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

Frack Water Missing and Unaccounted For

I just received this info from the RDA:

Over 54 million gallons of frack water missing & unaccounted for!

The PA Department of Environmental Resources has discovered that records on recycling of gas drilling wastewater have been wildly inflated due to a reporting error. Even worse, no one seems to have any idea where the missing frack water has gone.

Seneca Resources Corp., a subsidiary of Texas-based National Fuel Gas Company acknowledged that a worker gave data to the state in the wrong unit of measure, listing gallons where he should have listed barrels of water. Because of the error, every 42 gallons of wastewater was listed as just one, for a total of 54,600,000 gallons of missing toxic drilling fluids.  DEP officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the problems with the state’s data.

The AP reported in January that previous attempts to track wastewater were also flawed. Some companies reported that wells had generated wastewater, but failed to say where it went. The state was unable to account for the disposal method for nearly 1.3 million barrels of wastewater, or about a fifth of the total generated in the 12-month period that ended June 30.

These omissions are of grave concern, because Pennsylvania’s strategy for protecting the health of its rivers is based on knowing which waterways are getting the waste and how much they are receiving.

PA DEP Fines Pennsylvania General Energy Co. LLC $28,960 for Illegal Surfactant Discharge

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Dept. of Environmental Protection

Commonwealth News Bureau

Room 308, Main Capitol Building

Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

02/2/2011

CONTACT:

Daniel T. Spadoni, Department of Environmental Protection North-central Regional Office

570-327-3659

DEP Fines Pennsylvania General Energy Co. LLC $28,960 for Illegal Surfactant Discharge to Pine Creek in Lycoming County

Incident Occurred at a Marcellus Natural Gas Well Pad in Cummings Township

WILLIAMSPORT — The Department of Environmental Protection today announced that it has fined Pennsylvania General Energy Co. LLC (PGE) of Warren $28,960 for the illegal discharge of Airfoam HD, a surfactant, into Pine Creek in Lycoming County last March.

Surfactants are used by natural gas drillers to create a foam that will lift water and drill cuttings to the surface. Airfoam HD is approved by DEP for use by the industry.

“PGE responded immediately to this incident and fully cooperated with the department,” said DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber.

During the weekend of March 13 and 14, 2010, there was significant rainfall and snow melt that caused residual Airfoam in a Marcellus well bore to migrate to a spring on the hillside creating a white, foamy substance. The spring was not used as a source of drinking water.

A DEP investigation on March 15 verified that the material was flowing from the spring, down the hillside, under Pa. Route 44 via a storm drain, and into Pine Creek. At the time, the spring was flowing at an estimated 180 gallons per minute.

PGE began diverting foam from the storm drain in the road berm and later placed an absorbent boom across the spring run on the hillside, which prevented further discharges to Pine Creek.

No constituents of Airfoam HD were detected in Pine Creek.

The discharge was a violation of the Clean Streams Law, Solid Waste Management Act, and DEP’s oil and gas regulations.

The fine was deposited into the fund that supports DEP’s oil and gas permitting and enforcement programs.

For more information, call 570-327-3659 or visit http://www.depweb.state.pa.us.

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

Changes Made to DEP’s Website

FYI –  DEP has made a change to their website, making it a little harder to find violations of Oil & Gas drillers. From the DEP main page, you now have to click on “Latest News” tab – Violations are listed there now, along with the production data.

Not hidden, just moved.

You can also go there directly via

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/oilgas/OGInspectionsViolations/OGInspviol.htm 

Failing to Pass a Severance Tax…

Below some comments from the press and PennFuture about the state of the State’s budget sans a tax on drilling.

Inaction on drill tax has a bad odor to it

Sunday, October 24, 2010

By Brian O’Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

…. Its [PA’s Legislature] latest gaffe is passing on collecting tens of millions of dollars in revenue from the oil and gas industry, which is making huge money in our state (and passing a good bit of it around Harrisburg). Nearly all of the nation’s natural gas comes out of the ground in states that have severance taxes, but we won’t have any….

Bill Holland is associate editor of Gas Daily, which covers the natural gas market in North America. He said, “Industry analysts have never been very concerned” about paying a tax in Pennsylvania. Even the House bill passed largely by Democrats last month wasn’t that big a deal, Mr. Holland said. “They expect a tax eventually — like there is everywhere else drilling occurs,” he said.

It’s not as if profit margins are low. Mr. Holland pointed to Chesapeake Energy’s recent statement that its break-even selling price for drilling Marcellus Shale gas is $2.45 per thousand cubic feet, and Friday’s closing price for gas futures was $3.35. Now drillers don’t have to worry about even a pin scratch on that pretty price spread….

