I, Ron Gulla, 29 Gulla Lane,
Hickory, Pennsylvania, an individual with six years past
work experience in the oil and gas industry, thought I
understood the business; but I was wrong and therefore
deceived along with everyone else. When landowners and
I signed our leases in 2002, no one knew of any
exemptions (ex. exempt from Safe Drinking Water Act).
When the exemptions went into place in 2005 property
owners with leases should have been informed. If I had
known, I would never have signed a lease. The leases
should have been rewritten or even voided.
All deceit began with the leases. Bill
Capouillez, Consultant for Geological Assessment Leasing
wrote and gathered the leases and made money as the
"middle man." This was a conflict of interest as he
works for the PA Game Commission and is privy to
information. He also promoted himself as a consultant
for the people but whenever I or anyone else called upon
him in this capacity he didn't return calls or when he
did he didn't accomplish anything. No one was impressed
with him or his efforts.
Mt. Pleasant Township saw the beginning of
horizontal drilling (Marcellus Shale) in 2005. We
(landowners) were never informed of this form of
drilling, until we saw it happening all around us. No
one was made aware of this at the time of lease
signing.
I witnessed so many issues that I was unfamiliar
with, even with my background experience ( ex. storm
water control: they turned the 2.5 acre pond on my
property into their sediment pond). Whenever I
questioned these issues and practices, Range Resources
and DEP personnel were extremely rude and
unaccommodating. Range Resources operates on
intimidation. They have intimidated everyone and have
taken advantage of this rural area. I thought the DEP
was going to help.
The following are issues and experiences on my
property and how they were handled by the DEP:
February, 2006
I met Sherman Richardson (SR) of the DEP on my farm.
(SR) was doing his inspection from his vehicle. While
standing in mud I told him of the problems, past and
current:
Equipment operators, service rig hands, and others
expelled feces on my property numerous times. At one
point I was cleaning up garbage left behind by Universal
crew people. 8 ft away from my garage building I picked
up paper that I discovered had fecal matter after it got
on my hands. Other property owners complain of the
same.
Silt run off, lack of silt fences on Gulla #1 and #3,
and the existing silt fences were flattened down.
Mill slag dumped on the property.
Location roads were not seeded, limed and fertilized.
Lack of soil and erosion plan in place.
Water and mud was running from the location of Gulla
#3, down the location road, down the stream and directly
into the pond. The silt was very deep, approximately 20
inches deep on the location road. I said that the fish
in the
Pond would die due to the extreme soil run off and
pollution coming from drilling location # 3. (SR) made
no comment to this.
Water ran down to the house by way of location road
off Gulla #1. The asphalt driveway is now washed out
and well water muddy when it rained.
(SR) agreed that the location road was a real mess
and difficult to drive through. (SR) complained to me
that he was over worked and the DEP was under staffed.
(SR) said he would look into these problems, yet the
results and his efforts were appalling.
July, 2006
All the vegetation in the 2.5 acre pond died. Even
the cattails turned yellow and died. While fishing, a
friend and his daughter noticed the devastation. I
observed that the color of the pond water wasn’t right.
The pond water turned dark and black. Then the bottom
of the stream, that comes from the pond overflow, looked
like black velvet. It covered the whole bottom of the
stream. I showed this to DEP and Range Resources
personnel. No one had any answers for me.
Walked and tracked water influence, as far as the
golf course, to look for causes.
On location site Gulla #3 and #6 I saw blackish water
coming from the toe of the locations. The water was
running directly into the pond. The water in the flow
pits on #6 was leaking and the flow pits remained full
for several weeks before they were pumped out. Called a
Range Resources personnel to ask what they did to the
pond and asked if they tested the pond water. The
response was "what are we going to compare it to." He
told me then that they didn't do a pre-drilling water
test of the pond. A water test should have been done as
a baseline since the pond is approximately 300 yd. from
a well site. He did admit that he thought the liner
leaked.
