westmcg@gmail.com
* 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-
To read former Updates please
visit our blogspot listed above.
WMCG Thank Yous
Contributors To Our Updates
Thank you to contributors to our Updates:
Debbie Borowiec, Lou Pochet, Ron Gulla, the Pollocks, Marian Szmyd, Bob Donnan,
Elizabeth Donahue, and Bob Schmetzer.
Latrobe
Farm Market, Computer Training, Merton Society
Thank you to Mike Atherton and Cynthia
Walter, Dorothy Pochet and Jan Milburn for working our TDS testing table at
Latrobe Farm Market.
To Carol Cutler for a lovely job on
creating the flyer, Mike Atherton for publicity, and Jan and Jack Milburn for
posting flyers around the Latrobe area.
Thank you to Jim Rosenberg for computer
training on understanding DEP search sites and permitting.
Thank you to Lou and Dorothy Pochet for
representing our group at the Thomas Merton meeting.
Thank
You --Recent Donations
Thank you to April Jackman, the Shelton family, and
Marc Levine for their generous donations that support our work to protect the
health and environment of local communities.
A
little Help Please --Take Action!!
Yough River Comments Needed Now-Due
August 27
Tenaska Plant Seeks to Be Sited in South
Huntingdon, Westmoreland County***
We found out that comments on water are separate from
air comments. They are handled by two separate DEP offices. The Mountain
Watershed has created a sample letter on water that you can copy and send
in. So please, if you have already
signed the air petition, email or send in water comments. jan
From
Mountain Watershed:
Tenaska
is seeking to construct a gas-fired power plant in Westmoreland County that
will discharge toxins directly into the Youghiogheny River, and that will use 5
million gallons of water per day from the Yough. Comments on their NPDES permit are due on
Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Your action is needed!
Sample Letter:
Elizabeth Farley
Clean Water Program, PA DEP
400 Waterfront Drive,
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
elfarley@pa.gov
Subject: Water Pollution
Discharge (NPDES) Permit # PA0254771
For more information on this
proposal or its potential impact please contact Nick.
Ms. Farley,
I am concerned about the environmental impacts from
Tenaska’s proposed gas-fired plant on the Youghiogheny River. Each year the
plant will release thousands of tons of harmful air pollutants. I am also
concerned about the impacts this plant will have on water quality. Tenaska
Energy plans to withdraw 5 million gallons of water per day from the
Youghiogheny River. They also plan to discharge 2.5 million gallons of
wastewater per day from the power plant into the Youghiogheny River, a major
source of drinking water and recreational activities. Listed below are some of
my specific concerns
A plain language summary of this proposal and its
impact should be provided.
The published DEP permit
announcement listed important pollutants such as chromium, zinc, oil, and
grease, but the numbers set forth are confusing and preclude many citizens from
making an informed comment.
The high value of receiving streams warrants open
public discourse on the permit.
The designated uses of the
watershed were stated by the DEP as “drinking water” and “recreation,” uses
with high economic and social impacts.
Combined impacts of adding
Tenaska pollutants must be analyzed and presented for public comment.
The receiving streams still receive many other
pollutants. I am concerned about overburdening the already impacted
streams. Also, these pollutants
accumulate over time, which calls into question the long term negative
influence this plant will have.
A site specific study is needed.
The receiving streams are beginning to regain aquatic
life as a result of positive stewardship efforts by the community. The DEP is not likely to know the extent of
newly arrived fish and other important organisms.
Constitutional rights must be protected.
Actions of the Department must comply with Article I,
Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which restricts the Department
from issuing permits that allow “degradation, diminution, or depletion of our
public natural resources.” Robinson
Twp., Washington Cnty. V. Com., 83 A.3d 901, 957 (Pa. 2013). As a trustee of our natural resources, the
Department must (among other obligations) consider and account for, prior to
acting, how its action will impact the right of present and future
Pennsylvanians to enjoy public trust resources. Without further study and public
participation, the DEP will not be giving adequate consideration to my
constitutional rights.
Please hold a hearing to allow for increased public
input and the opportunity to express our opinions and concerns about the
Tenaska gas -fired power plant. There
are serious issues with the permit that need to be addressed before any
decision should be made on this matter.
Regards,
YOUR SIGNATURE
And Tenaska Air
Petitions—Please sign if you have not done so:
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.
Some people have had problems
with the link. Here is the Mt Watershed
link
If you know of
church groups or other organizations that will help with the petition please
forward it and ask for their help.
*********************************************************************************
Calendar
*** WMCG Group Meeting We meet the second Tuesday of every month at 7:30 PM
in Greensburg. Next meeting is August
19. Email Jan for directions. All are very welcome to attend.
***Boston Art Show Utilizes Local Voices--
July 11, 2014 through January 5, 2015
Open to the public, Boston Museum
of Science
Several of us spoke to artist Anne Neeley about water
contamination from fracking. Excerpts of what we said about our concerns
regarding fracking will play in a loop along with music in the background as
people view Anne’s murals of water. The show is not exclusively about the
effect of fracking on water and includes other sources of pollution. (see sites
below).
Some of us were fortunate to see photos of Anne’s
murals. They are beautiful and very thought provoking. Jan
ANNE NEELY WATER STORIES
PROJECT: A CONVERSATION IN PAINT AND SOUND
July 2014 – January 2015,
Museum of Science, Boston
“Water Stories: A Conversation in Painting and Sound”
is at the Museum of Science, Boston through January 2015. In recent years I
have conveyed ideas about water and the phenomena of water through nature, the
news, memory and imagination. These paintings explore the beauty and foreboding
of water, related to central themes, mostly manmade and thru climate change
affecting this country. Sound artist Halsey Burgund has created a 35 minute
audio composition that accompanies the paintings, comprised of five sections
grouped by thematic content: The Future, Stories, Bad Things, Science and
Cherish. The voices are edited and combined with water sounds and musical
elements and play in a continuous loop throughout the gallery. By placing this
work in this Museum of Science there is an extraordinary opportunity to clarify
and illuminate issues around water through visceral connections that paintings
often elicit from viewers while raising public awareness. My hope is that this exhibition will
spawn a new sense of ownership about not only the issues facing us about water
but how we use water on a daily basis.”
"Together, Anne and I plan to explore big ideas
about what’s happening with water in this country. In the 2014, the Museum will
exhibit Anne’s work and host a series of related programs. At the Museum, we
find that mixing art with our more typical educational approaches works well.
The art opens people to ideas, emotion, scale, and import, in ways that more
explicit techniques may not. It broadens the audience, welcomes people who
learn differently, and adds dimensions of experience that are otherwise unavailable."
— David G. Rabkin, PhD,
Director for Current Science and Technology, Museum of Science, Boston, MA
Visit these sites for images
and more information:
http://www.anneneely.com/pages/mos.html
*Join the People’s Climate March in New York
City, Sept. 21. ACTION:
Register now for a seat on one of the Pittsburgh buses. http://alleghenysc.org/?p=19091
And Other Sierra Club Posts:
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
***- Pittsburgh’s Air At Stake
Send Statement To Restrict
Carbon From Existing Power plants
Everyone Should Submit a Written Statement
From Sierra Club: It is too late to register to speak,
but you can send a statement to the EPA. We need to send a strong message to
the EPA and Big Coal that there’s overwhelming public support for national
climate action –NOW! Big Coal and their climate-denying allies are already
trying to weaken the EPA’s historic climate protection efforts.
