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For the email address, click on the envelope
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Contributors To Our Updates
Thank you to contributors to our Updates:
Debbie Borowiec, Lou Pochet, Ron Gulla, the Pollocks, Marian Szmyd, Bob Donnan,
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
*********************************************************************************
Calendar
*** WMCG Group Meeting We usually meet the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30 PM in Greensburg. Email Jan for directions. All are very welcome to attend.
***Ligonier Twp. Hearing with stenographer-March 26,
6:00 pm Ligonier Valley High School
Frack News
Due
to the activity in Ligonier Township , I am getting out the Updates less
frequently. They are therefore longer- but with many townships working on the
same issues, I wanted to share the information so we all have access to what
each of us are doing. Jan
***Ligonier Supervisor
Wade Thomas Asked to Bring the Industry to Ligonier in 2014
From
the minutes from the 12.9.2014 Township Supervisors meeting notes:
"Wade
Thomas asked the Supervisors to consider setting aside $10,000.00 of the Act 13
money to use for campaigning to bring gas company businesses to Ligonier.
A motion was made by Timothy Komar and
seconded by Scott Matson to approve the minutes of the November 10, 2014
meeting. Motion carried.
***It’s About the
Courts-Not a popularity poll
“What the drilling advocates
fail to realize, with their number of petition signatures, number of leases,
number of dollars, etc. ... is that once you get lawyers involved, the
"popular vote" is out the window.
Ultimately the only opinion that's going to matter is that of the
courts: either they will apply the PA Supreme Court's ruling on Act 13 zoning
to local ordinances, or they won't.
Here's hoping they do. Hooray for
Chris and Angelo, Jordan and Aaron, John Smith and all the other courageous
lawyers taking on the gas industry on behalf of our communities! May they be victorious!!!
Joseph P. McMurry
***An Attorney’s Reminder- Research Judges Before You Vote
“Your
thoughts stirred me to remind all involved to recognize that it is the
judiciary who will ultimately decide all of these issues. That being said, all
should be mindful of the historic election this year as 3 openings are up for
grabs on the Pa Supreme Court that can and will tip the balance of future oil
and gas decisions. Of the 6 justices who participated in the Act 13 case 4 went
our way, but 2 of the 4 are no longer on the bench leaving the original voting
members who are left at 2-2. Also, all municipal decisions that make their way
up and out the local County Courts will end up at the Pa Commonwealth Court.
For too long the citizens of Pa did not realize the importance of this court
and most candidates who get elected are unknown to the general public. The
Commonwealth Court has openings to fill this election cycle as well. The oil
and gas industry receives favorable treatment in Texas not only because of the
favorable legislature and Governor's office, but also because the of the Court
and its members. I encourage all to investigate candidates and their prior
rulings on other courts so we all do our best to keep or at least try to elect,
the Judges and Justices who will follow the law and especially the
Constitution. We all know the industry will be and are supporting their
favorite candidates. All of the attorneys that are working to keep drilling in
proper zoning areas with real oversight greatly appreciate your constant and
unwavering support. Your efforts at attending meetings and court proceedings,
voicing concerns, staying on your elected officials and publicizing your
concerns are important and effective. Keep it up and thanks!!”
***From Earthjustice
“We submitted an amicus brief
on behalf of small landowners in a PA case, in which Cabot attempted to extend its lease term after an unsuccessful lease
challenge by landowners it had duped.
The case was filed in federal
court, but the Third Circuit certified the question to the PA Supreme Court,
which today rejected the claim that the lease should be “equitably extended.”
Hooray for the PA Supreme Court,
which continues to push back against oil and gas industry overreaching.”
Deborah Goldberg
Managing
Attorney
Earthjustice
Northeast Office
48
Wall Street, 19th Floor
New
York, NY 10005
T:
212.845.7377
F:
212.918.1556
earthjustice.org
***Ligonier Zoning
Meeting
“With more than 100 people
filling the Ligonier Valley High School auditorium, the Ligonier Township
supervisors and planning commission listened to more than three hours of
comments from the public Tuesday night on a proposed zoning ordinance and map.
Thirty-one
people signed up to speak. Comments were limited to about five minutes per
person.
Like other recent township
meetings, Marcellus shale drilling provisions in the ordinance were the
principal point of concern for residents. Several of them presented slide shows
and submitted research regarding the industry's adverse potential effects on health
and environment.
“Gentlemen, this industrial
process has no business destroying the health of this valley,” said resident
Elizabeth Donohoe.
“You are duty-bound to read what
we are presenting to you,” she said. “You are also, by law, bound to protect
this valley's air, water and the quality of life here. Anything less is
self-serving dereliction of duty.”
Citizens to Preserve Ligonier
Valley, a grassroots organization of people against fracking, provided
informational handouts at a table in the foyer of the auditorium, with signs
posted stating “Don't Frack Ligonier,” in bold, capital letters.
Some people from outside of the
township came to speak on the industry, including Andy Pollack, a former
resident of Washington County who discussed his firsthand experiences with
negative effects of drilling and Raina Ripple, the director of the Southwest
Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, which researches the effects of the
industry's impact on health.
In the interest of making sure
residents would be able to speak, solicitor Michael Korns said non-township
residents would speak last.
The change in order upset some
residents, including Jan Milburn, who said some speakers had traveled several
hours to attend.
“Let them speak,” said Jack
Milburn. “You're going to learn something.”(The reporter failed to note that residents were
upset because we had previously been told that there was no time limit. Expert
speakers were already signed up at the beginning of the speakers list as
permitted by the township. Then, that night, the township again changed the
rules. Jan)
Residents spoke on numerous
aspects of drilling, such as potential air pollution, water contamination,
decreases in property value for homes near gas wells, damage to roadways from
truck traffic and noise.
According to the ordinance and
map drafts, unconventional drilling would be a conditional use in the
agricultural and industrial zoning districts. The majority of the township has
been zoned agricultural in the proposed maps.
Korns and township manager Terry
Carcella have repeatedly said the proposed ordinance provides more restriction
on the industry because the former ordinance allowed drilling in all zoning
districts, but Jack Milburn said, “That's a hollow argument.”
Residents also expressed
frustration that the most updated versions of the ordinance and map had not yet
been posted on the township's website.
Some suggestions posed by
residents included splitting the drilling portion of the ordinance off to allow
further review and adding natural resource protection overlays to more water
sources.
The public will have another
opportunity to be heard 6 p.m. March 26 at the high school auditorium during a
public hearing on the ordinance and map.
Written
input is still being accepted by the township.
The
Westmoreland County Planning Division is in the process of reviewing the zoning
ordinance.”
Read
more:
http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/7789449-74/township-ordinance-ligonier#ixzz3SFG2UdZI
***Pulaski Zoning Challenge
Begins
“Zoning
hearing board members Goodge, Sikora and Sniezek each read a statement prior to
the hearing stating they had a financial interest in a Hilcorp Energy Corp. gas
and oil lease. They said they were nevertheless participating in the hearing on
the advice of the zoning solicitor and under provisions of the Pennsylvania
Ethics Act, which allow them to vote in the matters despite a potential
conflict of interest because no decision
could be rendered if they all excused themselves.”
By
Mary Grzebieniak
Spectators crammed into the
municipal building Monday to hear the first part of a challenge to Pulaski
Township’s zoning ordinance.
Many stood throughout the
four-hour hearing, which still was not long enough to complete testimony. The
hearing will be continued at a date to be announced.
