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When I was preparing for my first trip to the Marcellus Shale, I was approached by someone who lived in Upstate New York to discuss the issues that was going on in DISH as well as the Barnett Shale in general. As we began discussing the lessons learned here about leasing, and the amount of money given at lease signing, he interrupted me to state that in several small towns in the Upstate New York area, they were ready for drilling to begin…for the jobs. He further stated that everyone was waiting to get “their new white pickups and Halliburton hard hats”. That they were not even concerned about the leases and that most had already leased for one or two dollars per acre. He continued to state that when I mentioned the $ 30,000.00 per acre that was once offered in the Barnett Shale, some would collapse in tears, knowing that they had been taken advantage of by this industry.
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Throughout my several tours around the country, the question about jobs and the vast influx of money into the local economy came up constantly. I quickly found that my new friend was right, there were a large number of people who really thought they would soon have a new white pickup and Halliburton hard hat. I always asked the crowd, “how many certified pipeline welders do I have in the room?” They seemed to quickly get the point that most of the folks in rural New York would not have the skill set required to work in this industry. Although, I do know of folks here in Texas that started working on a drilling rig with no experience, and worked their way into a nice paying job, it is unlikely with the slowdown, that the industry would need to hire people with no experience. So any jobs would be entry level and low paying. There are plenty of folks out of work with experience in the industry.
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In areas of Pennsylvania where gas exploration had begun, there was a noticeable amount of vehicles with Texas plates that highlighted this point. I was almost offended when the local population complained about the amount of Texans that followed the natural gas boom to this area. It was apparent that the population increase was not something that they were yet comfortable with.
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While growing up in the Oklahoma oil fields, we went through the boom and bust cycle several times. It seemed as though most of the males would go to work in the oilfields after graduating high school and made a decent living for themselves. However, with the economy based upon this one industry, the downturns were pretty severe on the local economies. When the bust came, it left everyone scrambling to find another job. However, with the economy based on this one industry, most of the jobs were either in the industry or supporting the industry. Therefore, in the bust, there were not many jobs to be found. This resulted in many of the small rural towns to simply dry up, with people moving away to find work.
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On a recent trip to New Mexico, I met with Gilbert Armenta, the New Mexico rancher depicted in the documentary Split Estate. Mr. Armenta has spent his entire life living with the boom/bust cycle in Northwestern New Mexico. In this part of the country, the oil and gas industry is the predominant industry. As the industry has cooled over the last year or two, he stated that there was 12 % unemployment in that area. I might add that the Farmington, New Mexico mayor was nice enough to write a letter with some negative comments about yours truly, as well as talking about how great the industry was to him.
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One thing that I had heard on several occasions is that when the eventual bust comes, the crime rate goes up almost immediately. Mr. Armenta confirmed this fact during his presentation, that crime levels increase particularly during the bust cycles. He further stated that the crime that increased the most was robbery.
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What has happened in Mr. Armenta’s area is that it is solely an oil and gas economy. All other industries have moved on and therefore everything directly or indirectly is dependent on this industry. So even if you do not work directly for the industry, when the bust comes, you are affected. In our local area I have noticed over the past several years, that we have been going through a transformation to an oil and gas economy. In some areas of the Barnett Shale, the transformation has already taken place. We managed to avoid an economic catastrophe only because the industry has continued to drill when it wasn’t profitable, knowing that regulation was coming. Otherwise, many of the towns in the western part of the shale would have simply went away.
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It has become very tempting for cities to embrace the explorations for the quick shot of tax revenue with the budget shortfalls over the last couple of years. Falling to this temptation has led to more and more of the area transforming to this new economy. Unfortunately, when the bust comes, and we know it will, the entire area will be devastated. This may very well lead to this area being destroyed economically at some point, because we know that this is only temporary. It is key for cities to develop strategies for sustainable funding that is not primarily put on the backs of the taxpayer, and does not destroy future growth.
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Unfortunately, one city that comes to mind is the City of Fort Worth. This city has the largest number of gas exploration activities of any city in the world, yet financially is by far the worst in this area, having a 73 million dollar shortfall this year. Part of this expenditure is a $600,000.00 air study to determine if the exploration activities is harmful to public health. Fort Worth is also home to several of the exploration company’s headquarters. The downturn has affected everyone, but the city most dependent on the natural gas revenue, is the one doing the worst financially. As Tim Ruggiero would say “it does not take a PhD in economics to see there is a problem here”.
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Another thing that this does, is give the industry extreme leverage to demand things like tax breaks and loose regulations. They simply threaten to pack up and move somewhere else, and take the jobs with them. When it is an oil and gas economy, them leaving makes a ghost town. Although this is only a threat, local officials are held hostage by this threat. So they give in, and keep cutting the setback requirements like the City of Fort Worth continues to do, or they allow this industry continuously cut corners putting their citizens at risk.
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For some here it is too late to build a diverse economy, there will be booms and busts, it will be feast or famine. However, for some of you out there this does not have to be the case. Look ahead and do not let this industry take over your economy and hold you hostage like it is doing in many other parts of the country. Be very careful of what you wish for.
Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640“Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it”
Tags: Tillman
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“‘I’ve signed farmers who were sitting there with broken-down equipment, a broken roof, losing money because they wouldn’t put a fence up to keep critters out of their corn silo,’ Casale said. ‘You go and write them a check and they’ve got a brand-new tractor and a brand-new Ford truck, and the corn silo’s still the same. You know that old adage, the shoemaker’s kid doesn’t have shoes? I hate to say it, but I see a lot of them worse off than when they started.’
“Sometimes, he told me, he found himself thinking, I’m killing this county.”
- Playboy, current issue, “Drill!”
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Deposit (NY) Courier, Letter to the Editor, 6.30.2010
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Remember this?
New York State town supervisors & boards – do you want to be had by the short hairs?Mt Pleasant supervisors had voted against MarkWest’s plans to expand their compressor stations. Hickory’s been taking it on the chin from gas extraction, and the supervisors knew that more compressor stations were not in the community’s interests.
So Range Resources threatened lessors with the possibility that their royalties might be affected if the compressor stations couldn’t be built. And the lessors fell for it and pressured the supervisors. And the supervisors caved.
Mt. Pleasant officials OK compressing station expansions
HICKORY _ Two gas compressing stations in Mt. Pleasant Township got the OK to expand after supervisors voted 3-0 tonight on an agreement with MarkWest Liberty Midstream.
Supervisors approved an agreement that will allow the company to expand its Stewart and Fulton stations up to five compressors each.
MarkWest had been turned down by the zoning hearing board in May when it applied to expand the stations. The company processes natural gas for Range Resources.
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Suggestions from residents that the township monitor the air for toxic emissions at the stations were not acted upon because officials said air monitoring is a matter handled by the state Department of Environmental Protection, not the township.
- Full story at Mt Pleasant Okays Compressors
credit: http://pafaces.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/an-a1-industrial-zone/
Another report:
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Mt. Pleasant OKs expansion plan for gas processor
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HICKORY – A gas-processing company got approval Wednesday to expand two of its compressing stations after an agreement was worked out with the Mt. Pleasant Township supervisors..
Supervisors voted 3-0 to allow MarkWest Liberty Midstream to expand its Stewart and Fulton stations. The agreement sets a number of conditions on the company, including requiring it to control dust, place placards on company trucks and make sure the 911 center has current addresses for emergency response..In response to residents’ suggestions that the township also undertake air monitoring at the stations, officials said that is a matter handled by the state Department of Environmental Protection. In May, the township zoning hearing board turned down a request from the company to expand the stations. Betsy McKnight, solicitor for the zoning board, said the township was able to intervene in the matter as an interested party..Following Wednesday’s supervisors meeting, the zoning hearing board met to approve the agreement. Its chairman, Barry Johnston, called it “the only reasonable path” the township could take under the circumstances..
Supervisor Larry Grimm said the agreement was best for the township because it enabled it to place conditions on the company’s operations. Had the matter gone to court, the township could have lost that ability, he said..MarkWest plans to expand the stations on Washington and Caldwell avenues to five compressing engines each. The company processes natural gas for Range Resources..Resident Joanne Wagner said the DEP is monitoring air at four points around the county, including at the Stewart station. She said a report on the air quality will be available in August and asked that any decision wait until then..Brian Simmons, an attorney for MarkWest, said if the DEP should find something wrong at the station, it would require the company to fix it. Christopher Rimkus, associate counsel with MarkWest Energy Partners, agreed and noted the DEP makes random, unannounced visits to the stations..But Stephanie Hallowich, who lives near the MarkWest Stewart station as well as one operated by Laurel Mountain Midstream, said with the expansion she soon will live near eight compressors. She said while DEP does not allow an eight-compressor station, she may soon have that with two separate companies operating nearby. Hallowich also wants to have some type of alarm sound at the stations to notify neighbors in the event of an accident or emission at night. “It’s a huge concern to me,” she said..Solicitor William Johnson said supervisors would not attempt to change the agreement at the last minute. “There have been weeks and weeks of negotiations leading up to this proposed agreement,” he said..
After the meeting, Grimm said he believed the agreement was the best way to protect residents, even though some would argue it wasn’t stringent enough and others would say it was too strict.
-Story published by the Observer-Reporter
The new 30 pieces of silver: MarkWest will pay the township $50,000 within 20 days and another $25,000 within a year to put its compressors in what is still zoned as an agricultural industrial zone.
Yes, $75,000 to the town buys the residents’ loss of property values, health and quality of life. And we all thought some things were priceless.
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Tags: compressor stations, Hickory, MarkWest, PA, Range Resources
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Posted in Bad Neighbors, Community Effects, Cost Externalization, General, Mean Energy, Property Rights
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“Once you know, you can’t not know.” – Calvin Tillman
image credit http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/27/2938051.htm
“Once your water’s polluted, it’s too late.” – citizens of New York State
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Tags: water contamination
Editorial, The River Reporter, Narrowsburg, NY
http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/10-06-10/editorial.shtml
A bridge to nowhere
As we approach peak oil—the point at which petroleum production enters into decline—the major focus of the energy sector has been on finding ways to suck up every last drop of increasingly inaccessible fossil fuels. The result has been the development of increasingly invasive and complex technologies, and the extension of production to more and more vulnerable and ecologically vital areas, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Upper Delaware watershed.