Comments on the Clean Power Plan Proposed
Rule must be received by October 16, 2014. You do not have to write a long
statement. Any statement of support for Carbon reduction is helpful and there’s lots of data, just google climate
change—flooding, storms, effects on health, plant and animal adaptation, etc.
Send Your Comments To:
Q: Can I submit written comments at the hearing site
A: We recommend
that you submit your written comments to the docket. The docket number for this
rule is: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602 (for the Clean Power Plan for Existing
Sources) and information on how to
submit written comments is listed below. The public comment period will be open
for 120 days from the time the rule is published in the Federal Register. We
will be taking comments that are submitted the day of the hearing and will
ensure that those get submitted to the docket.
In addition to the public hearing in Pittsburgh,
comments on the EPA’s new rule covering the carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants may be submitted via Email to A-and-R-Docket@epa.gov with docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602 in the subject line of the message.
Be sure to reference Docket ID:
EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602
For information about the
carbon reduction plan:
Impact on
Pennsylvania
According to the EPA, coal is
currently the largest energy source for power generation in Pennsylvania (Coal
– 39.0 pct, Nuclear – 33.6 pct, Natural Gas – 24.0 pct and Clean Energy – 3.4
pct). In 2012,
Pennsylvania’s power sector CO2 emissions were approximately 106 million metric
tons from sources covered by the proposed rule. Based on the amount of energy
produced by fossil-fuel fired plants and certain low or zero emitting plants,
Pennsylvania’s 2012 emission rate was 1,540 pounds/megawatt hours (lb/MWh).
The EPA is asking Pennsylvania to develop a plan
to lower its carbon pollution to meet the proposed emission rate goal of 1,052
lb/MWh in 2030. The EPA is giving states considerable flexibility in how they
achieve their reductions, including energy efficiency, clean energy programs,
etc. It will be interesting to see what Gov. Corbett’s administration plans before
the deadline of June 2016, but the Governor’s quick criticism and the failure
to support programs such as the Sunshine Solar Program do not suggest
enthusiastic compliance. Nor does Pennsylvania’s decision in 2005 to serve as
an observer rather than active member of the northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative cap-and-trade system reflect well on our state.
Opposition to
the New EPA Rules
The Obama Administration
clearly anticipates strong opposition to the new rules, and the fight will take
place on several grounds. Despite strong public support for the EPA’s proposed
rules, the climate change deniers were quick to claim the rules were
unnecessary. The national Chamber of Commerce said the costs were exorbitant,
but Nobelist Paul Krugman dismisses their argument. But it is the legal
challenges that will perhaps slow-down the implementation of the EPA’s rules, a
delay we cannot afford.
Shift from Coal
to Natural Gas
As early as 2010 utilities
were shifting away from coal to natural gas for electricity generation, partly
in anticipation of eventual climate regulation but also because of lower
operating costs with gas. That shift has accelerated with the greater
production of fracked gas, with natural gas predicted to overtake coal as the
preferred fuel by 2035. Although overall burning natural gas is cleaner than
burning coal, it is by no means a ‘clean’ fuel, and that concerns
environmentalists.
Given the reliance on natural
gas to achieve the reduction in emissions, environmentalists will be calling
for a number of actions, such as calling for removal of exemptions to the Clean
Water Act, Clean Air Act, and other laws that the drillers currently enjoy. But
that requires unlikely Congressional action. What the Executive branch can do
is properly understand and strictly regulate air and water pollution associated
with all aspects fracking.
And From Public
Citizen
See the top 10 FAQs on the
carbon pollution reduction plan.
***For Health Care Professionals—Tell PA Dept of Health to
Stop Ignoring Fracking Health complaints
***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
Frack Links
***Link to Shalefield Stories-Personal stories of those
affected by fracking http://www.friendsoftheharmed.com/
***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 and condensed. Please use links for the full article.
Special Thanks
to Bob Donnan for photos.
*** To See Water Test Results of the Beaver Run Reservoir
IUP students test for TDS, pH, metals- arsenic, chromium, and strontium.
A group member who has
checked the site did not see testing for other frack chemicals including the
BTEX group or cesium for example. Here is a link to the IUP site:
***Robinson
Township Amends Zoning Ordinance
“Robinson Township officials Thursday passed amendments to the zoning
ordinance that in some ways will make it easier for Marcellus Shale companies
to do business there.
Immediately after a public hearing was held on the
topic, the board voted 2-1 to change the process for considering oil and
natural gas applications from a special
exception process to a permitted use or conditional use process, depending on
the district.
In effect, power
changes hands from the zoning board to the board of supervisors for all
conditional use applications in commercial and special conservation districts. Supervisors
can set reasonable conditions on those applications.
For permitted uses, public
hearings are not required.
In addition to those changes, the board banned
drilling in the R-1B and R-2 residential districts, but acknowledged that
drilling activity in those areas was unlikely because of the lack of open land.
“They were being treated hostile before,” Chairman
Rodger Kendall said of the previous board’s relationship with the natural gas
industry, “and we’re willing to work with any industry or residential
development.
You can’t grow a township by
chasing everybody out.”
Rodger Kendall and Vice Chairman Steve Duran expressed
their intent to change the zoning ordinance after it was revamped by the
outgoing board in December. Supervisor Mark Brositz, the only official who
remained on the board, voted against the zoning changes proposed by Kendall and
Duran.
Only a handful of people spoke at Thursday’s public
hearing, which was a smaller turnout than the first hearing on the topic in
June.
Michael
Oliverio, attorney for former board Chairman Brian Coppola and his wife, Susan,
said the proposed zoning changes would move Robinson Township backwards. He
said the zoning amendments passed by the
previous board – of which his client was a member – were perfectly in line with
the Act 13 decision that gave power back to municipal zoning boards to decide
where drilling activity should occur.
He said the amendment ultimately passed by the current
board “throws away that process entirely and makes oil and gas development a
mix-and-match process based upon each individual type of zoning district.”
Brenda Vance, a township resident, presented a
petition against the zoning changes that was signed by 281 residents.
Duran said he had already seen a copy of the petition
and felt it was misleading, so he spent hours knocking on doors and talking to
residents about the proposed changes.
In her public comment, Vance
said she wanted the zoning board to continue to make decisions on oil and gas
applications. She also questioned the
ethics of Duran and Kendall, who are both leaseholders.
“The
total decision should not be under permitted use and in the hands of two men
whose families will benefit so greatly from the outcome,” Vance said.
Township solicitor Gretchen
Moore said there is likely no conflict of interest that would prevent Duran and
Kendall from voting, but if there were a conflict, it would be negated by an
exception in the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act.
Greg Kobulnicky, managing partner of Moore Park LP,
said he approved of the zoning amendments and said he believes it will spur
development in the township.
“There’s a lot in this
ordinance that encourages good stewardship of the environment while allowing us
to have conversations to say where natural gas development will take place most
appropriately in a township,” Kobulnicky said. “When you think about it, it
allows for what the process in Pennsylvania on a small level of government
should be for people to capture opportunity.”
***Middlesex -Sweeping Changes To Zoning
Favor Industry
“ A Middlesex Township hearing is this Wednesday (was this Wednesday,
jan). The solicitor, Mike Gallagher, and
township manager, Scot Fodi, compiled a proposal for sweeping changes to the
current zoning and ordinances in the township to permit drilling and compressor
stations in almost the entire township.
No protection for citizens was considered. No input from their own planning commission
was considered. The planning commission
recommended waiting to pass any ordinances until further studies and research
could be done, but the supervisors ignored that recommendation.
