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/
* 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.
Thank you to Lou Pochet, our treasurer
and Thomas Merton liason for representing our group at the Thomas Merton
meeting in Pittsburgh.
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
*********************************************************************************
Calendar
*** WMCG Group Meeting We now meet the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30 PM in Greensburg. Email Jan for directions. All are very welcome to attend.
***Ligonier Township Supervisors Meeting
Tues. Jan 13, 7:00
pm,
Municipal Building, Oak Grove, 711 North
***County
Commissioners’ Meeting- January 8, 2015 at 10:00 am, Westmoreland County
Court House to express your concerns about the Tenaska Gas Plant.
***PA Rally Against Fracking- Tues. Jan 20th
10:00 Harrisburg
“To demonstrate resistance
and to change the narrative, Pennsylvanians Against Fracking will be at the
INAUGURATION in HARRISBURG on TUES. JAN 20th.
Cuomo banned Fracking mainly
because he heard the voices of his constituents saying NO!
Elected officials in PA need
to hear a MAJORITY of their constituents saying NO. And they need to buy into a new
narrative--Clean energy and efficiency can drive this state's economic future.
In addition to the rally
announced below, DIRECT ACTION to "engage" Wolf at the swearing in
ceremony and/or the open house at the governor's mansion are in the works. If you want to get in on the direct action,
contact mbadges@gmail.com for updates
and act now to get tickets for the swearing in ceremony using this link.
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/14938276788/efbnen
You can sign up for the rally at https://www.facebook.com/events/334545760062747/
Whether
you join in the rally or engage in direct action, plan now to be in Harrisburg
on Tues Jan 20th.
We will convene our rally at
the Grace Street Methodist Church, across the street from the Capitol. From
there, we will march over to the inauguration site, just outside the Capitol.
With loud chants and vivid props, we will communicate directly to Governor Wolf
why he needs to follow the example of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and stop
fracking now!
We will be posting a
timeline of events as soon as we know when the inauguration will start, but
please plan to arrive at the church at 10 a.m.!
We want to help you get to
Harrisburg! Check out the transportation options below:
Southwest PA: Email mpro113@gmail.com to
learn about carpools from Southwestern PA
Let
us know if you want to coordinate a carpool from your community by emailing
sbernhardt@fwwatch.org.
Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Address: 216 State St.
Harrisburg, PA 17101”
December 25—Merry Christmas all!!
TAKE ACTION !!
Letters to the editor are
important and one of the best ways to share information with the public.
***Tenaska---LIKE
the page-- Stop Tenaska Westmoreland Project
On Facebook
***Why We Must Fight
Gas-fired Power Plants-
(Tenaska Plans to
Come to Westmoreland County--A Permanent Source of Pollution, Jan)
(SO PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THE TENASKA PETITION AT
THE TOP OF THE UPDATES, Jan)
“Obama administration’s “Clean
Power Plan” moves us away from coal in order to mitigate climate change. The story won’t be told that this plan will
do more harm than good, mainly by ignoring methane and enabling a huge move
from coal to gas-fired power plants.
A leading researcher for a major fracking corporation recently confided
in me that this move from coal to gas will spell disaster for climate change,
confirming that if only about 3% of the gas escapes, it’s as bad as burning
coal. Actual leakage rates are far higher (4-9% just at the fracking fields and more in pipelines and distribution
systems), but it was most interesting to
hear this person admit that the industry will never get below that level of
leakage to become less harmful than coal.
We now know that methane is 86 to 105 times as potent as CO2 over a 20-year
time-frame -- we’re in real trouble if we keep using the outdated “20 times
over 100 years” figure EPA maintains, and permit this new generation of
gas-burning to be built.
Why is it
strategic to focus on the power plants?
Read on…
1)
Gas burned for electricity is the largest source of gas demand since 2007. From
1997 to 2013, it more than doubled and is poised to keep growing.
2) Stopping power plants is
more winnable than fighting fracking, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports,
pipelines or compressor stations. Stopping fracking one community at a time isn't a
winning strategy when the industry has thousands of communities targeted, and
rural neighbors pit against neighboring landowners desperate for lease money.
State and regional bans and moratoria have been effective so far, but LNG
terminals, pipelines and compressor stations have federal preemption aspects
that make them hard to fight through local or state government.
Fighting proposed LNG export
terminals also has the "weak link" problem. Ten
years ago, when we were fighting LNG import terminals, there were 40 proposals
throughout the U.S., but the industry and government officials admitted they
only needed six – two each on the east, west and gulf coasts. Now that they're
planning export terminals, there are nearly 30 proposals, and the same
dynamic is at play, where the industry has stated in their conferences that
they only need two on each coast, after which they'll toss out the rest of
their proposals and "let environmentalists take the credit." Cynical
as that is, it's not a strategy we can defeat if we're trying to attack gas
demand, since it's unlikely we can beat enough to prevent the planned export
volumes -- especially due to federal preemption and the clustering of most
proposals on the oil- and gas-dominated Gulf Coast, where it's far harder to
stop them.
Each gas-fired power plant blocked is a certain amount of gas burning
and fracking prevented, while we can stop over 20 LNG terminals without putting
a dent in planned export volumes. While work against the LNG export
terminals is commendable, it should not be prioritized over stopping the rush
to build hundreds of gas-burning power plants.
