News
& Events on
Marcellus Shale |
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PAGE INDEX
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EVENTS
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CURIOUS HOW NATURAL GAS DRILLING COULD AFFECT YOU?
COME WATCH THE GRIPPING DOCUMENTARY
“SPLIT ESTATE”
WHERE: University of Pittsburgh, Barco
Law Building - Room 109
WHEN: Thursday, March 18 @ 6:30pm
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PITTSBURGH
Marcellus Shale Conference
Monday, May 3 - Tuesday, May 4,
2010
Duquesne University
The conference is
being sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and
Duquesne University. This two-day forum is being held to bring
together all who have a stake in the development of regulatory
policy and decision-making in Marcellus shale gas production in
Pennsylvania, including regulators, legislative leaders, industry
officials, environmental organizations, the academic community,
landowners and economic development agencies. The program will seek
to identify the strategies and practices for the effective and
sustainable development of this extraordinary resource. |
NEWS |
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News Stories:
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Gas Drilling Has
‘Massive Effect’
The Intelligencer. Wheeling News Register
By IAN HICKS Staff Writer
March 8, 2010
SILVER HILL - As Chesapeake
Appalachia prepares to drill for Marcellus Shale natural gas
in Oglebay Park, Wetzel County resident Raymond Renaud says
those living near the proposed drilling sites may get far
more than they bargained for.
Renaud, whose residence lies
about a mile from a Chesapeake drilling well in the Silver
Hill area, isn't talking about money. He's talking about the
impact he and other members of the Wetzel County Action
Group have seen on the surrounding area and residents' way
of life since Chesapeake began drilling there about three
years ago.
"Our first concern is the
traffic, by far," said Renaud. "The situation has become
quite dangerous."
The winding roads leading to
the drilling sites, he noted, are simply not designed for
large trucks to travel safely.
"Our infrastructure does not
support the activity. Our roads are such that a
tractor-trailer simply cannot maintain his lane around our
turns," Renaud said.
He added that Chesapeake has
been cooperative in taking steps to minimize the danger to
residents, including putting escort vehicles in front of
tractor-trailers and providing security vehicles to observe
traffic conditions.
"Without those steps, we
would have had countless fatalities," said Renaud.
Still, he estimated three to
four accidents per day occur in the Silver Hill area
involving gas drilling vehicles "going into a skid, sliding
across the center line and off the road."
Renaud said Brock Ridge and
County Road 89, two major access roads for Silver Hill
residents, "have taken a major beating" as they're not
designed to bear the load of so many large trucks. He said
to Chesapeake's credit, the company repaved both roads at
its own expense - but the repairs haven't held.
"They finished in the late
fall, and Brock Ridge is completely destroyed," said Renaud.
"Their new paving job is gone. It's a mud road.
"We're talking about massive
road failure. ... We're talking about some pretty massive
effects. If your road totally disappears, that's a pretty
massive effect," he continued.
And during the winter, said
Renaud, those roads are blocked by oversized vehicles
multiple times each day.
"Locals who used to drive
Brock Ridge now go out of their way and use other roads," he
said, noting he's also a member of the Wetzel County
Emergency Medical Service. "It's normally a 14-minute trip,
and I was an hour and a half getting to the Silver Hill Fire
Department."
Water pollution also is a
concern, Renaud noted. He said in snowy weather, the company
lays down "tremendous volumes" of cinders so its trucks can
gain traction. When the snow melts, the cinders mix with the
water, creating "a lava flow of cinders going into the
creeks," Renaud claims.
"The worst part about this,
when it dries up, you're inhaling tremendous volumes of
cinder dust. The summer irritant for us is dust. ... People
have to power wash their homes," he said.
Another worry stems from an
industry process called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracing,"
in which million of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are
blasted into each well to break up the tightly compacted
shale. Once the rock is fractured, some of the water -
estimates range from 15 percent to 40 percent - comes back
up the well. When it does, it can be five times saltier than
seawater and laden with dissolved solids such as sulfates
and chlorides, which conventional sewage and drinking water
treatment plants are not equipped to remove.
Chesapeake officials have
maintained they "aggressively implement best practices to
reduce the possibility of leaks, spills and discharges" with
regard to fracing.
Another industry practice,
called flaring, occurs when drilling companies burn off
surplus combustible vapors.
"They literally burn it out
of the stack. Our concern is, we don't know how toxic that
gas is," said Renaud. "If you live downwind or in a hollow,
it's a gagging odor. ... It's just not very pleasant."
Renaud believes all these
factors are adding up to plummeting property values for
landowners near natural gas drilling sites.
"I moved here in the '70s,"
he said. "I moved to get away from the city, to live in a
nice rural atmosphere, and now I live in an industrial zone.
"If you live on a rural road
and experience 40 trucks going by your house a day, you
would have a hard time selling your house. ... These people
are now trying to get Chesapeake to buy their property
because they can't recover what they paid for the property.
Mortgages outstanding are greater than the value of the
property today," Renaud claimed.
Renaud is calling on
government officials to step in and help "exploit the
Marcellus Shale in a way that benefits the citizens of
Wetzel County and West Virginia."
"I really don't fault the gas
development companies, because if they went out of their way
to satisfy what we're asking for, it's going to increase
their costs," he said. "They wouldn't be able to compete.
It's an industrywide thing. To me, this is a social issue
that requires local, state and federal government."
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W.Va. Bills Are
Mixed On Mineral Rights
The Intelligencer. Wheeling News Register
By JOSELYN KING Political Writer
March 8, 2010
WHEELING - Legislation to
recognize the rights of surface owners where natural gas
drilling takes place has died in the West Virginia
Legislature.
Meanwhile, a second bill - one that changes the legal
definition of "shallow wells" to include Marcellus Shale
wells being drilled locally - has passed the state Senate
and is now before the House Judiciary Committee.
Opponents of Senate Bill
369 say the definition change will especially hurt those
owning mineral rights on properties adjacent to natural gas
drilling sites.
"And it's a terrible bill
for surface owners," said Norm Steenstra, a lobbyist with
the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization. "The
only ones who will benefit are those who drill the wells."
He said "shallow wells"
aren't subject to the same royalty sharing laws as deep
wells, and that they can be spaced more closely together
with detrimental effects. As a result, during shallow well
drilling natural gas can be sucked out from under adjacent
properties without the property owners knowing, according to
Steenstra.
"Even the oil companies
suffer," he continued. "If there is drilling of a lot of
wells in an area, they are losing pressure and a lot of
ability to pull gas out.
"Surrounding property
owners should be concerned ... and mineral owners should be
worried. They have a right to the money. They can pull the
gas out from underneath you," he said.
Supporters say the change
in the definition is needed to clarify who regulates the
wells. The West Virginia Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
regulates deep wells, and the Shallow Gas Well Review Board
oversees deep wells.
Last year, Chesapeake
Appalachia paid Wheeling and the Wheeling Park Commission
$386,629 each to lease possible drilling sites at Oglebay
Park. Additional natural gas drilling operations, meanwhile,
have been ongoing in Marshall County.
And the drilling in
Marshall County has created concerns regarding traffic and
condition of roads there, said state Sen. Jeff Kessler,
D-Marshall. This prompted him and state Sen. Larry Edgell,
D-Wetzel, to introduce SB 529, which would have created the
Surface Owners' Rights Recognition Act.
Among its provisions, the
bill would have required oil and gas operators to give
notice of planned work and its impact upon the property
before entry is made; set forth notice requirements and
civil penalties; and requiring separate bonds to be posted.
Neither SB 529 nor its
House equivalent, House Bill 4408, advanced in their
respective chambers.
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Hoeffel Calls for Responsible Drilling: Double
Proposed Revenue from Severance Taxes & Moratorium on new
Marcellus Shale Permits
Joe Hoeffel, Democratic
candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, announced
today his position on the Marcellus Shale:
“As governor, I will seek a severance tax which will
double the projected revenue from Governor Rendell's
currently proposed tax to provide Pennsylvania with
$300 million in its first year," said Hoeffel.
"The extraction of Marcellus Shale natural gas
represents an entirely new economy and has the
potential to create thousands of jobs. But drilling
in the Shale also opens up new environmental
concerns with extremely serious consequences for
all Pennsylvanians."
"Our commonwealth is
getting a lousy deal," continued Hoeffel. "The gas
will be there for a long time - We need to get it
right. We must cover the immediate costs of the
industry and make sure Pennsylvania communities
thrive long after all the natural gas has been
mined. The silver lining is that we can learn from
other states and create a fair tax
with maximum benefits."
"The tax must be used
wisely. A severance tax won't last forever: once the
gas is gone, the tax revenue ends. Pennsylvania must
devote some of the severance tax money to protecting
the towns experiencing a boom economy during the gas
rush from experiencing a bust economy later."
Hoeffel will dedicate
portions of the severance tax to fund:
- DEP's inspection
and enforcement operations;
- new wastewater
treatment facilities;
- the renewal of
Growing Greener;
- communities
affected by drilling in their efforts to meet
the infrastructure and housing costs
the industry has brought them; AND
- our community
colleges, expanding programs and educational
sites to build a strong, adaptable workforce
throughout the state.
Bolstering our community
colleges will help prepare Pennsylvanians for
thousands of skilled jobs in the natural gas
industry and environmental protection. Community
colleges will also prepare our workforce for jobs in
green energy, manufacturing, infrastructure,
technology, health care, and other fields which will
long outlast the Marcellus Shale natural gas.
"Because our regulations are not
adequately protecting our drinking water, it's time
to slow down and do the right things in the
right order, " said Hoeffel. "That's why I support a
moratorium on issuing new drilling permits until new
wastewater regulations are in place and
enforceable."
Hoeffel also supports a
moratorium on the leasing of additional state lands
for drilling until a comprehensive study of all
state land is performed to prioritize which land is
most critical to protect.
"With environmental regulations that protect our
water, a severance tax which allows our towns to
adapt to their new industry and a plan in place
to protect our state land, Pennsylvania
can take pride in its natural gas
industry. Landowners, towns, and the commonwealth
will prosper. Many Pennsylvanians will be employed
working on gas wells and in treatment facilities.
And most importantly, Pennsylvania will be prepared
for the day the drilling ends. If we prepare, the
boom won't turn into a bust."
"The Marcellus Shale needs a traffic cop." concluded
Hoeffel. "It's time for Tom Corbett and my
opponents in the Democratic Primary to join me in
calling for responsible drilling, safe drinking
water and overall environmental protection."