As you know, the Mars Parent Group and surrounding
community object to a proposed 6 well site on the Geyer farm that is
approximately one half mile from the Mars Area School District campus of over
3,200 children. The site of the Rex
Energy application for these permits is in Middlesex Township. Current zoning does not support this type of
gas industry self-defined heavy industrial process. To date, the permits have not been issued by
the DEP. Have there been private
conversations between Rex, Middlesex, and the DEP? Perhaps Rex requested the DEP to wait to
issue the permits until the zoning changes are in place, therefore decreasing
the community's ability to challenge placing these wells so close to hundreds
of homes and thousands of children? Why would the Middlesex Township supervisors
have the desire to rush to make these zoning changes and ignore their own
planning commission? Nefarious and
possible criminal actions indeed, that ignore the public they serve.
The
Middlesex Township supervisors have gas leases and some work directly with Rex
Energy. Those in the community, who do
not want this toxic industrial process next to their homes or near their
children, are being silenced and ignored by officials in office that are
mandated to protect the community.
The community is in desperate need of leaders who
indeed care about all of their constituents, not just those who have gas leases
or work with the gas industry.
Amy Nassif
Mars Parent Group
www.marparentgroup.com
***Judge Denies Range Resource’s Testing
Request
“President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca, A Washington
County judge, denied Range Resources permission to test the air, soil and homes
of three Amwell Township families who claim to suffer health problems as a
result of drilling activity and an impoundment at the Yeager well site on
McAdams Road.
She stated she
refused to let “the individuals’ homes be invaded for some sort of fishing
expedition.”
The case dates back to 2012, when
homeowners Stacey Haney and her two children, Beth and John Voyles and their
daughter, and Loren and Grace Kiskadden filed a lawsuit against Range Resources
and 16 other companies. The families, who live below the drilling site, claim
they suffer a multitude of health problems, including neurological,
gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms consistent with toxic exposure.
Their attorney, Kendra Smith, argued the requested
testing was premature because the chemicals used at the site were not disclosed. Range Resources
was ordered to provide a list of chemicals, including proprietary substances,
from its manufacturers. A court order in November required Range
Resources’ suppliers – about 40 contractors and subcontractors – to provide
that list. According to O’Dell Seneca,
the suppliers could not or would not comply.
In June, O’Dell Seneca ruled that Range Resources was
in the best position to obtain that list. She said the company still has not
complied.
Range Resources also failed to provide a number of
results from testing completed July 23 at the Yeager site, as well as
results from prior testing done at the site in years past. Rende said in court
that results are not available.
O’Dell Seneca said once Range Resources provides the
list of the chemicals, she’ll attempt to “work with them.”
“I
keep hearing over and over again, ‘What’s the big deal?’” she said. “We need to
know what to look for. You still haven’t complied with my order or the DEP. As
soon as I have that, I’ll seriously consider the inspection.”
Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for Range Resources, said
the chemicals used in the fracking process have been disclosed. He said O’Dell
Seneca’s order is “impossible to comply” with.
“Every constituent used in the fracturing process has
been disclosed, as well as an exhaustive list for all substances used on the
surface at the location. Some constituents – used not in the fracturing fluid
but in the drilling operations such as fuel and motor fluids for instance –
cannot be identified at the parts per billion levels by Range without
information from the manufacturers,” Pitzarella said in an email. “It’s
unfortunate that the court refused to allow additional testing that we are
confident would further demonstrate that there have been no impacts from oil
and gas activity, which is consistent with repeated and exhaustive
investigations conducted by state regulators.”
Pitzarella said Range Resources is reviewing its
options in regard to the order. In July, Range Resources was cited for a leak
at the Yeager impoundment. Pitzarella said Range Resources is still waiting for
approval from the DEP to close the impoundment after notifying the agency in
March of its intention to close it. A closure date has not yet been set.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20140812/NEWS01/140819882#.U-rYQ6O9Zww
***Grant Township
Fights Back—Gutsy Supervisors Stick Up For
Their Residents
The gas industry’s
law firm, Babst- Calland again fights for the industry
"Natural gas producer Pennsylvania General Energy Co. LLC has sued a western Pennsylvania
municipality in federal court, alleging that a local ordinance banning the
disposal of fracking wastewater violates the U.S. Constitution. The company
said in a complaint filed Friday that Grant Township, located in Indiana
County, has stepped on its constitutional rights with the June ordinance, which
declares that corporations can not dispose of oil and gas waste within the
municipality."
It also says that the ordinance violates the Equal
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by treating corporations
differently that it does individuals. And it claims that the ordinance violates
the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments by limiting the company's ability to
redress the infringement of its rights.
PGE additionally says that
the ordinance is preempted by the state's Oil and Gas Act, which it says gives
DEP the exclusive authority to regulate oil and gas development.
The company seeks to have the
ordinance declared unenforceable and unconstitutional.
<8.12.14
Law 360 Article, Nat. Gas Producer Calls Fracking Waste Ban Unconstitutional in
Pennsylvania.PDF>”
“EAST RUN — Municipal leaders in Indiana County’s quiet
northern tier ignored the threat of a lawsuit Tuesday and enacted an ordinance
they hope will deter an oil and gas drilling company from starting an
underground waste disposal site in their township.
Controversy
has been brewing for months over a plan by Pennsylvania General Energy to
convert a tapped out natural gas well into a brine dumping site under the
federal government’s Underground Injection Control program, known as the UIC.
PGE, based in
Warren, in March was granted a permit by the EPA to construct an injection well
on property owned by the Yanity family. But development has been put on
hold while EPA reviews appeals filed by several Grant Township residents.
At the same time, PGE is waiting
for similar permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
But backed by an overflow crowd
of township residents, the Grant Township supervisors unanimously passed a Bill
of Rights ordinance for the municipality, a measure that asserts local
residents’ rights to enjoy natural resources trumps any “rights, privileges,
powers and protections” claimed by corporations, including permits from higher
levels of government.
PGE attorneys at the meeting Tuesday warned that the
local ordinance would likely be ruled unconstitutional and overturned in court,
and they urged the supervisors and residents to give the company a chance to
“be a good neighbor.”
More
than any other concern, township officials and residents said they were not satisfied
that the applications, permits and construction procedures for an injection
well could guarantee that the underground water supplies would be protected.
“The intent of
this ordinance is to protect the water and the community of Grant Township,” said
supervisor Chairman Fred Carlson, noting that he was speaking only for himself.
“The only reason that I can see that you gentlemen are here is that Grant
Township is a very small township, just 694 people. That’s the reason we’re
being picked on. We’re not happy with it … I don’t like to see it, and I have
all the reasons in the world to be concerned about what the gas and oil
industry does.
“PGE has all the potential of starting this well, and
if we let them get away with it, EPA is automatically going to let them do
another one and another one and another one,” Carlson said. “… All (the wells)
are starting to die, and you guys made your money on these wells. And we don’t
want to be the suckers to hold all this type of water.”
Not unlike the deep wells drilled to extract gas from
the Marcellus shale formation, injection wells are dug to depths of 7,000 feet
or more, said attorney Kevin Garber, of the Pittsburgh law firm Babst Calland.
“PGE does not
want to fight — I want to stress that,” Lucas said. “If it goes to federal
court, and I don’t want to saber rattle here … there’s a possibility the
township could be required to pay our attorney fees if you lose, and you don’t
want that to happen.”
Lucas said Pennsylvania’s
township code does not allow Grant Township to enact such an ordinance.
