* 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/
* Email address: janjackmil@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-
WMCG Thank You
Contributors To Our Updates
Thank you to contributors to our Updates:
Debbie Borowiec, Lou Pochet, Ron Gulla, the Pollocks, Marian Szmyd, Bob Donnan,
April Jackman, Kacey Comini, Elizabeth Donahue, and Bob Schmetzer.
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.
The action to Tenaska and State Reps: http://tinyurl.com/stoptenaska
The hearing request to DEP: http://tinyurl.com/tenaskahearing
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 now meet the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30
PM in Greensburg. Email Jan directions. All are very welcome to attend.
***Boston Art Show
Uses 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
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
Happy Thanksgiving!!
I am very thankful for
every one of you who has given your time and energy to work for the protection
of our families, our environment, and our homes. Jan
TAKE ACTION !!
***Letters to the editor are important and one of the best ways to share
information with the public. ***
***TRI (Toxic Release Inventory)
Action Alert-Close the Loophole:
“We need your help!! Please send
an email to the US EPA urging them to "Close the TRI Loophole that the oil
and gas industry currently enjoys".
We all deserve to know exactly what these operations
are releasing into our air, water and onto our land. Our goal is to guarantee the public’s right
to know.
Please let the US EPA know
how important TRI reporting will be to you and your community:
Mr.
Gilbert Mears
Docket #:
EPA-HQ-TRI-2013-0281 (must be included on all correspondence)
Mears.gilbert@epa.gov
Some facts on Toxics Release
Inventory (TRI) – what it is and why it’s important:
What
is the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)?
Industrial
facilities report annually the amount and method (land, air, water, landfills)
of each toxic
chemical
they release or dispose of to the national Toxics Release Inventory.
Where
can I find the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)?
Once
the industrial facilities submit their annual release data, the Environmental
Protection Agency
makes
it available to the public through the TRI’s free, searchable online database.
Why
is this important?
The
TRI provides communities and the public information needed to challenge permits
or siting
decisions,
provides regulators with necessary data to set proper controls, and encourages
industrial
facilities
to reduce their toxic releases.
Why
does it matter for oil and natural gas?
The
oil and gas extraction industry is one of the largest sources of toxic releases
in the United
States.
Yet, because of loopholes created by historical regulation and successful
lobbying efforts,
this
industry remains exempt from reporting to the TRI—even though they are second
in toxic air
emissions
behind power plants.
What
is being done?
In
2012, the Environmental Integrity Project filed a petition on behalf of sixteen
local, regional, and
national
environmental groups, asking EPA to close this loophole and require the oil and
gas
industries
to report to the TRI. Although EPA has been carefully considering whether to
act on the
petition,
significant political and industrial pressure opposing such action exists.
What
is the end goal?
Our
goal is to guarantee the public’s right to know. TRI data will arm citizens
with powerful data,
provide
incentives for oil and gas operators to reduce toxic releases, and will provide
a data-driven
foundation
for responsible regulation.
What
can you do?
You
can help by immediately letting EPA know how important TRI reporting will be to
you and your
community.
Send
written or email comments to:
Gilbert Mears
Toxics
Release Inventory Program Division, Environmental Protection Agency
1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460
mears.gilbert@epa.gov
Docket #:
EPA-HQ-TRI-2013-0281 (please be sure to include in all your correspondence)
From: Lisa
Graves Marcucci
Environmental
Integrity Project
PA
Coordinator, Community Outreach
lgmarcucci@environmentalintegrity.org
412-653-4328
(Direct)
412-897-0569
(Cell)
Frack Links
***Middlesex Zoning Case-Geyer Well Near Schools
“The
video is about 3 minutes long. Parents in Butler approach supervisors when
fracking threatens the health and safety of their rural community. The proposed Geyer Well Pad is 1/2 mile from the Mars
District schools and even closer to homes in a nearby sub-division.
Any
community in PA on the radar of the oil and gas industry will need this kind of
resolve and organization to protect their land base: "The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, the Clean Air Council
and a local parents group Protect Our Children, are challenging the ordinance
that will allow six gas wells to be developed on a site close to a school
campus.”
A few excerpts:
Jordan Yeager for Delaware Riverkeepers-
“townships cannot put the interest of one set of property owners above the
community as a whole”
Tom
Daniels-U of Penn Land Use Expert – the ordinance
allows heavy industrial use in agricultural areas permits haphazard oil and gas
development which is contrary to protection of public health safety welfare
Acoustic
Expert Kayna Bowen states Rex acoustic assessment is incorrect
Statement from group member: This
is relevant to Murrysville, Penn Twp, and other local townships:
The
question of *where* a local government can and should allow fracking surface operations
--how close to residential areas?
Do
denser sub-divisions get more protection than sparsely-populated areas? This is
relevant for Penn Twp (Deutsch and Drakulic proposed well pads are within 1000
ft of homes and Deutsch is about 1/2 mile from Level Green's elementary school)
and Murrysville (many leases have been signed and Council is in the process of
updating the ordinance in conjunction with work by the Marcellus Task Force)”
***Gas Density -Google Earth
Dr.
Ingraffea of Cornell has pointed out that the industry can only be profitable
if they achieve density. That’s why leased regions are honeycombed with
hundreds or thousands of wells.
This
video is of photo shots of Texas, Arkansas- You only need to watch the first
few minutes then jump to other areas to get the gist. But everyone should watch
at least part of this.
***Cool Video--Colbert and Neil Young Sing About Fracking
***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 1400 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/
Zoning Corner
Comment
by Area Councilman
“These folks are still treating
the decision as to if and where to allow drilling as a purely policy
decision. It is not. Allowing an industrial operation in a zoning
district in which it is a use incompatible with existing and permitted uses is
a constitutional violation. It is not a
decision in which the Supervisors have any discretion. There’s no “balancing” to be done. The zoning either does or does not permit
drilling. Conditional use does not
change or modify the underlying zoning.”
Frack News
There is so much going on right now
with the Ligonier Township zoning code being completely revised that I am
getting the Updates out every 2 weeks instead of weekly. That means the Updates
will be longer. It also means I need the info about events you want to be
shared with the group to be submitted a little earlier. Thx, jan
***From Elizabeth
Donahue (Elizabeth wrote this in response to an article about elephants
showing compassion for each other and for humans. ) “For our survival, "habitat" - and by that
I mean the whole earth and everything in it - must begin to be valued by humans
as other than commodity for immediate use or gratification. From failing bees
to shrinking elephant populations, human actions demonstrate how our cleverness
far outstrips our wisdom to use that cleverness. We need a much deeper wisdom
to know not just what we can do, but what is wise to do long-term. The animals
are wiser in so many ways, and we can learn from them...beginning with our land
base.
Push back on the destruction of
your land base, defend it. Our lives truly do depend on "our
context"...which is the air, water and soil that supports us and all the
animals/plants over which we have decided we have dominion.
No one defends what they don't love... . Not recognizing the earth's
worthiness to be treated as a loved one ensures the course that we see playing
out across the globe”.
