Learn the FACTS about Marcellus Shale

Thurs. Nov. 3rd at 7 PM

GAS TRUTH OF YORK is sponsoring  the YORK MARCELLUS SHALE FORUM so that you can learn what you need to know about Shale Gas drilling in Pennsylvania.  In South Central PA we do not have Marcellus Shale drilling but the Oil & Gas Industry is affecting our water, land, and the integrety of our politics.

On Thursday, November 3rd we will bring experts in the field to you so that you can get your questions answered.  The following people will speak at this SHALE FORUM:

Rep. Eugene Depasquale

Kathy Martin, Sierra Club and STRONGER

Simona Perry Ph.D. – expert on effects of drilling on life in Bradford County, PA

John Trallo, Sullivan County Citizen Activist and affected landowner

Ralph Kisberg, Responsible Drilling Alliance of Lycoming County

Guy Alsentzer, Staff Attorney, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper

Nathan Sooy, Clean Water Action

 Professor David Fyfe from York College will be the MC and moderator.

DATE & TIME: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD – 7 PM Till 9:30 PM

 LOCATION: SPRINGETTS FIRE HALL

                               3013 E. MARKET STREET

                               YORK, PA

Gas Truth of Central Pennsylvania Wants to Hear Your Voice!

Give Your Testimony to the
CITIZENS MARCELLUS SHALE COMMISSION

GAS TRUTH is giving support to the CITIZENS MARCELLUS SHALE COMMISSION that has been formed by 8 organizations that want to get out the truth about the effect of Shale Gas drilling on Pennsylvania.  Governor Corbett formed his Gas industry dominated “Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission”.  Now we have our opportunity to get the real truth out about Shale Gas.

The CITIZENS MARCELLUS SHALE COMMISSION is meeting in Hearings around the state.  On Monday, September 26th between 6 and 9 PM the COMMISSION will come to Harrisburg.

Attend the Harrisburg Hearing:

Monday, September 26, 2011
3 to 5 PM   AND    6 to 9 PM
Widener Law School   — Room A-180

Register to participate by calling

STEPHANIE FRANK at 717-255-7181

GASLAND and Josh Fox Come to York, PA

Wed. Sept. 21st at 6:30 PM

HACC York Campus is sponsoring a special outdoor screening of the Emmy award-winning film, GASLAND.  GASLAND’s Director, Josh Fox will answer questions following the film.  GASLAND is the story of the effect of Fracking for Natural Gas on families and communities of the US.

The event is free and will happen rain or shine.  In case of rain, the film will be shown in the CSS (Shiloh) Building.

The outdoor screening will be behind the Goodling Building of HACC – York Campus at 2010 Pennsylvania Avenue in York, PA.

Advanced Waterdog Training in August

An advanced Waterdog training will take place on August 11th. Details from the flyer are below.

Hello Waterdogs,

I wanted to invite all of you to our Advanced Waterdog Training on August 11 from 5:00—9:00. This training will only be for people who have already attended the initial training. We will be hosting the training at the Ives Run Visitor’s Center. The program will be outside so please dress appropriately for walking in the grass and along the stream. Please register with Erica Tomlinson at 570-724-1801 ext 118 or etomlinson@tiogacountypa.us.

We can’t wait to see you all there!

Phone: 570-724-1801 ext 118

E-mail: etomlinson@tiogacountypa.us

P.O. Box 445

Wellsboro, Pa 16901

Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group

Tentative Agenda

Introduction – Goals & Objective

Review of Basic Waterdogging

Photos – What & How to:

Rapid Bioassessment for O&G

Sampling Water, Soil & Other – What, where, how

Field Kit

“Off the shelf” Contents

Care & Use

TDS Meter – use and calibration

QA/QC & COC – Lovegreen’s manual

Corroboration & Reporting (what to do with samples)

Adaptive Learning & commitment

PennFuture workshop: Gas and Our Water

Gas and Our Water:

Legal tools for watershed advocates dealing with

drilling in the Marcellus Shale

Saturday, April 16

King’s College, Wilkes-Barre

This workshop will give grassroots conservation and watershed groups, concerned citizens and volunteers the legal tools necessary to protect our water and ensure Marcellus Shale gas drilling is done responsibly. Hear from leading environmental attorneys on land use and zoning, permits, wastewater issues, and enforcement of our clean water laws and regulations. Find out how to participate in the permitting process and to get decision-makers to listen to you.

Specific topics include:

* Wastewater and stormwater permits and permit appeals;

* Clean water enforcement; and

* Land use and zoning – Planning a boom

 

Space is limited – Register today

3 CLE credits available

Breakfast and materials included

 

The cost of the workshop is FREE to PennFuture members and students with ID; $10 for non-members. Free parking.

Space is limited and registration is required; register online today or by calling 717-214-7920.

A draft agenda will be available soon.

