
that the township zoning hearing board, not the supervisors, should have
jurisdiction over their zoning request. Oliverio also questioned the legality
of reduced setback waivers on two of the wellpad requests.
Perrotta stated at one point that
the conditional use hearing is similar to a court hearing and “we’re not here
for questions and answers.” However many residents with questions were
eventually allowed to ask them.
Vennum
repeatedly stated that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has given the DEP, not
supervisors, authority over oil and gas development and related questions of
water testing, pollution and air quality. He said supervisors only have
authority over a few zoning issues, such as wall heights.
Ryan Godwin, operations engineer,
said that compression stations are necessary for gas production. He said Hilcorp
already has a compression station in Pulaski Township and in Poland Township,
Ohio. He said the proposed Siegel
compressor station has deliberately been located in a secluded area with
numerous trees that will help “mitigate” noise.
He would not answer Oliverio’s question about what
chemicals will be released into the air as a result of operations and Vennum objected that
this is a Pennsylvania DEP-regulated matter and if there is an issue with the
permit, anyone can contact the DEP and request a hearing.
Godwin would only say, “All our fuel is natural gas, clean burning
fuel.”
Jerry
Blackmon of Elite Compression Services, stated mufflers can be put on
compressor engines if noise is a problem.
The conditional uses were approved for
wellpads at the following locations: Ambrosia Coal and Construction Co., West
Main Street, Hillsville; Carmen Shick, Kendra Shick-Tabak, Kenneth Shick and
Rosie Bartholomew, 206 Baird Road, Edinburg; Scott H. Buckner, 1082 Skyhill
Road, Edinburg; Richard A. and Cyndee D. Patton, Matthews Road, Edinburg;
Walter H. Burkhardt, Jacobsen Road, Edinburg; Edwin H. and Gretchen Yeo III,
McBride Road, Edinburg; W. John Gebhardt, State Route 224, Edinburg; Donald L.
and Christopher J. Leeper, 1701 Mohawk School Road, Edinburg; David Gennaro,
Carbon Micco Road, Edinburg; Paul Siegel, Baird Road, Edinburg; and David
Gennaro, Carbon Micco Road, Edinburg.
http://www.ncnewsonline.com/topstories/x998005337/Mahoning-approves-wells-compressor-station?fb_action_ids=10152228445088087&fb_action_types=og.comments
(Email:
grzebieniak@ncnewsonline.com)
8. First 'Conclusive Link' Between Fracking
& Aquifer Contamination
Scientists say
water samples from Texas man's well show identical chemical signatures from
nearby gas drilling operations
Parker County, Texas homeowner
Steve Lipsky demonstrated for local TV news outlet WFAA how water coming from
his underground well can be ignited.
Independent
scientists who have reviewed a water analysis conducted by state authorities of
a Texas resident's drinking well say the chemical signatures found in the water
may provide "the nation's first conclusive link" between fracking
operations and aquifer contamination.
Though a state
investigation—conducted by the Texas Railroad Commission in response to an
official complaint filed by landowner and Parker County resident Steve
Lipsky—said it found the chemical analysis of the water inconclusive, experts
shown the results say the commission was simply wrong. "And not just by a
little," reports local ABC-affiliate WFAA News who shared the results with
several scientists, "but by a lot."
Lipsky said he has long believed
that nearby hydraulic fracturing by the Range Resources company was to blame
for the increasing amounts of methane and other chemicals in his
drinking water. Since 2010, he says, growing amounts of methane have been
seeping into the groundwater beneath his land - enough of it so that he can literally light the
water coming out of his well on fire.
Range Resources says there is no connection between the methane in
Lipsky's well and their drilling, but scientists shown the results from the
water analysis—specifically one called an isotopic analysis—say the chemical
composition shows they are an exact match to the gas being fracked at two nearby
drilling sites—called Butler and the Teal—within the Barnett Shale deposit.
"The methane and ethane numbers from the Butler and Teal
production are essentially exactly the same as from Lipsky's water well,” said
earth scientist Geoffrey Thyne of Wyoming, who reviewed the data for WFAA.
“It tells me that the gas is the same, and that the gas in Lipsky's water well
was derived from the Barnett formation."
And soil scientist Bryce Payne of
Pennsylvania—who himself conducted testing Lipsky's water in 2013—agreed with
that assessment and told WFAA the gas in Lipsky's water (referred to in the
state's report as "well number 8") is clearly the result of fracking
operations.
"The gas from well number 8
is coming from the Barnett and it's coming nearly straight from the
Barnett," Payne said.
Thyne and Payne separately told WFAA that they believe the test results
could represent the nation's first conclusive link between fracking and aquifer
contamination, even if the state commission has so far refused to acknowledge
the weight of the evidence.
"What
we seem to have here is the first good example that that, in fact, is
happening,” said Thyne.
Watch the entire WFAA report as
it aired for local Texas residents on Thursday night:
9. Representative Jesse White Comments on Range’s Jon Day
Impoundment Leak
From the Observer Reporter article: “State environmental
regulators said a leak at the Jon Day impoundment contaminated groundwater with
chloride as crews removed nearly 12,000 tons of soil from the Marcellus Shale
drilling operation in Amwell Township.