***More Fracking at the Beaver Run Reservoir
TRUTH ALERT: PA GAS DRILLING PERMIT
ISSUED IN WASHINGTON TWP TOWNSHIP 2014-11-07
Report
Details
Well
Type: Gas
Permit
Issued: 2014-11-07 00:00:00
Operator: CNX GAS CO LLC
Site
Name: MAMONT SOUTH 2 2E
Township: Washington Twp
County: Westmoreland
Permit
Type: Renewal
Description: Drill & Operate Well Permit
Unconventional: Yes
Horizontal: Y
Total
Depth:
Well
API Number: 129-28865
OGO
Number: OGO-37312
Facility
ID: 770528
Monitor this location View
Nearby Alerts
ID: 4e2fa4dc-cd9b-3a81-9d73-aa102478fd9b
Source: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/oil_and_gas_reports/20297
Date: 2014-11-07 00:00:00
Location: 40.463158 -79.576677
Tags: PADEP, frack, permit, drilling, Gas
***PA Gas Drilling
Permit Issued in Penn Twp Township
Gas
permit issued on 2014-11-18 00:00:00 to APEX ENERGY (PA) LLC for site DRAKULIC PAD 1H in Penn Twp township,
Westmoreland county
Tags:
PADEP, frack, permit, drilling, Gas
PA
Gas Drilling Permit Issued in Penn Twp Township
Gas
permit issued on 2014-11-18 00:00:00 to APEX ENERGY (PA) LLC for site DEUTSCH PAD 1H in Penn Twp
township, Westmoreland county
Tags:
PADEP, frack, permit, drilling, Gas
***Update From Jan--
Ligonier Township
“The Ligonier Township ad hoc
zoning committee charged with working on the gas ordinance met this past week
with Terry Carcella, township manager. We have been working for months to keep
the frack zone in Ligonier Township limited to a small area. According to
zoning law, you must have an industrial area set aside in every township. Our industrial zone is very small so Mr.
Carcella believes that in order to avoid being sued, it should be larger.
Today, he introduced a new
concept of allowing parcels of frack zones in various areas of the township. He
is referring to these parcels of frack zones as an overlay. We do not have the
details. This process would chop up the
zones and result in endless debate about whose property should be a frack zone
and whose should not. It would also result in more toxic chemical exposure in
what are now residential or RA areas because the fracking would be more spread
out.
The planning commission meets
December 16. The draft will be presented that night-both the zoning code and
the map of the frack zones. We need to
be there. (There will then be a hearing a few weeks after the presentation,
probably in January.) I do not know if
we have any opportunity to speak after the presentation on the 16th but we need
to have people present to show that there is concern about this issue. People
wanting to frack their property will let their voices be heard and already are
heavily lobbying the supervisors.
This is a political issue-pro
fracking vs. property protection rights. Those who have the most people present
and speaking out will have a clear advantage when it comes to the vote.
Supervisors need to hear from us. We need to have good attendance at these
meetings starting with Tuesday, Dec .16.
This is the most important issue to confront Ligonier residents in many
decades. If water wells are contaminated, our property is not worth much, if
anything. Air contaminants have been linked to cancerous and non- cancerous
diseases and birth defects.
Our committee has worked very
hard on this issue. We need your
support. The few of us involved cannot spread the word sufficiently. Please
help us and by asking friends, neighbors, and family to these meetings. We will
need to be there at the January meetings as well. “
***Update From
Alyson –Penn Trafford Wells
“Update on Deutsch and
Drakulic proposed well pads in Penn Twp:
The PA DEP website now shows both
well pads as permitted on 11/18/2014. The DEP has signed off on both well pads.
I guess, in the end, the proximity (vertical wall) to Turtle Creek did not
bother them. Or the 700-ft distance from homes.
To
clarify, this does not mean that Penn Twp has permitted these 2 well pads. Even
if you don't live in Penn Twp, if you live close by to either of these well
pads, you may have legal standing to object to them. “
***Penn Trafford Meeting--By
PT Resident
“(PT is in the process of
updating their ordinance and 2 well pads are being proposed near the
Murrysville border that would be situated in a residential area and within 1000
ft of homes in Murrysville, Penn Twp (Level Green area) and Trafford. Residents within 1/2 mile of these
proposed well pads known as "Drakulic" and "Deutsch"
received letters from a group of concerned residents informing them of these
planned wells and last night, a number of residents attended the supervisors'
meeting in Penn Twp.)
Attendance was very good at the
supervisors' meeting. The letter sent to residents had obviously raised
awareness about drilling. Attorney Nick Kennedy (from Mountain Watershed
Association) had prepared a document explaining what was lacking in the Penn
Twp proposed ordinance .... Resident Michael Bertonachi started off reading it.
The supervisors only allow 3 minutes and Michael only got so far (he received
loud applause) so when Val Lamanna went up, she presented each of the
Commissioners and Attorney Mlakar (Penn Township's solicitor) with a copy of a
health study report that some PT residents received at a Univ. of Pgh seminar
and spoke on it and then proceeded with Nick's summation at the point where
Michael was cut off.
A 3rd resident almost finished it
and then Mr. Begg did finish it. In all, many spoke but we had more that
couldn't speak like one man because he was on the Trafford end and Mlakar said
you had to be a PT resident. A woman spoke of falling home values. A man who
lives at the cut on Saunders Station Road also spoke. There was a man who owns
property in PT but lives in Pgh. who spoke for the drilling industry but was
poorly received.”
***Penn Twp Supervisors'
Meeting –Stephanie Novak
From Stephanie Novak of the Mountain Watershed Association:
"Thank you to those who
attended Monday night’s commissioners meeting in Penn Township. As a result of
the letter campaign to residents with ½ mile of the proposed well pads, there
were barely enough seats for everyone at the meeting. I would say around 15
people spoke about their personal concerns over the well pads. We were able to
get the entire list of questions Nick prepared about the zoning ordinance into
the official record. Now is the time to
continue to demand that your commissioners answer these questions by continuing
to call and email them with your concerns. Attached is a copy of the list
of questions we raised for those new to the group.
"I’d also like to update you
about the official complaint to DEP about the Deutsch site. Our claim was that
access road to the well pad site had been cut prior to APEX receiving it’s
erosion and sediment control permit. I spoke with Sam Steingrade, a water
quality specialist from DEP who investigated our claim. After visiting the
site, it was clear to him that the company had been bringing in equipment. The
way he explained it to me was that the company had been issued a deficiency
letter from DEP and they were doing work on the site to resolve some of the
issues in the letter. The company drilled boreholes (not a regulated activity)
to conduct a percolation test as instructed by DEP. They also have been
delineating wetlands and doing some other pre-construction tasks on the site.
He said that none of these activities warranted a violation.
According to DEP e-facts, the
technical review and decision review are complete and either the permit
decision and/or permit issuance are forthcoming. They do not officially have
the permit yet. If you live near this site, here is what to look for. They
cannot begin cutting trees or bring in any heavy equipment for earth moving
until they post the signs with the name of the well pad and their permit
number. If you see any activities like this, you are asked to call Sam at
412-417-7947 or Kurt Smith at 412-442-4000 to make a complaint. During our call
he also made a comment about how close the site is to Turtle Creek and that in
one area the bank is “almost vertical”. This
makes you wonder why they would allow a site so close to a stocked trout stream
that has been recovering from years of AMD problems. I haven’t had the
opportunity to reach out to anyone at the Turtle Creek Watershed Association
but I think this is something we should certainly do."
***Penn Twp Supervisors' Meeting –The Questions by Attorney Nick Kennedy
The list of questions Attorney Nick
Kennedy prepared and that were entered into the minutes of the meeting by
residents were:
(Prepared with the assistance of Nick Kennedy, Esq.