3) Attacking proposals can only be done in a
certain time window, or we're doomed to roughly 30 years of power plant
operation and gas demand. Although coal power plants are dirtier to live
near, all of the funding and resources being put into closing coal plants while
ignoring (or endorsing) new gas power plants, is misguided. Existing power
plants can be tackled at any time, but proposals have to be fought when they're
proposed, or it's too late. Also, coal production has peaked in the U.S.,
prices are going up, and gas is undercutting coal. It's effectively illegal to
build new coal power plants and the industry is already moving quickly to shut
and replace coal. The question is: will we allow a switch from coal to gas, or
force a change to conservation, efficiency, wind and solar?
So, if there are plans for gas-burning power
plants in your area, whether it’s a new plant, an expansion or conversion of an
existing plant, or reopening of a closed plant, please be in touch so we can
plug you in with others who are fighting these. There is strength in numbers!”
Frack News
***Tenaska Power
Plant Issue Heating Up
“The gas fired 900-megawatt Tenaska power
plant would be a permanent source of air pollution in Westmoreland County and
of discharge into the Yough River. For example, 600,000 pounds of carbon
monoxide, 800,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, and 660,000 pounds of small
particles will be released into our already polluted air each year. These
pollutants are strongly linked to health problems.
Residents from the Smithton area,
the Mt. Watershed Assoc., and WMCG are working to protect air and water and
property values.
What you can do:
*LIKE the Facebook Page set
up by Bill Catalina. -- Stop Tenaska Westmoreland Project
*Sign the Tenaska Petitions-See links at the top of
Updates
* Attend the County
Commissioners’ meeting January 8, 2015, at 10:00 am to express your concerns.
Westmoreland County Court House, Greensburg.
***Update From
Jan-- Ligonier Township
The Ligonier Township ad hoc zoning committee
charged with working on the gas ordinance has been working for months to keep
the frack zone in Ligonier Township limited to a small area. 
A new zoning ordinance and map
was presented to the planning commission by the Ligonier Township Manager on Dec.
16. There are several proposed frack zones in three corners of the township
that are presently conservation districts. 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. And fracking brings
with it pipelines, compressor stations, frack pits, and other gas operations.
In
addition, the solicitor and manager want to change hearings from conditional
use to special exception. Anyone who has attended conferences on zoning has
heard Att. John Smith and others explain why conditional use is the preferred procedure. It means hearings for gas wells and other issues
go before the supervisors –the people you vote for not the zoning board of
which the members are appointed.
Supervisors and the township
manager need to hear from us. 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.
The next meeting where we have the opportunity to speak will be the
supervisors meeting Jan 13 at 7:00. Please help us spread the word by asking
friends, neighbors, and family to attend these meetings.
*** Concerned
Health Professionals of New York
CHPNY
released a second edition of the Compendium of scientific, medical, and media
findings of risks and harms of fracking.
At
103 pages and with 448 citations, the Compendium compiles and concisely
summarizes the most important findings about fracking.. Although the second
edition comes only 5 months after the first, it's about 30% longer now with
more than 80 new entries.
***In Memory - Theo
Colburn 1927-2014
“We mourn her loss and celebrate the science and compassion she
brought to all. She has made the world a better informed place; we honor
her by continuing to help her studies make a difference in the decisions we
make.” Dr Cynthia Walter
“This is a great loss to all of us-to our health and
our environment. Theo Colburn researched the health effects of hormone endocrine
disruptors. She devoted herself to helping those affected by fracking even when
her own health was impaired. We owe her a debt of gratitude.” Jan M.
From
TEDX:
“It is with a heavy heart that I
bring you the news that yesterday, at the age of 87, Theo Colborn passed away.
She was at home, surrounded by her family.
As with all great leaders, Theo's
inspiration lives on - in her published works, in the scientists she mentored
and the activists she inspired, in the people she helped in so many ways, and
in the love of her friends and family.
Theo’s immense courage was both
intimidating and inspiring. Against all odds, she succeeded in getting the
world to pay attention to an invisible threat. Yet there is much work still to
be done.
As TEDX’s Executive Director for
the past 6 years I can assure you that we will continue with the same fierce
commitment to ensuring that the science of endocrine disruption drives better
laws to protect the health of all people.
Please
visit our website for history, stories and photos of Theo.
In
loving remembrance, Carol Kwiatkowski, PhD, Executive Director”
***Baumgardner
Christmas Petition Ended Due to Success
“ ..word spread far and wide about the families living
on Cardox Road, which is very close to the EQT
fracking operations on Trax Farms --about 800 feet away, upwind.
At a recent meeting in Union Township, Gary
Baumgardner asked if EQT could stop fracking for 1 day –Christmas Day– so that
his beautiful young 9-month-old granddaughter could attend their traditional
family dinner.
Since Gary and others on Cardox
Road live so close and downwind from the fracking, their pediatrician
recommended his little granddaughter stay away from his home for the family’s
traditional event. Now that’s a shame.
****A
petition was created and was successful regarding this request for a stay on
Christmas Day.
***Cuomo Bans
Fracking in New York
“Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s
administration announced that it would ban fracking in New York State because
of concerns over health risks, ending years of debate over a method of
extracting natural gas.
Fracking was heavily promoted as
a source of economic revival for depressed communities along New York’s border
with Pennsylvania, and Mr. Cuomo had once been poised to embrace it.