To read the full opinion online, click here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10297/1097325-155.stm

PennFuture’s Drilling Fact of the Day

October 22, 2010
The refusal of the Pennsylvania Senate leadership to consider a severance tax bill leaves Pennsylvania citizens in the lurch, with a $70 million hole in this year’s state budget, and with local communities holding the bag on covering the public safety and social costs that drillers bring with them….

To read the full PennFuture Drilling Fact of the Day, click here:

http://www.pennfuture.org/content.aspx?MenuID=11&SectionID=336

 

EPA to Hold Public Meeting on Hydraulic Fracturing

EPA to Hold Public Meeting on Hydraulic Fracturing Research Study In
Canonsburg July 22*

(*PHILADELPHIA** *- July 8, 2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
is hosting an informational public meeting
in Canonsburg, Washington County, Pa. about its proposed study of the
relationship between hydraulic fracturing and potential impacts on drinking
water.

The meeting will be held from 6-10 p.m., July 22, at the Hilton Garden Inn
in Canonsburg to provide information about the scope and design of the
proposed study, and give the public an opportunity provide input and comment
on the draft study plan.

 Hydraulic fracturing is a process used for extracting natural gas or oil
from shale and other geological formations. By pumping fracturing fluids
(water and chemical additives) and sand or other similar materials into rock
formations, fractures are created that allow natural gas or oil to flow from
the rock – through the fractures – to a production well for extraction.

In March 2010, EPA announced that it will study the potential adverse impact
that hydraulic fracturing may have on drinking water.  In developing the
study, EPA is holding a series of meetings to receive public input about
specific drinking water, human health or environmental concerns that need to
be factored into the study.

To support the planning and development of the study, the agency sought
suggestions and comments from the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), an
independent, external federal advisory committee. The agency will use this
advice, as well as extensive public input in designing the study.

EPA requests that citizens who are interested in attending to *pre-register
by Monday, July 19.* EPA will also hold meetings about the study on, July 8
in Fort Worth, Texas; July 13 in Denver, Colo.; and, August 12
in Binghamton, N.Y.

Call 1-866-477-3635 toll free to register.  Or register on-line at:
http://hfmeeting.cadmusweb.com.

Those wishing to contribute comments to EPA regarding the proposed hydraulic
fracturing research study may also submit electronic comments to EPA at
hydraulic.fractur…@epa.gov ; or send written comments to:

Jill Dean

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Mail code 4606M,

Washington, DC  20460.

Basic Waterdog Training in June

This training is for anyone interested in knowing what to look for in the way of problems caused by the natural gas industry’s activities. Waterdog training also teaches you how to discriminate real problems from non-problems, how and where to report these, and how to do it all safely and legally.

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to let everyone know that the next basic training is on June 21^st Monday at Penn College (outside of Wellsboro) at 7:00 pm.  Please pass this on to anyone you think maybe interested.  Please have them preregister with me.

Thanks

Erica Tomlinson

Watershed Specialist

Tioga County Conservation District

570-724-1801 ext 118

A Letter to the Editor…

The following letter to the editor in today’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette has some interesting ideas. Whether or not you agree with any or all of these, it surely will get you considering ways to think out of the box in addressing gas drilling issues.

A Gas Drilling Protection Plan-Posted April 29th-letter to the editor

I was surprised how fast the gas drilling industry charged into Pennsylvania and I suspect once our natural gas wealth is taken, the profiteers will be equally fast in leaving. We will be left with a destroyed landscape, massive pollution, and for decades with the clean-up costs. Pennsylvania’s gas wealth belongs to the people, not the grab and go profiteers. We can not stop it, but we can control it, and share it. We must demand our elected officials return all contributions from the drillers or give it to a charity and that they notify the public of every lobbying contact. If they don’t and do not pass the following legislation, let’s vote them out of office.

We need an immediate moratorium on drilling until the following can be enacted:

1. An annual $5,000 per well drilling fee.

2. Five cents per gallon for the water drained from our creeks and rivers.

This money would be used to hire hundreds of inspectors and auditors to monitor drilling activity independent of but as a complement to our under-staffed DEP….

To read the full letter, click here:

http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/542635.html?nav=5008

Pipeline Matters

The League of Women Voters of Susquehanna County will host two upcoming events as part of its educational series on Marcellus Shale.

A Friday event entitled Pipeline Matters will address right-of-way agreements, lease negotiation questions, landowner options and pipeline impact, according to a news release from the group. A May 7 program, Environmental Impact, will focus on issues relating to Marcellus Shale production and effects on surface water and groundwater. Experts will speak during each program.

Both events will take place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the Montrose Area High School auditorium.