About 65 people heard the
father-and-son legal team of Angelo and Chris Papa present the challenge that
had been brought by two township couples.
Timothy
Chito and his wife, Elizabeth Kessner, of 650 Cheriwood Road and Ivan and Cathy
Dubrasky of 5439 Old Pulaski Road are petitioners.
They say the ordinance is
unconstitutional because it allows unconventional oil and gas drilling or
“fracking” as a conditional use in agricultural and residential zoning
districts. They claim this is a heavy industrial use that ruins the character
of those areas. Both couples have a Hilcorp Energy Co. well pad development
across the street from their homes. Chito and Kessner live in a residential
district and the Dubraskys in an agricultural zoned area.
LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECT TESTIFIES
Steven
Victor, a licensed landscape architect and partner in Victor Wetzel Associates
in Sewickley, testified as an expert witness on zoning and land use for the
petitioners.
` Victor showed slides of seven
township zoning districts superimposed with the township’s six wellpads and one
compressor station locations. Quoting from the zoning ordinance, he said zoning
is supposed to support and encourage “order and beauty in development” and
protect and maintain integrity of residential areas, protect property values
and insure harmonious development of commercial and industrial uses.
He pointed out that the 2002
ordinance was written before hydraulic fracturing came to the area and said
fracking should be classified as a heavy industrial use.
Victor explained that while light
industry is defined in the ordinance as one in which no larger than a 10
horsepower motor is used, heavy industry is defined as “any manufacturing
process that is not included in the definition of light assembly... .”
The ordinance also describes
heavy industry as “Any process which produces noise, light, vibrations, air
pollutants, fire hazards, or emission, which are not contained within any
structure...” and “any establishment engaged in the mechanical or chemical
transformation of mass quantities of materials or substances into new products,
including the assembly of component parts, the creation of products and the
blending of materials.”
He said heavy industry is allowed
in the ordinance only as a conditional use in the industrial district, but
fracking has been allowed in Pulaski Township as a conditional use in
residential and agricultural areas. The ordinance allows mining and mineral
extraction as a conditional use in agricultural areas, but Victor said that in
2002 when the ordinance was written, unconventional gas drilling had not come
to this area and the ordinance spoke to traditional mining.
ORDINANCE
CALLED CONFUSING
Victor said the ordinance is
confusing, explaining that after defining zoning districts, it speaks to “oil
and gas operations” without defining them and “excavation” instead of the
earlier mentioned mining and mineral “extraction.”
Compressor stations have been
allowed in the township but are not defined under the regulations, he said
adding that compressor stations are “doing more than extraction.”
He said oil and gas wells are not included in the definitions given
under “Mining and Mineral Extraction” and said under supplemental
regulations, a section on oil and gas operations “opens the door” to oil and
gas drilling in zoning districts even though it is not on the list of allowed
uses. He called it “confusing” and a “defect in the ordinance.”
OTHER
PROBLEMS
Another part of the ordinance,
called “Performance Standards,” states that no land use can cause any condition
“that may be dangerous, injurious, or noxious to any other property or person
in the Township” or erect lighting devices that produce objectionable direct or
reflected glare on adjoining properties or thoroughfares.”
Victor
objected to the ordinance’s failure to require a site plan and said setback
requirements from wells are insufficient. He called the township’s noise
ordinance “unenforceable” because of it vagueness.
CHITO’S
TESTIMONY
Chito also testified, stating he has lived at his
address 23 years and adding that what used to be a quiet, rural neighborhood is
now noisy with bright lights day and night. He said his well water now has
sediment and an occasional foul odor, and his basement has started flooding. He
said 20 to 40 workers live in a mobile home on the well site and said he was
solicited by a prostitute while there.
“I
can’t sleep ... I can’t concentrate. I can’t think,” he said. “I used to love
my life,” he said but added he now tries to spend as much time as possible away
from home.
“No
sane, rational person says ‘I want to live next to a fracking site’,” he said,
adding “My goal is to have my life back.”
SIGNED
A LEASE
Chito said he signed a lease with
Hilcorp and has received $4,000 from the company. He said although he initially
refused, he signed once he realized the well was coming and also because he
believed it would give him some insurance protection if there were damage to
his property.”
Attorney Steve Silverman,
representing Hilcorp, asked Chito if he intends to return the $4,000 to Hilcorp
if he prevails in the case.
“I’d gladly give you $4,000 if you would go away. Yes,
I would gladly give it back,” Chito said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRxjH6d6JtI
***Consol Contractor
Airlifted-Well Fire In Derry
By
Joe Napsha Staff Reporter
“A contractor for Consol Energy
Inc. was burned on his face and arms in a fire and explosion while tending to a
gas well off Route 22 in Derry on Sunday, Consol and fire officials said.
The victim, whose identity was
not released, was flown by an emergency medical helicopter around 5:40 p.m. to
the West Penn Hospital burn unit in Pittsburgh, Blairsville Fire Chief George
Burkley said.
` The site was secured Sunday and an
investigation is underway, Consol spokeswoman Kate Donovan said.
The worker had been dispatched to
the gas well along Apple Lane. The explosion and fire was reported at 5:07 p.m.
and the fire was extinguished quickly after the company shutoff natural gas
service to the building, Burkley said. The building was not extensively
damaged, the chief said.
The Blairsville Fire Department
in Indiana County serves as the first responder in that section of Derry
Township because its department is closer than the Derry Township fire
departments, a Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety spokesman said.
Blairsville firefighters were
assisted by units from Derry, New Alexandria and Tunnelton, Burkley said.
http://triblive.com/mobile/7785224-96/fire-department-spokesman
***Allegheny Twp. -Drilling
In Ag and Residential Areas
By
Liz Hayes Staff Reporter
Thursday,
Feb. 12, 2015, 1:06 a.m.
“John Slike told the Allegheny Township Zoning Hearing
Board that a 235-unit housing development is a possibility for his property if
he's blocked from leasing it for natural gas drilling. Slike and his wife, Ann,
own 330 acres of farmland in the township.
That includes a Willowbrook Road
parcel leased to CNX Gas Co. for a well pad proposed to host six unconventional
gas wells that would use hydraulic fracturing to tap the Marcellus shale.
Neighbors Dee Frederick, Beverly
Taylor and Patricia Hagaman have asked the zoning board to revoke CNX's drilling permit and to declare invalid the township's
allowance of drilling in residential-agricultural zones.
Speaking during the third day of
testimony on the appeal, Slike said his property, which he began acquiring in
1976, is an active farm growing hay and grain that is sold to local horse
farms.
He said a
landscape architecture firm he hired in 1996 indicated a subdivision with 235
single-family houses and condominiums would be an allowed use on his land,
which he described as the largest contiguous property in the township.
Under questioning from
Christopher and Angelo Papa, the attorneys representing the objectors, Slike
said he couldn't say what his compensation from CNX has been for the lease. He said he's paid for the number of acres
disturbed, not royalties on gas extracted.
“It's not thousands upon
thousands of dollars, I guarantee you that,” Slike said.
Slike questioned previous testimony that the CNX wells will be as close
as 700 to 1,000 feet from the objectors' homes, but he acknowledged their homes
are much closer than his own home along Watson Road.
Larry Loperfito, the zoning
board's attorney, said the hearing will continue on March 5 with the attorneys
involved making their final arguments.
Loperfito did not indicate
whether the board will make a decision that night.