“Constitutionally, you’ve got to allow these
things. It doesn’t matter what the use is,” he said. “The law in Pennsylvania
is that you have to allow that use somewhere within your boundaries.
Judy Wanchisn, of East Run, a leader of citizen
opposition to the PGE proposal, said her research showed the EPA has granted permits for 11 other
injection wells in Pennsylvania.
“Three are under appeal, two have had to be plugged,”
Wanchisn said.
One was capped in 2009 in Indiana County, she said,
but more recently an injection well near Mahaffey in Bell Township, Clearfield
County, was idled because the operator failed to report a problem and the well
leaked for four months.
“They were fined the maximum. … So the record is not
too great as far as I’m concerned. They leak. We just don’t know what’s
happening underground.”
Resident William Woodcock III asked Schmidt to more directly answer
Buckley’s question about proving the safety of local water supplies.
“The bottom line is you’re asking
us to drink the water from this aquifer. We’re expected to drink this water,
and you have applied for permission to pour stuff through that aquifer down a
mile and a half below,” Buckley asked. “Are you willing to drink water from
that aquifer?”
“Sure,”
Garber told her.
Woodcock,
who also has lodged an appeal against the PGE permit from EPA, went on with his
protest.
“We’ve been around long enough to
know EPA has allowed things to pass that have, in the future, had problems,”
Woodcock said. “What does it do but leave people in those communities with a
problem on their hands. So what this community is trying to do is prevent
failure in the future.
“If a leak or a problem or
something happens underground, what do I do then?” Woodcock asked. “What do I
do in 20 years? Who do I go to? And what will PGE do for me?”
Others
asked how the company would assure safe transportation of wastewaters through
the township to the proposed well site, and Buckley asked if the company could
set up webcams at the well site so anyone could watch the site activities on
the Internet.
Carlson questioned whether state
or federal regulators would have enough manpower to regularly inspect the well,
and another resident proposed that PGE contract with an outside testing company
for ongoing monitoring of area water supplies.
“It
sounds pretty rational … I’ll take that back for consideration,” Schmidt said.
Carlson
cut off discussion and called for a show of hands. Most of the estimated 50
people at the meeting showed they favored the ordinance.
Earlier during the debate, Lucas
told the supervisors that he is a solicitor for a township in Allegheny County
and would have different advice for them.
“I
would tell my client do not approve this ordinance,” Lucas said. “You will get
sued and you will lose.”
But the Grant Township ordinance
is different from others that have failed in court challenges, said Chad
Nicholson, of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund.
CELDF,
based in Franklin County, drafted the ordinance that Grant Township approved.
“This ordinance is very
clear, that it doesn’t infringe on or take away property rights from anybody
unless they are in violation of the ordinance, and it was written specifically
at the request of the supervisors to deal only with the injection well,” he said. “And it’s a
misnomer to say this is a property rights issue. Everybody knows property
rights are sacrosanct in this country, but at the same time your property
rights don’t bring with them the authority to harm someone else or their
ability to enjoy their own property.”
Rather than empowering corporate
boards of directors and permits issued by government offices, Nicholson said,
the ordinance centers on preserving civil rights.
“The
folks of Grant Township have rights to clean air and clean water and a right to
self-government,” he said. “It’s the people that live in this township that
should be the ones that get to make those decisions, not corporations. It has
nothing to do with being a good neighbor. It’s about fundamental civil rights
and who decides what happens within the township. That’s the basis of this
ordinance.”
Supervisors Mike McCoy and Jon
Perry joined Carlson in the official vote to approve it.
“You’ve heard our concerns,”
Carlson told the PGE representatives following the vote. “Our ordinance is
passed. You boys know where we’re at. If there’s a problem, go at it.”
***Researchers Call for Public Health
Research on Gas Drilling
University
of Pennsylvania
“PHILADELPHIA — Groundwater and air quality testing before,
during, and after natural gas drilling – which includes hydraulic fracturing --
should be key components of efforts to ensure the safety of communities near
these sites, according to an expert panel convened to weigh in on public health
research needs associated with unconventional natural gas drilling operations
(UNGDO). The panel also urges that
any research conducted should use “community-based participatory research
principles” so that the concerns of the many stakeholders involved in these activities
can be addressed.
A
group of environmental health researchers, led by Trevor Penning, PhD,
director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at the
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, published their findings
this month in Environmental Health
Perspectives.
“The working group was convened following
presentations on the potential of natural gas drilling to adversely affect
public health at the 2012 Annual Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers
[EHSCC] meeting at Harvard School of Public Health,” states Penning.
Sixteen of the twenty EHSCCs funded by the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) joined the working group to
review the literature on the potential public health impact of UNGDO and to
make recommendations for research.
The Inter-EHSCC Working Group concluded that a
potential for water and air pollution exists that might endanger public health
and that the social fabric of communities could be affected by the rapid emergence
of drilling operations. The working group recommends research to inform how
potential risks could be mitigated.
Some
of the key suggestions are:
*Baseline ground water quality data should be taken before drilling
begins and be monitored over the lifetime and abandonment of the
gas-producing well.
*Ambient and occupational air quality should be measured at active
drilling sites and be compared with baseline measurements in adjacent areas
without drilling operations.
*An environmental epidemiological study should be performed to
determine whether an association exists between health outcomes data and water quality in private drinking wells in
communities with and without hydraulic fracturing.
*An environmental epidemiological study should be
performed to determine whether air pollution associated with UNGDO increases the
incidence of respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease.
*Community-based
participatory research principles should be embraced in designing and
conducting studies on environmental and health impacts of UNGDO so that a range of community perspectives are
addressed. All stakeholders (individual/community/industry/advocacy
groups/decision makers) should be engaged early to foster multi-directional communication
and accountability.”
Coauthors
are Marilyn Howarth, Penn CEET; Patrick N. Breysee, Johns Hopkins University
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; Kathleen Gray, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC; and Beizhan Ya, Lamont Doherty, Earth
Observatory of Columbia University, NY.
Penn
Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to
the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence
in patient care.
***Formaldehyde –
Another frack
chemical the industry is fighting to keep unregulated.
From a group member: “People,
pay attention! The article below looks
at the attempts by the American Chemistry Council to prevent the EPA from
declaring formaldehyde as a carcinogen.
However, that's not the only reason why I'm sending this.
We
know that industry goes to the politicians first to grease the skids. Fracking
is not just about gas and oil. Fracking
is also about chemicals. The chemical
industry will be moving in here too and we'll be battling them as well - unless
we get out ahead of it.
If you want a sense of what the chemical industry can
do to a community, read about Mossville, Louisiana. I met some activists from there a couple of
years ago in NY, when I did a presentation on fracking to a group of socially-responsible
stockholders. What they're dealing with
is horrific. Here's a link to one recent
article about Mossville: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/sasol-mossville-louisiana”
National Academy of
Sciences-- Formaldehyde Causes Cancer
“For years, the chemical industry has been winning a
political battle to keep formaldehyde from being declared a known carcinogen.
The industry’s chief lobby group, the American Chemistry Council, has persuaded
members of Congress that the findings of both the EPA and the Department of
Health and Human Services were wrong and should be reviewed by the National
Academy of Sciences.
The academy issued a second report, which
found in effect that government scientists were right all along when they concluded
that formaldehyde can cause three rare forms of cancer.
in the 2011
report, Congress asked the academy only to critique the EPA’s draft assessment
rather than evaluate the dangers of formaldehyde itself. The panel concluded
that the EPA’s report was too long, repetitive and lacked explanation.