Community Advocate for the Mountain Watershed Association)
Compatible
Use Questions
1.
How is the new zoning ordinance consistent with the Robinson Township decision and the Environmental Rights
Amendment?
2.
How is a well pad a compatible use with residential uses?
3.
How was it determined what residential areas would be included in Mineral Extraction Overlay and thus subject to
the prospect of unconventional drilling?
4.
How does allowing drilling in the Mixed Density Residential District fit with
the stated purpose of that
district? Stated Purpose: “The MDR Mixed Density Residential District is established in order to
provide land for a wide variety of
housing options in a number of configurations at moderate to high densities, as well as to provide for
personal and professional services, small- scale
mixed use sites and compatible support uses.”
5.
How does allowing drilling in the Neighborhood Commercial District fit with the
stated purpose of that
district? Stated Purpose: “The NC Neighborhood Commercial
District is established in order to provide land for small scale commercial uses, personal and
professional services, planned mixed use developments,
multi-family residential, mixed-use structures with commercial uses on the first floor and residential on
floors above, restaurants, arts and
entertainment, and compatible support uses for the permitted principal uses.”
6.
How does allowing unconventional drilling in residential and commercial zones meet the stated purpose of the
Mineral Extraction Overlay? Stated Purpose: “The
purpose of the MEO Mineral Extraction Overlay District is to provide areas for the extraction of minerals as defined
by the Commonwealth, where the
population density is low and significant development is not projected for the near future.”
Development
Infill Overlay District
7.
How was it determined which residential areas would be included in the Development Infill Overlay
District?
8.
How is the stated purpose of this district being furthered by allowing
unconventional drilling as close as 600 feet to residences, schools, churches,
etc. despite their location in the Infill Overlay District? Stated Purpose: The
purpose of the Development Infill Overlay District is to establish a health and
safety buffer from surface related activities and facilities, specifically oil
and natural gas extraction, in developing areas of the Township where
residential and nonresidential development has occurred and is projected to
occur.
9.
How is the purpose of this district being furthered (assuming there are no
setbacks for compressor stations) by allowing compressor stations right up to
the border of this overlay district?
Setbacks
10.
How did you arrive at 600 feet as the setback for unconventional drilling? Why
is that sufficient?
11.
"Potential Public Health Impacts of Natural Gas Development and Production
in the Marcellus Shale in Western Maryland," concluded "that an
adequate setback from the corner of a [fracking] facility to the corner of a
residential property (2000 feet) can minimize exposure." Was this report
considered? If so, why was it not followed?
12.
Why are the setbacks from drilling and Natural Gas Processing facilities less
than those required for Adult Oriented Businesses under 190-503? Note: Adult
Oriented Businesses must be 1500 feet from the boundary line of a residentially
zoned area, or property line of a single family dwelling, church, school, or
library. This is significant because not only do they have large setbacks, they
have to be setback from the boundaries of residential zones themselves, which
is not a requirement for drilling. Also note: An adult oriented business cannot
be placed within 5,000ft of another business (no limit for drilling,
compressors, etc.) Compressor Stations
13.
Is there a setback requirement for compressor stations?
14.
According to 190-641 Oil and Gas Operations Section A, compressor stations and
gas processing plants must be approved by the Board of Commissioners before a
permit is issued. If the Board of Commissioners is going to vote on compressor
stations and gas process plants, why are they permitted uses as opposed to
conditional? Why not retain greater control through a conditional use approval
process?
15.
How are the stated objectives of Penn Twp, as enumerated in the ordinance,
being furthered by the ordinance?
16.
Section D(2)(f) requires spills to be reported “timely” to Penn. What
constitutes timely and why is immediate reporting not required?
17.
How will the thousands of truck trips be handled so as to not impair the
community or create traffic flow problems?
18.
190-147(F)(5)(d)(4) states: “Hazardous or Toxic Waste — Hazardous or toxic
waste shall not be permitted to accumulate on any property, and disposal shall
be in compliance with applicable Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hazardous or
toxic waste handling regulations. “ Does this mean the ordinance is banning
pits? If not, why not? Why not require a “closed loop system”?
19.
Where in the ordinance does it require the operator to show compliance with all
state and federal air pollution requirements?
20.
Why is the Mineral Extraction Overlay not clearly marked on the proposed map?
Noise
& Lighting
21.
Section D(4) sets a noise level of 60 dBA. How was this level arrived at and
does this apply to all stages of drilling?
22.
Have studies been done on the average ambient noise in the township?
23.
Is the company required to monitor noise levels?
24.
How will compliance be assured?
25.
Section D(6) sets lighting requirements, how were these specific requirements
established?
26.
How does that requirement relate to performance standard G relating to glare?
***Level Green
Residents Question Drilling- By Chris Foreman
“Some residents are pressing Penn Township
commissioners for answers about how proposed revisions to the zoning ordinance
would protect home values, water quality and road conditions.
Mobilized with assistance from
the nonprofit Mountain Watershed Association, residents packed the
commissioners' meeting Monday night to request responses to 25 written questions
about proposed conditions for regulating unconventional drilling.
Among the questions, residents
said they wanted to know the township's rationale for choosing “only” a 600-foot setback from an adjacent
property for drilling activity and how the township defines a driller's
“timely” reporting of a spill.
“There potentially are some very
dangerous outcomes with this kind of drilling activity, and we look to you to
protect us,” said Dan Begg, who lives on Antler Hill Drive.
Last month, commissioners unanimously voted to advertise proposed
changes — including new provisions regarding unconventional wells such as those
drilled into the Marcellus shale formation — to the zoning ordinance.
Though final adoption of the ordinance won't happen until sometime next
year, the township's advertisement of the proposed regulations means that any
new drilling operations must abide by the conditions, Solicitor Les Mlakar
said.
Some residents are growing
anxious because drilling companies Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley have
indicated they want to drill in the township. Last week, the state DEP
completed a technical review of two sites Apex is pursuing in the Level Green
area.
Because the commissioners decided
to make the operation of well pads a “conditional use” in the proposed changes,
drillers would be required to go through a public hearing before them, too,
before getting a permit from the township.
However, the commissioners would
not be able to reject a permit if a company meets the township's conditions, Mlakar
said. Ultimately, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code doesn't allow a
township to prohibit extraction of resources such as oil and natural gas, he
said.
But that hasn't allayed the fears
of residents who rely on well water and are worried about what they expect will
be a high volume of heavy equipment trudging through the township.
“There's open land all over; why
do they pick the areas where there's population?” said Doyle Harp, who lives on
Woodcliffe Lane in Level Green. “It amazes me.”
The anticipated truck traffic
related to drilling operations is leading township officials to do a
weight-limit study for several roads.
“It's something we're very
concerned about,” township manager Alex Graziani said.
And the questions raised by residents
will receive careful consideration by township officials, Mlakar said.
Officials also are “struggling” with interpretations of state law and
ramifications of ordinances passed in other communities, he said.
“You have to bear with the drafting of this ordinance because
everything keeps changing from week to week and month to month,” Mlakar said.
“There are numerous cases filed in various municipalities challenging various
ordinances. We are monitoring those to see what happens.”