The locations for #3 and #6 were never keyed in
either. I told (SR) about all of these issues when he
returned to work, but again to no avail. When the pond
became contaminated I called the DEP. Mark Keil was
Richardson’s replacement while (SR) was recovering from
a heart attack. I walked around the pond with Mark Keil
and told him how disgusted I was about my property being
destroyed and not getting any relief. I met with (MK)
several times on the farm after the pond incident. He
told me he couldn’t determine where the contamination
was coming from. He did tell me that my farm “was a
text book case of what not to do.” He said that he
had an album full of photos of my farm of which the DEP
reviews in their meetings. Mark also said that my name
has been brought up numerous times during DEP meetings.
He agreed with me that the roads and locations were
poorly constructed. Every time it rained locations # 3
and #6 slid down the hill and into the field causing
extreme erosion. The poor construction of these
locations also caused a circle failure in the field,
which still stands to this day. I showed (MK) where
acid from Universal Frac trucks spilled all around the
property.
September 2006
Pond water sampled by (SR) DEP
Jan 2007
Received letter by mail from (SR) which states that
the pond contamination did not result from drilling
practices.
May 2007
There was a fish kill in the pond from all the silt
and contamination. Up to this point I had gone to Mt.
Pleasant Twp Supervisors and the local agriculture
extension office to complain. Everywhere I went I was
told the same thing: “call the DEP.”
July 2007
Spoke with (SR). I was on Gulla #9 taking pictures
of the mess after Patterson drilling moved out their
rig. (SR) happened to drive onto the location. I spoke
to him about the letter I had received regarding the
pond. (SR) typed the letter and it stated that the pond
contamination wasn’t the result of the drilling
practice. I felt that I needed to get to the bottom of
this situation and I told him that I wasn’t going to be
insulted or lied to anymore. (SR) tested the water but
wouldn’t test the mud at the bottom of the pond. I told
(SR) that whatever had contaminated the pond would be at
the bottom. (SR) said that he was not authorized to get
a mud sample. (SR) seemed very nervous and said that the
letter was written under the direction of his boss.
After I told (SR) that I want a meeting with his boss,
he said he would organize such a meeting. This meeting
never occurred. This was the last time I spoke to (SR).
August 2007
While Gulla #9 was being frac’d there were approx. 15
frac tanks parked alongside the stream. They had been
backed in off the driveway. One day my mother and I
noticed fluid coming out of a pipe as we drove up the
driveway in the vehicle. Someone had unscrewed the plug
at the end of the flow pipe on a tank. What my mother
and I witnessed was the back flow from Gulla #9 running
out of the tank and directly onto the soil and into the
stream. I guess this is where the exemption of the
Clean Water Act comes into play. I called (SR) on his
cell phone number and left a message. I called again
for 2 days and left messages with no return call. I
found out later that he had died, but I was unaware at
this time. I called (MK) on his cell phone but with no
response. Found out later that his phone had been stolen and
that it took 8 weeks for him to get a new phone.
September 2007
I spoke with (MK) when he brought Richardson’s
replacement, Vince Yenko out to the farm and introduced
us. This is when I learned of (SR)’s death and of (MK)’s
stolen cell. When (MK) arrived with (VK), (MK) said to
(VK) “wait until you see this place” and after this
there is another location messed up on Gulla #5 at
Alexander’s farm. (This is where Gulla #5 spilled fluid
from flow pits into a stream that flows into a
neighboring property. DEP didn’t help with this
situation either). Mark, Vince and I walked around the
pond and up the location road to # 3 and 6. (VK) said
to me that these are the worst group of people he has
seen in the oil and gas field. I agreed that this was the
worst nightmare I have ever experienced and that my
property and family have not been respected. I have
never had so many lies told by so many people. (VK) just
shook his head while walking around and observing all
the problems. He saw where the pipeline crew threw
garbage in pipe ditches. I told (VK) that I couldn’t
get any relief from (SR). (VK) said that he would help
me as much as he could. At this point (VK) informed me
of the background of (SR). He said that (SR) was a
convicted murderer with a nickname of “Hatchet Jack.”