But after reviewing the scientific evidence itself,
the academy concluded on Friday that formaldehyde is indeed a known carcinogen.
Formaldehyde is widely used in wood products and
clothing.
In a blog posting, Jennifer Sass, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council,
called the American Chemistry Council’s efforts “a vicious attack on government
scientific assessments [meant] to distort and discredit any evidence linking
toxic chemicals to diseases, disabilities or death.”
Using the academy to review any negative findings from
the EPA has become common tactic of the chemical industry.
The Center for Public Integrity reported in June that
Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho, got the EPA to turn its negative
assessment of arsenic over to the academy. At the same time, Congress also
insisted that the EPA redo all ongoing assessments to address the criticisms of
the 2011 formaldehyde review. Forty-seven assessments are affected.
The American Chemistry Council said in its statement
that the academy “misses an opportunity to advance the science.”
Richard Denison, a scientist at the Environmental
Defense Fund, countered: “One can only hope that this sorry episode and waste
of public resources will help to expose the narrow self-interest of the
industry, which for years it has deceptively sought to wrap in the mantle of
sound science.”
By David Heathemail
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/08/08/15224/national-academy-sciences-agrees-epa-formaldehyde-causes-cancer
***DEP Gets
Second Negative Report on Fracking Oversight
83% Of All Gas Wells (Conventional and Unconventional) Not Inspected
Even Once
By Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“The
issuance last week of a second report detailing myriad shortcomings in the
state DEP’s oversight and enforcement of
GAS development. The latest report, which Earthworks, a Washington,
D.C.-based environmental organization, released reviewed and analyzed DEP
Marcellus Shale gas well drilling files and conducted its own air and water
testing to detail how the DEP’s enforcement of shale gas regulations has been
less than transparent or effective in controlling the exposure of Pennsylvania
residents to unhealthy air and water. Three weeks ago, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale issued a highly critical
performance audit of the DEP’s shale gas industry oversight, including its
failure to consistently pursue citizen complaints about drinking water
degradation or issue enforcement orders for regulatory violations as the state
oil and gas law requires.
Among its 25 findings, the 70-page Earthworks report alleges
that the DEP’s oil and gas office:
■ has failed to consider
the cumulative health impacts from shale gas development;
■ keeps incomplete
permitting and enforcement records that make it impossible for residents to
assess their exposure to air and water emissions;
■ has increased inspections,
but they still don’t meet even the voluntary goals the department set;
■ poorly tracks, records
and responds to citizen complaints;
■ puts a higher premium on
speedy permitting than enforcement.
“The cases we reviewed, our testing and data analysis clearly
shows that the DEP is unable to keep up with inspections or enforce its
regulations and allows fixes over fines,” said Nadia Steinzor, the report’s
lead author and Earthworks Eastern program coordinator. “Regulations should
create a deterrent system and hold operators accountable.”
She said
Earthworks performed its own air and water testing at residences near drilling
and hydraulic fracturing sites and “found air and water contaminants consistent
with gas development activity.
Eric Shirk,
a DEP spokesman, dismissed the Earthworks report as containing factual errors
and out-of-date data.
He said inspections are “up tenfold since 2006-07,” and
enforcement has increased, too.
“The report
says we don’t keep track of water supply impacts, but we do have all of that
tracked,” Mr. Shirk said. “I don’t think it’s valid. It seems like it has more
of a political agenda.”
The report,
titled “Blackout in the Gas Patch: How Pennsylvania residents are left in the
dark on health and enforcement,” is based on the most recent DEP data available
and notes that the department is falling
far short of its own inspection policy, which suggests gas and oil wells be
inspected seven times before they begin production.
According to
its analysis of DEP’s 2013 inspection report, Earthworks found that while the total number of well inspections
has increased from 7,520 to 13,367 from 2008 to 2013, the average number of
inspections at the state’s “unconventional” wells, those drilled into shale
formations, has declined from 3.3 inspections per well in 2008 to 2.2 in 2013.
Even though
the number of well inspectors and inspections have increased, 66,326 of the
state’s 79,693 active conventional and unconventional wells, 83%, were not
inspected once.
“How can the
DEP assert that drilling is benign if it’s not doing the inspections?” Ms.
Steinzor asked.
Oversight of
the shale gas industry isn’t only a Pennsylvania problem, according to Bruce
Baizel, director of Earthworks’ oil and gas accountability project.
“This report
focuses on Pennsylvania, but it easily could have been written about Ohio or
the federal Bureau of Land Management or Denton, Texas,” Mr. Baizel said. “[It]
illustrates why many residents across the United States have given up on the
idea that regulators can manage the oil and gas boom and are working so hard to
stop fracking.”
The report
also includes a case study of health problems Pam Judy and her family
experienced at their home in Carmichaels, Greene County, where a shale gas
compressor station is located 900 feet away and 35 gas wells (16 unconventional
shale gas, 21 conventional gas) are within a one mile radius.
Earthworks
plans to release one case study a week for the next six weeks to call attention
to claimed health impacts the rapidly proliferating and widespread development
of shale gas has caused.
One case
study:
The
area where Pam Judy lives is a poster child for how dense natural gas
development can be in Pennsylvania. Pam and her husband built their house in
2006 on property that once belonged to her great grandparents and remained part
of the family farm—but over the years the gas industry has changed Carmichaels
and surrounding towns dramatically. Today, there is a large compressor station
900 feet from the Judy home and more than 35 drilled and producing wells within
one mile.
Our
research shows that there are very plausible reasons why air quality has been
compromised and contributes to the health problems that the Judy family
experiences. In 2011, the top two facilities for emissions of coarse
particulate matter in Pennsylvania were gas wells located within about one mile
of the Judy home. Five gas wells located
at that distance emitted enough (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), coarse particulate
matter (PM10), and sulfur oxide (SOx) to essentially be the equivalent of a
second compressor facility.
Noise,
odors, and traffic have diminished many of the benefits of country life, but
Pam, her husband, and their two children have been most concerned about their
health. They have often felt tired and
had headaches, runny noses, sore throats, and muscle aches. Pam has had bouts
of dizziness and vomiting, and both children had frequent nosebleeds before
they moved away.
Soon
after the Judy family moved to Carmichaels, they became one of the first
high-profile cases of health problems in Pennsylvania’s gas fields and helped
to raise awareness among neighbors, policymakers, and the general public. Pam
has filed odor, noise, and air quality complaints with DEP, spoken out at town
meetings, written to state and federal officials, and shared her story with the
media.
Because
of Pam’s persistence, in 2010 DEP conducted air testing near her home. Results revealed the presence of a
cocktail of chemicals with known short- and long-term health effects, including
carcinogens like benzene, toluene, and xylene. Earthworks’ air testing at the
Judy home in 2011 and 2013 also detected chemicals associated with the kinds of
health symptoms reported by the family.
Taken
together, emissions and events at nearby wells and facilities illustrate the
myriad of impacts that gas operations can have on air quality and health. Yet DEP hasn’t made a connection between
the rapid expansion of gas wells and facilities in the area and the ongoing
complaints made by the Judy family and their neighbors. It isn’t clear whether this has had to do
with time and resource constraints, the information and training given to
inspectors, a lack of additional air testing, or other factors.
-
See more at: http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/blackout_case_study_1_pam_judy#.U-mGpSi_D4i
***Investigation
Finds PA Prioritizes Fracking at Expense of Health,
Environment & Law
Blackout in the Gas Patch By Earthworks
“A new report
released by Earthworks, after a year in the making, proves that the rush to
drill undermines the protection of Pennsylvanians and the enforcement of
regulations. Blackout in the Gas Patch: How Pennsylvania Residents are Left in
the Dark on Health and Enforcement for the first time definitively connects health and environmental impacts of fracking with
a lack of state oversight on a site-by-site basis.