Read
more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourpenntrafford/yourpenntraffordmore/7184062-74/township-drilling-residents#ixzz3JeHc7M9W
“Rex Energy’s plan to frack for gas about a half mile
from the Mars school district of 3,200 kids has been suspended, just weeks
after a group of concerned parents and environmentalists launched a legal
challenge against the project.
Rex Energy announced that it
would stop preparing to drill on the farm of Bob and Kim Geyer in Middlesex,
Pennsylvania — a property located about 3,000 feet from the Mars School
District. The reason, Rex told the Butler Eagle, was a lawsuit
brought in October by local families and environmental groups Delaware
Riverkeepers Network and Clean Air Council.
“We’re happy that [Rex has] been able to suspend
operations and we can continue the conversation to try and protect the
children,” Amy Nassif, who heads the Mars Parent Group, told ThinkProgress on
Monday. “This isn’t just about the Geyer’s site — it’s about anybody that wants
to develop, and the state government needs to realize that they need to stop
putting children in harm’s way in order to continue to develop shale.”
The lawsuit that commenced last month argued that the Middlesex Township
Board of Supervisors violated Pennsylvania’s state Constitution when it voted
to change the township’s zoning law back in August. Those changes legally
opened up most of the rural town of Middlesex for fracking, even on residential
lands.
The zoning law change has wide
implications for drilling and fracking in Middlesex, but the main reason for
the change was to pave the way for the proposed gas wells near the school.
Geyer told the Butler Eagle last
week that the lawsuit was just an example of environmental groups trying to
“use” Middlesex as a platform for their political agenda.
Environmental groups insist their
lawsuit has a different purpose — protecting the health and safety of the 3,200
children who attend school at the Mars School District. They cite the recently
observed link between proximity to natural gas wells and prevalence of
congenital heart defects and neural tube defects, in addition to increased air
pollution from gas leaks and truck traffic and the possibility of well water
contamination.
“This well site is entirely too
close to the school district,” Nassif said. “It puts children within a 2-mile evacuation zone, and if they continue
work at that site, it puts them within the area where they can experience
health effects.”
Rex’s halt on work at the Geyer
site is temporary, pending hearings on the zoning rule which are set to begin
on Tuesday. Nassif said the hearings will likely mean a halt on the project
until at least December. She said Rex has already completed construction of its
well pad on the farm and created access roads for trucks, though there is not
yet any equipment or drilling rigs on the site.
Geyer has accused the parents and
environmental groups of attempting to drag out the process in the hopes that
Rex Energy will become tired of spending money on legal fighting and walk away
from the project. That’s at least one thing that Nassif can agree with.
“If [the legal proceedings] cost the company money, well that’s the
price that you pay for trying to do business so close to a school district,”
she said. “You need to realize you can’t set up an industrial process this
close to the school.”
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/17/3593190/rex-halts-fracking-school-project/
***Washington
County Kiskadden Hearing Ends On Water Contamination
Contaminated Water
Well ½ mile from sites
--The
last days of the lengthy hearing on whether Range Resources’ drilling
operations contaminated water well in rural Washington County.
“The geologists differed on
whether there is a hydro-geological pathway for groundwater to flow between Range’s
gas operations and the water well of Leon Kiskadden.
The water well is a half mile away and down slope from the fracked gas
well, a leaky drill cuttings pit, and a 13.5 million gallon wastewater
impoundment.
At issue in the case, which state
Environmental Hearing Board Chief Judge Thomas Renwand heard in Pittsburgh, is
whether the state department followed its rules and procedures in determining
that Range’s Yeager shale gas drilling operations on a ridge in Amwell Township
did not pollute Mr. Kiskadden’s well beginning in the summer of 2011. Mr.
Kiskadden wants the agency to change its ruling and order Range to replace his
water supply.
The case is the first to challenge a DEP water supply determination
denying contamination.
A hearing board decision is not
expected before mid-June.
In testimony, Ann Perry, a
hydrogeologist testifying for Range, said that Mr. Kiskadden’s water quality is
typical of valley groundwater in Washington County.
Water in that area usually
contains greater concentrations of sodium, and low levels of chloride, barium,
strontium and dissolved solids in his well water did not indicate contamination
from gas drilling operations.
According to Ms. Perry, whom
AECOM, an international engineering consulting and management firm working in
the oil and gas industry, employs, a variety of subterranean rock formations
inhibit the flow of groundwater between the Yeager drill site and Mr. Kiskadden’s
water well. The methane, acetone and
t-Butyl alcohol found in his water could have come from other sources,
including a defunct auto salvage business, she said.
The Yeager shale gas well pad was
constructed in August 2009, and the first well was drilled in September and
fracked in December of that year.
Two more shale gas wells were
drilled on the same pad in January 2011, according to internal Range emails
cited at the hearing.
The centralized wastewater
impoundment was completed in April 2010, and flowback fluids from a variety of
Range drilling sites in the region were added in May 2010.
Mr. Kiskadden first noticed and
reported water well problems to the DEP in June 2011.
Paul Rubin, the geologist testifying on his behalf,
said he identified a network of fractures in the rock underlying the leaky
drill cuttings pit that would have allowed contaminants, including high
concentrations of sodium in the pit, to migrate with ground water off-site
toward the Kiskadden water well.
Mr. Rubin also testified that a host of contaminants
linked to drilling and fracking and identified in tests on soil samples from
under the leaky impoundment also show up in the Kiskadden well.
Mr. Kiskadden’s attorneys, John and Kendra Smith, have
elicited testimony from DEP witnesses showing the department used incomplete
and inaccurate water test results to make its decision about Mr. Kiskaden’s
water quality.
Under questioning by Ms. Smith, Ms. Perry admitted she looked at test
reports and not test data and so didn’t know that dozens of contaminants —
including acetone, toulene, xylene, arsenic, boron, barium, cadmium, ethane,
hydrogen sulfide, methane, propane, strontium and oil and grease — were found
in Mr. Kiskadden’s water.
As
the case concluded, Range and the DEP
stipulated that their knowledge of fracking chemicals possibly used on the
Yeager drill site is limited to commercial “product” information provided by
Range’s supplier, Universal Well Services Inc., that does not disclose specific
chemical composition.
In June, after Range could not comply with an order to
provide all the chemicals used at the Yeager site, Mr. Renwand issued a
ruling that gave Mr. Kiskadden a “rebuttable presumption that contaminants
found in his water supply may have been used at [Range’s] site and/or in
[Range’s] operation.”
John Gisleson, Range’s lead
attorney, said after the hearing was adjourned that, “Range knows in excess of
99 percent of all the chemicals used and that were put downhole at the site.”
The geologically and chemically
complicated EHB case parallels a civil lawsuit filed in Washington County Court
of Common Pleas in which Mr. Kiskadden and two other families allege they
experienced serious health problems due to exposure to water and air pollutants
from the Yeager site.
***Range Resources
in Mt Pleasant Twp. –By Bob Donnan
“Range
Resources Appalachia has a long and storied history in Mt. Pleasant Township,
Pa. (MPT) where they drilled the first Marcellus Shale well 10 years ago. Over
the ensuing years the community has been divided over drilling issues and there
have been some contentious meetings over impoundments, compressor stations and
zoning issues.
Due
to ‘push back’ from MPT, things reached a point a few years ago where Range
threatened to depart MPT for good, and go drill in other townships. They did
just that for a short while.
They’re
back!