Representatives of Western Pennsylvania Gas Leasing
Consultants LLC indicated the Slikes are far from the only township
residents poised to benefit financially from gas leases.
Attorney Ed Bilik, a company founder, presented the zoning board with a petition purported to have more than
100 signatures from township landowners supporting the current zoning that
allows drilling in residential-agricultural zones.
Ted Szalewicz, a land agent and
consultant with the company, said his research found 400 leases involving 4,000
acres of township land were signed in 2014 alone.
Szalewicz
said those leases have paid out a total of $12 million to landowners in fees
and could reap an estimated $60 million to $90 million in royalties.
Christopher Papa was quick to
point out the royalty estimates use an industry standard that includes a rate
about 40 percent more than current natural gas prices.
Kyle Stefancik, a senior land agent for CNX, estimated
about 60 percent of township land and 75 percent of residential-agricultural
zones has been leased to gas companies.
He said there are about 240
conventional, shallow gas wells in Allegheny Township; the CNX well on Slike's property,
known as the Porter 1K well, is the only unconventional deep well permitted.
Stefancik showed photos and maps
of existing shallow wells and gas pipelines in the area of the objectors'
properties, including several that are closer to the objectors' houses than the
proposed CNX well. A pipeline already crosses Taylor's property.
Slike
said at least one shallow well already existed on each of his two adjacent
parcels when he bought them and four more shallow wells have been drilled
since.
Daniel Bitz, a general manager
for gas permitting at CNX, also testified on the permitting process the company
went through with the state and township.
Public
support for drilling
Wednesday's hearing ended with
public comment from four township residents, all of whom voiced support for
drilling.
Upper Burrell resident Ron Slabe,
also spoke, saying he was concerned about water and air quality and “rural
industrialization” if drilling is allowed to continue in
residential-agricultural zones. “
Liz Hayes is a staff writer for Trib Total
Media. She can be reached at
724-226-4680 or lhayes@tribweb.com.
***Penn Trafford
Hearing
Youtube
video from Bob Donnan: (THANKS BOB!)
http://youtu.be/-3Q6wywjv-k
Penn
Township officials hear from residents, experts on fracking plans
“Penn Township commissioners
heard hours of comments about their plans to regulate Marcellus Shale gas
drilling.
Lasting about three hours in the
Penn Middle School auditorium, the meeting included about three dozen speakers,
including experts such as geologists, representatives of environmental groups
and gas drilling companies, and residents supporting and opposing plans for
hydraulic fracturing in the township. Their remarks were limited to five-minute
windows.
Critics cited research suggesting
environmental and health risks for those living close to fracking operations,
from possible radiation and groundwater contamination to neurological and
respiratory effects, along with a decrease in property values.
“It definitely affects your
quality of life,” resident Dan Begg said in an interview.
While
he acknowledged that the township is
proposing an outright ban on ponds to treat wastewater from fracking
operations, he said that would not prevent disturbances from trucks hauling
away fracking fluids, let alone spills or other drilling-related accidents.
“I don’t think it’s something
that fits well in a residential community,” said Mr. Begg, who lives about a
mile from where a drilling company has received state approval to begin
operations, in the Level Green area of the township.
Supporters contended that the
effects of fracking have undergone adequate environmental review, arguing that
the township should not tighten its proposed drilling restrictions based on
concerns raised by residents.
“Making the use of our land or
our development rights subordinate to the desires, wishes of others is not
equal treatment,” Anthony Marks, who owns about 20 acres in the township, told
the commissioners.
Having signed two leases with two
different drilling companies, he later said that for many township landowners,
leasing their properties to drilling companies is a “huge incentive” for them
to avoid handing it over to developers.
For local governments themselves,
such revenue from fracking can also be significant.
Over the past few years, the
township has received some $150,000 in fees paid by drilling companies for
digging wells, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Westmoreland County has received
nearly $5 million in such fees over the same period.
Those fees are required under the
state’s Marcellus Shale gas drilling law, Act 13, and have gone toward
infrastructure improvements such as road repairs.
For their part, township leaders
are finalizing a formal review of a draft ordinance that would further restrict
such operations in residential and commercial areas.
“We wanted to give the people a
say,” said Paul Wersing, chairman of the board of commissioners,, referring to
Thursday's special meeting. But, he added, “Our decision has to be made on the
rule of law, and not on speculation and assumptions.”
The township is requiring that
drilling companies obtain a conditional use permit before beginning
unconventional drilling operations, and officials have said none will be issued
until the proposed regulations are agreed on and adopted. A township zoning
board will hold public hearings on any applications for those permits.
That could come as early as
April, with the possibility of commissioners scheduling a public hearing at a
work session next week.
In addition to prohibiting
treatment ponds, the township is proposing a ban on fracking operations within
600 feet of homes, schools and businesses on properties less than 10 acres. It
also is proposing a 1,000-foot buffer around water supply intakes.
But a recently formed citizens
group says that would prove “too close to too many people in our community.”
The group, Protect PT, is calling for a 2,000-foot buffer around buildings.
Also speaking at the meeting were
elected officials from neighboring municipalities including Trafford. which is
considering developing its own ordinance to limit any drilling activity in the
borough.
Some residents there are
concerned about the planned drilling operation at the Level Green site, which
is less than 2,000 feet from a subdivision of dozens of homes.
The drilling company Apex Energy
LLC has received approval from the state DEP to begin operations there and at
another site, near Monroeville. The Wexford-based company also has submitted an
application for a nearly 90-acre site near Delmont, near the William Penn Care
Center, a senior living facility, and it is seeking several more permits, said
Mark Rothenberg, its chief executive.
Also, the land acquisition arm of
another drilling company, Huntley & Huntley, which is based in Monroeville,
has purchased about 220 acres off Pleasant Valley Road, near Murrysville.
Bernard Goldstein, professor
emeritus of environmental and occupational health at the University of
Pittsburgh whom Protect PT requested to speak at the meeting, said research of
the effects of fracking remain inconclusive.
“We really don’t know what the
health effects are,’ he said in an interview, citing New York’s ban on
high-volume fracking. “They haven’t really been studied.”
As
a result, Mr. Goldstein said, “There’s a reason to delay” as much as possible
drilling in the township. “What’s the rush?”
http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2015/02/06/Penn-Township-officials-hear-from-residents-experts-on-fracking-plans/stories/201502060157
***North Strabane
Township Fire
“An equipment malfunction may have sparked a
large fire at a gas drilling location in Washington County .
The fire broke out at the Jeffries drilling site in North
Strabane Township.
“That piece of equipment ruptured. There was a failure and it
discharged some of that lubricant. That ignited and caught fire along with some
plastic liners at the location,” said Matt Pitzarella, of Range Resources. “The
well itself was not on fire and not a cause of concern.
Heavy
flames were seen at the scene and large plumes of black smoke rose over the
area.
Joe Waldrop lives on a hill
overlooking the site. He called 911 once he realized what had happened.
“As I continued to listen and
looked out the back window, we saw all this black smoke, we heard numerous
booms after that, and we went back and the whole well was like engulfed in
flames,” said Waldrop.
In their
statement, Range Resources went on to say, “These investigations can take weeks
or months in some instances to fully recognize what exactly occurred.
Importantly, we have trained crews to manage these situations and have prepared
for these unfortunate incidents with area first responders over the years.”
There were no reports of any
injuries. Three homes are within a half-mile radius of the site, but no one had
to be evacuated.