It has been argued that this pursuit is justified because we need such reserves as a bridge to a future in which humankind relies solely on renewable energy sources. There is some merit to this argument; certainly, we cannot stop producing oil and gas overnight. But the thing to remember about bridges is that their principal purpose is to get to another place, and that there is no point in building a bridge if you find out, when you get to the other side, that by building the bridge you have destroyed your destination.
To avoid destroying our destination in this particular case means that the human race should establish a goal of leaving as much fossil fuel in the ground as possible. Climate change is proceeding at such a pace that, according to a joint study released in May by Purdue University and Australia’s University of New South Wales, there is a 50/50 chance that half of the globe’s surface will have become uninhabitable by 2300. Even if we find ways to extract the most inaccessible fossil fuels left in the crust, it would be suicidal to burn it all.
But we have to find, extract and burn up some of it. And since it is getting riskier to extract the remaining reserves and production is extending into ever more sensitive and vulnerable areas, it is more important than ever to take care about what we are doing. The lesson of the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico is that we cannot let our greed and desperation to scrape the bottom of the fossil fuel barrel blind us to the potentially disastrous consequences of the methods we use to do so.
To this extent, those who insist that Marcellus Shale drilling should be undertaken full speed ahead, without any further environmental study and with a minimum of regulation, cannot claim that natural gas drilling is justified as a bridge. By ignoring the consequences, they make it clear that they don’t care where that supposed “bridge” eventually leads.
At the June 2 announcement by American Rivers that the Upper Delaware has been chosen as its most endangered river of 2010, there was a telling exchange between Rep. Maurice Hinchey and a heckler in the crowd that bears on this issue. Hinchey was speaking about the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf as an illustration of why it is important to be scrupulously careful as to how drilling is regulated. At this point, someone in the crowd shouted out, “That’s why we need to drill on land, in the Marcellus Shale!”
What is interesting about the heckler’s comment is that it was not made in response to an assertion that we should altogether ban drilling in the Marcellus shale—a position we have never heard Hinchey espouse—but only to the idea that the Gulf disaster teaches us how important comprehensive and well-enforced regulation of drilling is. There is no way in which the inadvisability of drilling in the deep ocean, or anything else about the horrific events in the Gulf, can be taken to mean that we must drill in the Marcellus without careful study and stringent oversight. On the contrary, such precautions must be part of the architecture of any bridge that can get us safely to a sustainable energy future.
But there is one more step that must be taken if natural gas and other remaining fossil sources are truly to serve as bridges: we need to focus the majority of our time, money, personnel and imagination on developing the alternative energy sources and sustainable lifestyles that lie on the other side. The longer we focus on exploiting the next piece of the disappearing fossil fuel stockpile, the further off that other side will get.
This is an area in which the American people, industry and government have all fallen down badly. But events like the American Rivers “endangered river” designation provide at least a symbolic start. They remind us that there are things more vital than the stop-gap pursuit of a vanishing energy source. If we proceed full bore ahead to suck the Marcellus Shale dry, only to find when we are done that we have lost our river, streams, forests, wildlife and personal health, it will turn out that natural gas was, after all, nothing but a bridge to nowhere.
Republished with permission; source River Reporter.com
Tags: bridge fuel, bridge to nowhere
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From Clearville Times, who blogs at http://clearville.wordpress.com/
Clearville, PA like DISH, Texas: “pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which from the gas storage owner’s point of view, made it the perfect place”
Clearville had five production wells drilled by PGE gas drilling company, which produced about two years in the Oriskany formation. Wells suddenly stopped production on the same day and were sold to a gas storage company from somewhere in Texas, known as Spectra Energy or maybe known as a “Spin off of Duke Energy?” from a gas storage operator’s point of view, Clearville, PA made it the perfect place” known as the ” Steckman Ridge Gas Storage Project.”
In Pennsylvania, gas is stored in the Oriskany formation, the source rock for the Oriskany is the Marcellus Shale.
In the middle of nowhere, there seems to be a trend for gas storage fields in the Oriskany formation located near the Marcellus Shale. There is a gas storage field located a few miles down the road from the Steckman Ridge’s underground gas storage field known as the Columbia Gas Storage field, in Artemas, PA. Columbia gas storage field is also located in the middle of nowhere but has been the perfect place since the early 1940′s . Columbia gas has been storing gas in the Oriskany formation where the Marcellus Shale is the source rock.
There is a big difference, between then and now’s, when it comes to gas storage project acquisitions, at least up until 2005. Columbia Gas Storage got off to an easier start in the 1940′s. At that period in time, most all gas production leases gave away gas storage rights in gas production leases.
Landowners over the years with the advent of the internet, became more savvy and placed no gas storage clauses in their gas production leases. Soon these gas leases became known as obstacles in the market place which needed a removal tool. Someone, somewhere, came up with the perfect legal tool to remove these obstacles in the market place for gas storage projects.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney used legal legislative laws as the best use obstacle removal tool in EPACT of 2005. At that time, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney likely knew a little about the gas market, heard about obstacles in the market place, and knew a solution was needed for the problem. Minds of genius noted for acquisitions developed and signed a law which classified depleted gas wells which can be taken legally for underground gas storage projects because they are now considered public utilities. This law is broad and can take land which has no gas leases. This law will take any land and give it to a private company for profit once they eye your land as the perfect place for a federally backed underground gas storage field.