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"Stealth" Measurements of Air Quality Contradict
Shale Gas Industry Claims of Safe Air
New technology finds huge methane plumes around
shale gas drilling and processing facilities
Technology is new arrow in quiver of shale gas
impacted communities nationwide
DISH, TX March 4 - Yesterday a team of environmental
scientists presented findings from a novel two day emissions gas
detection project showing methane levels as much as 20 times above
normal background levels in the air around several counties in the
greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
"These findings raise troubling questions about shale
gas industry pollution not only in Texas but for states nationwide
where shale gas drilling and production is planned or underway,"
said Wilma Subra, EARTHWORKS board member, environmental chemist and
MacArthur grant recipient.
The results were collected over the past two days by
an undercover team driving an unmarked white van around the
metroplex to test a new measurement technology that enables drive-by
emissions testing on shale gas drilling and pumping facilities --
without leaving the vehicle or slowing down from normal driving
speeds.
Methane is a surrogate gas for benzene, xylene and
other toxic and carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As a
greenhouse gas that is roughly four-times more potent than CO2,
methane is also a significant contributor to the ongoing climate
crisis.
The results were presented to an overflow crowd at
the DISH town hall where Mayor Calvin Tilman had called a special
meeting to discuss the findings. DISH and other metroplex residents
are concerned shale gas industry pollution are behind serious health
problems in the area.
The sampling team, which included Wilma Subra and
environmental testing firm Wolf Eagle Environmental, was able to
approach and circle the pumping facilities without detection.
Previously, companies that own and operate the shale gas
installations had spotted sampling teams and turned off compressor
and other production operations that produce emissions gases.
In one area, concentrations of methane from emissions
plumes were so high that the instrument - manufactured by Picarro
Inc. -- reached the higher end of its detection range at 40-50 parts
per million. When Subra and Wolf Eagle Environmental CEO Alisa Rich
contacted air quality regulators, they learned that the Flower Mound
facility had failed to report an emissions event, as required by
state and federal law.
"These jaw-dropping results show that the shale gas
industry is not to be trusted with public health", said Sharon
Wilson, organizer for the Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project.
She continued, "Drilling can only be done right with adequate
supervision and enforcement. Texas OGAP and EARTHWORKS are
considering ways to bring unannounced emissions detection to other
shale gas regions - and other mining, digging and drilling
facilities -- around the country."
Texas OGAP works with communities statewide to
prevent and minimize the impacts caused by energy development.
EARTHWORKS has 29,000 members nationwide, and offices in California,
Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Texas and Washington, D.C. |
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Fort Worth residents see the bad side of natural gas drilling
By
ROBERT SNOKE
Special to the Star-Telegram
February 28, 2010
Jesus
spoke of "the least of these." It
seems like many Fort Worth residents
are "the least of these" when city
officials and the natural gas
industry partner to bring us gas
wells, fracking operations and
liquids, "produced water," gas well
condensate, lift compressors, heavy
diesel machinery, liquid storage
tanks and the like in every zoning
category in the city.
Time
was when heavy industry was confined
to specially zoned heavy industrial
districts for public health and
public safety reasons. State law
specifically grants municipalities
this power.
In
1956, Fort Worth banned fireworks
factories and warehouses from
residential areas because of an
explosion at one of these sites. But
the City Council, at the request of
natural gas drillers, has abandoned
residents and voted to permit any
gas drilling or production activity
in any zoning category.
If
the least of us -- those who do not
live in high-dollar homes in the
wealthiest neighborhoods -- are not
protected from the very clear
dangers posed by these industrial
activities, none of us are
protected.
Our
City Council, guided by the gas
drilling industry, has abandoned
children and their families who
expect to live in a safe and healthy
place, leaving them exposed to
dangers inherent in drilling,
fracking, piping, processing and
compressing raw gas. Information
about the danger is easily available
on the Internet and elsewhere, yet
the council has allowed the gas
industry to guide its actions
without doing proper due diligence.
Now
"the least of these" are beginning
to see what has been done to them,
and they are not happy. They
recently rose up and fought a
proposed multiple-well drilling site
on Page Avenue in South Fort Worth.
They made the council and industry
back down from a plan that would
have placed a huge source of
carcinogen and neurotoxin emissions
in the middle of a neighborhood with
a model public elementary school,
churches, homes and apartments.
Opposition came not only from
residents along and near Page Avenue
but from representatives of the
nearby Rosemont Neighborhood
Association, who had recently won a
fight against building a combined
school and community center in
Rosemont Park near another drilling
site. That plan had been engineered
in private by the City Council, the
school district and the natural gas
industry.
The
school district and even many
churches have endorsed the natural
gas drilling bonanza that largely
benefits Fort Worth's elite. The
"least of these" have no alternative
but to rise.
Perhaps this revolt will cause the
City Council to rethink its
responsibilities and return to a
proper and prudent course of
governance. As drillers buy up more
and more property in Fort Worth and
apply more pressure to the city to
rubber stamp variances to whatever
restrictions are in place, it is
going to become more and more
difficult to change course and
return to sanity.
Time
is wasting. Natural gas drilling and
production operations must not be
permitted where people live.
Robert Snoke
is chairman of the Rosemont
Neighborhood Association in South
Fort Worth.
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Texas company sues
Jefferson Twp. man
By Cara
Host, Staff writer
Observer-Reporter
2/25/2010
Texas Eastern Transmission has sued a Jefferson man in federal
court, claiming he is standing in the way of a pipeline project that
is supposed to deliver natural gas to the East Coast.
The company filed the lawsuit last
week in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. The company wants to use
eminent domain to condemn about 1.16 acres of Donald E. Bruckner's
family farm on Valley View Road, Jefferson Township, so it can
proceed with its project to build a new, 36-inch pipeline that will
extend 9.6 miles through Greene County on its way to York County and
the East Coast.
Texas Eastern wants to have the
pipeline in service by Nov. 1. It asked the court to expedite action
on its suit so construction can begin by April 1. Texas Eastern
filed similar lawsuits against several other Greene County property
owners a few months ago.
Bruckner said that he tried to
negotiate with Texas Eastern, but the company chose to sue him
instead.
"I'm not opposed to this project," he
said when reached by telephone Wednesday. "I don't think when they
build something like this that the homeowner should become
bankrupt."
The pipeline construction will make a
portion of the Bruckner family's 212-acre farm unusable for up to
two years. Bruckner said he will have less pasture and water for his
cattle, so he will have to thin the herd and lose thousands of
dollars in the process.
Texas Eastern already has an easement
through Bruckner's property, which it obtained in 1951. Two
pipelines are located on that right of way, but the new line will
diverge from the easement and the company wants to obtain a new
easement through eminent domain. In its lawsuit, Texas Eastern
claims it changed the route at Bruckner's request.
Bruckner said installing the pipeline
at the original location would jeopardize the well and water system
at his brother's mobile home, so Bruckner suggested that Texas
Eastern move the home or purchase it. The new route goes around the
mobile home, Bruckner said.
Texas Eastern claims Bruckner
initially granted permission for the project to proceed through his
property only to revoke that permission later. Bruckner said he
never agreed to anything and he thought he was still negotiating
with the company when he was served with the lawsuit papers.
"We're not the type of people who
want to go to court. These are people who are not local and they
come in here and do a lot of sneaky, little underhanded things,"
Bruckner said.
Without an easement, Texas Eastern
claims that a bottleneck will be created at the property and force
construction crews to move around the area until the property
dispute is resolved. That process will cost the company at least
$241,000 in each incident, according to the lawsuit.
The company has asked the court to
grant a preliminary injunction to allow access to the property to
install the line starting April 1. If that is not possible, Texas
Eastern wants the court to award damages for moving around the
property and any other expenses.
"No one feels good about going to
court and we do everything we can to avoid that route," said Wendy
Olson, spokeswoman for Texas Eastern's parent company, Spectra
Energy. "Our hopes are to reach a mutually agreeable solution."
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A New
Watchdog for Texas' Shale Gas Drilling Industry
Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project Launches Best
Practices Platform
Fort Worth, 2/23 -
Today EARTHWORKS formally launched the Texas Oil & Gas
Accountability Project (OGAP), a new citizens' group that will work
to ensure that Texas' burgeoning Barnett shale gas industry operates
while respecting the environment and the rights of its neighbors.
Simultaneously, the new watchdog group released its best practices
platform: DRILL-RIGHT TEXAS: Best Oil & Gas Development
Practices for Texas.
"Shale gas drilling has a black eye in Texas because
it fails to respect communities and the environment. That's why
concerned Texans came together to form the Texas Oil & Gas
Accountability Project," said Gwen Lachelt from EARTHWORKS. "DRILL-RIGHT
TEXAS shows the responsible way forward for both
drillers and regulators, and Texas OGAP will push them in that
direction."
The shale gas industry is exploding in the central
Texas. In Fort Worth alone, more than 1,100 wells have been drilled
within the city limits, and 100 new wells are being permitted every
month. Over 9,000 wells have been drilled in surrounding counties --
with 5,000 more already approved. Pipelines and wells are being
located and drilled just a few feet from residences, sparking
concerns by local residents for their health. Open spaces, such as
the Tandy Hills, Greenbelt and other endangered, native prairie
lands are turning into industrialized landscapes and drilling is
encroaching upon Lake Worth, a critical drinking water supply for
the city.
"DRILL-RIGHT TEXAS shows
the drilling industry how to do it right: respect private property
rights, clean water and clean air, wildlife, and public health,"
said Sharon Wilson, the new Texas OGAP organizer. She continued,
"I'm a 4th generation Texan who hoped to get rich selling gas
leases. After witnessing first-hand the devastation wrought by
current drilling practices, I know that unless DRILL
RIGHT recommendations are followed, Texans and future
Texans will be a whole lot poorer."
EARTHWORKS, the only nationwide non-governmental
organization (NGO) in the U.S. focused exclusively on resource
extraction, has worked with Texans since the Barnett Shale drilling
boom sparked citizens to demand greater oversight of oil and gas
activities in the region. Texas OGAP hopes to replicate successes in
other states like New Mexico and Colorado, where
EARTHWORKS-championed landowner and environmental initiatives have
become law.
"We are calling for responsible water standards to
protect Texans threatened by drilling," said Kathy Chruscielski,
Texas OGAP Steering Committee member. She continued, "Enormous
amounts of water are used to drill wells and the waste water must be
properly managed. Water recycling, closed-loop drilling systems and
non-toxic fracturing fluids are best practices we're promoting to
protect our increasingly-scarce fresh water supply."
A citizen's groundwater advocate and the publisher of
Parched Newsletter, Chruscielski became
active in water issues four years ago when gas drilling was blamed
for causing water wells to go dry.