For
some residents, the idea of Range departing the township to drill elsewhere
(and take their impoundments with them) was too good to be true. In the latest
chapter played out in Hickory Monday night, we saw Range in the process of
trying to get conditional use approval for 3 new drilling pads with the main
focus of that meeting on the Yonkers pad.
Two of the new drilling pads are ‘too close
for comfort’ to the Ft Cherry School District campus for dozens of parents who
have retained George Jugovic (of Penn Future) as counsel. Another couple has
retained Jon Kamin, while Range sticks with their usual counsel Sean Gallagher.
MPT is a party with Neva Stanger and the Board of Supervisors brought in Chuck
Means as special counsel to run the hearing. This hearing was a continuation of
the first hearing, with a third meeting set for 6:00pm December 17, 2014 at the
Hickory fire hall on Route 50.
At
one point in the hearing, Range’s governmental affairs man Jim Cannon was being
questioned by Jon Kamin. Complete answers to questions were not flowing very
well, and when Mr. Cannon could not answer a question about initial well
drilling passing through ground water without a casing, the VP of Drilling at
Range appeared miffed as he approached and whispered something into Mr.
Cannon’s ear.
This
resulted in Don Robinson being placed on the stand to answer Jon Kamin’s
questions about drilling for 42-minutes. I consider it a rare view into Range
operations.”
***Vandergrift Warns
GX Tech. -No Seismic Testing
“Vandergrift officials are warning a Texas company not
to circumvent their denial of a Marcellus shale-mapping
program by going directly to residents.
After council denied a request
from Ion GX Technology to conduct mapping operations in the borough, residents
began receiving permit request letters from the company.
Vandergrift has sent a “cease and
desist” letter from Solicitor Larry Loperfito to the company, according to
council President Brian Carricato.
“Any testing that you conduct that has any negative or
adverse effect upon the Borough of Vandergrift, in any way, however slight,
will be dealt with immediately and appropriately,” the letter states.
“We place you on notice that you
have no right to conduct any testing that would, in any way, however slight,
affect any property owned by the Borough of Vandergrift, including public
rights of way and/or lands owned by the Borough of Vandergrift.”
Ion representatives this year
have been visiting many Alle-Kiski Valley municipalities.
The company plans to produce a three-dimensional map
of the Marcellus formation over a 281-square-mile area, covering nearly all of
central and southern Armstrong County and crossing into parts of Westmoreland
and Indiana counties.
While the mapping project is
under way, Lawson said permitting has gone “very slow,” and it has been delayed
because of that.
Carricato said Vandergrift officials were concerned
that the work, which includes sending vibrations through the ground, could
damage underground utilities, such as the sewage system.
Carricato said council's refusal of the company's
request to conduct seismic testing on public streets, land and rights of way
was based on the advice of the borough's attorney and engineer.
“Now they're sending out letters
to the residents individually asking for personal permission,” he said. “I
received one. I threw it away.”
The “seismic mineral permit
request” states that GX Technology Corp. is asking for permission “to conduct a
three-dimensional seismic survey over the following described property in which
you either own mineral rights or an oil and gas lease.”
Frank Souchack, who has lived on
Washington Avenue for 30 years, was among those who received a letter.
“It just sounded shady to me,” he said. “They went to
the borough and the borough turned them down, and then they send these
individual letters out.
“I didn't have good vibes when I
got the letter. It didn't sound good to me.”
Souchack
said he threw the letter away, as have other residents he has spoken with to
about it.
“People are probably being
deceived, expecting they'll receive some kind of reward or income from drilling
sites if they find something,” he said. “I don't think it's a worthwhile thing
for me as a homeowner to sign.”
Loperfito said local Ion
representatives have agreed to meet with Vandergrift officials.
“We have to find out what this is
all about,” he said. “This technology is new to us, and we have to understand
what they're proposing to our residents.”
Read
more:
http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/3203288-74/vandergrift-borough-company#ixzz3JIUN6CmL
***Bye To WPX-
Profiting from gas proving
more difficult
“WPX Energy Inc. will divest
from the Marcellus Shale with no plans
to drill any new wells in Pennsylvania for the foreseeable future.
The Tulsa-based company spun off
from Williams Companies Inc. in 2011. Its new CEO, petroleum engineer Rick
Muncrief, joined the company in May and took a hard look at WPX’s assets,
spokeswoman Susan Oliver said.
WPX will now focus on developing its acreage in the
oil and natural gas liquids fields of Colorado, North Dakota and New Mexico,
she said.
“The decision was made to divest
of the Marcellus asset because we get a better return with drilling for oil and
natural gas liquids than the dry gas here,” she said. Its decision came as no
surprise to Lou D’Amico, president and director of the Pennsylvania Independent
Oil and Gas Association.
“I think there are a number of
companies that are looking at possibility of getting out of the dry gas portion
of the Marcellus,” he said. “Right now with the current prices, there’s not a
lot to justify additional drilling in the area.”
The Marcellus Shale holds dry gas
in Northeast Pennsylvania and the more profitable wet gas region of Southwest
Pennsylvania and Northwest West Virginia.
Although
WPX didn’t mention the looming 5 percent severance tax proposed by Democratic
Governor-elect Tom Wolf, Mr. D’Amico said many association members are eyeing
the tax.
To make drilling for dry gas
worth the expense, gas companies are hoping for another cold winter in the
short term, said Bernard Weinstein, Ph.D., economist and associate director of
the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
In the long run, gas-fueled power
generation, vehicles and exports to other countries are necessary to bring
prices back up to a level to encourage more gas development, Dr. Weinstein
said.
WPX
will continue to operate its producing wells, Ms. Oliver said. It has not
identified a buyer for its Marcellus holdings.
The company reported 162 active
wells in Pennsylvania in the first half of 2014, according to state production
data. Most are in Susquehanna and Westmoreland counties, with a handful in
Centre and Clearfield counties.”
WPX Gives an Update on Their 2014
Marcellus Plans
, WPX official Susan Oliver contacted
MDN to provide some perspective and background. MDN concludes that we had most
of our analysis right, but we may have left the wrong impression by using the
word “Abandoning” in our headline. We want to clear this up right here and now,
at the beginning of this update: WPX
Energy is not leaving the Marcellus. That is, the 100 or so wells they’ve
already drilled here in the Marcellus will continue to be WPX wells. We thank
the company for making that clarification and apologize to landowners if we
gave you a bit of shock.
However, WPX is, as we noted
yesterday, not doing any new drilling in the Marcellus–at least in 2014 and
likely beyond. That part of yesterday’s story was correct. As Susan told us,
the change we see reflected in their 2014 budget and drilling plan is that the
company is shifting from drilling to production in the Marcellus. As for their
new drilling program in 2014, they owe it to their stockholders to drill new
wells in more oily shale plays–places where they will make more money, quite
frankly. And you can’t fault them for that…
***East Allegheny School
District Plans to Drill For $500,000 Deal
“East Allegheny School district has voted to allow gas
drilling on school property. EQT will
explore 170 acres owned by the East Allegheny School District for gas. .
If natural gas is found on the
property, the district would receive an up-front payment of more than a
half-million dollars.
“Once they get started, the terms
of the agreement call for the school district to receive gross proceeds of 17
percent of whatever is being earned by EQT,” said solicitor Daniel Beisler.