Clearville, PA was eyed as the perfect place. Landowners watched Halliburton and Schlumberger legally use exempted fracking chemicals from the SDWA. They watched as horizontal gas storage wells were drilled into the Oriskany sandstone formation. This was a federally backed gas storage project with all the amenities.
Remember: “There is no way to save your land from the laws of a federally backed gas storage project. If someone, somewhere, spots your land as the perfect place, you can kiss it goodbye.”
Clearville, PA; the Oriskany formation; the Marcellus Shale is the Oriskany source rock; in the middle of nowhere; all goes somewhere; from a gas storage operator’s point of view; Clearville was another perfect place.
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Tags: clearville, DEP, eminent domain, Marcellus, natural gas, PA, Steckman Ridge compressor station
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“When they were pulling in with their Cadillacs and their gold rings and gold teeth and said they were going to make us rich, all that showed me was them getting rich and us getting screwed,” says Burton.
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(Great conflict of interest story at that link, too)
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Delaware County officials in particular: it’s clear you think that having NYC telling us what to do is bad. And so it is. But tragically, if you facilitate or allow gas drilling to take place here, you – and your constituents – will have get used to much worse:
From a homeowner in Mt Pleasant Township, Pennsylvania -.I wanted to pass along an update of what has been happening in Mt. Pleasant Township. I find this whole thing very disturbing and unethical! Several weeks ago our township zoning hearing board denied a variance and special exception to our zoning ordinances for MarkWest and Range Resources. MarkWest was for the expansion of the compressor next to our home and another station in our township. Range Resources was for hosting the “man camps” at the drill sites.http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/05-13-2010-mt–pleasant-bunk-houses (MarkWest processes the gas that Range Resources pulls out of the ground)..The man camps are set up when the driller starts the horizontal drilling. They drill around the clock and claim that they need men there the entire time. Some work 14 hour shifts. Mobile trailers are placed on the drill pad to house the workers. They contain sleeping quarters, eating areas and shower houses. They have housed locally anywhere from 25 to 70+ men at one time. During our public hearing an employee of Range Resources admitted that they leave background checks up to their sub-contractor, Patterson Drilling. They only do back ground checks in the last state the man worked in. This is NOT a federal background check. Therefore, sex offenders can be living at these sites and we would never know. They are going to be drilling ten wells across the street from our school and another ten beside the school. We are VERY concerned about the safety of the children. There are no fences around these camps. In addition, the drilling company was hesitant in supplying documentation on the disposal of human waste from the site. Like they aren’t dumping enough in our creeks….This was a huge statement in the State. However, the industry retaliated. These two companies, along with their sub-contractors, boycotted all of our local businesses. Which in turn had business owners pressuring the township supervisors to reverse the decision..Then Range Resources sent letters to land owners who have leases. The letters stated that since MarkWest couldn’t expand the compressor station, Range couldn’t drill for gas. Therefore, this was causing a delay in them receiving their royalties. Once again, more phone calls to the township supervisors..
It now sounds like within days the twp. supervisors will over turn this decision and allow MarkWest to expand their compressor stations..As if our community was not already divided enough, now the industry put in a bigger wedge. “Divide and Conquer”. I know this has happened in other parts of the country. I find this a pitiful attempt to punish communities that tried to stand up to them. This will further intimidate other rural communities..Not that I expect you to aid in this in anyway, but I just wanted you to understand what were are dealing with here. This just adds to the nightmare we deal with!.Steph HallowichHickory, PA.Below: Range Resources’ letter to lessors, threatening them with loss of their royalties if they don’t pressure their township supervisors to give Range Resources what it wants.
Tags: compressor station, Hickory, man camps, MarkWest, PA, Range Resources
First read the Texas Observer article linked in the 5/29 post just below.
Then watch this WFAA report.
An excerpt from the transcript:
Last January, John Sadlier, deputy director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, appeared before the Fort Worth City Council with what sounded like good news: Eight air samples analyzed in Fort Worth found no traces of benzene, the toxin that — over time — can lead to leukemia.
“Benzene is non-detect on all the slides,” Sadlier said during the January presentation.
But what he didn’t tell Council members was that the analysis equipment that TCEQ used in the field wasn’t sensitive enough to detect lower levels of benzene — the levels that TCEQ’s own scientists say can lead to cancer if sustained over a period of years.
Full story at http://www.wfaa.com
…subtitled,
How to ignore data and come to the predetermined conclusion the real bosses order:When I first decided that we needed to have some biological testing accomplished here in DISH, TX, I was cautioned against getting our state health department involved. Most figured that they would run up here and began covering the back side of the oil and gas industry like they have done so many times before. However, I also have some very smart and nationally recognized people who help me in these decisions and we decided that if they would take our input on the testing, we might be OK. So we asked the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to test the air and a tentatively identified compound test in conjunction with the tests they were running. But they ignored the request from a nationally recognized scientist, who has more scientific recognition in her little toe, than anyone who works for the DSHS will ever have. Therefore, their report subsequently has turned out more political than scientific.