"Some areas are so important for future generations
that they simply should not be drilled," said Texas OGAP member Don
Young and founder of Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood
Drilling Operations. "We've got to protect our special places like
the Tandy Hills and LBJ Grasslands or we won't have anything left,"
he continued.
Young's Fort Worth CANDO is the first group in the
United States devoted to raising public awareness of urban drilling
issues.
Texas OGAP will work with communities statewide
to prevent and minimize the impacts caused by energy development.
EARTHWORKS has 27,000 members nationwide, and offices in California,
Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Texas and Washington, D.C. |
By Mary Perham
Corning Leader/Bath Courier
Sunday
February 21, 2010
Elmira Heights, N.Y. - Some 600 area
residents were told Saturday they need to take local control
to prevent potentially harmful effects of natural gas
drilling planned for the region.
“Slow down,” Mayor Calvin Tillman said,
during his two-hour-long morning presentation in the Elmira
Heights Theater on the effects of natural gas drilling in
his small Texas town. “Do it right.”
The mayor of DISH, Texas, Tillman said
his town is a “Grand Central Station” of gas drilling into
the Barnett Shale underground formation.
The town is the site of 11 gas pipelines,
11 compressors and treatment facilities, four meter stations
and 18 wells, according to Tillman.
Tillman’s presentation in Elmira Heights
was part of a tour of northern areas above the Marcellus
Shale underground natural gas formation.
His talk was before largely a supportive
crowd, backed by a number of local activists including
People for a Healthy Environment, local branches of Pax
Christi, the League of Women Voters and Sierra Club.
Local environmental concerns have been raised about the
horizontal drilling method used to release natural gas from
layers of shale, known as hydrofracturing, or “hydrofracking.”
Currently, Pennsylvania allows hydrofracking but it is not
yet permitted in New York. The state Department of
Conservation has been in the process of drawing up
regulations for drilling for over a year.
Tillman said the drilling in his town resulted in noise,
“sometimes overwhelming odor,” and reports of toxic
emissions in DISH. Working to solve the problems has led to
fights with different oil companies and the state, he said.
Towns and residents must take control of
drilling regulations in the area, Tillman said.
And in New York, municipalities need to take back their
right to home rule, he said.
“I know you have home rule on everything else,” he said.
“Why don’t you have home rule on this?”
The state has sole oversight of oil, gas and mineral
drilling in New York.
Tillman also recommended the state enact
a severance tax to be used to pay for direct oversight of
drilling projects. Gas companies also should be required to
adopt the latest “green technology” to reduce product waste
and cut down on contamination, Tillman said.
Local governments should be in charge of
issuing permits and develop road use agreements to defray
the cost of damage to highways, according to Tillman.
“You have an opportunity to do it right
from the get-go,” Tillman said. “Do it.”
More than a dozen people lined up to comment, or ask
questions. Two residents asked how to ban gas drilling in
New York.
“I don’t know,” Tillman said. “That’s
something maybe you should ask a lawyer.”
Another resident said the dangers of drilling must be
weighed against the economic benefits Tillman said the
Barnett Shale brought to his town.
“It seems to me, you’re proposing we need
to be responsible about this,” the questioner said. “It
needs to be balanced. We need to assess the positive
impacts, too.”
A representative of America’s Natural Gas Alliance attended
the presentation but did not publically question Tillman.
For more information on
drilling in DISH, Texas, visit www.ogap.org or
baddish.blogspot.com. For information from America’s Natural
Gas Alliance, go to America’s Natural Gas Alliance go to
www.netl.doe.gov.
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Packed House
Attends Environmental Resources and Energy
Committee
Hearing on HB 2213 in Clearfield
By
Aaron T. Evans
February 20, 2010
gantdaily.com
CLEARFIELD, PA
– On Wednesday well over 100 people turned out to listen to
testimony at public hearing held by the Environmental Resources and
Energy Committee at the Knights of Columbus. The hearing was held to
solicit testimony on the proposed House Bill 2213, which
would amend the existing Oil and Gas Act of 1984. The purpose
of the bill is to provide further protection to surface land and
water supplies from natural gas drilling activities.
HB 2213 would:
- Require the DEP to inspect Marcellus well sites
during each drilling phase;
- Extend to 2,500 feet, from 1,000 feet, the presumed
liability of a well polluting a water supply;
- Require disclosure of the chemicals used in the
hydraulic fracturing – fracing – of the natural gas from the earth;
- Update bonding requirements to cover the costs of
decommissioning a well;
- Clarify local governments’ traditional authority to
regulate oil and gas activities.
The meeting
opened with members of the committee giving comments on HB 2213, gas
well drilling and Pennsylvania’s water system.
State Rept.
Camille “Bud” George, majority chair of the committee, said that
Pennsylvania is no stranger to drilling. He added that the size and
magnitude of Marcellus Shale drilling adds new challenges in
ensuring that the both the environment and industry are protected.
“I think it’s
important we do it right,” said state Rep. Scott E. Hutchinson,
minority chair.
John Hines,
deputy secretary for water management for the state Department of
Environmental Protection and other DEP representatives were first to
testify.
“Pennsylvania is
blessed with water,” said Hines. “We live with it, but sometimes we
don’t respect it.
“We are at a
crossroads,” added Hines. He asked how they will deal with energy
production and protecting watersheds.
Hines touched on
the process of fracing, where water, salt, sand and chemicals are
used to fracture shale formations that hold natural gas. Hines
pointed out that this water must be treated before it can be
released back into the watershed. He said the DEP uses a number of
existing regulations in monitoring wastewater treatment.
He also said that
contrary to popular belief, DEP does have a list of chemicals used
in the fracing process. He said the department has obtained material
data sheets from mining companies. He added that these lists are
then circulated to emergency management agencies in the event of an
emergency.
Hines admitted
that while the DEP knows what chemicals are in the fracing fluid, it
does not know what the concentrations of chemicals are. He indicated
that each company uses a different solution, in essence, a trade
secret.
He also noted
that total dissolved solids, or TDS, is a very real problem in the
states waterways. He stated that there is a permitting process to
deal with TDS in gas well drilling.
State Rep. Mike
Carroll asked how many treatment facilities in the state are
currently permitted to handle frac water. One of the DEP
representatives said around 17 or 18 and noted that they are almost
all in the northwest and southwest parts of the state.
“We really do
have to get this right,” said Carroll. He added that they can’t
repeat the anthracite coal problems of the past. “We’ve come a long
way, but we have to get this right.”
Another issue
touched on was an incident involving gas well drilling and water
wells in Dimock Township. A DEP representative indicated that the
water was tainted by gas from a shallow gas well, not Marcellus
Shale gas. Later in the meeting, however, there was some discussion
that the overall incident occurred because of Marcellus Shale
drilling.
State Rep. Matt
Gabler questioned the DEP representatives about gas migration and
the use of concrete for casing material. The DEP representatives
said that gas migration can occur when a shallow pocket of gas is
hit in the drilling process or when a casing goes bad. They noted
that concrete, while porous, has been effective as a casing material
and that it is uncommon for a concrete casing to fail.
George told the
DEP representatives that he’s amazed the material used in fracing is
a trade secret. He questioned how they will know that water’s
treated when they don’t know the ratios of chemicals in the frac
water. He also questioned allowing for prolonged usage of open pits.
“We have very
strict standards for pits and impoundments,” said Hines.
Also testifying
was Thomas W. Beauduy, deputy director and counsel for the
Susquehanna River Basin Commission. He praised the committee for
their attempts on improving the Oil and Gas Act of 1984. He said the
mining activity of today was not foreseen in 1984. He commented on
the bonding issue, noting that bonds should reflect the cost of
remediation.
Beauduy said he
had some issues with some of the drafting in the bill, and that the
provisions and disclosures should not only affect Marcellus Shale
drilling, but all hydrofracture operations.
He said the
SRBC’s business is in water resource management, not drilling
regulations, flowbacks or brines. He said they regulate water
withdrawal.
“In the past
we’ve seen mineral exploitation at the risk of society,” Said
Beauduy. He added that they need to use the lessons of the past.
“For this
industry, we start at gallon one.”
He touched on the
amount of water used in the gas well drilling industry and compared
it with other industries. He said a scrubber at a power plant
cooling tower uses an average of five million gallons of water a
day; the golf industry over 3 billion gallons of water a day is
used; in an 18-month span in the Susquehanna River basin, 262
million gallons was used.
Beauduy also
added that real-time water data monitoring is in the works, and will
be available on the SRBC’s Web site.
Under questioning
he noted that the SRBC is concerned about smaller, older streams. He
said they will look at habitat and use, among other things, both up
and downstream before issuing permits. He also said that water will
be available should the industry expand over the next few years.
George asked
Beauduy if it was reasonable for drilling companies to use water
from other industrial origins, such as acid mine drainage.
“Absolutely,”
said Beauduy. He indicated that if a firm uses AMD in their process,
they will waive the fees on applications.
John Baillie,
senior attorney for Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture)
also testified at the hearing. PennFuture is a statewide public
interest membership organization with offices in Harrisburg,
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, West Chester and Wilkes-Barre. The
organization’s purposes include advocating and litigating on behalf
of the environment and public health on a state-wide basis. This
includes water quality issues and issues arising out of gas drilling
activities.
In his testimony
Baillie pointed out that techniques used in Marcellus Shale drilling
are also used in other gas extraction instances. He noted that these
techniques are likely to raise similar water pollution concerns. He
asked that HB 2213 be revised so its protections not only cover
Marcellus Shale gas wells, but to any gas extraction activity that
uses fracing and horizontal drilling.
Baillie also
pointed out that the Oil and Gas Act does not require gas well
companies to disclose information regarding the chemicals used in
the drilling process. He noted that DEP requires companies to
disclose the ingredients of frac fluid, but not the ratios.
“…It also appears
that the manufacturers of fracturing fluids can legitimately claim
that the concentration of the fluids’ various ingredients are
confidential trade secrets,” said Baillie. “Well operators purchase
fracturing fluids but may not be privy to the concentrations of the
ingredients the fluids contain.”
He asked that the
sponsors of HB 2213 consider removing requirements that well
operators disclose the concentrations or ratios of ingredients in
their frac fluids. Baillie indicated this would avoid imposing
obligations on drillers that they may fight.
George asked
Baillie if he disagreed with other organizations that believed the
drillers should disclose the ratios/concentrations. Baillie said he
did not.
“We’d like to get
this bill passed as close to current form as it is,” said Baillie.
He added that he would rather see 99 percent of the bill passed than
nothing.