The district’s property sits on a
plateau and there is some housing within view, but under state law, EQT cannot drill within 500 feet of Logan
Middle School. (500 feet from a school? Jan)
Beisler says no surface drilling
is allowed and the children and school will be safe.
“We have hold harmless indemnity
clauses in that lease to protect the school,” said Beisler. “We’re confident,
based on what EQT has presented, what they’ve done in the past, that we would
be protected and the children would be protected, as well.”
The district is facing a more
than $1.1 million deficit and needs revenue.
“This
is seen as a potential source of income, which would positively affect the
taxes, hopefully to keep the taxes without there having to be an increase,”
said Beisler.
Clean Water Action is concerned
about an industrial operation working so close to a school, and says this is
impact of the state failing to properly fund schools.”
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/11/11/school-district-seeks-500000-from-natural-gas-deal/?src=fb
***Kerosene in Frack
Fluid: Toxic but Legal
“In the last three years,
230,171 gallons of kerosene, a petroleum distillate with chemical components
that are toxic to humans and wildlife, were used in fracking fluid in 129 wells
throughout Fayette County, and it was
all within the letter of the law.
“They are environmental terrorists,”
according to Ken Dufalla, president of the Greene County chapter of the Izaak
Walton League of America (IWLA).
Dufalla, who has a degree in
chemistry, says over the last four years he’s collected data from waterways in
Fayette and surrounding counties showing flowback has entered the waters.
EXCERPTS FROM
KEROSENE MSDS
Potential Acute Health Effects:
Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant),
of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in
case of skin contact (permeator). Severe over-exposure can result in death.
Potential Chronic Health Effects:
Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact
(sensitizer). CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available. MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic
for bacteria and/or yeast. TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available. DEVELOPMENTAL
TOXICITY: Not available. The substance is toxic to the nervous system. The
substance may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, central nervous system (CNS).
Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs
damage. Repeated exposure to a highly toxic material may produce general
deterioration of health by an accumulation in one or many human organs.
Personal Protection in Case of a Large
Spill:
Splash goggles. Full suit. Vapor respirator.
Boots. Gloves. A self-contained breathing apparatus should be used to avoid
inhalation of the product. Suggested protective clothing might not be
sufficient; consult a specialist BEFORE handling this product.
http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924436
“It is a problem, and it’s going to get
worse.”
In February, the
EPA) clarified its position on the use
of diesel fuel, saying that no diesel fuel may be used in fracking fluid
without a permit from the federal government. The EPA specifically outlined
five additives (according to chemical abstract service (CAS) number) that
require permits, and all are variants of diesel fuel.
Diesel fuels are considered particularly dangerous
by the EPA because all variants contain some amount of benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX), which are highly toxic even in small
amounts.
According
to the chemical disclosure registry FracFocus, companies who are drilling in Fayette County are using another
petroleum distillate or diesel fuel variant, a type of kerosene identified as
CAS #64742-47-8, in nearly every well that’s been fracked and reported to
FracFocus. That CAS number is not among the five which are regulated by the
EPA.
The
Groundwater Protection Water Council, which, along with the Interstate Oil and
Gas Compact Commission, manages FracFocus, explained in its 2014 report that
gas companies use various chemical additives in frack fluid for efficiency
purposes and to prevent corrosion and leakage. CAS #64742-47-8 is listed as a
friction reducer in the FracFocus reports.
Companies
like Schlumberger and Sigma Aldrich who sell this additive include in their
product information Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that describe the
substance toxicity and emergency procedures.
Sigma
Aldrich’s information on CAS#64742-47-8 says it is “toxic to aquatic life.” It
advises customers not to let the product enter drains.
“Discharge
into the environment must be avoided,” the MSDS says.
“PA
is the leader in enforcement,” said Perry, DEP. “whenever we have spills or
impacts to the environment, DEP has a sophisticated response.”
He
also agreed that diesel fuels are among the most dangerous components in
fracking fluid, although the use of those
specifically regulated additives is permitted by the EPA when companies have
submitted geotechnical information and emergency management plans.
While
the federal government has set standards for the use of diesel fuels, states
have the option of enacting stricter enforcement, and Perry said the DEP would like to see the use of all
diesel fuels -- including CAS#64742-47-8 -- eliminated in the state at some
point.
Cross-referencing
reports of NOVs issued to unconventional wells in Fayette County listed on the DEP’s website against information from
FracFocus indicating the use of kerosene in fracking fluid, there were at least six wells that both
used kerosene and were cited for environmental, health and safety violations,
meaning there was an event that had an impact on the environment.
Those
six wells used a total of 59,544 gallons of CAS#64742-47-8 in fracking fluid.
One well, Grant 16H, located in Redstone
Township and operated by Chevron, was fracked in June 2011, and used 52,427
gallons of kerosene. The
DEP issued environmental, health and safety NOVs to Chevron in the same month,
for discharging pollutional material into the water and failing to properly
control waste to prevent pollution. By August 2011, the DEP listed the
violations as resolved, and Chevron paid a $6,000 penalty two months later.
According
to DEP’s data, there were three other wells with similar violations that cannot
be found in the FracFocus database. One of those wells, Orr 33 in Washington
Township and operated by Atlas Resources LLC, was cited for failure to properly
store, transport, process or dispose of residual waste, and later paid a
$15,250 penalty.
“Once
we issue an NOV, it requires the operator to provide a response for how they
will correct it and prevent it from happening again within 10 days,” said
Perry. “As long as they are working on compliance, they can proceed, but if we
believe it’s not being resolved, we would take additional steps.”
For
Dufalla, a man with 67 years under his
belt as a park ranger in southwestern Pennsylvania, the damage already done
is hard to ignore.
“Frack water is definitely getting into our
water,” he said.
“I
am a die-hard fisherman. I used to fish below the Clyde Mine discharge (into
the Monongahela River). I used to catch fish galore,” said Dufalla. After unconventional gas drilling took off,
he said, “white bass disappeared, striped bass disappeared, wall eye
disappeared. I quit fishing from there.”
Dufalla
said the gas companies are guilty of obfuscating the truth, that they are
deceptive about the ability of fracking fluid to make it into the waterways.
“How
the DEP lets this go through is beyond me,” he said. “There are so many flaws.”
Dufalla
said the water testing he’s done weekly for the last four years tells the
story. For example, he said bromide is an identifier of fracking waste and the
discharge coming from the Cumberland, Emerald and Clyde mines shows high levels
of bromides.
“We’re
dealing in facts,” he said. “We can go to court and prove what we have.”
http://www.shalereporter.com/syndicated/article_e24bc871-960f-54f4-b2a0-399bd0eafd7a.html
***Research Mounts
on Health Effects of Fracking For Communities
and Workers
Environmental Health
Mounting research
links oil and gas extraction to massive health risks for workers and
communities.
“A new study
published in Environmental Health
reveals air pollution data on major, in some cases previously underestimated,
health risks from toxic contamination at gas production sites related to
fracking. Air samples gathered around “unconventional oil and gas” sites by
community-based environmental research teams contained unsafe levels of several
volatile compounds that “exceeded federal guidelines under several operational
circumstances,” and that “Benzene, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulfide were the
most common compounds to exceed acute and other health-based risk levels.”
This suggests fracking may bring risk of cancer, birth
defects and long-term respiratory and cellular damage to local towns and farms. Building on other studies
on drilling-related water contamination, the air pollution research may stoke
growing opposition from communities near drilling sites, who must weigh the
industry’s promises of new investment and jobs against the potential cost to
the human health.