“Legitimate, well-funded oversight should be a
prerequisite for deciding whether to permit fracking, not an afterthought,”
said Nadia Steinzor, the report’s lead author. “Governor Corbett and DEP
Secretary Abruzzo often say that the state has an exemplary regulatory
program—but refuse to acknowledge that it’s not being implemented properly and
that air, water and health are being harmed as a result. DEP’s limited
resources make it impossible to keep up with required paperwork, let alone
enforce the law and hold operators accountable.”
Blackout in the
Gas Patch looks at the permitting, operational and oversight records of 135
wells and facilities in seven counties and details 25 key findings of
associated threats to residents’ health and the environment. It also includes
seven case studies using detailed timelines and maps, including the experiences
of the Judy family from Carmichaels in Greene County.
Pam
Judy said of her family’s experience with fracking: “The Governor
and DEP claim that gas and oil operations are safe and that they have
everything under control. I live
with it every day, and know that’s not true—and this report confirms it.”
Based primarily on data and documents from the DEP,
Blackout in the Gas Patch has found that Pennsylvania
prioritizes development over enforcement; neglects oversight; fails to consider
known threats; undermines regulations; and prevents the public from getting
information.
The report concludes that the oversight of
Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry is occurring with three inherent
contradictions at play, which are as follows:
1. DEP is
charged with protecting the environment and the public, but is under strong political pressure to advance
an industry that harms water, air and health.
2. Steep budget
cuts to DEP during a shale gas boom means the agency has to do more with
less—which in effect has meant insufficient oversight and enforcement.
3. As the number of people impacted by and concerned
about the impacts of gas development grows, public access to information on the activities of both operators and
DEP remains limited, inconsistent and restricted.”
***PUC Says Sunoco’s Pipeline Must Follow Local Zoning Laws
From Peter Wray, Sierra Club, Allegheny Group
“A decision about a natural gas
pipeline in York County could have a welcome bearing on zoning rights here in
Western Pennsylvania. As noted previously, Sunoco plans to extend a 300-mile
pipeline from Washington County to an exporting facility at Marcus Hook near
Philadelphia. Sunoco Logistics has claimed that as a gas line company it has
the right to determine where the pipeline and compressors can be located. In a ruling on July 30 the Public Utility
Commission dismissed the claim, giving local municipalities like Delmont the
right to exercise their local zoning laws. Sunoco may still appeal the PUC
decision.”
*** Sustainable
Shale Dev. Center Takes More Hits
By Peter Wray, Sierra Club, Allegheny group
In the spring of 2013 the Center
for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) was created to develop performance
standard certification for the fracking industry with respect to air and water
pollution. Almost from its inception the center was met with criticism by
environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, groups that claimed fracking was
inherently unsustainable. Now a Public
Accountability Initiative report concludes that CSSD “looks more and more like
another front to improve the oil and gas industry’s image.”
Initially the Center was funded
in part by the Heinz Endowments, with gas companies and some environmental
groups as partners. In August 2013 two key members of the Heinz Endowments
involved with SCCD were dismissed, followed by the head of the Endowments in
January, and Heinz funding was withdrawn in May 2014 apparently at the wish of
the Heinz family.
The recent withdrawal of PennFuture as a ‘strategic partner’ of
CSSD leaves Clean Air Task Force, Environmental Defense Fund, Pennsylvania
Environmental Council, and GASP as the only environmental groups listed as
‘strategic partners’, along with Shell, Chevron, CMU’s former President, and
others.”
(And
this is the unbiased voice Murrysville Council invited to speak at their
meeting. Jan)
*** MarkWest
Plans to Add More Capacity
“MarkWest
Energy Partners is further expanding its processing capacity in the Marcellus
and Utica shale plays.
MarkWest will construct a
seventh 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) processing plant at its
Sherwood complex in Doddridge County, W.Va., at the request of Antero
Resources Corp., a Denver-based driller.
The new
plant is anchored by long-term, fee-based agreements and will expand total
capacity at the complex to 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the third
quarter of 2015. This month, MarkWest plans to begin operations at the Sherwood
IV plant, the company said in its second quarter earnings release.
In addition,
the company will build a sixth
processing complex in the Marcellus Shale. The new facility, called the Hillman
complex, will be located in Washington County, Pa., and support rich-gas production from Range Resources.
The Hillman complex will initially consist of a 200 MMcf/d processing plant and
a de-ethanization facility.
The facility
is scheduled to begin operations during the first quarter of 2016. Propane and heavier natural gas liquids
recovered at the Hillman complex will be transported by a new pipeline to
MarkWest’s complex in Houston, Pa., for fractionation, according to MarkWest.
In the
Utica, the formation that underlies the Marcellus in the Appalachian Basin,
MarkWest and its joint venture partner The Energy & Minerals Group plan to
develop Cadiz III, a 200 MMcf/d processing plant at the Cadiz complex in
Harrison County, Ohio. The new facility is expected to be online during the
first quarter of 2015 and will increase total processing capacity to 525
MMcf/d.
The Cadiz
complex currently consists of a 125 MMcf/d cryogenic processing plant. This
September, the company will begin operating the 200 MMcf/d Cadiz II plant to
support rich-gas production from Gulfport Energy and other producers, MarkWest
said.
During the
second quarter of 2014, MarkWest placed into service five major infrastructure
projects, consisting of two processing plants with 320 MMcf/d of capacity in
the Marcellus; a 200 MMcf/d processing plant in the Utica; 20,000 barrels per
day of ethane and heavier fractionation in the Marcellus and a 40,000 b/d
de-ethanization facility in the Utica, according to MarkWest.”
http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/08/06/Production-up-profits-down-for-Rex-Energy-s-second-quarter/stories/201408050197
***DEP in
Trouble Over Smog Regs and Keeping the Public in the Dark
From Peter Wray, Sierra Club
“DEP
Mission: To protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to
provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner
environment. We will work as partners with individuals, organizations,
governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural
resources.
It is not
usual for one state agency to criticize another state agency, but then again,
that is the job of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) which
was created by the General Assembly in 1982. Recently the IRRC warned that the DEP’s proposed rules for the emission
of smog-causing NOx and volatile organics were inadequate. The IRRC comments
were based on a review of the DEP’s proposed rules by the EPA, and suggest that
DEP will have to produce stronger rules.
A second scolding of DEP concerns
the limited public access to DEP information regarding fracking operations.
In a recent
Earthwatch report titled “Blackout in the Gas Patch” Nadia Steiner writes: “A
focus on speedy reviews of permit applications clearly supports expansion of
the industry. But it also reflects the governor’s willingness to allow
potential environmental considerations to be overlooked during permitting. In
addition, decreased resources have meant
that DEP must “do more with less,” possibly compromising oversight activities
such as inspections and investigations—a schedule of which has not been
mandated by the Governor or DEP. This brings into question the agency’s
ability to implement its oil and gas regulatory program, protect the public,
and provide information and assistance—particularly at a time when more and
more people need it”
***Don’t Frack
Ohiopyle
By Christine Dauphin
“….. it is so disturbing that Gov. Tom Corbett’s executive order
could allow fracking under Ohiopyle and other state parks throughout
Pennsylvania. They claim the drill rigs and pads would be located outside park
boundaries and would not disturb surface areas inside the parks, but allowing
fracking under the parks still could ruin these precious public open spaces.