Date: Saturday, April 16, 2011

Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location:

King’s College -Burke Auditorium

133 North River Street

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711

If you’d like to attend this event you can purchase tickets online by clicking here:

http://my.pennfuture.org/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=107422&autologin=true&AddInterest=1261

Governor’s Marcellus Commission Meeting Scheduled for March 25

Hi All,

A notice in the PA Bulletin announced the first meeting of the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.

Scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2011, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., It will be held in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA.

This Commission, composed of State government leaders, industry and environmental experts, has been established by Governor Tom Corbett to insure the successful development of the natural gas industry and advise the Governor on pertinent issues, including possible legislative and regulatory changes.

The membership of the Commission is listed at:

http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/marcellus_shale_advisory_commission/20074

The agenda will soon be available.  Seating in the conference room is very limited. If you are attending, contact Chris Gray at (717) 783-8727 or chrgray@state.pa.us

There will be no reserved seating.  Public comment should be directed to the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, Office of the Governor, 225 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120, marcelluscommission@state.pa.us

A thank you goes out to Janet Hosey for the heads-up on this!

Has Your Stream Been Affected by Gas Drilling?

How do you know?

For many, it rests upon early detection -  and prevention of environmental impact.

In 2010 the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM)  researched and tested a volunteer-based Marcellus Monitoring protocol for the early detection of flowback contamination in small Pennsylvania streams.

Attend the session that covers the steps in and the science behind the protocol as well as information on Marcellus Monitoring resources throughout the state.

WREN / ALLARM webinar

Marcellus Monitoring

Wednesday, March 23

Noon – 1 PM

The webinar is sponsored by WREN and will be presented by Julie Vastine, the director of ALLARM at Dickinson College.

Trout Unlimited to hold training session for Marcellus Shale Monitoring

The following Trout Unlimited-sponsored training session is for those interested in learning about the signs and symptoms of trouble in the Marcellus Shale drilling areas, and to learn what’s normal when such activity is on-going.

When: February 26, 2011 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Where: Citizen’s Hose Co., Lock Haven, PA (on Rt 150 – aka Bellefonte Ave.)

Cost: Free for Trout Unlimited members; $17.50 for non-members (lunch and training materials included)

Registration contact: Dave Sewak – email: dsewak@tu.org or phone: 814.659.1772

Become a Waterdog!

Become a Pine Creek Waterdog!! It’s simple and could make a huge difference in protecting our environment and assisting the DEP in enforcing compliance with our regulations. 

The Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group is holding a training and registration for Waterdogs on February 8, 2011 from 7 to 9 pm at the Tokishi Training Center, NYPUM Drive, Wellsboro Pa. 

There is a $10 registration fee to cover cost of materials. 

To register, call 

Erica Tomlinson

Watershed Specialist
Tioga County Conservation District724-1801×118 

Limited to 35 Waterdog trainees. 

You will be provided with a bumper sticker, registration card and logbook for recording your observations. This training will show you how to document and record important observation information and who to call in the event of environmental harm or public safety issues.  So join us for an interesting evening program on how a citizen can participate in the protection of our environment and place your “Pine Creek Waterdog” bumper sticker on your vehicle and go forth!

General info about Marcellus Shale in PA

The Marcellus Shale natural gas play is one of the largest deposits of natural gas in the United States. The northern tier of Pennsylvania, which contain some of the deepest stratum of Marcellus shales in the Eastern United States, has recently become the focus of intense energy development. An increased awareness of the importance of this “discovery” has brought many companies to seek El Dorado in the region.

Currently there are drilling rigs scattered across the region, with rigs located in Tioga, Bradford, Lycoming and Susquehanna Counties. Marcellus Shale rigs typically explore as deep as 8,000 feet and drill horizontal legs as far outward as 4000 feet from the vertical well. In order to release the gas from the tight shale formation a process called hydrofracturing is used. Hydrofracturing (called fracing for short) fractures the shale through the use of pressurized water. Special sands, called propents, and chemical are injected along with the water to form a porous route for the gas to flow through.

We are fortunate that our Department of Environmental Protection has a very rigorous permitting and inspection process that the companies must follow in order to extract the gas. We do however understand that those personnel cannot maintain a watch on the activity of all the people, rigs and trucks contracted and subcontracted to produce the gas. Many contractors and companies brought in from outside the state are not yet familiar with our regulations regarding water usage, erosion and sedimentation, and waste disposal. The region is too large and the resources of the regulators too limited to effectively keep track of the exponential growth in activity taking place.

Speaking Out on Water Issues

Tiadaghton Audubon Society is pleased and privileged to have Sean Saville, National Field Director of the National Audubon Society speak on the Gulf Oil Spill at our annual meeting on Wednesday November 17 at 7:30PM in Mansfield Pa at the Holy Child Church, 242 South Main St. He has extensive and intimate knowledge of this disaster and how it affects all of us.

Penn State, the same evening, will be setting up water well samples sites from residents at the Tioga County Fairgrounds (see below) to be used in a study concerning gas well drilling in the Northern Tier.

Please consider coming to Mansfield to hear Sean’s presentation after you drop off your water samples. Get first hand information from Sean on the Gulf Oil Spill. Please join us.