The
findings also raise questions about the safety of fracking-site workers, who
may have far less legal recourse over potential health damage than do local
homeowners. Many work contract jobs under harsh, isolated conditions, in a
volatile industry where pressure to pump profits is high and labor protections
weak.
In contrast to other forms of oil
and gas extraction, fracking is a particularly murky field because the process
uses massive volumes of chemicals, with little regulatory oversight or
corporate transparency.
According to the study’s lead
author David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the
Environment University at Albany, workers may face acute risks, and research on
the long-term occupational health effects lags behind the industry’s expansion.
This is a major problem as many
of these workers are on contracts, have no union looking over their shoulders,
and no long term insurance etc. The
workers must have enormous exposures to chemicals, air pollutants and radiation.
Our study is exclusively residential although certainly one would expect the workers
to be exposed to the same air pollutants, only at a higher concentration yet.
Earlier this year, researchers
with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported on four
worker deaths related to hydrofracking waste fluids since 2010, in the fracking
“frontier” of the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana.
Many more “gas vets” may be suffering silently. Ellen Cantarow’s investigation on the health issues in the fracking
industry documented the case of one worker, Randy Moyer, whose subcontracting
job with a fracking operation has left him with massive inflammation,
including a tongue so swollen it clogged his windpipe, and various inexplicable
ailments including headaches, chest pains, “constant white noise in his ears
and the breathing troubles that require him to stash inhalers throughout his
small apartment.”
Moyer recalled in a recent
interview with Food and Watch Watch (F&WW), “When I first got the rash, it
was so bad; it’s like being on fire, and nobody can put you out.”
But workers face more immediate
crises as well: they’re working strenuous, precarious jobs, and are constantly
at risk of falls, burns from scalding water, crushing injuries, car accidents,
getting struck with chains or caught in machines, and countless other traumas,
according to a F&WW analysis. Official labor statistics from 2003 to 2012
show that work-related deaths in the oil and gas sector were “6.5 times the
fatality rate of all U.S. workers…. During that decade, oil and gas drilling
jobs were nearly 12 times as deadly as the average job in the United States.”
The samples assessed in the air
pollution study were collected by volunteers from local environmental watchdog
groups, who were trained to systematically sample air near various production and
processing sites in Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. Substances that were found at alarming
levels include benzene, which has been linked to leukemia and lung disease, as
well as problems with child and fetal development.
Some researchers handling
formaldahyde samples reported troubling symptoms that “mirror the effects of
acute formaldehyde exposure, which causes irritation of the eyes, nose, throat,
and skin.” Similarly, samplers in Wyoming showed symptoms associated with hydrogen
sulfide, including “headaches, dizziness, eye irritation, [and] fatigue.”
Volunteer researcher April Lane,
with the environmental group ArkansasFracking.org, said in a statement
announcing the study that symptoms began to appear as volunteers sampled air
near oil and gas development sites in central Arkansas:
Almost all of us who took
air samples reported health symptoms while sampling was taking place, including
headaches; dizziness or lightheadedness; irritated, burning, or running nose;
nausea; and sore or irritated throat.… I have a five year-old son and have to wonder what
kind of problems might he and other children have to endure?
While the data on fracking’s
health impacts seems unlikely to “satisfy” all the public’s safety concerns, by
taking charge of the scientific research process, community advocates are
satisfying their own quest for the truth.”
***Princeton Study: Up
to 900,000 Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells
Pollute PA Air
A Princeton University study shows that
hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil wells are adding to the state’s
pollution.
CO2, Methane, and Brine Leakage
through Subsurface Pathways: Exploring Modeling, Measurement and Policy Options
is a first-of-its-kind study from Mary Klang that describes how abandoned oil wells serve as leakage
pathways for carbon dioxide, methane, brine and more.
Based on records, Kang estimates that between 280,000 and 970,000 abandoned
wells account for 4 to 13 percent of the state’s methane emissions.
Three of the 19 wells
measured by the team are considered high emitters. Leakage was found in both
plugged and unplugged wells.
“Existing well abandonment
regulations in Pennsylvania do not appear to be effective in controlling methane
emissions from AOG [abandoned oil and gas] wells,” Kang writes in her abstract.
“As a mitigation strategy,
inclusion of gases emitted from AOG wells in Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy
Portfolio Standard may be valuable for both promoting capture and possible use
of the gas as well as for reporting and monitoring of these wells.”
***Radon in Home
Gas Supply and Fracking
“Fracking is safe. Radiation is
harmless. And pigs have wings
By Dr David Lowry posted on November 23, 2014
“The
radon and natural gas coming from the shale mix together and travel together as
the gas is piped to customers. This is a serious health hazard, as radon –
being a gas – is breathed into the lungs and lodges there to decay, doing
damage to the lungʼs tissue and eventually leading to lung cancer.”
Even worse, when radon decays, it
produces a rapid-fire decay chain of four intensely radioactive metals, then
the longer-lived 210Pb lead radio-isotope with its 22.3 year half-life. The
monatomic radioactive particles readily bind onto dust and aerial
microparticles, then to lodge deep in the lungs once inhaled.
Hence there is undoubtedly a risk
of radon gas being pumped into citizens’ homes as part of the shale gas stream.
Unless the gas is stored for a month or more to allow the radon’s radioactivity
to naturally reduce, this is potentially very dangerous, depending of course on
initial radon levels.”
***Anti-Fracking
Warriors Steingraber and Boland Released
From Jail
Wonderful
Statements From Both Women
“[Editor’s note: On Nov. 26
at 12:01 a.m., Sandra Steingraber and Colleen Boland were released from jail
after serving eight days of a 15-day sentence for trespassing at the gates of
Crestwood Midstream on the banks of Seneca Lake. They were immediately greeted
by a crowd of supporters outside the Schuyler County Jail in Watkins Glen.
Below are transcripts of their speeches.)
“Steingraber and Boland are among the first
wave arrests as part of a sustained, ongoing, non-violent civil disobedience
campaign against the storage of fracked gas along the shores of Seneca Lake, a
source of drinking water for 100,000 people. There have been 73 arrests so far.
Calling themselves “We Are Seneca Lake,” those risking arrest—and their
supporters—wear blue during blockades. Donations to the jail fund are greatly
appreciated and make a perfect holiday gift.]
Sandra Steingraber:
Hi,
everybody! I missed you all. And I missed this beautiful world. I’m glad to be
back. And I’m glad to be wearing blue again, instead of orange.
But I’m also glad to have spent
this past week in the 24/7 company of my co-defendant and Seneca Lake
co-defender, Colleen Boland. Thanks to the kindness of our booking officer,
Colleen and I were placed in adjacent cells.
For five days we talked through
the wall between us and passed notes back and forth. After our TB tests came
back negative, we were reclassified and then could speak to each other
face-to-face in the cell block and walk together in circuits together around
the rec yard.
Colleen, there is no person I
would rather be imprisoned with than you.
One document that we passed back
and forth between us was a copy of Martin Luther King’s 1963 “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail.” In it, Dr. King makes the case for civil disobedience as a
tool of social change when all other lawful efforts to attain justice have
failed.
It was interesting for me to
learn that the civil disobedience trainings during the Civil Rights Movement
included how to cope with “the ordeals of jail.”