“They just said everyone roll up
your windows or go inside; we don’t want you guys to breathe it in,” said
Rachel Rettinger, a neighbor.
Crews managed to put the fire out
by 6:15 p.m.
Range Resources officials say
they used specialty foam, used to extinguish oil and grease fires, to put out
the blaze.”
***Mark West Wants
Rezoning --Builds Compressor Station
In Robinson
“MarkWest could proceed
tomorrow with plans to build a natural gas compressor station in Robinson
Township, but the company wants
officials to rezone its land first.
The company submitted an
application to classify 252.3 acres
in the southwestern part of the township as
industrial-zoned land. The property, owned by MarkWest, is currently situated in the commercial and
interchange business development districts.
Board of Supervisors Chairman
Rodger Kendall said compressor stations are a permitted use in that area, and
MarkWest could start constructing the compressor station as long as the
facility meets a uniform set of criteria outlined in the zoning ordinance.
Kendall said the board planned to
discuss the matter , but tabled the item because MarkWest spokesman Robert
McHale showed up late at the Monday meeting. The township’s website
inaccurately stated that board meetings begin at 7 p.m., but they typically
begin at 6 p.m. unless advertised differently.
Robinson currently has an industrial zone in the eastern part of the
township, but McHale wrote in a letter to the township that there is an
“economically justified need” to create a second industrial zone in the southern
part of the township. He addressed the recent challenge to the township’s
zoning ordinance, which was lodged by three families and later dismissed by the
zoning hearing board, and said a successful appeal of the zoning board’s
decision would “severely constrain” natural gas development.
“Natural gas would, essentially,
be landlocked, potentially jeopardizing substantial investments in natural gas
interests within the township, as well as impacting numerous landowners who
earn royalties in return for permitting and encouraging the responsible
development of the natural gas upon which all of us depend,” McHale wrote.
To date, the parties involved in
the zoning ordinance challenge have not filed an appeal of the zoning board’s
decision in Washington County Court.
http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20150210/NEWS01/150219969
*** Municipalities
File Act 13 Briefs In Supreme Court
By Emily Petsko, Staff
Writer
Observer-Reporter
“More
than a year after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that major provisions of
Act 13 were unconstitutional, other provisions of the state law governing oil
and natural gas development are returning to the high court for review.
The
parties that first challenged the law in 2012 are now appealing a Commonwealth
Court decision last summer that upheld parts of the law pertaining to eminent
domain, notification of spills and what they call a “physician gag rule.” The
appellants, which include an environmental group, a physician and seven
municipalities, argue those provisions are unconstitutional, as well. The
municipalities – including South Fayette, Peters, Cecil and Mt. Pleasant
townships – submitted a brief Tuesday in support of their appeal.
After
the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of Act 13 in December 2013, it
also remanded several provisions of the law back to Commonwealth Court for
review. The petitioners in the case considered it a victory when the lower
court ruled municipalities cannot be subjected to zoning reviews by the Public
Utility Commission and, subsequently, to revocations of impact fee money. The
PUC since appealed that decision.
But
the municipalities disagreed with the court’s decision to uphold other
provisions of the law they had challenged. One
of those provisions requires the state DEP to notify a public drinking water
facility if a spill occurs that could affect water supplies. The problem is
that the law does not expressly protect those who use private wells or springs,
the parties argued in their brief.
The municipalities argued there is a
greater need to notify residents who have private drinking water of a spill
because drilling primarily occurs in rural areas where public water may not be
available. They said the DEP and the industry are taking a reactive rather
than a proactive stance by waiting for a complaint to surface regarding the
quality of a private water source before investigating whether a spill
occurred.
They
say the provision is a “special law” that unjustly creates a distinction
between public and private water sources.
“The only reason for
the different treatment is clear – a desire to mask the true effects of the oil
and gas industry on rural communities, which are experiencing the brunt of
shale gas development,” the parties wrote.
They
also challenged a provision granting the
power of eminent domain to corporations that transport, sell or store natural
gas. The municipalities argued this provision allows companies to take
property for the injection, storage or removal of natural gas with no guarantee
of a direct benefit to the public.
The
third provision in question states that a health professional requesting
chemical information related to oil and gas operations in order to diagnose or
treat a patient must verbally acknowledge that the information will be kept
confidential. The law states that the
vendor providing the chemical information may ask the health professional to
provide a written statement or sign a confidentiality agreement.
The
municipalities argued this provision interferes with physician-patient
relations and restricts the ability of a
physician to communicate with specialists such as epidemiologists and
toxicologists.
“Act
13 restricts health professionals’ abilities to disclose critical diagnostic
information necessary for medical treatment solely because the natural gas
industry deems such information ‘proprietary’ or a ‘trade secret,’” they wrote.
“No other law is so restrictive in the use of trade secret information – not
federal work protection rules, and not federal and state chemical disclosure
provisions that apply to other industries.”
One
physician is a party in the ongoing Act 13 case. Mehernosh Khan worked as a
primary care physician for more than 30 years in the Pittsburgh area, according
to StateImpact Pennsylvania.
The DEP, PUC and attorney general will soon
be filing briefs in response to the appeal, according to attorney John Smith,
who represents the appellants.
***Huntley
Reconsiders Plans to Drill In Harmar Twp
By
Jodi Weigand
“Huntley & Huntley Energy
Exploration says it is reevaluating its leasing efforts in Southwestern
Pennsylvania because of Gov. Tom Wolf's proposed severance tax on natural gas
extraction.
The company cited the uncertainty
generated by the proposal and potential “economic barriers” in a letter to
Harmar Township withdrawing a subsurface
lease offer for about 90 acres of township-owned land.
Burke said the Harmar lease is the only one
proposed with a public entity. Most of the company's leases are with private
landowners.
However, a lease proposal from
Huntley & Huntley and Range Resources is still being considered in West
Deer. Supervisors have scheduled a public hearing on the lease for March 11.
Township Supervisor Bob Exler
said it's unfortunate the township is losing the opportunity. He wants the
state Legislature to impose a 5 percent severance tax on the value of gas that
drillers extract and a levy of 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet.
Wolf wants to use the revenue to
fund public schools.
The
industry pays an impact fee on Marcellus shale natural gas wells. It has
generated $630 million in three years.
The
money goes to counties and municipalities. Wolf has said under his proposal,
municipalities would receive a share of the severance tax revenue.
Because
of low oil and natural gas prices, many companies have slowed operations.”
Read
more:
http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/7803752-74/tax-township-harmar#ixzz3SDD0DI73
***Action
time –Letter to Editor
By Elizabeth
Donahue
“Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, The
battle against fracking in Ligonier Township has been going on for three years,
led by a growing group dedicated to our collective right to maintain the
township we currently have. They have worked tirelessly to educate the
supervisors and their efforts have been about everyone's land, everyone's
future here.
On the night of Jan. 22, the
township planning commission showed its cards ( “Ligonier Township zoning map
advances”). Despite township officials' known conflicts of interest, despite
having stacks of fact-based concerns about this industrial process presented to
them, they are poised to transform Ligonier Township into another industrial
gasland. Our land, our future.
At this critical point, inaction
on the part of everyday Ligonier Township residents will help to destroy the
township. Sitting back passively right now will guarantee that in 10 years'
time, the township will have ceased to be the tourist destination it now is,
and few will want to live here.