A
monitor at the site found the contamination in the groundwater supply Friday,
nearly two months after a tear in the impoundment’s 30-millimeter thick liner
was discovered, state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman John
Poister said.”
**************From
Jesse:
“This
article from the Observer-Reporter contains one of the most ridiculous and
infuriating quotes I have ever read regarding the contamination of groundwater
at a Range Resources wastewater impoundment. Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella says the company "does not have
concerns and will continue to safely manage this process", as if the
entire article wasn't about Range failing spectacularly to manage the process.
It seems as though any sort of apology or acceptance of responsibility is above
Range, which is wrong on many levels, especially considering the incredibly
close proximity of the impoundment to Trinity South Elementary School.
The issue of contaminated wastewater
impoundments is not going to go away, at least not if I have anything to say
about it. Stay tuned,”
10. Regulating the Natural
Gas Industry in Pennsylvania
John Trallo’s response to the
DEP’s you tube video
“Seriously? Regardless of what this
agencies name implies, the job of the DEP is to issues permits that allow
activity to be conducted that is detrimental to the environment, the
ecological integrity, and ultimately public health and safety.
What
the DEP "regulates" is the rate of damage done to the
environment, not the amount of damage.
The egregious half-truths and
misinformation in this video is over-the-top.
Here's
an example of one of the half-truths:
"We're never going to take that
casing out of there. That casing will always be there"
FACT: What was not mentioned was that
the integrity of that casing will be compromised over time. 7% of well
casings fail immediately - only 50% of the "squeeze
jobs" that industry uses to attempt to repair that casing are successful
- eventually all well casings will fail. The only issue is 'when'.
Misinformation:
"We want people to know that the
DEP has 'world-class' regulations in place."
Apparently,
every state that allows O&G extraction has those same 'world-class'
regulations.... or at least makes that same arbitrary claim.
FACT: The
DEP has made it their policy to "partner with the O&G
industry". It doesn't take much to realize that it is never in the best
interest of one partner to regulate the other. On the contrary, it is in the
best interest of any partnership to watch each others back, and in this
case, run regulatory interference.
Many
of the DEP's revised regulations are practically carbon copies of the
regulations that have been established in other states that have been written,
conceived, and suggested by industry lobbyists. [i.e. The "fox
guarding the hen house" syndrome.]
It
is interesting, and quite telling, albeit no surprising, that the 'comments and
ratings' on this YouTube PR video have been "disabled". Fortunately,
we can still access the video, copy the link, and expose it for misleading
piece of propaganda it is on blogs, social media, email blasts, op-ed
pieces, and in newsletters. We will also publish this link right along
side the 161 "documented cases of contamination" that the DEP was
forced to reveal under the RTK law, the list of violations the industry has
racked-up in the last six years, and the scandalously low "fines"
that the DEP has imposed on the O&G operators.
Then,
there's also that ever spinning "revolving door" between the
O&G industry and the DEP regulators. After all, who better to know how
to skirt the regs then the regulators themselves?
What really
puzzles me is... How do you ******* sleep at night? Aren't you even concerned
about how this is going to affect your children and grandchildren?
I guess it takes a special breed of
self-serving political reptile to be that cold-blooded.
So.... stay tuned. Instant Karma's
gonna get you... “
"When
the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the
people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
John Trallo, Vice Chair
Executive Committee, Shale Justice
Coalition
11.
Residents in Colorado Town File Class-Action Lawsuit
Against State
“Lafayette, CO residents passed a measure
to ban fracking
within city limits in November, yet they’re still fighting for clean air and water.
A
month after elections, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association filed a lawsuit
against the City of Lafayette to overturn the newly passed Community Bill of
Rights. Now, residents are turning the tables back on the association, as
well as the state and Gov. John Hickenlooper in a first-of-its-kind, class-action lawsuit
filed Tuesday in Boulder County District Court.
While
the suit centers on fracking, it seeks to protect the citizens’ right to
self-governance under the Community Bill of Rights. The residents allege that
the Colorado Oil and Gas Act and the industry’s enforcement of it
violate that right to local self-government under the U.S. Constitution.
Residents in Lafayette, CO
are fighting to uphold the fracking ban they approved in November under the
Community Bill of Rights.
“This
class action lawsuit is merely the first of many by people across the United
States whose constitutional rights to govern their own communities are
routinely violated by state governments working in concert with the
corporations that they ostensibly regulate,” said Thomas Linzey, Esq.,
executive director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund,
which helped
craft Lafayette’s Community Bill of Rights.
“The people of Lafayette will not
stand idly by as their rights are negotiated away by oil and gas corporations, their
state government, and their own municipal government.”
The suit comes after Hickenlooper
postponed a special legislative session with energy industry representatives who wanted to get fracking
control back from the residents in Lafayette, Longmont and other towns with local control over fracking. Eleven environmental groups have demanded they be allowed in such a meeting if it ever takes place.