Instead, the move to
ban fracking left him acknowledging that, despite the intense focus he has
given to solving deep-rooted economic woes afflicting large areas upstate, the
riddle remained largely unsolved. “I’ve never had anyone say to me, ‘I
believe fracking is great,’ ” he said. “Not a single person in those
communities. What I get is, ‘I have no alternative but fracking.’ ”
In a presentation at the cabinet meeting, the acting
state health commissioner, Dr. Howard A. Zucker, said the examination had found
“significant public health risks” associated with fracking.
Holding up copies of
scientific studies to animate his arguments, Dr. Zucker listed concerns about
water contamination and air pollution, and said there was insufficient
scientific evidence to affirm the safety of fracking.
Dr.
Zucker said his review boiled down to a simple question: Would he want his
family to live in a community where fracking was taking place? His answer was no.
“We cannot afford to make a
mistake,” he said. “The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not
even fully known.”
.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/cuomo-to-ban-fracking-in-new-york-state-citing-health-risks.html?emc=edit_na_20141217&nlid=67016957&_r=3
***Families Flee out-of-control gas
leak
1.5
mile radius evacuated
"About 25 families in
eastern Ohio have been unable to live in their houses for the past three days
because of a gas leak at a fracking well that crews cannot stop. Families
were evacuated from about 25 houses within a 1.5-mile radius of the well.
The well is not on fire, but the
gas could be explosive. “There’s still a steady stream of natural gas coming
from the wellhead,” McCorkle said yesterday. The well had been temporarily
plugged about a year ago while the company drilled and fracked three more wells
on that site.
“Despite numerous precautionary
measures taken in connection with the temporary plugging and abandonment
operation, the well began to flow uncontrollably while recommencing production
operations,” the company said. Workers tried to bolt the cap back into place
but couldn’t, the statement said."
***Middlesex Violation-Home of the
Battle Over Fracking Near
Schools
Environmental Health & Safety
Violation Date 2014-12-15
Violation Code SWMA301 - Failure to properly store,
transport, process or dispose of a residual waste.
***Doddridge, WVA Fracking Problems
“As fracking engulfed Doddridge
County, West Virginia in 2010, problems began to surface: well blow outs,
chemicals spills, horrendous truck traffic, water contamination and stinky air
pollution.
Water buffaloes (drinking H2O
replacement) are widespread in fracking fields of Doddridge County. They are needed
when fracking contaminates drinking water wells. Homeowners sign non-disclosures
and can’t report contamination.
West Virginia Host Farms was
created in response to the fracking damage, and the volunteer group offers
tours for journalists, scientists, the environmental community and government
officials to get up close and personal to fracking. It’s tough to find the many
wells by just driving around the beautiful country roads.
My guide, Lyndia, is a West
Virginia Host Farms’ volunteer. We drove all over Doddridge County on a summer
day in June 2014. We visited compressor stations, drilling sites and also
counted the many water buffaloes supplying homeowners with drinking water
(hint: contaminated water)
Since 2010, ten fracking wells
have been drilled at the top of Lyndia’s country road. Her home is the first home off the highway,
and so many trucks drive by her house that a flagger directs traffic in front
of her house. Lyndia earns no income from fracking, as a fracking neighbor.
There are 17,422
smelly things in the air
The same time fracking and its
trucks descended on Lyndia’s street, her neighbors leased their empty land to
gas drillers for a large condensate tank. The tank sits 75 feet from
Lyndia’s front yard, and its purpose is to collect and separate any liquids
from the gases and then vent some into the air. Yes, you read that correctly. Condensate tanks are designed to vent
unprocessed methane, hydrocarbons,
carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and possible radioactive
chemicals and all the other crap from miles below directly into the air.
Lyndia soon started smelling odd smells, often at night, and suspected the
tank.
This condensate tank, located on
her neighbor’s property, sits 75 feet from Lyndia’s home. The tank collects
up to 5,000 gallons of hydrocarbon liquids and vents toxins into the air,
usually at night.
When
Lyndia took her 12-year-old grandson to the pediatrician to get help for
bronchitis, the doctor asked how long her grandson had suffered from asthma.
He’d never had asthma. She mentioned that they lived close to fracking, and
that she was aware that kids near fracking were complaining of asthma. Once she mentioned fracking, the doctor grew
quiet and said he was probably mistaken about the asthma.
Her grandson’s school bus stop
sits 40 feet from the condensate tank.
Longer-term consequences are
beginning to surface. New and alarming research reveals that women living near
heavily fracked areas have higher rates of miscarriages and infertility and
there is an increase in babies born with birth defects. Many of the compounds found in fugitive
emissions are cancer-causing (bolded), and here’s a short list of what Lyndia
is breathing: methane, ethane, barium, arsenic, aldehydes, the BTEX volatile
organic compounds benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and zylene, radium and radioactive
products, formaldehydes, carbon monoxide, glycols and silica dust. There are
more chemicals, too, but I think you get the point.
To make a very long story short,
in three years Lyndia has been in constant contact with W.V. DEP. Nothing has
been fixed. The condensate tank continuously spews harmful toxins and the
old gas well leaks 24/7.