Baillie also
touched on the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and the
Flood Plain Management Act. Both take a back seat to the Oil and Gas
Act. He asked that HB 2213 amend section 602, “to clarify that such
local ordinances are preempted only to the extent they purport to
regulate oil and gas well operations and that to the extent local
ordinances would regulate certain other aspects of oil or gas well
operations – including time and place of operations – the ordinances
are not preempted.”
He also pointed
that the bill needs to recognize ordinances under the Second Class
City Code of Pittsburgh, so the city can assert its traditional
zoning powers on gas well drilling in the same way other
municipalities might.
Kathryn Klaber,
president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition
and David Spigelmyer, vice chairman of the MSC and vice president of
government relations for Chesapeake Energy were the last to testify.
“I certainly
recognize your historic commitment to conservation and the
environment and appreciate the committee’s review of this subject,”
said Klaber. “And you have been very clear about the need to
maximize the real economic opportunities from the Marcellus
development without jeopardizing the environment.
“On that goal, we
are on the same page.”
She, like Carroll
and Hutchinson, said they needed to get it right. She touched on
casing and the cementing of well borings, hydraulic fracturing
fluids and equipment disinfection.
She noted an
advisory board of regulators, industry representatives, academia and
representatives of the public interest who worked toward updating
the PA Code concerning gas oil well construction. She cited it as an
example of how the natural gas industry is developing the Marcellus
Shale while working with regulators. She also pointed to a recent
announcement by Gov. Ed Rendell regarding the hiring of 60-plus new
DEP staffers to monitor oil and gas wells. She said the MSC has
“consistently supported the hiring of additional DEP staff to
monitor natural gas wells in the commonwealth.”
Klaber also
touched on frac fluid.
“With respect to
the disclosure of the components of the fracturing fluid, and
notwithstanding the misleading statement to the contrary by those
who would appear to want to see this Marcellus opportunity for
Pennsylvania fail, this information is available in multiple places.
Just like in other regulated industries, the natural gas industry
complies with the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration rules that require up-to-date Material Safety Data
Sheets to be on site, disclosing the components of the products in
use.”
Klaber and
Spigelmyer were asked about using AMD in the mining process as well
as companies recycling their water. Spigelmyer said the company he’s
with has almost 100 percent recycling when it comes to their waste
water. Klaber stated that companies use AMD when they are in the
right locations.
Throughout the
hearing members of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
urged the DEP and industry to work together.
In one example,
state Rep. Bryan Barbin indicated that if the DEP worked with the
industry to use AMD and other industrial uses water, then maybe tax
credits could be earned.
“Companies would
like to see disposal options continue to develop,” added Spigelmyer.
Carroll noted
that he did not hear much in their testimony against HB 2213.
“Are we getting a
quiet endorsement,” he asked.
Klaber said no,
and that elements of the bill were already on the books.
Spigelmyer went
on to state that the industry is building toward future endeavors,
and indicated that additional taxation would only harm them.
George took
umbrage with some of the SMC representatives’ statements. He
questioned them on groundwater pollution and equipment cleaning.
“We welcome you,
the industry,” said George. “But this belongs to the people.”
George thanked
those gathered and said that more public hearings will be held in
the future. |
February 19, 2010
Two of the world's largest oil-field services companies have
acknowledged to Congress that they used diesel in hydraulic
fracturing after telling federal regulators they would stop
injecting the fuel near underground water supplies.
Halliburton and BJ Services acknowledged to the House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee in January 2008 that
they had used diesel in the controversial process that has
expanded access to vast natural gas plays.
BJ Services acknowledged it had violated a December 2003
"memorandum of agreement" that it and other companies signed
with U.S. EPA agreeing to limit the amount of diesel they use in
fracturing.
The chairman of the oversight panel at the time, Democrat
Henry Waxman (Calif.) is now chairman of the Energy and Commerce
Committee, which launched an investigation yesterday into
fracturing practices.
The companies' acknowledgement was included in a memo from
Waxman to committee members that was released to the public
yesterday with the announcement of the probe. Waxman said that
after sending questions to major fracturing companies, a BJ
Services attorney reported that the company used 1,706 gallons
of diesel-based slurry in two dozen coalbed methane fracturing
jobs in Arkansas and Oklahoma from 2005 to 2007.
"In a letter to the Oversight Committee, counsel for BJ
Services acknowledged that these events 'were in violation of
the MOA' and expressed a commitment to uncovering how they
occurred," Waxman's memo states. The letter also says, "BJ
Services subsequently sent a reminder to 'all employees who
design or perform fracturing operations about the requirements
of the MOA.'"
As part of the same oversight committee investigation,
Halliburton reported using fluids containing diesel fuel from
2005 to 2007 to fracture oil and gas wells in 15 states.
Specifically, Halliburton reported using more than 807,000
gallons of seven diesel-based fluids over the three-year period.
Waxman's memo says the companies didn't specify whether the
fluids were injected into wells located in or near underground
sources of drinking water, which could create contamination
risks. In addition, the memo says, it could be a violation of
the Safe Drinking Water Act if the fluids contain diesel fuel.
Hydraulic fracturing blasts sand, water and chemicals deep
into a wellbore to break compact rock. Though the industry has
used the process for decades, questions about drinking have
mounted in the past few years as the process has opened up vast
reserves in new areas, such as Texas and New York.
Halliburton officials said the suggestions that its use of
diesel may have violated the agreement are "completely
inaccurate."
"The terms of the MOA specifically cover coalbed methane gas
development activities occurring in association with Underground
Sources of Drinking Water, and not [fracturing] projects in
other unconventional gas development activities or conventional
formations," company spokeswoman Diana Gabriel said in a written
statement to E&E. "Halliburton is firmly committed to full
compliance with the MOA and has, in fact, voluntarily gone
further to cease the use of diesel in its liquid gel
concentrates regardless of the type of [fracturing] job in which
they are used."
But BJ Services' admission that it may have violated the
agreement raises the question of whether it injected diesel into
drinking water. The agreement covers only fracturing in coalbed
methane wells in underground sources of drinking water.
BJ Services didn't respond by press time to E&E's request for
comment, but told the Houston Chronicle it had reported
the incidents to the EPA on its own.
Jeff Smith, chief financial officer of BJ Services, told the
newspaper some of the company's units "inadvertently performed a
few jobs" with diesel, with the last one occurring in 2007.
"The company self-reported the incidents to the EPA and took
measures to stop it from happening in the future. The company's
technology center in Tomball also figured out a way to replace
diesel in frac jobs with mineral oil-based products instead, to
improve the ecological footprint of the fracking fluids," Smith
told the Chronicle, which published his statement in a
blog.
Agreement key to regulatory exemption
The agreement not to use diesel was aimed at calming fears
about groundwater contamination when Congress decided to exempt
fracturing from federal drinking water laws in the 2005 energy
bill. The agreement was signed by Halliburton, BJ Services and
Schlumberger, which then did nearly all the fracturing work in
the United States. It included no enforcement penalties.
Congressional Republicans were responding to industry
requests to head off potential federal regulation and leave it
to the states. But Democrats consistently complained that their
efforts would allow oil companies to inject diesel into drinking
water. So in the final version of the bill, fracturing was
exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act unless diesel was
used.
At the time, industry representatives said use of diesel was
rare in any type of fracturing and specifically not used near
drinking water sources.
"Diesel itself had been used so rarely and so specifically in
formations that are not classified as drinking water sources,
and there has been no evidence of any contamination of water
because of diesel or its use in fracturing fluids," Bill
Whitsitt of the Domestic Petroleum Council said in 2004.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Denver), vice chairwoman of Waxman's
committee, has introduced legislation (H.R.
2766 (pdf)) that would require drilling companies to
disclose the chemicals used in their fracturing fluids under the
Safe Drinking Water Act. She has said she is not trying to ban
the practice, but her proposal has run into staunch opposition
from the industry, which maintains that the drilling practice is
safe and fairly regulated by the states. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.)
has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
Last year, Congress ordered EPA to study the impact of
fracturing on drinking water, which would follow on a 2004 EPA
study that found no risk of contamination of drinking water from
fracturing in coalbed methane wells. The report, though, did
cite the use of diesel in fracturing as a concern.
Yesterday, Waxman and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced
their investigation by sending letters to eight oil-field
services firms seeking data and documents on the types and
quantities of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids, the
proximity of injections to underground drinking water sources,
questions about the technique's environmental and health
impacts, and the chemical contents of wastewater produced by
fracturing operations.
"Hydraulic fracturing could help us unlock vast domestic
natural gas reserves once thought unattainable, strengthening
America's energy independence and reducing carbon emissions,"
Waxman said in a statement. "As we use this technology in more
parts of the country on a much larger scale, we must ensure that
we are not creating new environmental and public health
problems."
But some in the industry see political maneuvering behind
Waxman's investigation and its timing, since the EPA is already
doing a study.
"While an inquisition targeting chemicals is a hell of a lot
sexier than a fact-based dialogue on pathways of exposure, it
unfortunately misses the point," said Chris Tucker of the
industry group Energy in Depth.
Copyright 2010 E&E Publishing. All Rights
Reserved.
|
|
Drillers
admit dumping water in national forest
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Associated Press
Two
men from a Kansas oil-drilling firm pleaded guilty today to
illegally dumping 200,000 gallons of brine water down an abandoned
well in Pennsylvania's only national forest.
The
pollution by Swamp Angel LLC in the Allegheny National Forest could
contaminate groundwater and streams, but authorities have not linked
any water damage conclusively to the pollution, acting U.S. Attorney
Robert Cessar said.
The
pleas before a federal judge in Erie should send a signal to oil and
gas drillers to properly dispose of brine, a saltwater byproduct of
the drilling process that sometimes also contains metals, Mr. Cessar
said.
"These
guys were drilling oil wells, produced this brine water and decided
they weren't going to pay for its disposal," Mr. Cessar said. "This
is the result of them getting caught. That's the case in a
nutshell."
The
Wichita-based company's part-owner, 66-year-old Michael Evans, of La
Quinta, Calif., and the company's site supervisor, 54-year-old John
Morgan, of Warren County each pleaded guilty to felony violations of
the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Under
the law, brine must either be hauled away and treated at a sewage
treatment plant or dumped into an abandoned well, provided permits
are obtained. Permits weren't obtained in this case, but are
required to ensure measures are taken so the water won't leach into
the ground and pollute groundwater and nearby streams, Mr. Cessar
said.
Cessar
said he didn't know how much it would have cost Swamp Angel to have
disposed of the water properly.
As
part of today's plea agreements, the company is also paying about
$20,000 to reimburse the U.S. Forest Service for the unrelated clean
up of some metal drums and other materials left behind by drilling,
Mr. Cessar said.