Consider the
following when it comes to Ohiopyle …
Look at a map and you will see that,
although the park is large, its boundaries are very jagged. Fracking wells
could easily be located in any number of areas that are surrounded on three
sides by parkland and right on top of popular trails, campsites, picnic areas
and even the park visitors’ center.
The main
attraction for this park is the Youghiogheny River, by some accounts the best
whitewater rafting venue in the eastern United States, and remarkably clean
considering all the damage that’s been done to rivers in this region by acid
mine drainage and other forms of industrial pollution.
Fracking
wells generate millions of gallons of water contaminated with chemicals, heavy
metals, radioactivity and numerous other pollutants. This water is stored in open pits on-site where it can spill into
nearby rivers due to mishandling, shoddy construction or just plain heavy rain.
The trucks
that serve well sites are large and loud, and each well requires thousands of
truck trips to bring equipment and water in and out during drilling. Imagine
how the character of little Ohiopyle would change with fracking trucks rumbling
around it constantly. And can you imagine biking on the curvy mountain roads if
you had to share them with all these trucks?
Gas
equipment, once in place, is far from silent and runs 24/ 7. On a recent hike
in the Allegheny National Forest, I was trying to enjoy an otherwise lovely
hike along a river that was running exceptionally high due to recent rains. But
even above the roar of the water, I could hear the hum of a gas compressor
station for a good half hour. Camping anyone?
But even if
you are not someone who appreciates the great outdoors and are not moved or
outraged by the threats I present, perhaps I can appeal to your economic
sensibilities.
Ohiopyle State Park adds over $30 million
per year to the local economy and completely supports the town and everyone who
works there. The entire state parks system adds more than $1.1 billion per
year to the commonwealth’s economy.
The Corbett administration estimates that
the state would gain $75 million in revenue from leasing land under state parks
for fracking. But how much would we lose if people stop visiting the parks
because neighboring areas have been industrialized?
During our 10th anniversary trip, my mother came to visit and
babysit our 2-year-old daughter so we could get away for the weekend. On our
way home, we talked about how great it will be to take her rafting on the Yough
when she’s old enough.
Gov. Corbett, I really hope that by that time it hasn’t been
spoiled.” Christine Dauhlin
***PA Must
Address Methane
“….The League (Of Women Voters) believes the PA DEP must take
the lead in regulating methane — specifically from natural gas emissions. Why?
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, methane, as a
greenhouse gas, is more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a
20-year time frame.
Throughout the commonwealth, wellheads,
pipes, valves and compressors are releasing increasing volumes of methane into
our atmosphere. Although the rates vary, their cumulative impact is
significant. In fact, some project that methane could be worse than coal if
methane is not addressed. Efforts in the reduction of both methane and carbon
emissions will truly be worth a pound of cure for generations yet to come.”
***Despite
Industry Denials, Diesel Is Still Used To Frack
“At least 33 companies drilled 351 wells in
12 states using prohibited diesel fuels
without required permits in violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The
illegal injection of diesel fuel during hydraulic fracturing has continued over
the last four years, despite repeated denials by the drilling industry,
according to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). In its investigation, EIP also found
troubling evidence that drilling companies have been changing and eliminating
their disclosures of past diesel use from the industry self-disclosure database
of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, called FracFocus.
Injecting diesel fuel into the ground to fracture shale
and extract gas or oil is a potential threat to drinking water supplies and
public health because diesel contains toxic chemicals, such as benzene, that
cause cancer or other serious health problems, even at low doses.
EIP’s report, “Fracking Beyond the Law,” uses
self-reported data from drilling companies and federal records to document at least 33 companies fracking at least 351
wells across 12 states with fluids containing diesel from 2010 through early
August 2014. Diesel fuels were used
to frack wells in Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming,
New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Montana without
required Safe Drinking Water Act permits.”
Read the full report and
see the well data by visiting this link:
http://environmentalintegrity.org/archives/6940
***Cove Point
Delay Likely
“Monday’s court ruling will
likely delay permitting for the controversial Cove Point liquefied natural gas
(LNG) export facility proposed in Calvert County, Maryland.
Here is a statement from Mike Tidwell, director of the
Chesapeake Climate Action Network:
“For months, the Chesapeake Climate Action
Network and our partners have been warning that corporate leaders and elected
officials were cutting dangerous corners in the permitting process for the
proposed fracked gas export facility at Cove Point in southern Maryland.
Thankfully this week a Calvert County circuit court judge agreed with a big
part of our argument. Judge James Salmon ruled with the AMP Creeks Council
that Calvert County commissioners had illegally exempted mega-company Dominion
Resources from a host of local zoning ordinances.
“At a
minimum, this ruling will likely cause real delay in the ability of Dominion to
begin major construction of this controversial $3.8 billion fossil fuel
project. The ruling should certainly give pause to the Wall Street investors
that Dominion is seeking to recruit to finance this expensive, risky project.
As fracked-gas exports grow increasingly controversial nationwide, we believe
the court ruling in Calvert County this week is just the opening step in
exposing the truth about this unsafe, climate-harming, and economy-damaging
facility.
“On behalf
of CCAN’s supporters and concerned citizens nationwide, we congratulate the
attorneys at the AMP Creeks Council in southern Maryland for their
extraordinary—and now successful—legal work in this case.”
Contact:
Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org
Diana Dascalu-Joffe, 240-396-1984, diana@chesapeakeclimate.org
***Sen.
Scarnati Opposes Fracking in His
Watershed
Commentary from Elizabeth D:
“Not in his
backyard.... After working very hard to help fracking spread across PA
(Scarnati pushed Act 13 relentlessly, jan),
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25), doesn't want drilling
in a portion of his district.
Interesting.
What about
all the other watersheds fracking will compromise, Joe...such as the Laurel
Highlands watershed, for example? Why is the watershed in his district more
deserving of protection? Protection from the pollution and destruction that
frackers say doesn't happen... .
Amazing hypocrisy.
************
HARRISBURG – Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati
(R-Jefferson) has issued the following statement regarding the Flatirons
Development, LLC decision concerning the Brandon-Day well:
“Flatirons Development, LLC, has agreed to
discontinue Marcellus drilling operations of the Brandon-Day well which is
located upstream of the Brockway Borough Municipal Authority Rattlesnake
Reservoir. The existing bore hole
will be abandoned, sealed and reclaimed to eliminate the possibility of
watershed contamination.
“This recent
decision by Flatirons Development to stop plans for drilling at the Brandon-Day
well is a good and responsible decision for our community. Earlier this year after taking part in
numerous discussions and meetings regarding this well, I reached out to the DEP to express serious reservations with
permitting any further drilling at the proposed site or any nearby site which
could potentially compromise the reservoir.
“Toby Creek
Watershed Association President Bill Sabatose and members of the Toby Creek
Watershed have done an outstanding job monitoring the process surrounding this
well and working to make sure the watershed remains clean. This decision is a strong testament to the
successful teamwork of area residents, local leaders, DEP and Flatirons to do
what is in the best interest of our community to ensure public safety and
protect our natural resources.”
http://www.senatorscarnati.com/statement-on-flatirons-ending-marcellus-drilling-operations-at-brandon-day-well/
***Wanda
Guthrie: Fossil Fuel Divestiture Is A Moral Issue
Religious and liberal groups see environment as a ‘moral issue’
“When she
learned of an international campaign to divest from the fossil fuel industry, Wanda
Guthrie didn't wait long to join in.