She did get the fancy $500 air
filter, and thank heavens, because just this month the condensate tank blew out
when a part froze. Toxic liquids blew
out of the tank and covered a 60 by 100 square foot area. The gas company
responsible for the tank had crews and backhoes digging out the soil. Everyone
was so worried about explosions that fire trucks stayed away. Lyndia turned her
home’s power off and would not start her car until the gas dispersed.
When I asked Lyndia what she
wanted people to know, she said, “Everyday people are totally left on their
own. No one has helped…”
***Tom Wolf Denounces New York Frack
Ban
“New York State health officials
say there isn’t enough evidence to show whether or not gas development has an
impact on public health. Acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker wrote in a
report released Wednesday that “absolute scientific certainty” is “unlikely to
ever be attained,” which is why his department said it could not recommend
allowing natural gas development in the Empire State.
At a press conference in
Northeast Pennsylvania, which is home to some of the most lucrative gas wells
in the state, Wolf called New York’s decision “unfortunate.” He says he
believes fracking can be done safely.” http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/12/18/wolf-new-yorks-fracking-ban-is-unfortunate/
***Trout Unlimited Promotes
Protection of Resources
“ In a 2014 promotion, Trout
Unlimited spotlighted "10 Special Places" in America's Northeast. The
list includes four areas within an easy drive of Pittsburgh including the
Laurel Highlands.
When the weather's right during
the holidays, lots of outdoors lovers hop in the car for a scenic day trip. The
special places near Pittsburgh are easily accessible. But they are also
vulnerable to industrial excess according to Trout Unlimited's special places
list.
"This
report ... looks at places where expanding natural gas drilling operations in
the East could pose risks to fishing and hunting opportunities, and offers
recommendations on what sportsmen and women can do to promote responsible
energy development and ensure the protection of these areas," according to
the TU website.
On its website, TU stressed that
it is not opposed to the extraction of oil or natural gas, but recommends smart
and prudent use of resources.
"Trout Unlimited promotes
responsible energy development, most often by working collaboratively with
government officials, industry, other conservation and sportsmen's
organizations and the public to ensure that all reasonable efforts are made to
avoid or mitigate the impacts energy development may have on coldwater
fisheries and their watersheds," reads the web page. "Current
federal, state and local policies governing shale gas drilling and hydraulic
fracturing often do not adequately protect the region's natural resources. And
even with adequate provisions in place, some areas are so extraordinary --
either ecologically, culturally or both -- that gas drilling should be limited
or prohibited altogether."
***Report: Five Major Health Threats
from Fracking Air Pollution
Most
Comprehensive Analysis of Science To-Date Identifies Potential Health Risks and
Communities Most Impacted
Fracking Fumes: Air Pollution
from Hydraulic Fracturing Threatens Public Health and Communities provides
the most comprehensive analysis of available science to-date on toxic air
pollution from oil and gas development.
The health impacts include respiratory
problems, birth defects, blood disorders, cancer and nervous system impacts,
raising serious concerns for workers and people living closest to wells, as
well as entire regions with high volumes of oil and gas activity.
Respiratory Problems: Impacts can include asthma attacks, shortness
of breath, difficulty breathing and lung disease. Levels of pollutants high
enough to cause respiratory problems, particularly for vulnerable populations
such as children, have been found both close to fracking sites and in regions
with intense oil and gas activity. Workers have been found to be at risk of
permanent lung damage caused by exposure to silica fracking sand.
Nervous System
Impacts: Exposure to these pollutants, such as VOCs and hydrogen sulfide,
can cause neurological problems ranging from dizziness and headaches to
seizures and loss of consciousness. Multiple studies have measured benzene
levels close to fracking sites that are higher than the thresholds set to
protect people from these impacts.
Birth Defects & Harm to the Developing Fetus: A number of VOCs
and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been found to interfere with
fetal and child development resulting in harm to the developing heart, brain
and nervous system. Because even short-term exposures to these pollutants at
critical moments of development can result in long-lasting harm, health experts
have identified this as a threat for communities living in close proximity to
fracking sites.
Blood Disorders: The levels of benzene measured in multiple studies
were high enough to raise concerns about permanent damage to blood-forming
organs, resulting in harm to bone marrow and anemia, if there were repeated or
chronic exposures.
Cancer: Cancer-causing pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde,
diesel particulates and PAHs, have also been found in the air near fracking
sites. Repeated or chronic exposures to these pollutants can cause an increased
risk of cancer.
Studies have also found
pollutants linked to other health impacts near fracking operations, including
heart problems and harm to the liver, kidney, endocrine, immune, reproductive,
gastrointestinal and auditory systems. More research is needed to better
understand the level of risk for these impacts to workers, neighboring families
and communities.
Unfortunately,
air pollution impacts have gone largely ignored by federal and state agencies
to date. The EPA, as well as state governments, must address air pollution from
oil and gas development in order to protect the health of neighboring
residents.
With approximately one in four
Americans now living within a mile of an oil or gas well, and fracking
spreading the industry’s reach even further across the country, this report
underscores the need for immediate action to protect public health.
Full
report: http://bit.ly/1zhkma5
***Research Report:
Over 90% of Research Shows Health and Air Threats From Fracking
“Physicians Scientists & Engineers for
Healthy Energy released a statistical evaluation of the approximately 400
peer-reviewed studies Key
highlights: 96% of all papers on health
indicate risks/adverse health outcomes; 95% of all original research studies on
air quality indicate elevated concentrations of air pollutants; 72% of original
research studies on water quality indicate contamination or risk thereof.