The
company also will hire an independent contractor to audit its work,
come up with a waste-disposal plan and develop an orientation for
employees on environmental matters, Cessar said.
Defense attorney Matthew Wolford, who represents Mr. Morgan,
declined to comment. Philip Friedman, who represents Mr. Evans, did
not immediately return a call for comment.
Mr.
Cessar said the brine was dumped in a section of the forest in
McKean County from April 2007 through January 2008.
The two men each face up to three years in prison and
$250,000 in fines when they're sentenced June 24.
|
|
259 Abandoned Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Wells Plugged in 2009
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept.
of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- 2/4/2010
CONTACT:
Tom Rathbun, DEP 717-787-1323
DEP:
259 Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Plugged in 2009
Protects Public Health and Safety Repairs Damage from Past
Unregulated Drilling
HARRISBURG -- Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger today
reported the department last year managed 14 project sites in nine
counties that successfully plugged 259 abandoned oil and gas wells.
That
work, he said, is important not only to protect the environment, but
the public’s safety, as well.
“Abandoned wells create passageways for pollution to enter and
contaminate drinking water. They also can allow natural gas to enter
water supplies or build up in a home, which can create a dangerous
enclosed space,” Hanger said. “Modern regulations require that wells
be cased properly during use and sealed once they are taken out of
service, but unfortunately, there are thousands of wells that were
simply abandoned before people understood the dangers.”
The 259
wells addressed in 2009 are located in the western and north-central
regions of the state, and were discovered by department inspectors
and local citizens who work collaboratively to locate and map wells
in the region.
Many of
the wells were leaking oil, acid mine drainage or natural gas.
Abandoned wells can be found in many settings from residential
backyards to remote hillsides. Well-plugging costs can vary
depending on terrain and the age and depth of the well. In most
cases, once DEP receives landowner permission, work crews will clear
a site and clean or remove the old well. After any old well casings
are removed and the well bore is clear, the well is filled with
grout or cement and other fill materials.
Pennsylvania has the highest number of abandoned wells in the
Appalachian region and is one of the top five states nationally. The
department has documented more than 8,600 wells throughout the state
that were abandoned prior to passage of modern oil and gas drilling
regulations.
Since
the first commercial oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859,
DEP estimates as many as 350,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled
in the state, with many of those wells having been abandoned without
proper plugging.
Funding
for Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Orphan Well Plugging Program comes
from surcharges on well-drilling permits issued in Pennsylvania and
from the Growing Greener program.
Media
contact: Tom Rathbun, 717-787-1323
Editor’s Note: Below is a list, by county, of the 14 abandoned well
plugging contracts awarded in 2009:
Allegheny County
Tarentum Borough: Stray Gas Migration Project -- $9,546. Contractor:
Carlucci Construction Co. Inc., Cheswick, Allegheny County.
Erie
County
Erie, Girard Borough, Millcreek and Northeast townships: 10 wells --
$93,564.81. Contractor: S&T Service and Supply Inc., Pleasantville,
Venango County.
Fayette
and Washington counties
Fallowfield Township and Belle Vernon: 3 wells -- $161,512.50.
Contractor: Hydrocarbon Well Services Inc., Buckhannon, W.Va.
Forest County
Howe Township: 4 wells -- $37,892. Contractor: S&T Service and
Supply Inc., Pleasantville, Venango County.
McKean
County
Bradford Township: 23 wells -- $103,678. Contractor: Phillips and
Dart Oil Field Services Inc., Gifford, McKean County.
Eldred
Township: 39 wells -- $351,970. Contractor: James W. Day
Contracting, Bolivar, N.Y.
Kane: 7
wells -- $49,220. Contractor: Phillips and Dart Oil Field Services
Inc., Gifford, McKean County.
Keating
and Otto townships: 46 wells -- $243,692. Contractor: James W. Day
Contracting, Bolivar, N.Y.
Otto
Township: 28 wells -- $228,216.40. Contractor: ALCO Well Services
Inc., Bradford, McKean County.
Tioga
County
Delmar Township: 1 well -- $117,000. Contractor: Hydrocarbon Well
Services Inc., Buckhannon, W.Va.
Venango
County
Cherry Tree and Oil Creek townships: 29 wells -- $256,504.
Contractor: S&T Service and Supply Inc., Pleasantville, Venango
County.
Cornplanter Township: 64 wells -- $554,776.26. Contractor: S&T
Service and Supply Inc., Pleasantville, Venango County.
Warren
County
Warren: 4 wells -- $19,760. Contractor: Hemlock Oil and Gas Co.
Inc., Bradford, McKean County
Westmoreland County
Upper Burrell Township: 1 well -- $91,439. Contractor: Hydrocarbon
Well Services Inc., Buckhannon
|
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 01/28/2010
CONTACT: Tom Rathbun, DEP 717-787-1323
Governor Rendell:
PA Taking Aggressive Action to Protect Public, Environment as
Marcellus Shale Drilling Operations Expands
Directs DEP to Hire 68 Additional Staff to Bolster
Inspections, Environmental Compliance New Regulations
Planned to Improve Well Safety Standards
HARRISBURG -- In order to protect Pennsylvania’s residents and
environment from the impact of increased natural gas exploration
across the state, Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today
that the commonwealth is strengthening its enforcement
capabilities.At the Governor’s direction, the Department of
Environmental Protection will begin hiring 68 new personnel who
will make sure that drilling companies obey state laws and act
responsibly to protect water supplies. DEP also will strengthen
oil and gas regulations to improve well construction standards.
These critical upgrades are designed to prevent gas leaks that
can pose risks to the public and water quality.
“Interest in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation is
greater than ever before and as natural gas prices continue to
rise, that interest will only increase,” said Governor Rendell.
“In fact, the industry has told us that they expect to apply for
5,200 permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale this year --
nearly three times the number of permits we issued in all of
2009. Given these conditions, an extraction tax is gaining
widespread support across our state and I will again ask the
General Assembly to enact such a levy. It is fair and affordable
to drillers. They know it, and so do members of the House of
Representatives who voted for it last year.
“The actions I am announcing today, however, are about
decisive, progressive protections for the people of
Pennsylvania. We were able to hire 37 additional inspectors and
permitting staff in 2009, but the industry’s projected growth in
2010 means that we need additional inspectors to ensure oil and
gas companies follow environmental laws and regulations. As I’ve
said all along, we want to encourage the development of this
resource because it’s a tremendous economic opportunity for the
state, but we will not allow that to happen at the expense of
our environment.”
DEP performed 14,544 drilling site inspections in 2009 and
took 678 enforcement actions against drillers for violations.
The 68 additional personnel will be funded entirely from
money generated by new, higher permitting fees that were
instituted in 2009—the first such increase since 1984. The new
fees were put in place with bipartisan support from the General
Assembly, industry and environmental organizations.
The Governor noted that given the need for these additional
health and safety personnel and the dedicated funding source
that is independent of the state’s General Fund, these new hires
are exemptions to the general hiring freeze he instituted last
year.
DEP’s work to amend Pennsylvania’s oil and gas regulations
will strengthen well construction standards and define a
drilling company’s responsibility for responding to gas
migration issues, such as when gas escapes a well or rock
formation and seeps into homes or water wells. Specifically, he
said the new regulations will:
• Require the casings of Marcellus Shale and other
high-pressure wells to be tested and constructed with specific,
oilfield-grade cement;
• Clarify the drilling industry’s responsibility to restore or
replace water supplies affected by drilling;
• Establish procedures for operators to identify and correct gas
migration problems without waiting for direction from DEP;
• Require drilling operators to notify DEP and local emergency
responders immediately of gas migration problems;
• Require well operators to inspect every existing well
quarterly to ensure each well is structurally sound, and report
the results of those inspections to DEP annually; and
• Require well operators to notify DEP immediately if problems
such as over-pressurized wells and defective casings are found
during inspections.
“These new draft regulations, which were developed through
open meetings with experts in the industry, are designed to give
Pennsylvanians peace of mind by bringing our state’s
requirements up to par with other major gas producing states or,
as in the case of the well casing requirements, to a level that
is even more rigorous,” said Governor Rendell.
The new regulations will be offered for public comment on
Jan. 29 before going through DEP’s formal rulemaking process.
Interest in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation has been
increasing. One third of the more than 6,200 oil and natural gas
drilling permits DEP issued in 2009 were for drilling in the
Marcellus Shale. By comparison, only four of the more than 6,000
permits issued in 2005 were for the Marcellus formation.
|
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Fight against state tax on gas extraction gets expensive
Sunday,
January 17, 2010
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In
the last two years, energy companies with a stake in Pennsylvania's
Marcellus shale have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying
and making campaign contributions to legislators, congressmen and
the governor, partly in hopes of postponing a tax on the extraction
of natural gas.
They
also are laying the groundwork for future political battles. Range
Resources Energy Independence PAC, for example, donated $5,000 each
to Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett and to Democratic
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, both gubernatorial
candidates, in the waning months of 2009.
Range Resources, with drilling rights to more than 1.4 million
acres, is one of the biggest natural gas players in Pennsylvania,
and is one of the most frequent campaign contributors as well. The
company's political arm gave to state Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford
Woods; Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery; Sen. Joe Scarnati,
R-Jefferson; Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre; and Auditor General Jack
Wagner, among others, in 2009. In turn, the biggest donors to the
Range PAC are its top executives, such as Charles Blackburn (board
of directors), John Pinkerton (CEO), Rodney Waller (chief of
compliance) and Roger Manny (executive vice president).
Why
all the cash? Energy companies view the Marcellus shale field, much
of which is in Pennsylvania, as the next big natural gas bonanza,
and have spent the past two years positioning themselves for the day
when natural gas prices increase, making it a more profitable
enterprise.
And
the enterprise will remain more profitable so long as the
Legislature and the governor are unable, or unwilling, to impose a
tax on the extraction of gas.
The
so-called "severance tax" was in the news again last week, as Gov.
Ed Rendell announced the leasing of 32,000 acres of state forest
land for drilling purposes, netting the state's general fund $128
million. Five companies -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City,
Exco Resources of Dallas, Seneca Resources Corp. of Houston,
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of Houston, and Penn Virginia Corp. of
Radnor, Pa. -- submitted the highest bids.
After announcing the lease agreement, Mr. Rendell said he'd try
again, in his 2010-11 budget proposal, to impose a severance tax,
something in place in 28 other states. "It's hard for the industry
to cry poor mouth. Exxon just paid a high price to buy a [natural]
gas company," he said.
He
said on Friday that an extraction tax could raise $100 million a
year for the state.