.As one well known citizen who lives in the Barnett Shale has stated, “Everything you hear from the natural gas industry is either a lie, or half truth”. Here in DISH, we are used to the paid liars from this industry coming in and feeding us the normal lines like “what good neighbors they want to be.” However, when you get this from your state agencies that are sworn to protect you, it does not set as well. Many people believe everything these people say, and they are never held accountable when they are wrong…or deceitful. The DSHS showed up just like many of the other paid liars, thinking that they would blow smoke up the rear ends of a bunch of country bumpkins that didn’t know any better, and just like the other paid liars, they left with their tails between their legs. Country bumpkins typically recognize the smell of BS pretty quickly..After thinking about this, and doing some research into the matter, it was clear that no matter what was detected, the DSHS would have found a way to say there is nothing wrong. They have a history of doing just that; please see the following link, where they failed to protect the public interest in Texas once again..In this ”investigation” the community was worried about water run-off from a former refinery (hmm, same industry), and subsequent surface water contamination. However, the same characters who came to DISH decided the surface water didn’t need testing. The soil and sediment were tested and both exceeded the Health Based Assessment Comparison for aluminum, arsenic, BaP TEQ (benzene derivative), and vanadium. Conclusion – “no apparent public health hazard”. In my line of business we call people like this “hacks”..In our case, they were looking hard for criticisms from us before the meeting, so that they could prepare to answer them. I made some comment to the media about the number of folks who had toluene and xylene in their systems, and oddly enough they came up with statistics that show we are actually lower than the rest of the United States; this was not in the report, just the presentation. At this point I started getting that familiar smell that we have grown accustomed to here in DISH… and not the natural gas smell. I then asked for the source of the statistics they used to determine this and they sent me to NHANES, said “Just Google it”. Maybe that was their joke, because I and others searched for hours with no success finding this data. I did find a statement that said VOCs are present in most everyone at some level, but it would not be in detectable levels in everyone, so that may have been one of those “half truths.”.During my several hours of research, I did find that the 95th percentile used in the DISH study appears to be a number hand-picked by the “hacks” and likely hand-picked for a purpose. Apparently, you do not need a percentile reference number, but when one is used the 90th percentile seems to be the number used by real scientists. If 50% of the households in DISH were above the 95th percentile for chemical exposure, I wonder how many are over the 90th percentile. However, if they would have figured that, it is likely that they would have that trend they were looking for, and we damn sure wouldn’t want that, now would we? I think similar lying with statistics was accomplished in Flower Mound as well. If they start finding problems, the boys and girls in Austin would not get those critical campaign contributions they have grown accustom to. In my business we look for trends, and I am starting to see a trend with these “hacks.”.If the above blatant failures were not enough to show what a joke this was, you must hear the rest of the story. Dr. Bradford admitted when questioned that the study was not a scientific study. However, they came to a very solid conclusion, with this non-scientific study. The conclusion goes something like…we see exposure but have no idea where the exposure is coming from, but it damn sure ain’t coming from that compressor station that we smelled those horrible odors from..They then admitted that they did not know how close any of the citizens lived to the compressor sites, nor did they know the number of males vs females that were tested, and did not even know the age range of those who were tested. You would think they would have known the answers to the easy stuff if they wanted to appear believable. The data that they used for comparison in DISH was seven years old. Outdated data is something they also used in Flower Mound to help them reach their objective. I guess they figured they had this one in the bag like all the others before; too bad the country bumpkin’s weren’t buying..Children were not tested as part of this “investigation.” There apparently was no data to compare the results; however, in my wild goose chase that Dr. Bradford sent me on, I found several studies that referenced children. The one mentioned above showed how these chemicals affect children differently than adults…and yeah, it is much worse. She avoided the question during the meeting when asked about how children are affected differently than adults. Frankly, I believe that they were sent here to not find anything and they would likely find exposure in our children. If they find toluene and xylene in kids they would not be able to blame it on smoking. Even us country bumpkins don’t let our five year olds smoke. They would not have been able to give us the “half truths” that they did, and people don’t play when it come to their kids. If us nice country folk knew our kids have BTEX chemical exposure, we may not be so nice any more. I am hopeful that the light will shine on some of the roaches who are responsible for these illusions, and I think there is another facility I would rather see them at, and it is located in Huntsville, Texas..The house of cards they built came down very quickly. I am extremely disappointed that these folks did not take their oaths seriously, and are allowing the public to continue being put at risk. I had originally felt sorry for those who were likely on the puppets for the higher-ups, but it is all too apparent that this is not their first deception, so they should have moved on to something else if they weren’t committed to covering things like this up. They have actually offered to come back for another round of testing. I think I would rather see if the Chesapeake or Devon environmental department is available; they are much better liars..In closing I would like to say that this “investigation” brings more questions than answers, and it is time for us to demand a stop to the social injustices that these state agencies are allowed to impose. Many people have no other options than to take their word for it, and no recourse when they are wrong. We apparently have not only been sacrificed for the good of the shale by these companies, but also the State of Texas. It is time for us to hold these paid liars accountable for their actions. Please let me know if you have any skills to help me investigate similar injustices.