I called (VK) several times following this meeting
due to continuing problems on the property. (VK) said
that there were so many problems created by Range
Resources contractors that he had a difficulty time
keeping up with all the phone calls. All the problems
on my property are still existing to this day. The pond
vegetation has never grown back since it was
contaminated. Garbage was buried on location #6, by a
contractor. Why should my farm be treated like a
landfill? Also, Range Resources pumped contaminated
water from my pond to a neighboring pond for fracing
purposes. The DEP told a concerned neighbor that the
water was being pumped into a plastic lined pond. This
was not true. So many issues with no resolution. What
was going on? My property, pond and life have been
destroyed. It's outrageous that someone can come onto
your property and do all this destruction. There have
been so many instances of insult to the property and me,
personally. One includes a break-in of the garage with
the removal and destruction of my equipment by a rig
hand.
My wife and I are currently in litigation with Range
Resources because of these lies. We were deceived and
baited with a different piece of property in Hickory,
Pennsylvania. Obtaining legal representation has been
difficult and not without trials and tribulations. When
I retained Burns, White & Hickton, attorneys at law,
Pittsburgh, Pa over these matters, I was treated rudely,
unprofessionally, overcharged and lied to numerous
times. After my assigned attorney left the firm ( to
work for an Oil and Gas Co.), I was badgered by the
replacement. I was told that I didn't stand a chance against Range
Resources. Overall, they didn't represent me as a
client as they should have done. Additionally, during a
meeting I learned that White of Burns, White & Hickton,
attorneys at law, was personal friends with Range's
attorney, Lambert. I am quite sure that this influenced
how the firm treated me.
Once the case went to court, it was assigned to Judge
Mark E. Mascara, Washington County, Pa. I wanted this
judge to be recused off my case and/or felt that he
should recuse himself due to a conflict of interest.
The reason for this is that in the late 1980's Mascara
was involved with my grandparents' estate, as an
attorney. During that time he came onto the property
more than once with a pistol in a shoulder holster,
while in my presence.
Overall, I could never understand what was going on.
Nothing was getting resolved and I was puzzled and
frustrated. After learning of the exemptions the puzzle
all came together and many questions were answered.
Questions of how I couldn't get help, relief, support
from attorneys, DEP, Range Resources personnel and even
judges. Learned that Mark Keil, of the DEP, went to
work directly for Range Resources. How do you as a
landowner stand a chance legally when the industry wrote
the Oil and Gas Act? And yet, the burden of proof is
upon the individual landowner against the powerful
company. The industry is polluting our air, land and
water. I knew that one day other problems would surface
and now it is beginning. There are many issues to speak
of, but the most important is that water wells are now
contaminated.
Deborah Goldberg, Managing Attorney from Earthjustice
has visited and toured the community. She was appalled
at what she saw.
The corruption and lies are out of hand. There are
many other situations other than mine. There are other
unhappy property owners who have experienced the
corruption and lies and cannot get relief. Our local
township officials have been lied to by Range Resources
and Atlas Energy from the very beginning. Range
Resources is "lining pockets" every step of the way. A
local representative has received monetary
contribution. It is getting out of hand. They throw
money around to convince all that it is safe, when in
truth it is not. Evidence is around to prove it. Trying
to seek legal help and representation is impossible. No
one wants to help or fight.
We need help as soon as possible. Our children are
exposed to danger. Their health, home, and the water
they bathe in is jeopardized. Our children, our future,
our country are at risk. Where will we be without water
and air?
Ron Gulla
cc:
Administrator Lisa Jackson, EPA
Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., PA
Senator Arlen Spector, PA
Bill Early, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 3
Congresswoman Diana DeGette, CO
Congressman Maurice Hinchey, NY
Congressman Jared Polis, CO
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