The PSE analysis also illustrates
the recent explosion in the number of peer-reviewed publications: approximately
73% of all available peer-reviewed papers have been published in the past 24
months. The rate of publication is now approaching about one paper a day.”
http://psehealthyenergy.org/data/Database_Analysis_12_10.pdf
***Report: Unsafe & Unsustainable-Performance
Standards Challenged
Experts Review the
Center for Sustainable Shale Development’s Performance Standards for Shale Gas
Development
By
Delaware Riverkeepers
A
new report, released by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, challenges performance standards for shale gas drilling and fracking
that were issued by the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD),
raising serious concerns about the harms associated with extracting gas from
shale. Analyses undertaken by six experts who reviewed the CSSD standards and
found them wanting are included in the 78 page report.
The report also provides a
discussion of the better energy path that is available for fueling our region
and country, drawing upon the writings of Dr. Mark Jacobson.
The
report can be found online at: http://www.bit.ly/DRN-CSSDExpertReviewsInterviews with the report’s
experts have also been prepared and can be found online at:
http://bit.ly/DRN-CSSDExpertVideos
http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/Documents/DRN_Report_Unsafe+Unsustainable_fr.pdf
***Murrysville Admin.
Updated On Pipeline
“Dominion will host a Jan.
27 open house at the Franklin Regional Middle School gym for residents
interested in learning more about their project. The school is at 4660 Old
William Penn Highway. Information related to both projects is posted at
Murrysville.com, sunocologistics.com and dom.com/supplyheader.
Murrysville chief administrator
Jim Morrison says he's satisfied with how Sunoco’s plans to install a transmission
pipeline in the area is progressing.
“I think they've done a very good
job identifying what their goal and timeline will be,” he said about last
month's update on the company's Mariner East project, which will provide
30-inch pipeline infrastructure for propane, ethane and other petroleum
products.
“The goal is to get propane to
(their) Delmont site,” Morrison said.
The project is expected to affect about 60
properties in Murrysville, Delmont and Export. Morrison said Sunoco officials
have begun contacting property owners.
The project's first phase, which
is scheduled to finish in mid-2015, will connect 50 new miles of new pipe with
existing lines to move material to the Marcus Hook facility in eastern
Pennsylvania.
Part
of that work includes pipe that will be installed in the electric-line right of
way along Route 66, which will connect with existing pipeline in Delmont.
The second phase would be
construction of a new pipeline to send natural-gas liquids to the Marcus Hook
facility, according to Sunoco Logistics. That phase — which is scheduled to
wrap up in mid-2016 — will raise the pipeline's capacity to 275,000 barrels of
natural-gas liquids per day.”
http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmurrysville/yourmurrysvillemore/7306785-74/pipeline-project-dominion#axzz3LgZbNcT3
***Joni Rabinowitz and John Detwiler: Don't expand fracking in county parks
“For the first time under the
Home Rule Charter, a citizen-sponsored ordinance is on Allegheny County
Council’s agenda. It is especially fitting that the subject of this milestone
legislation is our county parks. In the words of the Pennsylvania Constitution:
“Public natural resources are the common property of all people, including
generations yet to come,” and county government shares an explicit legal duty
to maintain its parks “… for the benefit of all the people.”
Last May, county council
authorized the leasing of land under Deer Lakes Park to Range Resources Corp.
for the extraction of natural gas by the disruptive industrial process of
“fracking.” Natural-gas drilling has been aggressively promoted by County
Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who solicited and received election help as a friend
of the gas industry, notably from companies that will profit from the Deer
Lakes Park deal.
Concerned about the Deer Lakes
Park decision, 45 volunteers from Protect Our Parks gathered signatures from
more than 1,800 voters across two-thirds of the county’s municipalities
advocating a “wait-and-see” policy toward any additional natural gas deals at
the county’s eight other parks. Our proposed ordinance that would enact such a
policy was introduced at council’s Dec. 2 meeting.
This ordinance is based on
prudence and common sense. It calls for a full public evaluation of the
economic and environmental impacts of the first park leasing deal before any
consideration of fracking at other parks. The evaluation would be based on the
initial two years of gas production at Deer Lakes Park.
The kinds of risks that come with
fracking are well-established: ill health (especially for children), air and
water pollution, disruption of wildlife, economic dislocation (falling property
values, “crowding out” of other businesses, damaged infrastructure, population
loss) and the possibility of catastrophic accidents. There is no safe estimate
of the magnitude of those risks, because no one can predict when they will
arise or how to avoid them.
Once drilling begins, the county cannot terminate the
Deer Lakes lease, no matter what environmental damage may be done, no matter
whether the hoped-for royalties are received, no matter what health impacts are
seen. The lease gives Range Resources the right to drill into every geological
stratum. It goes on forever…”
Read more www.protectparks.org).
Joni
Rabinowitz and John Detwiler are members of Protect Our Parks, a coalition of
grassroots environmental groups and individuals
***Third Pipeline?
“Sunoco Logistics confirmed only
plans for a second pipeline, which may carry three times as much material as
the first along the same path, which locally goes from Delmont in Westmoreland
County to Houston in Washington County. But township officials said they have
heard a third pipeline may be built.”