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Fortunately, the last state agency that left the DISH town hall with their tails between their legs was shamed into installing a permanent air monitor. Frankly, I am delightfully surprised by the improvements in our air quality over the last month. I am certainly not calling all clear, but it may be that we don’t even need more testing, but I know that another community will face the same situation if there is not something done. If this industry would just do it right, we would not have many of these problems. The Gulf would not be becoming the dead sea and our children would not be exposed to cancer causing toxins. Please post on your blogs and websites..See report here:.Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX“Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it”
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GAS DRILLING RESOLUTION for Tompkins County Legislature, May 18, 2010Calling on the Governor and the Legislature of the State of New York to Ban Hydrofracking Pending Further Independent Scientific Assessments to Determine the Risks, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Social and Economic Costs Associated With Hydrofracking
WHEREAS, recent disasters in West Virginia’s coal mines and at the drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico highlight the dangers inherent in extractive mining, with particular concern about thepossible role of methane (the main component in natural gas) in these events, and
WHEREAS, even before these incidents, residents of New York State have raised significant concerns about the safety of high volume, slickwater hydrofracking with horizontal drilling, as proposed for the Marcellus Shale and in the future, the Utica Shale, and
WHEREAS, New Yorkers’ concerns include questions about the ability of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, with its current staffing levels and its proposed regulations, to protect our natural resources and prevent permanent damage to our environment, and
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Legislature has passed resolutions stating its concerns about gas drilling on December 3, 2008, May 19, 2009, and December 15, 2009, and
WHEREAS, based on experience in other states where this drilling has been underway for years, the concerns include but are not limited to:
air pollution (ground level ozone and smog) at and near drilling sites;
threats to groundwater and surface water supplies from accidents on the surface, as well as subsurface failures of casings and the hydrofracking process itself;
depletion and degradation of New York’s lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands;
long-term consequences from infusion of potentially toxic chemicals into the ground;
dangers from drill cuttings and flowback water, which may be unsuitable and unsafe for disposal in New York’s landfills and wastewater treatment plants;
deleterious effects of noise and light from 24/7 drilling on the natural habitat of our region and our residents’ health and quality of life;
significant damage to roads and bridges, resulting in loss of mobility and economic activity even if drilling companies eventually rebuild the damaged infrastructure;
fragmentation of our landscape, with loss of vital habitat for wildlife and significant increase in “edge” habitats which stimulate growth of invasive species;
damage to existing economic sectors, including agriculture, hunting and fishing, tourism, and higher education;
social disruption, including increase in crime rates and demand for emergency medical services, and greater disparity between high- and low-income households;
economic costs to residents and local governments, including higher inflation, increased pressure on housing and consequent homelessness, and precipitous drop in property values; and
WHEREAS, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007), methane is 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide in heating the planet over a 20-year time horizon. Therefore when all greenhouse gas emissions are calculated, including emissions from the drilling activity and from the distribution process such as leaks in pipelines, natural gas is not a “cleaner” fuel than other fossil fuels and in fact it might be far more damaging in terms of climate change than coal; and
WHEREAS, rigorous scientific investigations of these issues are just beginning, including a study of the full life-cycle emissions of shale gas (R. Howarth, Cornell University), the social and economic costs and benefits of the industry (S. Christopherson, Cornell University), and the EPA’s study of potential relationships between hydraulic fracturing and water resources; and
WHEREAS, the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, representing 1.4 million scientists in more than 150 scientific disciplines, went on record on May 4, 2010 calling for adequate scientific analysis before implementing untested energy “solutions,” using corn ethanol as an example, and specifically stating with respect to the Marcellus Shale: “Prior, thorough science-based studies are required to evaluate the impact of massive shale development on rural land uses, water supply and quality, and full-life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions;”and
WHEREAS, New York State has acknowledged the dangerous potential for negative impacts with its determination that, at the very least, individual permits will be required for any wells in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, and
WHEREAS, New York State has so far not committed itself to a course of action with respect to shale gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale or the Utica Shale, and it could continue to use the “precautionary principle” to guide policy on this issue, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Tompkins County Legislature hereby urges New York State to ban hydrofracking operations pending further independent scientific assessments, including the EPA study, research on the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of shale gas, and the social and economic impacts of the industry; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the Tompkins County Legislature hereby supports passage of A.10490/S.7592 (Englebright/ Addabbo, attached) titled “An act to establish a moratorium upon conducting hydraulic fracturing pending the issuance of a report thereon by the federal Environmental Protection Agency”; and be it further
RESOLVED, that at the very least, the same standards should be applied to all of New York State that the DEC has indicated it will apply to the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, by requiring individual environmental assessments for each individual well, and be it further
RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution will be sent to Governor David A. Paterson, Congressman Michael Arcuri, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Leader John Sampson, NYS Health Commissioner Richard Daines, DEC Commissioner Peter Grannis, NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker, the NYS Association of Counties, State Senators James Seward, George Winner, Michael Nozzolio, Antoine Thompson, Joseph Addabbo, Darrel Aubertine, and George Maziarz; Assemblymembers Barbara Lifton, Kevin Cahill, Steve Englebright, Robert Sweeney, and James Seward, George Winner, Michael Nozzolio, Antoine Thompson, Joseph Addabbo, Darrel Aubertine, and George Maziarz; Assemblymembers Barbara Lifton, Kevin Cahill, Steve Englebright, Robert Sweeney, and James Brennan; and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Text of the speech that received the most enthusiastic response from the rally crowd on January 25, 2010, in Albany, New York:
GAS DRILLING AFFECTS THE ECONOMY
Because the estimated potential gain of $22 billion from gas drilling in NYS over the next 20 years not only pales in comparison with the estimated gains during the same period from outdoor recreation, agriculture, and tourism, but it also threatens the future of these very enterprises … we call for a statewide ban.