Energy companies want to postpone or fight off the tax, citing a
glut of natural gas in storage (which depresses prices), and the
fact that companies already must pay an up-front lease price, as
well as continued royalties, to landowners.
But
the companies' concerns go beyond the extraction tax.
"It's all about education," said Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for
Range Resources. "While the industry has been in Pennsylvania for
150 years, modern natural gas development is very new. ... At the
end of the day, we have to do all that we can to ensure that [we]
maximize this opportunity for the entire commonwealth, [and] take
the steps to support the responsible growth of this industry."
The
PAC for Chesapeake Energy Corp. -- which is the largest gas lessee
in Pennsylvania -- also appears frequently in the Department of
State's campaign finances records. It has contributed to Rep. Marc
Gergely, D-White Oak; Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana; Mr. Scarnati, Mr.
Corman, Mr. Onorato and Mr. Corbett, among others.
Other players:
•
Anadarko, one of last week's winning bidders, made several
contributions in 2008, including a $500 contribution to Sen. John
Wozniak, D-Johnstown.
•
UGI PAC is the political arm of UGI Corp., an oil and gas firm out
of Reading, Pa. The PAC has contributed to House Speaker Keith
McCall, D-Carbon; Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong; Rep. Joe Preston,
D-East Liberty; Mr. Turzai and many more.
•
Exco Resources (another of last week's winning bidders) committed
$500 to Sen. Don White, R-Indiana; $500 to Mr. Corman, and $500 to
Mr. Scarnati, among several others.
•
Cabot Oil & Gas is the third-largest drilling lease-holder in the
state, behind Range and Chesapeake. Cabot and its executives have
given to Mr. Scarnati.
•
Spectra Energy, a Houston company with a presence in Washington
County, has given $1,500 each to the Democratic state senate
campaign committee and its Republican counterpart, and the same
amount to the House Democrats' and House Republicans' campaigns.
•
Cecil Township's CNX Gas, a division of Consol Energy, leases about
40,000 acres. Its political action group -- which is combined with
Consol's, called the Consol Energy Inc. & CNX Gas Corp. PAC -- has
given $2,500 to Mr. White, $1,000 to Mr. Corbett, $1,000 to Mr.
Rendell, $1,000 to Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, and thousands more since
2008.
Direct campaign contributions are separate from lobbying expenses,
which the state also tracks. Range, for example, reported spending
$70,600 in "direct communications" with lawmakers in the third
quarter of 2009, $65,000 in the second quarter, and $90,000 in the
January through March quarter. (Fourth-quarter lobbying expenditures
haven't been filed yet.)
Chesapeake Appalachia spent $76,000 in the third quarter of 2009,
$79,000 in the second quarter and $48,000 in the first.
Lobbying and umbrella trade groups -- such as the Independent Oil &
Gas Association, the National Fuel and Gas Association -- also make
direct campaign contributions.
Individually,
none of the energy and gas companies give enough to rank among the
top contributors in the state, and collectively, they are still well
short of the largest donors, such as PACE, the Pennsylvania State
Education Association's political arm.
|
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1/7/2010
CONTACT: Helen Humphreys 412-442-4183
PITTSBURGH -- The Department of
Environmental Protection today announced that it has fined
Atlas Resources, LLC $85,000 for violations of the Oil and
Gas Act, the Clean Streams Law; and the Solid Waste
Management Act at 13 well sites in Fayette, Washington, and
Greene counties.
“Development of Pennsylvania’s natural gas
resource is important to the state’s economy. However, that
development need not -- and will not -- come at the expense
of our environment,” said Southwest Regional Director George
Jugovic Jr. “DEP will ensure that Pennsylvania’s gas
resources are developed in an environmentally sound manner,
consistent with the law.”
The violations, which occurred between Dec.
8, 2008, and July 31, 2009, fall into three categories:
• Atlas failed to implement and maintain
erosion and sedimentation control measures to prevent
off-site discharges of silt-laden runoff onto the ground at
six well sites;
• Atlas failed to restore two well sites by establishing the
appropriate perennial vegetative cover within nine months of
completion of drilling; and
• Atlas
discharged residual and industrial waste, including diesel
fuel and production fluids, onto the ground at seven of the
13 well sites.
For more information, visit
www.depweb.state.pa.us or call 412.442.4000.
Editor’s Note: Following are the names,
permit numbers and host municipalities of the wells at which
the violations occurred.
• Burchianti 30, Permit No. 37-059-24476-00,
Monongahela Township, Greene County
• Burchianti 41, Permit No. 37-059-24616-00, Monongahela
Township, Greene County
• Groves 8, Permit No. 37-059-25160, Cumberland Township,
Greene County
• Willis 18, Permit No. 37-059-24708, Cumberland Township,
Greene County
• Carter 2, Permit No. 37-059-24111-00, Cumberland Township,
Greene County
• Penarnik 8, Permit No. 37-059-24555-00, Cumberland
Township, Greene County
• Eckerd 1, Permit No. 37-125-23779-00, Deemston Borough,
Washington County
• Henderson 7, Permit No. 37-051-24077-00, Jefferson
Township, Fayette County
• Redman 30, Permit No. 37-051-24231-00, Washington
Township, Fayette County
• Thompson 32, Permit No. 37-051-23746, Nicholson Township,
Fayette County
• Thompson 33, Permit No. 37-051-23747, Nicholson Township,
Fayette County
• Dancho-Brown 4, Permit No. 37-051-24152, Redstone
Township, Fayette County,
• Kovach 34, Permit No. 37-051-24225, German Township,
Fayette County.
|
|
Address letters to:
Southwest Regional Office
Regional Manager, Water Management
400 Waterfront Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4745
Pennsylvania Bulletin Announcements
APPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES)
PERMITS AND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT (WQM) PERMITSTHE CLEAN
STREAMS LAW AND THE FEDERAL CLEAN WATER ACT
[40 Pa.B. 33]
[Saturday, January 2, 2010]
Southwest Regional
Office: Regional Manager, Water Management, 400 Waterfront Drive,
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4745; 412-442-4000.
PA0253723-A1,
Industrial Waste, SIC 4953, Shallenberger Construction, Inc.,
2611 Memorial Boulevard, Connellsville, PA 15425. This application
is for amendment of an NPDES permit to discharge treated process
water from the Ronco Treatment Facility in Masontown Borough,
Fayette County.
The following effluent
limitations are proposed for discharge to the receiving waters, the
Monongahela River, classified as a warm water fishery with existing
and/or potential uses for aquatic life, water supply, and
recreation. The first existing/proposed downstream potable water
supply is Carmichaels Municipal Water Authority, located at
Carmichaels, 4.5 miles below the discharge point.
Outfall 001: new
discharge, design flow of 0.5 mgd.
| |
Mass
(lbs/day) |
Concentration (mg/l) |
| |
Average |
Maximum |
Average |
Maximum |
Instantaneous |
| Parameter |
Monthly |
Daily |
Monthly |
Daily |
Maximum |
| Flow (MGD)
|
|
|
|
0.5 |
| Iron
|
|
|
3.5 |
|
7.0 |
| Oil and
Grease |
|
|
15 |
|
30 |
| Total
Suspended Solids |
|
|
30 |
|
60 |
| Acidity
|
|
|
Monitor Only
|
| Alkalinity
|
|
|
Greater than
Acidity |
| Barium
|
|
|
14.4 |
28.0 |
| Chlorides
|
|
|
Monitor and
Report |
| Total
Dissolved Solids |
|
|
500 |
750 |
| Osmotic
Pressure (mOs/kg) |
|
|
1,632 |
2,546 |
| Sulfates
|
|
|
|
250 |
| BOD5
|
|
|
53 |
|
163 |
| Copper
|
|
|
0.757 |
0.865 |
| Zinc
|
|
|
0.420 |
0.497 |
| Acetone
|
|
|
7.97 |
30.2 |
|
Acetophenone |
|
|
0.0562 |
0.114 |
| 2-Butanone
|
|
|
1.85 |
4.81 |
| o-Cresol
|
|
|
0.561 |
1.92 |
| p-Cresol
|
|
|
0.205 |
0.698 |
| Phenol
|
|
|
1.08 |
3.65 |
| Pyridine
|
|
|
0.182 |
0.370 |
|
2,4,6-Trichlorophenol |
|
|
0.106 |
0.155 |
| Strontium
|
|
|
Monitor and
Report |
| pH
|
not less
than 6.0 nor greater than 9.0 S.U. |
Other Conditions: Special
conditions concerning priority pollutant sampling,
residual/hazardous waste disposal, storm water, oil-bearing
wastewaters, chemical additives, and residual waste receipt
monitoring.
The EPA waiver is not
in effect.
PA0254185,
Industrial Waste, SIC 1389, Reserved Environmental Services, LLC,
424 Ironwood Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. This application is for
issuance of an NPDES permit to discharge treated process water and
storm water from the Reserved Environmental Services Industrial
Wastewater Treatment Plant in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland
County.
The following effluent
limitations are proposed for discharge to the receiving waters,
Sewickley Creek and Belson Run, classified as a warm water fisheries
with existing and/or potential uses for aquatic life, water supply,
and recreation. The first existing/proposed downstream potable water
supply (PWS) is the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County -
McKeesport Plant, located at McKeesport, 33 miles below the
discharge point.