The entire state of New York
banned fracking, but not without a struggle; it took many hands to haul that
life-affirming decision over the finish line. Whether you are a “conservative,”
a liberal or unaffiliated, roll up your sleeves right now and find ways to keep
your Ligonier Township from turning into an industrial zone. The clock is
ticking.”
Elizabeth Donohoe
Forest
Hills
The
writer owns property in Ligonier Township.
Read
more: http://triblive.com/opinion/letters/7642626-74/township-ligonier-industrial#ixzz3QokkNIZK
***ACT 13 &
Local Ordinances Dilemma
Why is it so hard to write municipal
ordinances? Councilman Dave Ball
responds:
"Does
the Municipal Planning Code (PA law) really envision requiring that we violate
the Constitution by allowing drilling in a residential or Light Industrial
area? Does the MPC require we
rezone property to allow drilling when the rezoning may well constitute spot
zoning and not be in the furtherance of the public good, another requisite of
zoning, both of which would be constitutional violations? Redefining light industrial to include
heavy industrial operation is rezoning and has the same problems as noted
above. Then, assuming for the moment, that some property could be found to
rezone, how does allowing drilling in the designated area comport with the
requirements of Section 27, the Environmental Rights Amendment? Considering the
population density of <insert your community here>, is there any area in
which gas drilling would not violate Section 27?"
The full text of this message was
sent by Peters Twp council chairman Dave Ball with his permission to make it
public. ( I note that these are Mr. Ball's opinions and perspectives only.
Other Council members or legal practitioners may have other views.):
"The legal challenge to Act
13, to which Peters Township was a party, was successfully concluded with a
landmark Supreme Court decision over a year ago. Several issues were remanded
to the Commonwealth Court where, for the most part, we prevailed again. The PUC
has appealed this latest Commonwealth Court decision to the Supreme Court. That
appeal is likely to be heard this spring. This should write finished to the Act
13 litigation.
While we won an incredible
victory for the citizens of this state, the actual application of that decision
is still evolving. The decision is termed a “landmark” decision because it
breaks new legal ground, ground that has not yet been clearly defined. Clarity
will only be achieved after a number of cases wind their way through the legal
system. We, like many townships, are trying very hard to bring our zoning
ordinances into compliance with the principles enumerated in the Supreme Court
decision. This is not as easy as it might sound because what constitutes
compliance is still not well defined.
In short explanation, we are
trying to balance several issues; the
Municipalities Planning Code (603b and 603i) requires that a township provide
for all legal uses and provide for mineral extraction. The Supreme Court said that zoning requires
that only compatible uses be included within one type of zoning district and
that the Constitutional Amendment in Article 1, Section 27 requires that
citizens have a right to clean air, pure water and a healthy environment.
This amendment does not confer a right to the citizens but, rather, prohibits
the government from interfering with that right. Section 27 requires, according
to the court, that all governing bodies,
state, county and municipal, have a trustee responsibility to assure this for
both current and future generations. That’s a huge requirement and one that
begs a great deal of definition.
Clearly, the court ruled that gas
drilling is an industrial operation and that it does not belong in a
residential zone. If the MPC requires
that we need to provide for gas drilling, where does the MPC propose it go?
The only open land in the township is residential with a small amount of Light
Industrial. The definition of Light
Industrial does not include heavy industry, such as gas drilling. Does the MPC
really envision requiring that we violate the constitution by allowing drilling
in a residential or Light Industrial area? Does the MPC require we rezone
property to allow drilling when the rezoning may well constitute spot zoning
and not be in the furtherance of the public good, another requisite of zoning,
both of which would be constitutional violations? Redefining light industrial
to include heavy industrial operation is rezoning and has the same problems as
noted above. Then, assuming for the moment, that some property could be found
to rezone, how does allowing drilling in the designated area comport with the
requirements of Section 27, the Environmental Rights Amendment? Considering the
population density of Peters Township, is there any area in which gas drilling
would not violate Section 27?
The
Council decided at its last meeting (see video link below) to form a working
team composed of two Council members and two Planning Commission members to
propose a process to study what can be done. Part of the process may well
include expert opinion from land use planners and public health experts.
This
is not an easy situation to resolve. If you have any questions or comments
along the way, please contact me.
Dave
Ball"
VIDEO:
Council Meeting & Planning Meeting:
http://youtu.be/b5E3meKAIhI
***Alyson Holt- On
600 Foot Setbacks
“I was just thinking about
this 600-ft setback issue. Do you think PT folks know how far 600 ft actually
is? It might be worth mentioning some easily known PT landmarks and how far
they are away from each other:
1.In Harrison City, the pond is 680 ft from the library on the same
site .
2. Penn-Trafford high school
building is 615 ft long.
3. The athletic field at PT
(including the track) is 600 ft long.
4. For a neighborhood with a
typical 70-ft wide front yard, 600 ft would be about 8 1/2 houses away.
5. In most cities, a standard
city block is 660 ft.
6. If someone walks a leisurely
20-minute mile pace, it takes about 2 minutes to walk 600 ft.
7. Any Penn Twp downtown block
that's famous that you could cite? (maybe the distance between 2 favorite
restaurants?)
600
ft is SHORT. And ridiculous.”
(This
would make a great letter to the editor for any township, jan)
***Fracking
in Harmar Twp
“Plans
are under way to drill in Harmar Township near the Allegheny River and the
communities of Fox Chapel, Indianola and Cheswick.
Wells
would be drilled just upriver from the Pittsburgh Water Treatment Plant that
provides drinking water to 300,000 residents. Drilling operations will be in
close proximity to homes, schools, parks, churches and businesses.
Fracking
has been tied to birth defects, air and water contamination, and radiation and
community disruption.
Harmar
Township has streams, wetlands and one of only three American Bald Eagle
nests in the region. We can’t afford the risk to our community.”
***Mt Pleasant –Range
Resources Withdraws
Conditional uses were formally
withdrawn by Range Resources for the Yonker uchida and Patsch well pads in Mt Pleasant
Twp, Washington County .
Jonathan Kamin and George Yugovic
helped with this case. The company asserts
financial reasons due to market prices.
***Middlesex Drilling
Debate Continues
Saturday,
Jan. 31, 2015,
“Pennsylvania,
in the eyes of New York officials, is a guinea pig for the long-term public
health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, a public health physician told Butler
County residents.
“When I'm asked in New York about
the health effects of fracking, the implication of my answer is, ‘Wait and see
what happens in Pennsylvania,' ” said Dr. David Carpenter, director of the
school of public health at the State University of New York at Albany.
Carpenter — who studies human
health effects of environmental contaminants, including metals and organic
compounds, and is a onetime New York State health official — testified last
month against Middlesex's zoning ordinance.
The ordinance would allow
drilling on property owned by Kim and Bob Geyer, who live in adjacent Adams.
Drilling is on hold because of the appeal.
Opponents have said that the
Middlesex site is too close to Mars Area School District property, about
three-quarters of a mile away.
“It would be unwise and unsafe to allow development of
natural gas drilling in over 90 percent of Middlesex, especially in locations
in close proximity to schools and residences,” Carpenter testified.
Area proponents of drilling cite
the boost to the local economy and say drilling can help preserve farmland that
is often not profitable.
Kim Geyer declined to comment but
has said she and her family are persuaded of the safety of fracking.
Officials at Rex Energy, the
company whose project is being challenged, referred comment to Travis Windle, a
spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group.
“Pennsylvania has a world-class
regulatory framework and enforcement programs that are enabling the safe
development of clean-burning natural gas.