Because municipalities, which have been deprived of their traditional powers to control local industrial development only in the case of oil and gas extraction, will face new costs of baseline-testing for water pollutants, of emergency response, of health department monitoring of complaints, of property tax assessment changes, of building and repairing roads, of waste water treatment facilities, and of demands on school systems…
Because the severance taxes on gas production will not be dedicated to the localities suffering from gas extraction, and are usually proposed to remediate corporate harms…
Because the Permitting Program relies on localities to enforce floodplain and wetland protections, which most localities are financially unable to do, and are preempted from so doing by Environmental Conservation Law 23…
Because history tells that the exploitation of energy resources leads to widening gaps between rich and poor, to corruption of public offices, to the transformation of public wealth to private profit…
Because the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will not insure loans for houses within 300 feet of a leased property, which property itself may be unleased or Compulsory Integrated, thus reducing the value of homes on unleased properties…
Because the extraction industry’s invasion of temporary workers, occupying the affordable housing that’s in short supply, will push our working poor into the streets, increasing the number of homeless here as it has in Bradford and Susquehanna Counties, Pennsylvania… we call for a statewide ban.
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GAS DRILLING AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENTBecause of our concerns that environmental and health damages lasting long beyond our lifetimes will extend across New York… we call for a statewide ban.
Because the global warming effects of methane in natural gas are many times greater than the global warming effects of carbon dioxide…
Because the subsidies granted to oil and gas drilling promote the use of fossil fuels and undermine the development of conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy sources
Because the DEC allows “centralized impoundments”, pits up to five acres in size, holding up to sixteen million gallons of toxic fluids connected by pipes to well pads as far as four miles away…
Because samples of flowback fluids in PA and WV have shown concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals that weren’t even included in the list of DEC’s fracking chemicals, and that in some instances the concentration of a single one of these carcinogenic chemicals exceeded 0.5% of the fluid – which is the purported total concentration of all chemicals in fracking fluid…
Because studies reveal that exposure to the components of hydrogen sulfide-containing natural gas and its condensate by women working in gas processing in Russia adversely affected their reproductive health…
Because West Virginia’s former mountaintops, Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, the war in the Niger Delta, and the ruination of the Ecuadorian Amazon have more to tell us about this industry than all the neat cartoon drawings of the hydrofracking process…
Because clean water and clear air are more important than gas… we call for a statewide ban.
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GAS DRILLING AFFECTS PEOPLE’S RIGHTSBecause thousands upon thousands of leases were signed by landowners who didn’t understand what they were getting into, but which leases will be nonetheless enforced by the state which failed to alert its landowning citizens to the significance of subsoil leases… we call for a statewide ban.
Because no current lessor signed a lease with an awareness of the possibility of an injection well or a compression station on their property, or even what those words meant…
Because the state legislature changed the spacing rules to allow for 640-acre Marcellus units and Halliburton fracking technology after people had already signed leases…
Because municipalities that urged a withdrawal of the dSGEIS are forbidden by law to enforce their responsibility to protect their residents and citizens…
Because the FRAC Act before the Congress would forbid the underground injection of fracking fluids into aquifers serving public water systems, but not private wells serving the majority of households in rural New York…
Because the impact of gas drilling is so widespread, the doctrines of property rights should give way to the doctrine of participatory democracy… we call for a statewide ban.
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GAS DRILLING AFFECTS THE INTEGRITY OF THE DEC
Because until August 2008, the DEC was claiming the “Marcellus shale fracing operations in New York State use fresh water, sand, nitrogen, and a diluted soapy solution to fracture the shale.. not benzene, toluene or xylene”, and thereby fixed the evidence around the policy and showed itself to be an agent of the gas corporations… we call for a statewide ban.
Because for 5 years the DEC has been clear-cutting forest land, upgrading and widening dirt roads within state land, constructing parking areas, and requiring loggers to make roads that connect one logging job to another
Because the DEC, the state agency that so vigorously promoted hydrofracking before Governor Patterson, that will issues permits, enforce whatever regulations it can’t weaken, and unitize owners into wells will be controlled by the industry, compromised, and marginalized as environmental cops…
Because the ten thousand signatures on anti-drilling petitions are dwarfed by the number of New Yorkers who aren’t participating in this movement because they know that regulatory agencies are always captured by the industries they regulate…
Because leaks, spills, and the uncontrolled release of natural gas wastewater only become public if reported by drillers, and because ten more or fifty more inspectors can’t adequately provide independent monitoring of these problems…
Because the reality in Dimock, Pennsylvania, in Garfield County, Colorado, of Dunkard Creek, and of DISH, Texas gives lie to the bureaucrats that their regulations guarantee the safety of the people …we call for a statewide ban.