Outfall 001: new
discharge, design flow of 1.0 mgd.
| |
Mass
(lbs/day) |
Concentration (mg/l) |
| |
Average |
Maximum |
Average |
Maximum |
Instantaneous |
| Parameter |
Monthly |
Daily |
Monthly |
Daily |
Maximum |
| Flow (MGD)
|
Monitor and
Report |
| BOD5
|
442 |
1360 |
53.0 |
163 |
| Total
Suspended Solids |
250 |
500 |
30 |
60 |
| Oil and
Grease |
125 |
250 |
15 |
30 |
| Aluminum
|
6.26 |
12.52 |
0.75 |
1.50 |
| Antimony
|
0.15 |
0.30 |
0.018 |
0.036 |
| Barium
|
66.2 |
132 |
7.93 |
15.86 |
| Boron
|
44.1 |
88.3 |
5.29 |
10.58 |
| Copper
|
0.242 |
0.484 |
0.029 |
0.058 |
| Iron, Total
|
12.5 |
25.0 |
1.5 |
3.0 |
| Iron,
Dissolved |
8.35 |
16.7 |
1.00 |
2.00 |
| Manganese
|
8.35 |
16.7 |
1.00 |
2.00 |
| Strontium
|
83.5 |
167 |
10 |
20 |
| Zinc
|
2.11 |
4.22 |
0.253 |
0.506 |
| Benzene
|
0.008 |
0.017 |
0.001 |
0.002 |
|
Ethylbenzene |
Monitor and
Report |
Monitor and
Report |
| Toluene
|
Monitor and
Report |
Monitor and
Report |
| Xylenes
|
Monitor and
Report |
Monitor and
Report |
| Total BTEX
|
0.835 |
1.67 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
| Phenols
|
Not
Detectable |
Not
Detectable |
| Acetone
|
66.5 |
252 |
7.97 |
30.2 |
|
Acetophenone |
0.469 |
0.951 |
0.0562 |
0.114 |
| 2-Butanone
|
15.4 |
40.1 |
1.85 |
4.81 |
| o-Cresol
|
4.68 |
16.0 |
0.561 |
1.92 |
| p-Cresol
|
1.71 |
5.83 |
0.205 |
0.698 |
|
Phenanthrene |
0.025 |
0.050 |
0.003 |
0.006 |
| Pyridine
|
1.52 |
3.09 |
0.182 |
0.370 |
| 2, 4,
6-Trichlorphenol |
0.885 |
1.29 |
0.106 |
0.155 |
| Osmotic
Pressure (mOs/kg) |
|
|
165 |
330 |
| Total
Dissolved Solids |
4173 |
6259 |
500 |
750 |
| Sulfate
|
|
2086 |
|
250 |
| Chloride
|
|
2086 |
|
250 |
| Bromide
|
Monitor and
Report |
Monitor and
Report |
| Acidity
|
Monitor and
Report |
Less than
Alkalinity |
| Alkalinity
|
Monitor and
Report |
Monitor and
Report |
| Gross Alpha
(pCi/L) |
|
|
Monitor and
Report |
| Radium
226/228 (pCi/L) |
Monitor and
Report |
Monitor and
Report |
| pH
|
not less than 6.0 nor
greater than 9.0 S.U.
|
Other Conditions: Special
conditions concerning priority pollutant sampling,
residual/hazardous waste disposal, storm water, oil-bearing
wastewaters, chemical additives, and residual waste receipt
reporting.
The EPA waiver is not in
effect.
Outfall 002: new
discharge of storm water.
| |
Mass
(lbs/day) |
Concentration (mg/l) |
| |
Average |
Maximum |
Average |
Maximum |
Instantaneous |
| Parameter |
Monthly |
Daily |
Monthly |
Daily |
Maximum |
Discharge from this
outfall shall consist solely of uncontaminated storm
water runoff.
|
Outfall 003: new
discharge of storm water.
| |
Mass
(lbs/day) |
Concentration (mg/l) |
| |
Average |
Maximum |
Average |
Maximum |
Instantaneous |
| Parameter |
Monthly |
Daily |
Monthly |
Daily |
Maximum |
Discharge from this
outfall shall consist solely of uncontaminated storm
water runoff.
|
Source:
http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol40/40-1/18.html
|
|
Department of Environmental Protection Calls for Prohibition on
Drilling in the New York City Watershed
Report finds gas drilling poses unacceptable risks to
the unfiltered drinking water supply for nine million New Yorkers
Dec. 23, 2009 -
Natural gas drilling and exploration are incompatible with the
operation of New York City’s unfiltered water supply system and pose
unacceptable risks for more than nine million New Yorkers in the
City and State. Drilling in the watershed requires invasive
industrialization and creates a substantial risk of chemical
contamination, and infrastructure damage, according to the Final
Impact Assessment Report prepared for the New York City Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP). After reviewing the report, DEP
has called for a prohibition on any drilling in the New York City
watershed, located upstate.
“Based on the
latest science and available technology, as well as the data and
limited analysis presented by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC), high-volume hydrofracking and
horizontal drilling pose unacceptable threats to the unfiltered
fresh water supply of nine million New Yorkers,” said Acting DEP
Commissioner Steven W. Lawitts. “New York City has invested $1.5
billion to protect the watershed and prevent degradation of the
water supply, and to maintain its Filtration Avoidance Determination
(FAD). The known and unknown impacts associated with drilling
simply cannot be justified.”
Since 1997, the
City has been granted a Filtration Avoidance Determination by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This designation
recognizes the high quality of New York City’s West of Hudson water
supply. Since that time, the City has spent or committed
approximately $1.5 billion to protect these pristine waters. Gas
drilling in its current form, is inconsistent with ensuring both the
protection of these source waters and the continuation of the FAD.
The inherent environmental impacts and risks of gas drilling could
result in the need to construct a filtration plant at a minimum cost
of $10 billion, which would translate into a 30 percent increase in
water rates.
In addition, in
comments submitted yesterday, the City called on DEC to rescind the
draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS)
that was released on September 30, 2009 because it does not
adequately address the risks of drilling in the New York City
watershed, which supplies drinking water for nine million New
Yorkers.
DEP Deputy Commissioner Paul Rush today briefed the New York City
Water Board on the Report, which the City initiated in fall 2008
when DEC commenced its dSGEIS addressing horizontal drilling and
high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation.
The Marcellus Shale formation runs through parts of Virginia, West
Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. In New York State alone
it extends for approximately 18,700 square miles, including under
the City’s entire 1,585 mile West of Hudson watershed.
As part of their
review, DEP’s consulting team, Hazen and Sawyer/Leggette, Brashears
and Graham, studied the unique hydrological and geological
conditions of the watershed, the technology and chemicals necessary
to conduct hydrofracking, the experience of other jurisdictions that
currently allow hydrofracking, and the scientific literature, and
found the following risks:
Industrialization:
Gas drilling brings with it an industrial infrastructure with
inherent environmental risks: as many as 3,000 to 6,000 wells would
result in millions of truck trips, thousands of acres of site
clearing and grading, millions of tons of fracking chemicals, and
millions of tons of waste from produced water, all of which can
contaminate water.
Chemical Contamination:
The chemicals used as part of the process are injected into
subsurface rock formations and can travel along underground fissures
to ground water and ultimately streams that feed reservoirs;
extensive subsurface fracture systems and known “brittle” geological
structures exist that commonly extend over a mile in length, and as
far as seven miles in the vicinity of NYC infrastructure. In
addition, the resulting wastewater – potentially one billion gallons
per year – can also contaminate water supplies. Currently, there
is no way to locally treat this wastewater.
Infrastructure Damage:
High-volume hydraulic fracking could damage the City’s water supply
infrastructure; of greatest concern are our tunnels which are
located both inside and outside the New York City watershed.
Naturally occurring fracture systems have been demonstrated to
transmit fluid and pressure, as evidenced by saline water and
methane seeps encountered at grade and in shallow formations near
the City’s infrastructure during and since its construction.
In addition to
explaining the impacts and risks identified in the Report, the City
states in its comments that the dSGEIS does not meet the
requirements of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law
because it does not include critical and necessary analyses,
including: cumulative impacts of the industrialization necessary
for drilling, waste disposal, air quality, pipeline construction,
and ancillary infrastructure. The document does not sufficiently
address public health concerns. Also, a separate impact assessment
on public health is needed given the hazardous chemicals that are
proposed for use, the potential radioactivity of the waste products,
and the rate and scale of the drilling and related activities. The
City has previously requested that the New York State Department of
Health undertake such a study.
Following are the
City’s comments on the dSGEIS, the cover letter, and Final Impact
Assessment Report. In addition, the following presentation was made
by Deputy Commissioner Paul Rush at a Water Board meeting on
December 23.
NYCDEP's
comments on the dSGEIS (PDF)
Cover
letter for comments on the dSGEIS (PDF)
Final
Impact Assessment Report (PDF)
NYC
Water Board Presentation 12/23/2009 (PDF)
[Story
link] |
The
Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009
On December 3, 2009,
Representative Jim Moran and Senator John Kerry introduced
The Endocrine Disruption
Prevention Act of 2009 to authorize an ambitious
research program at the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS). But keep in mind that the bill is not
passed yet and they need many more cosponsors in order to get
the bill passed.
According to Senator Kerry,
“We need facts driven by science, not politics, ideology, or
powerful interests, when it comes to understanding the risks
associated with chemicals - especially where there's real
concern about harmful developmental disorders in children. The
better we understand these chemicals, the better equipped we’ll
be to protect kids and the public.”
This research program will
build upon the
results of pioneering extra-mural and intramural research that
NIEHS has already
been carrying out for decades about endocrine disrupting
chemicals (EDCs) on campuses across the country.
The goal of the program is to
develop reliable and reproducible methods to identify chemicals
that can disrupt the human endocrine system. This bill will
facilitate the development of comprehensive multi-system assays
to identify EDCs. It will take a disease based perspective, for
example, and look at the relationship between EDCs and diabetes,
obesity, behavioral and reproductive disorders, and some
cancers, to mention a few.
This program will draw on the
breadth and depth of scientific expertise at NIEHS to:
· enhance
the EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program,
· contribute
to efforts to reform and strengthen the Toxic Substances Control
Act, and
· provide
the evidence needed for regulatory agencies to accomplish their
mission of protecting public health.
You can help
Representative Moran and Senator Kerry get the bill passed by
going to
www.endocrinedisruption.com/endocrine.edlaw.php for a copy
of the bill and a fact sheet.
Tell
your members of Congress to cosponsor the bill, or add your
organization’s name to the growing list of NGOs,
scientists, and medical and public health professionals who
support this effort (just click on ‘How you can help’ on the
website).
Please help us
spread the word by forwarding this email to everyone you
communicate with (listserves, facebook, twitter, myspace,
friends and family, etc.).
Thank you,
TEDX, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange
Theo Colborn, President
Carol Kwiatkowski, Executive Director
|
|
Dish Texas results released
Independent analysis finds ties between air quality, health issues
Thursday, December 17, 2009
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer
DISH
TEXAS — Sixty-one percent of the health problems reported by
residents in a survey are associated with the toxic air emissions
detected here, according to an independent analysis released
Thursday. Wilma Subra, a chemist and recipient of a 1999 MacArthur
Fellows Program “genius” grant, compiled and analyzed the
information gathered in the survey from 31 Dish-area residents who
reported some type of health problem in October and who thought
those problems might be related to the air quality. Subra tallied up
the reported frequency of odor events — which ranged from one to two
times per day to 24 days per month — and the types of symptoms.
The
15-page report, prepared by the nationwide nonprofit group
Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project and its Texas chapter,
includes a breakdown of the eight participants who were smokers and
the four who had a risk of occupational exposure. Although only one
resident reported not having access to a doctor and nearly all
reported their general health as good, 39 percent reported frequent
illnesses. The report found that the most prevalent illnesses could
be connected to those toxic emissions that were found above the
state’s screening levels — from nasal irritation and nausea caused
by benzene and xylene to vision impairment, muscle pain and weakness
caused by sulfides.