As repairs begin this week on a
Forward Township road damaged by the Sunoco Logistics Mariner East 1 gas
transmission pipeline, plans continue for a larger — Mariner East 2 — pipeline
to run parallel to that first one.
Amid all that, a Sunoco Logistics
spokesman disputed speculation that a third pipeline may be built along that
same route.
“I'm not sure where the
information about the third line is coming from,” Jeffrey P. Shields said in an
email. “It may be because, in negotiating easements on our Mariner East 2
project, in most cases we are seeking additional line rights.”
Questions about a third line have
been raised at opposite ends of the state, in Forward and a Philadelphia suburb
where an activist concerned about pipeline activity asked about it.
“Every official knew about it,”
Tom Casey of the Chester County Community Coalition said after going to a West
Goshen supervisors meeting last week.
“Sunoco Logistics currently has
only its Mariner East 1 and Mariner East 2 projects under way to transport
propane, ethane and butane along this corridor,” Shields said.
The corridor begins in Tri-State gas fields south and west of
Pittsburgh. Mariner East 1, which is near completion, runs from Houston in
Washington County through Forward to Delmont in Westmoreland County, then on to
the Sunoco Logistics complex at Marcus Hook near Philadelphia.
It has a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day, the company said Nov. 6.
Sunoco Logistics expects Mariner East 2
to provide an initial capacity of 275,000 barrels per day of propane, butane
and ethane.
Mariner East 2 will begin at
terminals in Eastern Ohio and West Virginia's northern panhandle, and then run
parallel to Mariner East 1 from Houston to Forward to Delmont and then on to
Marcus Hook.
“Any additional projects would
have to go through the open season process to determine whether shippers have
interest in another pipeline,” Shields continued. “We are focused on completing
Mariner East 1 and moving forward on Mariner East 2, projects that involve a
combined $3 million to build in Pennsylvania alone.”
Shields said seeking additional
line rights does not mean a Mariner East 3 is being planned.
The
pipeline issue has raised concerns from residents and township officials at
Forward meetings. A letter from Sunoco Logistics warning of possible hazards
was made public after Monday's board of supervisors meeting.
“If you believe a pipeline leak
is occurring,” Docherty wrote, “turn off any equipment and eliminate any
ignition sources without risking injury. Leave the area by foot and direct
others to leave the area. Do not drive or walk into a vapor cloud. Stay upwind.
(And) from a safe location call 911/local responders and call our pipeline
control center at 1-800-786-7440.”
Read more:
http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmckeesport/yourmckeesportmore/7365761-74/east-mariner-pipeline#ixzz3MdcA4Bnr
***DEP Orders XTO
-- Stop earth moving in Butler County
“The DEP has ordered XTO Energy
Inc. to cease and desist its earth
moving work that was never approved at a drilling site in Butler County. The
project, Cratty Unit Project, is located in Franklin Township.
“XTO’s failure to obtain proper authorization before commencing earth
disturbance activities at the truck area portion of the Cratty Unit Project
violated state regulation and created a danger of pollution to the waters of
the Commonwealth,” said Scott Perry, DEP’s deputy secretary for the office
of oil and gas management.
XTO twice requested this year to
begin the project, which would include drilling unconventional gas wells and
constructing related facilities. It defined the scope of the project to include
activities at the well site.
“XTO did not indicate within either application or any
of the project’s other associated documents that it planned to conduct earth
disturbance activities” to create a truck access area, the department said in a
press release Wednesday afternoon.
Recently, XTO informed the
department that the construction of a truck area was necessary in order for
large trucks to access the well site.
However, “DEP inspectors
determined that the company had already
begun earth disturbance activity at the truck area without a permit or other
authorization from the department,” according to the state agency.
The official order requires XTO
to immediately stop all earth disturbance activities associated with the
project and additional truck area, except those activities necessary to
stabilize the area, until the company has obtained all required permits and
authorizations, the DEP said.
Within five days, XTO must seed,
mulch and take any other actions to protect the well site from accelerated
erosion and sedimentation, the state agency said.
A spokeswoman for ExxonMobil said
the company is in the process of securing and shutting down operations at the
well site and is working cooperatively with regulatory officials on the matter.”
***Monitoring Air
“Julie Vastine is Director of the
Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring based out of Dickinson College. ALLARM
started in 1986 enlisting the help of average citizens to monitor streams for
the impacts of acid rain. Since the early 2000s, the program has encouraged
citizen science to help communities answer their own questions about the health
of their local watersheds.
About 85 % of ALLARM’s volunteers
are working in places where gas drilling has not yet started and are collecting
baseline data for the future.
About a week and a half ago,
Chuck Winschuh noticed his air quality monitor had spiked to levels he’d never
seen before. A message showed up on the screen: “danger, unhealthy air.”
A short while later, he noticed a
strange odor in the air. He wondered if it could be coming from a large
compressor station on the other side of the valley below his home, visible from
his front porch.
So the Winschuh’s called the
state DEP who sent an inspector later that afternoon, along with an energy
company representative. However, Chuck Winschuh says they seemed less
interested in the air monitor’s reading.
“They weren’t as interested in
what I was breathing that day,” he says. “They were interested in where’d you
get this machine and why are you air monitoring? They kind of indicated,
‘That’s our job.’”