‘It's unfortunate that some
out-of-state activists, who cannot accept these clear facts, continue to peddle
an out of the mainstream agenda,” said Windle.
Carpenter received his
medical degree from Harvard Medical School.
He's a former director of the
Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research of the New York State Department
of Health, the third- largest public-health laboratory in the United States.
More than half of Pennsylvania's
counties have drilling for natural gas. Butler
County has 277 wells, the seventh-highest county concentration in the state,
according to the DEP.
Carpenter was one of many health
professionals who last month signed a letter urging New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
to ban fracking, which the governor did.
The state cited Carpenter's
research in a December report issued at the time of the ban.
The New York Heath Department
report said the public-health impact of drilling in Pennsylvania was
inconclusive.” http://triblive.com/news/butler/7651749-74/health-drilling-york#axzz3SErSMcF8
***Who Sold
us Out?
Letter To Editor
“As
a resident of Washington County, I am outraged that somebody has allowed the
beautiful rural neighborhood in which I live to become an industrial zone.
I
can see two gas wells from my living room window and can hear the droning of a
third. I’ve watched 100 trucks drive past my house in a single day. I see a
half-dozen derricks, lit up like NASA launchpads, on my commute to work.
Who
is responsible for this? Who sold us out? I thought government was supposed to
protect the people from this sort of thing?
All
I can think is that the politicians of Pennsylvania must be in the pockets of
the energy companies, which are running roughshod over us Southwestern
Pennsylvanians, destroying our environment, lowering our property values and
jeopardizing our health.
I
can’t believe there is such a desperate shortage of natural gas in this country
that it was deemed necessary to allow gas drilling companies to come into
neighborhoods where people live and work. To me, the mantra that “America needs
to become energy independent” is just corporate propaganda.
Let’s
be honest – the only reason this is being done is so that money can be made.
If a politician votes for this sort of thing, they
should be willing to live near one of these industrial operations and drink the
same water and breathe the same air as some of my neighbors.
This
experiment has gone on long enough and the science is now in. We need to follow
New York’s lead and put an immediate stop to fracking gas in Pennsylvania.”
Christopher Marsh
Brownsvillehttp://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20150131/OPINION02/150139903
***Drilling In Ag Areas –Allegheny Twp
Residents opposed to drilling, Consol
subsidiary make cases in Allegheny Township
“A
zoning hearing that was continued Wednesday concerning the validity of
Allegheny Township's natural gas-drilling regulations drew testimony from
experts on land use, agricultural and shale development law and a handful of
residents.
The
township's ordinance for gas and oil operations was first challenged last year
by three Willowbrook Road residents opposed to a Marcellus shale gas well
permitted on neighboring property. Permits were issued in October by Allegheny
Township and the state Department of Environmental Protection for the surface
well site belonging to CNX Gas Co., a subsidiary of Consol Energy Inc.
Nearby residents — Dee Frederick,
Beverly Taylor and Patricia Hagaman — not only want the township's zoning
hearing board to revoke the permit to drill off Willowbrook, but to rule
against the township's ordinance, which allows drilling in all zoning areas,
including residential. The well site is in an R-2 residential-agricultural
zone, which covers about 85 percent of the township.
Christopher
Papa, the attorney representing the residents, was able to present only two
witnesses when testimony began before the zoning hearing board Jan. 7. The
first witness at that hearing, a Duquesne University professor specializing in
environmental research and education, had his testimony limited to general
information regarding the process of drilling after his credentials as an
industry expert were called into question by the opposition.
The
second witness was Steven Victor, a Sewickley landscape architect and land-use
planner whom Papa hired to review the township's zoning regulations on gas and
oil drilling.
Victor
testified that the township's ordinance didn't regulate oil and gas development
in residential areas enough to “adequately protect the safety, health and
welfare of the township's residents.” His primary concerns with the ordinance
centered around the lack of regulations surrounding noise level, notification
to residents, setbacks and water testing.
When
the hearing resumed Wednesday, Victor was cross-examined by the attorneys of
three other parties involved.
Blaine
Lucas, representing CNX, contended that the gas company gave ample notification
to all affected residents and adhered to all DEP requirements.
Allegheny Township Solicitor
Bernard Matthews objected to Victor's claims of natural gas development being
sometimes incompatible with residential or agricultural zoning by citing the
large number already in existence in the township.
He also questioned the township's right to deny a resident the right to benefit
from the extraction mineral rights under their property.
Ed
Bilik, an attorney who formed Western PA Gas Leasing Consultants to assist
landowners with leases, challenged what Victor said was the township's lack of
proper regulations for noise levels by
comparing the sound of drilling operations to a farmer's tractor.
After
Victor's testimony, Papa called each of the three Willowbrook residents to the
stand. The well site, which is being built on the fringe of farmland owned by
John and Ann Slike, sits between 700 and 1,200 feet from their homes.
Each
of the women voiced concerns regarding the potential environmental hazards,
impact on property values, increased traffic and higher noise levels that could
come with the well site.
Taylor,
who has owned her house there for 22 years, said she and her husband bought the
property as a “quiet, bucolic place to spend their retirement in the country.
“Now,
they're clearing the land, and their trucks are always coming up and down,” she
said. “I think we'll have to move if it all goes forward. I don't know how we'd
sell, though. I don't know who would want to buy there now.”
None
of the witnesses was cross-examined.
Steven
Silverman, also representing CNX, then called his first witness.
Ross
Pifer, a Penn State University law professor with a specialized degree in
agricultural law, testified for roughly an hour on the interplay between the
oil and gas industry and agricultural or rural communities in Pennsylvania.
After Silverman submitted as
evidence 55 zoning ordinances that, like Allegheny Township's, allow for
drilling operations in rural areas, Pifer responded to a
series of questions from the attorney.
His
answers focused primarily on the ability for oil and gas operations and
agriculture to coexist, the frequency with which well sites are built in rural
areas, how farmers and landowners benefit from drilling and laws designed to
conserve land that explicitly allow for natural gas operations.
After
a brief cross-examination by Papa, the zoning hearing board recessed the
hearing.
It
will be continued Feb. 11 in Kiski Area North Primary School. “
Braden Ashe is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.
He can be reached at 724-226-4673 or bashe@tribweb.com.
***Alyson Holt on
Dept of Health Setbacks, Maryland
(This is an excellent assessment by Alyson. Jan)
Alyson
Holt's Response to Maryland's Recommendations Document, released in November
2014:
http://www.mde.state.md.us/…/Final_Distribution_Draft_11.25…
“The Maryland Recommendations
Document is long, but helpfully divided into sections. One of the most pressing
issues for any community is to determine a reasonable setback from well pads to
occupied buildings. On this issue, I find significant problems with the final
draft of the Maryland Recommendations document. A close reading of this long
report shows that setbacks are addressed numerous times in the final report and
on page 96, the final list of recommended setbacks includes a setback of 1000
ft from a well pad edge to any occupied building. How did the Maryland
Recommendations Report arrive at 1000 ft for a blanket setback recommendation
statewide?