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GAS DRILLING CREATES A CORPORATE STATE
Because the leasing coalition members, who represent only 2.5% of the population and 12.5% of the land surface in the Marcellus Shale region, have an undue influence on local officials, and serve as a conduit of gas corporation influence… we call for a statewide ban.
Because the compulsory Integration process, which can include as much as 284 acres per Marcellus 640-acre units, is the theft of private property…
Because permits to “examine, prepare, maintain, operate and protect…an underground gas storage reservoir” are accompanied by powers of eminent domain …
Because we have seen that in Pennsylvania top regulators have gone through a revolving door into cushy corporate jobs…
Because leases ostensibly five or ten years long, will be held open for generations by construction or rates of production determined by the drillers…
Because the state has opened the people’s state forests, the people’s state parks, and the people’s state university land to the gas corporations…
Because pending legislation calls for state revenues to be used to construct gas distribution lines in so-called “underserved areas”, and because the state has already spent millions providing pipelines for this highly profitable industry even before the SGEIS has been finalized
Because the state has shown no interest in plugging the gaps created by the “Cheney exemptions” from overarching federal environmental legislation like the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and so forth…
And finally, because regulatory processes create the possibility, if not the assurance, of the division of the state into Exclusion Zones and Sacrifice Zones…
WE CALL FOR A STATEWIDE BAN..
New York,
S I G N T H I S P E T I T I O N
Pennsylvania, this one’s for you
P E N N S Y L V A N I A N S
A G A I N S T G A S D R I L L I N G.
Tags: rally, statewide ban
Some selections from a Pennsylvania blog
Frack Mountain
“On the broadcast, Steve Corbett related how he has been unable to get anyone from EnCana to talk with him. They are about to change our world in a very surreal, industrial, and irreversible way – yet are too arrogant to address any of these potentialities with the public.
“Even if you had the perfect company doing all the right things, fracking is still a dirty, radioactive, water wasting, toxin injecting, air polluting, community disrupting, waste producing, land damaging, infrastructure intensive, property devaluing, inefficient way to produce energy. Add on top of that a secretive and entitled corporation – you are begging for trouble.”
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2010.04.10 Here’s an admission of the possible hazards by the industry
Range Resources Corporation (hydrofrackers) filed this with the SEC in 2006 as part of their prospectus:
Our business is subject to operating hazards and environmental regulations that could result in substantial losses or liabilities Oil and natural gas operations are subject to many risks, including well blowouts, craterings, explosions, uncontrollable flows of oil, natural gas or well fluids, fires, formations with abnormal pressures, pipeline ruptures or spills, pollution, releases of toxic natural gas and other environmental hazards and risks. If any of these hazards occur, we could sustain substantial losses as a result of: • Injury or loss of life; • Severe damage to or destruction of property, natural resources and equipment; • Pollution or other environmental damage; • Clean-up responsibilities; • Regulatory investigations and penalties; or • Suspension of operations. As we begin drilling to deeper horizons and in more geologically complex areas, we could experience a greater increase in operating and financial risks due to inherent higher reservoir pressures and unknown downhole risk exposures. Source:Range Resources Prospectus
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2010.04.09 Dispatch from Dimock
It is like a war zone up here in Dimock. Helicopters hovering overhead all the time dropping their seismic testing “pods” – spooking my horses. Workers in the fields and woods stringing miles of seismic testing wire – trucks heavy equipment driving by constantly – dust – noise – skies lit up at night from the drilling rigs – constant noise from the drilling and fracking. Drillers park their chemical trucks next door here at work and I walk over sometimes and try to read the names of the chemical containers – can’t understand the names of the chemicals but they all have skull and crossbones next to them – what would one think that means! Sorry for the rant – just have to vent once in a while. Chuck.
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… our family has experienced in a very direct and personal way, the devastating impact these gas leases can have on individual property owners. Now we wonder whether anyone will want to buy my Dad’s home, and, if so, at what price? Who would have thought that the beautiful woods, meadows and ponds surrounding my Dad’s home would someday become a liability rather than an asset?
For my family, this recent experience was a wake up call. We applaud your efforts on behalf of clean water and preserving a livable environment for the residents of the Back Mountain area. These efforts serve the larger community and are clearly the more important mission of your organization. However, before it is too late, we also want to bring to the attention of Back Mountain area residents the potential impact of these leases on their property values. Like my Dad, many area residents may be unaware that a gas lease exists near their home and the activities that are allowed under the lease (testing, drilling, laying pipeline, installing lease roads, installing pumps, compressors, separators, tanks, power stations, transporting oil and gas by pipeline or otherwise, “and all other rights and privileges necessary, incident to, or convenient for the economical operation of said Leasehold Premises…” quoting from the Memorandum of Oil and Gas Lease impacting my Dad’s home). I hope that you will communicate our fears to the local area elected representatives. It is truly a scandal that at all levels – national, state and local – elected officials have failed to protect ordinary citizens with reasonable regulation of the gas industry.
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Tags: blogger, Dimock, EnCana, fracking, hazard, Pennsylvania, property values, Range Resources
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