Likely,
for King and his fellow civil rights workers, continuing their civil
disobedience witness in jail was not a choice, as it is for us, who landed in
jail because we respectfully refused to pay our court fines.
Nevertheless, enduring the
ordeals of jail still has value. Among other benefits, a jail sentence offers
time for reflection.
Here is one insight I’ve had
during my own week of reflection. It comes from a fellow inmate who is
struggling mightily to overcome a lifetime of drug addiction and sexual abuse
that extends back into her early childhood. Abuse is what’s normal for her. She
has never lived without it. So, how to move forward? She told us, “I’m not
trying to find myself. I’m trying to CREATE myself.”
I think that’s our challenge, too. We’ve been living so long under the
tyranny and abuse of the fossil fuel industry that it’s come to seem normal to
us. We have never experienced life without it.
So, when a Texas-based gas company buys our lakeshore in order to store
vast quantities of explosive hydrocarbon gas in the old salt mines
underneath—imperiling drinking water, the climate and everything in between—we
don’t know what to do. All we know is that Big Oil and Gas has always had its
ravaging way with us.
We can’t find
the path to victory; we have to CREATE it.
That’s going to require a lot of
work from all of us over a sustained period of time. What Colleen and I just
did is only a tiny part of the struggle. So, please don’t thank us. Tell us
what YOU are going to do.
And, now, to explain further our
prohibition on thank-yous, here is my friend, U.S. Air Force Senior Master
Sergeant (Retired), Colleen Boland, defendant and defender.
Colleen Boland:
Thank
you all for braving the cold and coming out at such a late hour to welcome
Sandra and me home.
As many of you know, a little
over a month ago, and with the full support of many of you here tonight, I
chose to embrace my military past and take on Crestwood Midstream and the oil
and gas establishment. I was arrested for trespassing on October 29.
For this action, I donned pieces
of my Air Force uniform, and, I have to say, it has served me well. Recalling
the hardships and dehumanization that came with basic training long ago helped
me immeasurably to endure the discomforts of a seven–day jail stay.
Drummed
into us, over and over again, throughout basic training, was one fundamental
principle: leave no one behind. On the obstacle course, before we could move onto
the next barrier, we had to stop, look back, and make sure no one was in
trouble behind us.
During last few hours in lock-up
tonight, I couldn’t help but feel that I was about to leave new comrades
behind: my fellow cellmates in cell block C. With the exception of my next-door
neighbor in cell number 3 (Sandra Steingraber), I knew that I would soon be
leaving behind women who told us they believe in what we are doing and
wholeheartedly support us.
And they thanked us.
Due to their circumstances and the
heart-wrenching life stories they freely shared with us, I understand they
can’t join us on the front lines—now or anytime in the near future—even though
they said they gladly would. They’ve got life-saving work to do—on themselves
and for their children. So, I give them a pass.
Thanks
accepted.
But, as I sat in my locked cell, day after day, I realized I’m growing
less patient towards those who are quick to thank and painfully slow to step up.
We are in a crisis here—along Seneca, and in Horseheads, and Lowman, and
Painted Post, and in other communities throughout the region that are
threatened with fracking and fracking infrastructure.
Time is ticking out. Call me
cranky at this late hour if you wish, but I believe it’s high time for those
who know the perils we face to find a way to contribute.
Not everyone needs to go to jail.
But for those Seneca Lake Defenders who are considering trading in their blue
garb for orange, I encourage them to do so. It is important to keep the
spotlight on what is happening here, and I believe filling the jails with
physically able folks will help do that.
A special note to women who are
considering accepting a jail sentence in lieu of paying fines: I can say with
confidence that Sandra and I have cleared the minefields inside the Chemung
County jail. The women inmates there are prepared to welcome you, watch over
you and show you the ropes. From their cells, they are prepared to help us in
our fight in the only way that is available to them.”
***From Bob Donnan
Report
Gas Flares
“A large number of pollutants are
released into the air during the flaring process. Included in these airborne
pollutants are the chemicals used to frac the well, as well as any of 5-dozen
other pollutants including the following: acetalhyde, acrolein, benzene, ethyl
benzene, formaldehyde, hexane, naphthalene, propylene, toluene, and xylenes.’
Fracking loophole to avoid permits for dangerous
chemicals-Diesel
”Four chemicals in diesel — benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene and xylene — are the biggest worries to federal regulators and
environmental and health officials. Benzene is a known carcinogen. Ethylbenzene
and toluene can cause neurological problems. The Safe Water Drinking Act
requires extensive oversight if diesel is used during drilling or fracking, in
part because of its benzene content. Diesel can be used, for example, as a
lubricant for a pipe or drill going into the ground.
Yet under the Safe Water Drinking Act, all
those chemicals are allowed to be used during fracking without a permit issued,
the Environmental Integrity Project said. The report, released yesterday,
shows that at least six fracking-fluid
additives contain more benzene than diesel fuel, and that at least 21 contain
higher concentrations of ethylbenzene, xylene or toluene than diesel.”
***Halliburton Loophole
Permits Cancer Causing Pollution
(More
references for the toxic air study)
“At the behest of Dick Cheney
(former CEO of the multinational Halliburton Company), George W. Bush signed
the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
It created the un-American "Halliburton Loophole," which lets
rich, polluting, multinational, fossil-fuel companies invade our country and
violate our U.S. Clean Air Act, U.S. Clean Water Act, and U.S. Safe Drinking
Water Act, permanently poisoning our land, water, air, food, and families --
for profit.
____________________________
Scientists have observed eight poisonous
chemicals near fracking wells in Arkansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio and
Wyoming, all of which have exceeded the federal recommended limit. Benzene, a
known carcinogen, as well as formaldehyde, were the most common. Hydrogen
sulfide, responsible for a range of health effects including death, was also
found.
High levels of benzene,
formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide detected in air samples near fracking sites
A study conducted by Dr. David Carpenter,
director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at
Albany-State University of New York tested air samples taken by trained
volunteers living near fracking wells....
Samples that exceeded recommended limits
did so by very high margins, with benzene levels ranging from 35 to 770,000
times greater than normal concentrations....
Hydrogen sulfide levels were 90 to 60,000
times higher than federal standards, while formaldehyde levels reached 30 to
240 times higher than normal.
“This is a significant public health
risk,” said the study’s lead author. “Cancer has a long latency, so you’re not
seeing an elevation in cancer in these communities. But five, 10, 15 years from
now, elevation in cancer is almost certain to happen.”
-- From “Huge amounts of carcinogenic chemicals contaminate air near fracking
sites,” by Julie Wilson, at this November 18, 2014 Natural News site:
http://www.naturalnews.com/047690_fracking_sites_carcinogenic_chemicals_air_pollution.html#
...and
at this November 18, 2014 Global Research site:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/huge-amounts-of-carcinogenic-chemicals-contaminate-air-near-fracking-sites/5414771
...and
at this November 18, 2014 Counter Information site:
http://counterinformation.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/huge-amounts-of-carcinogenic-chemicals-contaminate-air-near-fracking-sites/
Etc.
When the Drilling VP talks about air
drilling, keep these photos in
mind of one of Range’s early ventures
on the Mitchell Farm
across from Ron Gulla’s former farm
near Hickory, where
this dust cloud filled the valley. By
Bob Donnan
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
Blogsite –April Jackman
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