On page 12 of the Maryland
Recommendations document, we also read that The Maryland Dept of Health issued
a report in July 2014 that "included a baseline health assessment, a
hazard evaluation for air quality, impacts related to flowback and produced
water, noise, earthquakes, social determinants of health, occupational health,
and healthcare infrastructure." The Maryland Dept of Health report is
available here:
http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/…/MDMarcellusShalePublicHealt…
The Maryland Dept of Health July 2014 report recommended 2000 ft
setbacks from occupied buildings, (not 1000 ft setbacks,) based on air quality
concerns (page 26):
"Based on our evaluations of
the limited but emerging epidemiological evidence from UNGDP impacted areas and
air quality measurements as well as epidemiological evidence from other fields,
we conclude that there is a High Likelihood UNGDP related changes in air
quality will have a negative impact on
public health in Garrett and Allegany Counties. Should Maryland
move forward with UNGDP, the following
recommendations should be implemented to prevent or minimize potential negative
impacts on public health.
R14. Require a minimal setback
distance of 2000 feet from well pads and from
compressor
stations not using electric motors."
If we return to the Maryland
Recommendations Document which referenced the Maryland Dept of Health report on
page 12 and read through the section entitled "Air Pollution"
beginning on page 17, not once is the 2000 ft setback recommendation from the
health department report mentioned. In fact, setbacks are not mentioned in the
"Air Pollution" section at all. Table 2 on page 21 indicates that the
"chronic hazard quotient" for residents within ½ mile of fracking
activity to be twice as high as beyond ½ mile. And in the conclusion to the air
pollution section, the Maryland Recommendations Report wrote, "Air
pollution from operations at the pad and from traffic is a concern.
Implementation of the best practices… should significantly reduce ambient
levels of pollutants emanating from the pad area. If monitoring does not
confirm the effectiveness of these measures, additional controls may be
necessary."
The 1000-ft setback from occupied buildings recommendation comes from
the section on "Noise" beginning on page 26. In the Noise
section, the 1000-ft setback appears for the first time. (In the "Methane
Migration" section, a 2000-ft setback from a private drinking well is
recommended, also on page 26.)
As it
pertains to Murrysville (and other townships, jan), the 1000-ft setback for
Noise issues is interesting, but does not address the more concerning issue of
air pollution and its potential for adverse health effects. It's important to
realize that the 1000-ft setback the Maryland Recommendations Report suggests
simply did not take into account the data on air pollution nor the Department
of Health's recommendation when it arrived at the 1000-ft setback. The Maryland
Dept of Health recommends a 2000-ft setback from occupied buildings based on
its study of air pollution data.
I highly recommend reading the
Maryland Department of Health's report on Air Pollution, section 10.3.1,
beginning on page 26 and running to page 39. If you are limited for time, the
tables and recommendations are discussed on page 39 in the
"Assessment" sub-section: "Effectiveness of setback was assigned
a score of 1 because evidence from traffic-related air pollution studies
indicated that the concentrations of traffic-related pollutants drop to the
background level beyond 500-700m (1640-2296 feet). Likewise, a study from Colorado
reported air pollution levels significantly higher within 0.5 miles (2640 feet)
of UNGDP facilities compared to >0.5 miles. Based on this, we concluded that
an adequate setback from the corner of a UNGDP facility to the corner of a
residential property (2000 feet) can minimize exposure."
If any community is serious about
protecting residents from the expected risks associated with fracking,
including air pollution, it should enact a setback of 2000 ft, not 1000 ft from
occupied buildings.
For
reference, a full list of the Maryland Recommendations Report suggested
setbacks are on page 95.
www.mde.state.md.us
MDE.STATE.MD.US
***Bill For 8 Year Ban in Maryland
By Juan
Carlos Rodriguez
Law360, New
York
“A group of Maryland legislators
this week will introduce a bill that would enact an 8year ban on hydraulic
fracturing in the state, the latest state lawmakers to weigh in against the
controversial practice.
Maryland Del. David FraserHidalgo,
DMontgomery County, and Sen. Karen Montgomery, DMontgomery County, along with
46 other state General Assembly members, said on Thursday they will introduce the Protect Our Health and
Communities Act, a bill to enact a
longterm, statewide moratorium on fracking. Maryland would follow the lead of
New York, which banned fracking in December due to health concerns.
“Almost every week a new study
emerges pointing to the alarming health and environmental effects of fracking. To open up Maryland to fracking at this
time would simply be reckless,” FraserHidalgo said in a Thursday
statement. “New York’s health department looked hard at the facts and concluded
that fracking just isn’t safe. Are New Yorkers’ health and safety more
important than our own? Surely not.”
A
statewide group of doctors, nurses and other health professionals, threw their
weight behind the bill.
“Given the nature of the chemicals
used in the fracking process, we may see increases in cancers, neurologic
diseases, cardiac and respiratory diseases, and developmental disorders in
coming years, but it will take time for these effects to show up,” Gina
Angiola, a board member of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility,
said in a statement.
In December, the administration of
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it would ban hydraulic fracturing because the
potential health and environmental risks that emerged in a state review were
too significant to allow the controversial drilling technique.
State health Commissioner Howard Zucker said there was too much
documented concern about fracking’s health risks and not enough data minimizing
them.
Other states
like Colorado and California are struggling with how best to regulate the
practice, while those like Pennsylvania and Texas count it as an asset. But even in those states, local governments like Denton, Texas,
are seeing how far they can impose their will in the fight.
Additional
reporting by Keith Goldberg and Jess Davis. Editing by Emily Kokoll.
***About Terry
Greenwood
“Some
of us knew Terry Greenwood, of Washington County? and heard him tell his story
so all could learn from his experience. Not listed on the list provided, was
that he lost his life too.
"Exposure:
•
Wellhead 285’ from pond on property
Harm:
•
Ground Water Contamination
•
Surface Water Contamination: Frack fluid spilled into pond
•
Animal Health Impact:
Lost
11 head of cattle, 10 of which were stillborn calves
• Industry Dishonesty / Disregard
Seized
land with a lease from 1921
Removed
six acres of hay fields for roads
Cut
through fences to gain access to land
Buried
frack pit liner on site
Took
land owner to court
Littered
and left garbage on property
• Loss of Property Value: 100% loss -
$125,000 to $0
• Loss of Income:
$10,000
per year lost revenue due to loss of hay fields and cattle
Oversight Failure: DEP & EPA contacted - not addressing
problems"
Terry Greenwood died June 8, 2014
with malignant brain tumors
http://www.friendsoftheharmed.com/terry-greenwood.html
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marcellus-shale.us%2FTerry-Greenwood.htm&h=CAQGaIHah
http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/07/24/after-rancher-s-death-calls-fracking-health-study-grow-stronger
After Rancher's
Death, Calls for Fracking Health Study Grow Stronger
From 2014
Last month, Terry Greenwood, a
Pennsylvania farmer whose water had been contaminated by fracking waste, died
of cancer. He was 66 and the cause of death was a rare form of brain cancer.
His
death drew attention from around the globe in part because Mr. Greenwood was
among the first farmers from his state to speak out against the gas industry
during the early years of the state's shale gas rush.
Mr. Greenwood went up against a
company called Dominion Energy, which had drilled and fracked a shallow well on
his small cattle ranch property under a lease signed by a prior owner in 1921.
In January, 2008, Mr. Greenwood had reported to state
officials that his water supplies had turned brown and the water tasted salty. The DEP subsequently found
that the company, whose gas well was drilled 400 feet from the Greenwoods'
water well in 2007, had impacted the Greenwoods' water. State officials ordered
Dominion to temporarily supply the family with drinking water.
Mr. Greenwood's death was mourned
by environmentalists around the world. In London, for example, attendees at a
fracking education event recorded video messages for the Greenwood family and
raised over $500 for Terry's survivors.