——– http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/10/colorado-lawsuit-fracking-ban/
12. Representative
Jess White-Knowledge is Power
“In 1597, English philosopher Sir
Francis Bacon coined the famous phrase “knowledge is power.” Several incidents
from the past month, which have caught the attention of many in the community,
bring new meaning to the quote from more than 500 years ago.
On May 1, families living near the Carter wastewater impoundment in Mt.
Pleasant Township discovered a large container labeled “radioactive” close to
their homes. A state Department of Environmental Protection inspector told
residents there had been a spill of radioactive water near “weir tanks,” which
were set up next to the impoundment to separate solid particles from the water
and chemical mixture used to hydraulically fracture the gas-containing shale. A
DEP spokesman later denied that any spill had taken place, and the radioactive
material remains in the container at the impoundment site.
Early in the morning of May 14, about 35 residents were evacuated from
their homes when an equipment failure at a Range Resources drilling site in Mt.
Pleasant Township caused a gas leak. The DEP and Range called it a
“precautionary measure.”
On May 27, Range Resources confirmed that Marcellus Shale drilling
sludge with radioactivity content too high for normal landfill disposal was
being stored at two more sites in Smith Township. Range tried to ship the 12
tons of radioactive sludge to a landfill in West Virginia, but they rejected it
as well. A DEP spokesman maintains the radiation, which is more than 26
times greater than background levels, poses a threat to public health. By law,
these containers can remain on site for an entire year before Range Resources
must dispose of the radioactive waste.
On May 28, lightning struck the MarkWest natural gas
processing plant in Chartiers Township, damaging a pipe to a de-ethanizer
chamber where ethane is removed from the natural gas. The resulting gas leak
led to the evacuation of about 100 residents who lived within a two-mile radius of the
plant, an effort that was complicated by flooded roads and power outages from a
thunderstorm.
On May 30, it was reported that an undetected leak at
the John Day impoundment in Amwell Township, operated by Range Resources,
caused much more damage than originally disclosed. Range spokesman Matt
Pitzarella called the situation a “minor impact” on the soil that has not
affected air or water quality, even though crews have been working for nearly
two months to remove more than 10,000 tons of contaminated soil from the site.
These
incidents have one disturbing thing in common: In each instance, residents were
given little information, no information or misinformation about what was going
on.
The radioactive waste situation
only came to light after residents gathered enough information to get the
attention of reporters.
Calling the removal of 10,000
tons of contaminated soil a “minimal impact” is insulting. During the MarkWest
evacuation, people were told they weren’t allowed to know why they were being
evacuated from their homes. Officials claimed the fire at the plant was out,
yet residents reported seeing flames several hours later. Worst of all,
families living near the MarkWest plant had requested to see an evacuation plan
months ago and were denied because of “security concerns.”
Let’s be absolutely clear on
this: The people living near the industrial activity created by natural gas
drilling have the right to know what is happening when something goes wrong,
especially since problems are becoming the rule instead of the exception.
Being told after the fact that
“the safety system did what it was supposed to do” is insulting because it
ignores whatever the underlying problem was. When the smoke detectors in your
house go off, that’s the safety system doing what it was supposed to do, but it
doesn’t explain why your house burned down.
Anyone can spot public relations
talk from a mile away, and that’s what we’ve been inundated with. It’s
unacceptable. A big part of the problem is the state Department of
Environmental Protection, the same DEP that put on a presentation for elected
officials in April about how there are no problems and nothing to worry about
in the shale industry.
I don’t know how two evacuations,
tons of radioactive waste that no one will take and 10,000 tons of contaminated
soil in just one month can be downplayed as the usual “nothing to see here” we
get from Tom Corbett’s DEP.
The
people living near these sites aren’t stupid. They know when they are being
talked-down to, misled or ignored. As a result, many of them are growing
increasingly distrustful and legitimately afraid for their property values and
personal safety.
To
be clear: This is not a “drilling vs. anti-drilling” issue. This is a public
safety issue. I know people who practically have “drill baby drill” tattooed on
their foreheads who are really concerned not only about the growing frequency
of problems, but the total lack of information given to the public about what’s
going on.
Last
time I checked, we don’t live in a totalitarian state. People have the right to
information that could provide them with peace of mind and potentially save
their lives. Considering the frequency of incidents is clearly trending upward,
a basic level of transparency is not too much to ask for. A lack of honest and
timely information fosters rumors, which doesn’t benefit anyone.
People
need to speak up by attending meetings, writing letters and contacting elected
officials. Journalists need to ask tougher questions instead of accepting
carefully worded statements specifically designed to downplay potential
negative press. Public officials at all levels need to work together and demand
greater accountability. Taking a “let someone else handle it” approach simply
won’t work.
Sir
Francis Bacon’s words ring true five centuries later; and if knowledge is
indeed power, it’s easy to see why so many people are feeling powerless.”
http://supportjesse.com/2014/06/05/lack-of-knowledge-making-us-powerless/
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 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
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Please be sure to write Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group
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donation to Lou Pochet or Jan Milburn.
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 Liason-Lou Pochet
Secretary-Ron Nordstrom
Facebook Coordinator-Elizabeth Nordstrom
Science Advisor-Dr. Cynthia Walter
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