***New Battlefront
for Petrochemical Industry: Benzene and
Childhood Leukemia
“Internal memorandums, emails, letters and
meeting minutes obtained by
the Center for Public Integrity suggest that BP and four other major
petrochemical companies, coordinated by their trade association, the American
Petroleum Institute, spent at least $36 million on research “designed to protect member company interests,” as one 2000 API summary put it. Many of the documents chronicle a
systematic attempt by the petrochemical industry to influence the science
linking benzene to cancer. Others attest to the industry’s longstanding
interest in topics such as childhood leukemia.
It
was December 29, 1998, six years after Jill McElheney and her family had moved
next to a cluster of 12 petroleum storage tanks. Jill was escorting her son
Jarrett, then 4, to the doctor again. He had spent the day slumped in a
stroller, looking so pale and fatigued that a stranger stopped her to ask if he
was all right.
It
was an encounter Jill couldn’t shake. For the previous three months, she had
noticed her once-energetic preschooler deteriorating. He complained of pain in
his knee, which grew excruciating. It migrated to his shoulder and then his
leg. His shins swelled, as did his temples. At night, Jarrett awoke drenched in
sweat, screaming from spasms. Jill took him to a pediatrician and an
infectious-disease specialist. A rheumatologist diagnosed him with anemia.
Now,
as Jarrett lay listless, Jill found herself back at the pediatrician’s office.
Tests confirmed a blood count so low that she was instructed to get him to an
emergency room immediately. Within hours she was at a hospital in Atlanta, some
65 miles from her home in Athens, watching nurses rush in and out of Jarrett’s
room. Doctors identified a common form of childhood leukemia. “I heard the
words,” Jill recalled, “and I only knew the bald heads and the sadness.”
In
the waiting room, family members heard more unsettling news: A neighbor’s child
also had developed leukemia.
Days later, Jarrett’s doctor penned a
letter to federal environmental regulators about the two cancer patients,
highlighting their “close proximity” to Southeast Terminals, a group of
10,000-gallon tanks containing gasoline, diesel and fuel oil.
“Could
you please investigate,” the doctor wrote, “whether high levels of chemicals
could have contaminated the water, possibly contributing … to the development
of leukemia?”
Only then did the McElheneys consider the
possibility that living beside one of the nation’s 1,500 bulk-oil terminals —
known sources of cancer-causing benzene — had triggered their son’s leukemia.
“It was one of those light-bulb moments for
us,” said Jeff McElheney, Jarrett’s father. “You never get over it.”
The
case may signal an emerging quandary for the petrochemical industry, according
to tens of thousands of pages of previously
secret documents that have come to light in lawsuits filed
against benzene manufacturers and suppliers on behalf of those who suffered
from leukemia and other blood diseases, including Jarrett McElheney.”
****Zoning Challenges
Over Fracking
So
far, it has been residents challenging municipalities over drilling laws they
see as too favorable to gas interests.
•
In Westmoreland County, residents are challenging Allegheny Township’s Zoning
Hearing Board over a law it passed that allows drilling in all districts,
including residential neighborhoods.
• In Washington County’s Robinson Township
(the township that led the court battle that overturned parts of Act 13),
residents are fighting changes that make it easier to drill in residential and
agricultural areas.
• In Lawrence County, a Pulaski Township
couple is challenging an ordinance supervisors passed that allowed drilling
near their home.
• In Butler County’s Middlesex Township,
parents and environmental groups are challenging the town’s zoning board over a
rule that allows a well pad close to a school.
Jordan
Yeager, an attorney representing Middlesex parents and groups, said it’s common
for drillers to threaten city officials with lawsuits if they pass restrictive
zoning laws.
“Municipalities
have often approached zoning decisions out of fear of litigation by
developers,” he said.
Seneca
owns about 71 percent of the oil and gas rights in St. Marys, PA and about 56
percent in Elk County. It has recently focused its drilling efforts on Elk,
McKean and Cameron counties in the area.
“Pennsylvania
law allows for Seneca to access its mineral properties and we will vigorously
defend our rights,” said Rob Boulware, a spokesman for Seneca.
Paul
Fleming, and family live in St. Marys near a Seneca gas well in the city’s
Rural Conservation District, which includes state gamelands, hunting camps and
some homes.
He
said the noise and the vibrations from the site keep them awake at night.
“It sounds like an airport that’s running
a circular saw,” said Fleming, who added that sometimes 50 to 60 trucks a day
go up and down his road.
He
used to have “absolute quiet” except for birds and crickets, he said. That all
went away last spring when Seneca started building its pad, he said.
Fleming
shows up at city council meetings urging local officials to pass a zoning
ordinance with setbacks for well pads 5,000 feet from homes.
“They’ve been bothering me, and
I’m over 3,000 feet away,” he said.
“We are a lot better off
working with them to get the best situation that we can get for our citizens
and from the economic standpoint as well,” said Mayor Robert Howard. But I
have to protect the citizens of this city and its watershed. ” The
mayor “My God, if I can’t do that, then
I’d be a lousy mayor.”
In
talks with officials, Seneca has focused on the money it says Marcellus Shale
drilling has brought.” In the last 18 months, we’ve spent almost $25 million in
Elk County on goods and services,” Boulware said in a statement emailed to
PublicSource. “We’ve spent about $7 million in St. Marys.”
St.