“Terry Greenwood was one of the
most compelling people you could ever listen to,” wrote filmmaker Josh Fox.
“There was just something about the way he spoke, there was a decency and a
positivity that shone through every word no matter how distressing or
disturbing the subject matter was.”
But the story of Mr. Greenwood's
fight against the drilling industry and lax oversight by state regulators does
not stop there.
In the weeks since his death,
there has been a steady stream of further revelations about ineptitude by state
environmental and health officials in protecting the public from the type of threats
that may have killed Mr. Greenwood. These revelations are both a reminder of
the importance of Mr. Greenwood's fight and a reiteration of how little has
changed.
Last week, Dr. Eli Avila,
formerly Pennsylvania's health secretary, made headlines when he told the
Associated Press that the state had neglected health impact studies.
“The lack of any action speaks
volumes,” Dr. Avila, now Orange County, New York's public health commissioner,
told the AP. His perspective was shared by other health experts. “Pennsylvania is 'simply not doing' serious
studies into possible health impacts of drilling, Dr. Bernard Goldstein, who
has five decades of public health experience at hospitals and universities in
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania” said, the AP reported.
The lack of oversight and
transparency has been endemic to Pennsylvania and its handling of fracking.
In 2011, Governor Tom Corbett's
Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission recommended that the state begin tracking
health effects, through a registry that would monitor the health of people
living within a mile of natural gas drilling or production sites, like well
pads and compressor stations. The Commission called for “the timely and
thorough investigation of and response to concerns and complaints raised by
citizens, health care providers or public officials.”
But
funding for the initiative — including $2 million originally included in the
state's key drilling law, Act 13 — never materialized.
Meanwhile, requests for
information about health risks from state officials often seem to hit a brick
wall. In response, local organizers have resorted to published lists of
hundreds of state residents who say that they've been harmed by the drilling
rush.
This
official silence comes against a larger backdrop of stonewalling. Retired state
health officials recently alleged that the Department of Public Health barred
them returning phone calls from residents with potentially fracking-related
concerns and had circulated a list of buzzwords that might indicate a call was
related to the shale drilling frenzy.
“We were absolutely not allowed
to talk to them,” Tammi Stuck, who worked as a Fayette County community health
nurse for nearly four decades, told StateImpact.
The state initially denied that a
list of buzzwords existed. But after StateImpact obtained copies of the
buzzword list, the agency confirmed that the documents were authentic, changing
its story to say that their goal was not to suppress complaints but to ensure
“that we are speaking with one voice.”
Although state officials are supposed to coordinate between agencies to
handle residents' concerns, locals described a frustrating process in which
complaints were bounced from agency to agency.
Farmers have for several years said that, for all that
is not known about fracking, one thing is certain: livestock are being
affected. Mr. Greenwood knew this peril first hand.
“They was drilling and all the
water was running into the field and the cattle was up there right in their
pasture drinking the water,” Terry Greenwood told Josh Fox in footage from
roughly 2009 that the filmmaker released as part of a video memorial. “And I
called DEP and I says 'they [the cows] shouldn't be drinking that water,' I
said, 'what's in that water?' Cause I didn't know nothing about all this at
first, and they said 'there's nothing wrong with it.' My cows started having
calves, there was 18 cows. Calves was starting to die. You know, 18 cows that
were having calves, I lost 10 of them.”
“So
what did DEP say?” Mr. Fox asked, referring to the state Department of
Environmental Protection. “'That's a farmer's luck,'” Mr. Greenwood replied.
The DEP later attributed the
deaths to e coli bacteria in the pond, but Mr. Greenwood remained skeptical
that bacteria was the true cause of the deaths. “”I said, 'Them cows have been
drinking out of that pond for 18 years and I never had this problem before,'”
Mr. Greenwood told a local newspaper in 2010.
And the following year, things
got worse. In 2011, not a single one of the Greenwoods' thirteen remaining cows
gave birth to a live calf, Mr. Greenwood later said.
The symptoms Mr. Greenwood
reported in his cows seem generally consistent with incidents tied to fracking
wastewater across the country. Animals
like cows and deer are particularly drawn towards drinking the toxic wastewater
that flows back from natural gas wells after fracking because of the water's
salty taste.
“Cattle that have been exposed to
wastewater (flowback and/or produced water) or affected well or pond water may
have trouble breeding,” veterinarian Michelle Bamberger and Cornell Professor
Robert Oswalt wrote in a 2012 peer-reviewed paper. “Of the seven cattle farms
studied in the most detail, 50 percent of the herd, on average, was affected by
death and failure of survivors to breed.”
Scientists have called for
greater attention to the effects on animals from drilling and fracking, saying
that animal health could serve as warnings for effects on human health.
“As part of an effort to obtain
public health data, we believe that particular attention must be paid to
companion animals, livestock, and wildlife, as they may serve as sentinels for
human exposures, with shorter lifetimes and more opportunity for data
collection from necropsies,” Drs. Bamberger and Oswald wrote.
No one can say for sure whether
fracking chemicals killed Mr. Greenwood or his animals. But advocates say that
they have a right to know and they say one of their biggest frustrations is the
state's silence on the matter.
But the lack of public health
information has advocates calling for a full investigation into the state's
investigatory failures.
“The legitimate questions of
Pennsylvania citizens concerning their health or that of family members as a
result of natural gas drilling activity cannot be discounted or dismissed
outright,” a statement signed by five of the state's leading environmental
groups said last week. “The fact that
the DEP originally denied the existence of a “buzzwords” list, and the fact
that Gov. Corbett has refused to weigh in with a forceful response, leaves us
no choice but to call for a full investigation.”
Friends said Mr. Greenwood was
one of the first people to speak out against the shale gas drilling rush in
Pennsylvania and had made the phrase “water is more important than gas” his
personal motto following his experiences with the shale gas industry.
“We had two springs, a well for
drinking, and a pond,” Mr. Greenwood explained to film-maker Josh Fox in a
video filmed roughly five years ago that Mr. Fox released as a memorial in
June.
“The pond's no good, the well
ain't fit to drink, original well's gone and the spring for the cattle is gone.
There's a little spring for the house and that's all that's left on this
property.”
“So I have a farm, and it's
useless,” he added. “When they take this water buffalo, or whatever happens to
this water buffalo, I don't know what's gonna happen.”
http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/07/24/after-rancher-s-death-calls-fracking-health-study-grow-stronger
Frack Links
***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.
**Peters Township-Video
http://www.ptct7.com/programs/council-mtgs
Someone recommended --Start at
about the 48-minute mark and watch till roughly the 1 hour, 15 minute mark.
**Video- What You
breathe from gas operations-excellent 5 minutes
**
Power point CHEJ Health Impacts of Fracking
***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.
***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:
***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/
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizen’s Group—Mission Statement
WMCG is a project
of the Thomas Merton Society
To
raise the public’s general awareness and understanding of the impacts of
Marcellus drilling on the natural environment, health, and long-term economies
of local communities.
Officers: President-Jan Milburn
Treasurer and Thomas Merton Liason-Lou Pochet
Secretary-Ron Nordstrom
Facebook Coordinator-Elizabeth Nordstrom
Science Advisor-Dr. Cynthia Walter
To receive our
news updates, please email jan at westmcg@gmail.com
To remove your
name from our list please put “remove name from list’ in the subject line
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.