As
environmental justice committee chair of the Thomas Merton Center -- a
faith-based social activist group in Bloomfield -- she has been urging
religious and other groups to use their investment decisions to promote a halt
in the burning of carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
"I've
been pushing it everywhere," said Ms. Guthrie. The aim is "to let
fossil fuel companies know that this is a moral question," she said.
And she's worried about the cataclysmic effects of global warming:
"I have grandchildren and they're going to have children."
A small but
growing number of liberal religious groups and other groups are heeding such
calls. They've been voting to shed their investments in the fossil fuel
industry -- an effort they acknowledge that can have only token financial
impact on a vast industry, but one they say makes a symbolic statement linking
carbon emissions to the threat of climate change.
Like many
social movements from gay marriage to the anti-apartheid campaign, the effort
is seeing its first successes on the left flank of the religious landscape and
slowly gaining the notice of more established groups.
The United
Church of Christ last year became the first national denomination to take such
a stand. In recent weeks, momentum has built.
The
Unitarian Universalist Association's national
General Assembly voted June 29 to divest over five years from any holdings in
200 fossil fuel companies included on climate activists' Carbon
Tracker list, with the option of keeping small amounts of holdings so it could
do shareholder resolutions and other activism.
Mark
Tomlinson, who was a delegate to that assembly representing Allegheny Unitarian
Universalist Church on the North Side, said advocates on both sides made strong
arguments, but he supported divesting as in harmony with one of the
denomination's core values -- "respect for the interdependent web of all
existence." For Ms.
Guthrie, an Episcopalian, the effort is a spiritual issue. "For a long
time, we've considered ourselves just stewards of creation, instead of
part of creation," she said.
The
divestment effort clashes with the current natural-gas drilling boom in the
Marcellus and Utica shales, not to mention the Tri-State Region's longstanding
ties to the coal industry.”
Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2014/07/06/Religious-and-liberal-groups-target-fossil-fuel-divestiture/stories/201407060217#ixzz3A6OW2R8F
***Judge
Overturns Fort Collins Five-Year Fracking Ban
“A judge
overturned Fort Collins’ five-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing Thursday,
making it the third big blow to efforts by grassroots groups and politicians
working to ban fracking in communities throughout the state.
The
moratorium in Fort Collins stopped new wells from being fracked within city
limits, while the city performed a study on the health impacts of fracking.
City officials now have seven weeks to decide if it plans to appeal the court’s
decision.
District
Judge Gregory M. Lammons ruled on the lawsuit filed in late 2013 by the
Colorado Oil and Gas Association challenging the bans passed by voters in Fort
Collins and Longmont stating that the Fort Collins moratorium is preempted by
the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act because it “impedes a state interest
and prohibits what the state law allows.”
“The City’s
five-year ban effectively eliminates the possibility of oil and gas development
within the City,” Lammons writes. “This is so because hydraulic fracturing is
used in ‘virtually all oil and gas wells’ in Colorado. To eliminate a
technology that is used in virtually all oil and gas wells would substantially
impede the state’s interest in oil and gas production.”
The
moratorium in Fort Collins stopped new wells from being fracked within city
limits, while the city performed a study on the health impacts of fracking. City officials now have seven weeks to
decide if it plans to appeal the court’s decision.
“We are
disappointed at the outcome,” Interim City Attorney Carrie Daggett told the
Coloradoan. The city is reviewing the judge’s order and will be considering its
options, Daggett said.
“The
decision of overturning the protective moratorium in Fort Collins against the
inherent human and environmental dangers of fracking is yet another display of
puppetry enforced by the regulatory scheme,” said Shane Davis, aka The
Fractivist.
On Monday, Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) pulled two
ballot measures from the November ballot that sought to provide far greater
local control of Colorado’s fracking industry. The initiatives would have
forced fracking wells to be 2,000 feet from schools, hospitals and other
community facilities, and established an environmental bill of rights allowing
local governments precedence when laws conflict with the state.
Late July,
Boulder County District Court Judge D.D. Mallard ruled against Longmont’s
fracking ban in favor of “state’s interest,” clearly stating that concerns
about health risks to residents don’t quite stack up against Colorado’s stake
in the oil and gas industries. Voters approved the ban in 2012, but the
Colorado Oil and Gas Association never stopped fighting to overturn it.
***On Frack Chemicals
“Out of nearly 200 commonly used
compounds, there's very little known about the potential health risks of about
one-third, and eight are toxic to mammals.
Stringfellow's
team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of the Pacific
scoured databases and reports to compile a list of substances commonly used in
fracking. They include gelling agents to thicken the fluids, biocides to keep
microbes from growing, sand to prop open tiny cracks in the rocks and compounds
to prevent pipe corrosion.
Fracking fluids do contain many nontoxic and
food-grade materials, as the industry asserts. But if something is edible or
biodegradable, it doesn't automatically mean it can be easily disposed of,
Stringfellow notes.
His team found that most fracking compounds will
require treatment before being released. And, although not in the thousands as
some critics suggest, the scientists
identified eight substances, including biocides, that raised red flags. These
eight compounds were identified as being particularly toxic to mammals.
"There
are a number of chemicals, like corrosion inhibitors and biocides in
particular, that are being used in reasonably high concentrations that
potentially could have adverse effects," Stringfellow says.
"Biocides, for example, are designed to kill bacteria—it's not a benign
material.” They’re also looking at
the environmental impact of the fracking fluids, and they are finding that some have toxic effects on aquatic life.
In addition,
for about one-third of the approximately 190 compounds the scientists
identified as ingredients in various fracking formulas, the scientists found
very little information about toxicity and physical and chemical properties.
"It should be a priority
to try to close that data gap," Stringfellow says.
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-fracking-fluids-red-flags.html#jCp
***Sand Mining Takes Toll on Wisconsin As Fracking Escalates
Nationwide
“To keep fractures from snapping shut when the
fracking operation is completed and the pressure is eased, you need to prop
them open with something. That’s why fracking fluid—a highly engineered fluid
that is mostly water by volume, but can contain dozens of different chemicals—always includes a “proppant.” The drilling industry has
developed manufactured proppants, but often the proppant of choice is a clean,
consistent, well-rounded, tough, fine-grained sand. A typical fracking operation in the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, for
example, can use 4 million pounds or more of sand.
Where is all the sand coming
from? As you might expect, Texas is one place where sand-mining is booming. But
surprisingly, most of this sand comes from a place more famously associated
with beer and brauts: Wisconsin. The rapid proliferation of sand-mining operations is getting a lot of
attention there and raising concerns about public health and safety, property
values, quality of life and environmental impacts.
Responding to these concerns, the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) just published an interactive map showing the locations of all the
facilities, active and inactive, involved in the mining and processing of sand
in that state. Their map doesn’t have imagery, so you can’t actually “see” any
of these mining operations. But when we asked, the DNR promptly gave us the
facilities data (updated as of May 1, 2014), so we could make our own map using
Google Maps Engine: from EcoWatch http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/04/sand-mining-toll-on-wisconsin-fracking-escalates/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=caa401f508-Top_News_8_5_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-caa401f508-85333001”
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 button, then scroll
down the list of organizations to direct money to. We are listed as the
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group.
Please be sure to write Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group
on the bottom of your check so that WMCG receives the funding, since we are
just one project of many of the Thomas Merton Center. You can also give your
donation to 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
To receive our
news updates, please email jan at westmcg@gmail.com
To remove your
name from our list please put “remove name from list’ in the subject line