Marys drafted changes to the city’s ordinance, but it is likely to change and
final passage isn’t expected until early 2015, said Radkowski, the city council
member. The changes currently include
a 1,000-foot setback from any dwelling, and a “conditional use” section that would require council to approve any
new well pads in the city’s rural conservation district.
The city’s planning commission
recommended the setback be increased to 2,000 feet.
It’s impossible right now to know what St.
Marys ordinance will ultimately look like.
http://washingtonobserverreporter.pa.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=47271fbf7
***Drilling
Contractors Pay $4.5M in Back Pay To Workers
“Gas drilling contractors agreed
to pay nearly $4.5 million in back pay to 5,310 workers in Pennsylvania and
West Virginia after an investigation that found violations of the federal Fair
Labor Standards Act, federal officials said.
A majority of the violations
involved improper payment of overtime. Some salaried employees did not receive
an overtime premium because they were misclassified as exempt from the law’s
overtime provisions, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday in a news
release.
In
other cases, production bonuses were not factored in to determine employees’
overtime pay rate, as required by the law.”
***Is Natural Gas
a “Bridge” to A Hotter Future
“Carnegie Institute gas power plants produce
substantial amounts of gases that lead to global warming. Replacing old coal-fired power plants with new natural gas plants could
cause climate damage to increase over the next decades, unless their methane
leakage rates are very low and the new power plants are very efficient.
These are the principal findings
of new research from Carnegie’s Ken
Caldeira and Xiaochun Zhang, and Nathan Myhrvold of Intellectual Ventures
that compares the temperature increases caused by different kinds of coal and
natural gas power plants. Their work is published in Environmental Research Letters.
There is an ongoing debate.--Does
it makes sense to replace old coal-fired power plants with new natural gas
power plants today, as a bridge to a longer-term transition toward near
zero-emission energy generation technologies such as solar, wind, or nuclear
power
“If there is substantial natural gas leakage,
then building new natural gas plants would lead to more near term climate
damage than using the old dirty coal plants,” explained Caldeira. “But natural
gas plants would help reduce other types of air pollution that damage our
health, and would be somewhat better for climate in the long term.”
If faced with the choice of
shutting down either a typical coal plant or a typical gas plant and methane
leakage from the natural gas plant is below about 2 percent of total fuel,
there would be a short-term climate benefit to shutting down the coal plant
instead of the natural gas plant, the team found. But if methane leakage would
be greater than 2 percent, there would be less warming in the near term if the
natural gas plant were shut down instead of the coal plant.”
Source:
Carnegie Institute http://www.rdmag.com/news/2014/12/natural-gas-“bridge”-hotter-future?fb_action_ids=10203405273268758&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=.VIdInxA4kms.like
Frack Links
***Stupidity of Pink Fracking Fully Exposed on
The Daily Show Even Susan G.
Komen’s own website shares the chemicals from fracking that are linked to
breast cancer,
but it didn’t stop them from partnering with oil and gas giant Baker Hughes,
which donated $100,000 to Komen in October for the “Doing Our Bit for the Cure”
campaign where 1,000 fracking drill bits were painted pink.
The viral post on EcoWatch,
written by breast cancer survivor and fracking activist Sandra Steingraber,
exposed the hypocrisy of this campaign. Now, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
takes this outrageous partnership to new heights.
Watch this hilarious segment
where The Daily Show‘s Samantha Bee
meets Karuna Jaggar, executive director of Breast Cancer Action, to fully
uncover the stupidity of pink fracking.
***New Frack
Infrastructure Map—
The Clean Air Council’s new
gas infrastructure map will make it easy to
see compressor stations, dehydration stations, gas processing plants, natural
gas liquid pumping stations, power plants, and pipelines in the state, You
can also report pollution issues from nearby facilities directly to regulatory
agencies—including the DEP and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry. The map is now available
online at: http://tinyurl.com/gasmapPA
Sincerely, Joseph Otis Minott, Director Photo
by Bob Donnan
***Video--Registered
Nurse Rebecca William –Sick in Azle,Texas
Registered
nurse Rebecca Williams talks about the health issues she has witnessed in those
living alongside gas wells and compressor stations in Azle, Texas- the sudden
appearance of Nosebleed, headaches, rashes, respiratory infections when
fracking starts.
***NPR Interview-From Artist Anne Neeley
A local
resident, Jenny Gorley, is in the NPR story. The interview is based on Anne
Neeley’s Boston Science Museum art show on water and was just aired on NPR's “Here
and Now.” Anne noted that they did a
powerful job of telling the story especially in PA.
***How Much Land Does Fracking Encompass
This
article includes several good visuals.
***Fracking's Wide Health Impact: From the
Ozone to Ground Water and All Those
Living in Between, a Science Update
Speaker presentation slides:
***Video: 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.
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 that Rex acoustic
assessment is incorrect.
***John
Smith Presents in Peters Township
Many
of us attended this meeting, but for those who did not, it is a good discussion
of questions surrounding the zoning of frack areas.
***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 presents photo shots
of Texas, Arkansas- You only need to watch the first few minutes then jump to
other sections of the video to get the gist. But everyone should watch at least
part of this.
***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/
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
Blogsite –April Jackman
Science Advisor-Dr. Cynthia Walter
To receive our
news updates, please email jan at westmcg@gmail.com
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name from our list please put “remove name from list’ in the subject line