Subra did not consider many of the dozens of chemicals found or
their cumulative effects. Instead, she focused solely on the 16
chemicals detected at levels beyond the state’s screening limits.
“They aren’t just a little over the limits,” Subra said. “They’re a
lot over the limits.”
Celina Romero, an environmental attorney speaking on behalf of the
Texas Pipeline Association, said the industry, too, is concerned
about the high levels of emissions detected. “We don’t want that
pollutant [benzene] to be generated by our activities,” Romero said.
The
association recently wrote a letter to Gov. Rick Perry and
legislative leaders, pledging to fund a study of the area with all
stakeholders involved. Dish Mayor Calvin Tillman said he would not
participate in a study funded by the association, citing the
community’s distrust of the industry. In May, an industry-funded air
quality study in Dish used a mobile monitoring unit to detect leaks
and reported none. After reviewing Subra’s study, Tillman said he
was surprised at the frequency residents reported smelling gas
odors. “I don’t get that many complaints,” Tillman said. “They only
call me when it gets really bad.” He repeated his call for immediate
action. “If we keep waiting, we’ll see the tangible evidence; we’ll
see the leukemia,” Tillman said. “That’s not gonna happen with me,
not as long as I’m breathing.”
Megan’s story
Former Dish resident Megan Collins completed the survey. Collins
moved to Dish in 2005. She said her health began to deteriorate in
2006, particularly after giving birth. She had respiratory problems,
including terrible sinus infections, she said. Soon her balance was
affected. Her doctor, an ear-nose-and-throat specialist, was baffled
by the polyps that grew in her nose, she said. “In an instant, they
would swell and I couldn’t breathe through my nose,” Collins said.
For a time, she was treated with nasal sprays, but eventually she
had surgery to have the polyps removed.
The
problems continued, she said, and she was told to see a neurologist,
but she wouldn’t go at first. After she woke in the night, sweaty
and nauseous, and blacked out in the bathroom, she made an
appointment. She went through a full battery of tests that ruled out
all sorts of things, including multiple sclerosis. She went through
another battery of tests after suffering a small stroke at work. Her
doctors began to tell her there was nothing they could do for her,
and ordered physical therapy to stem some of the balance loss and
deal with the rigidity developing in her legs.
Meanwhile, her body never recovered from her second pregnancy,
Collins said. She bled heavily for a year after her baby was born.
At first, she and her doctor tried hormones and endometrial
ablation, but the bleeding continued. At age 30, she had a
hysterectomy. Collins moved back to Fort Worth to be closer to
friends and family. She had begun to improve after the move, racking
up a month of good balance scores at the physical therapist.
After Dish’s air quality study was reported in the news, Collins
said she began to realize her problems could be connected to carbon
disulfide. Then a new gas well was drilled near her home in Fort
Worth. After fracking began, she relapsed. “I woke up the day before
Thanksgiving staggering around the house,” Collins said. “My balance
was gone again.”
Bigger than Dish
Don
Young, a member of the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project and
a Fort Worth activist, said that people outside of Dish are
reporting the same kinds of health concerns to him. “We probably
already have a lot of Megans out there,” Young said. “We all have
gas wells and pipelines and production facilities nearby.” Too many
public officials and civic groups haven’t grasped the depth of the
problem, he said. “I told them five years ago and they are still
saying ‘wait,’” said Young, who launched a Web site, Fort Worth
Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Ordinance, in 2005, saying
urban drilling would affect the environment, human health and
safety.
Recommendations
The
report includes a set of recommendations for state and local
officials to address the problems. Subra recommended that when state
health officials conduct tests of Dish residents early next year,
the comprehensive battery include blood and urine tests that can
measure the specific chemicals detected in the air.
She
also recommended that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
and the Railroad Commission of Texas increase their tracking of
“operational upsets,” including spills, releases and permit
violations. TCEQ should also set up a network that takes continuous
measurements of the chemicals, air pollutants, sulfur compounds and
weather conditions in Dish, Subra said.
Young said he’s worried that one of the recommendations, a process
that allows a community to document odors and symptoms, while sorely
needed, will completely overwhelm public health officials. “This
year, a lot of people have been telling me, complaining, about
respiratory problems they’ve never had before, or their asthma’s
back after 20 years,” Young said. “There are lots of anecdotal
reports like that.”
PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail
address is
pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
* Number of Dish residents: 125
* Number who completed a survey: 31
* Number of households represented: 14
* Percent reporting respiratory ailments: 71
* Percent reporting frequent illnesses: 39
* Percent of health problems connected to the toxins: 61
SOURCE: Subra Co. survey --
ON THE WEB
Learn more about the work of the Texas Oil and Gas Accountability
Project, and read Wilma Subra’s full report online at
www.earthworksaction.org/Texas_OGAP.cfm |
12/7/09 - PA DEP PRESS RELEASE
DEP Fines Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, Schlumberger Technology
Corp. for Hydrochloric Acid Spill in Bradford County
Williamsport –
The Department of Environmental Protection has fined Chesapeake
Appalachia LLC and Schlumberger Technology Corp. $15,557 each for a
295-gallon hydrochloric acid spill at Chesapeake’s Chancellor well
site in Asylum Township, Bradford County.
"Fortunately, this hazardous waste spill was
promptly reported, which proved critical in limiting the
environmental damage,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director
Robert Yowell.
Chesapeake staff notified DEP on Feb. 9 that a
21,000-gallon tank containing 36 percent hydrochloric acid was
leaking. The acid was used for hydraulic fracturing.
When a DEP inspector arrived at the site, it was
determined that the tank had two leaks and was losing about 7.5
gallons per hour of hydrochloric acid.
Chesapeake’s emergency contractor arrived that
evening and removed free-standing acid from the ground with
absorbent pads; excavated trenches to contain the acid; neutralized
acid-contaminated soil with soda ash and hydrated lime; and
transferred about 11,000 gallons of acid from the leaking tank to
two temporary tanks.
About 126 tons of contaminated soil had to be
excavated, and more than 13,800 gallons of a hydrochloric acid and
water mixture were removed from the well site.
The fines were paid to the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
Chesapeake Appalachia LLC is a natural gas
exploration company located in Charleston, W. Va., and Schlumberger
Technology Corp. is a natural gas service company based in Sugar
Land, Texas.
|
Released December 2, 2009
EPA Update on Dunkard Creek Fish Kill
|
|
JOSH FOX’s FIRST
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
GASLANDTHEMOVIE.COM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DEC 2nd 2009
Press Contact: Josh Fox
917-913-9610 orifox (at) aol.com
An INTERNATIONAL WOW COMPANY PRODUCTION
GASLAND
= SELECTED FOR SUNDANCE =
Film will Premiere in U.S.
Documentary Competition Category of 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Jan 21-31, 2010
Exact Showtimes/days TBA
MOVIE CHRONICLES LARGEST US DRILLING BOOM IN
HISTORY
The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in
history has swept across the United States. A new method of drilling
known as “Hydraulic Fracturing”, has opened up new territory in 34
states to extensive drilling, including the Marcellus Shale a vast
formation that underlies most of Pennsylvania and New York,
including the New York watershed and the Catskills/Poconos.
A CROSS COUNTRY JOURNEY-
Water on Fire from
Pennsylvania to Colorado…
When filmmaker Josh Fox discovers that Natural Gas
drilling is coming to his area—the Catskills/Poconos region of
Upstate New York and Pennsylvania, he sets off on a 24 state journey
to uncover the deep consequences of the United States’ natural gas
drilling boom. What he uncovers is truly shocking—water that can be
lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of
drilling areas from disparate locations in the US all with the same
mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and
vegetation well blowouts and huge gas explosions consistently
covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies.
Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery,
part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown, Josh and his banjo
encounter EPA whistleblowers, congressmen, world recognized
scientists, and some of the most incredibly inspiring and
heart-wrenching stories of ordinary Americans fighting against
fossil fuel giants for environmental justice.
BACKGROUND
A major upswing in production took place in 2005
when the Congress and the Bush Administration exempted the industry
and its new process of drilling, “Hydraulic Fracturing” from the
Safe Drinking Water Act and many of our primary environmental
protection laws. While the PR campaign for the Natural Gas industry
promotes its product as “clean burning” it hides the fact that the
new form of drilling, pioneered by Halliburton, is incredibly
harmful to our environment and threatens to permanently contaminate
a huge amount of the country’s water supply, create drastic air
pollution conditions, and despoil huge areas. Despite overwhelming
evidence of contamination, mismanagement and corruption, the general
public remains unaware of the extreme effect the drilling may have
on their lives.
FEATURING:
Josh Fox, Dr. Theo Colborn, EPA Whistleblower Weston
Wilson, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Congresswoman Diana
DeGette (D-CO), Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Al Appleton,
(Former NYC DEP Commissioner), Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough
President, Lisa Bracken, Colorado Resident, Dr. Al Armendariz, EPA
Administrator for Region 6, Wilma Subra, MacArthur Genius Award
recipient in the field of Water/Soil contamination, John Fenton,
Wyoming Rancher, Shirley McNall, New Mexico Resident, Rick Roles,
Colorado Resident, James Gennaro, NYC Council Environmental Board
Chair, and Residents from Dimock, PA, Booneville, AR, Dallas/Ft.
Worth and more..
|
For immediate release 2009-12-1
Source:
PennEnvironment
New Report Presents Policy Blueprint to Tackle Environmental and
Health Threats of Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling
In the face of ongoing environmental damage and public health
threats posed by Marcellus Shale drilling, a statewide
environmental advocacy group released a new policy blueprint
today that will tackle these challenges as drilling continues
across the Commonwealth.
“Drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale reserve began here just
over three years ago, and already too many local drinking water
supplies and waterways have been contaminated because of this
drilling,” said Erika Staaf, Clean Water Advocate with
PennEnvironment. “The faster Pennsylvania’s leaders work to pass
comprehensive policies and regulations on this type of gas
drilling, the less likely we’ll be to see yet another gas leak
or wastewater spill, and the safer we’ll all be.”
The report, entitled Preserving Forests, Protecting Waterways
outlines the most urgent and widespread environmental and public
health concerns associated with Marcellus Shale gas drilling in
Pennsylvania. The report also proposes a set of policy and
regulatory solutions to address these problems.
Preserving Forests, Protecting Waterways outlines several
concerns about the deep-well drilling process, also known as
hydraulic fracturing. These concerns range from the large volume
of water used for drilling; to the toxic makeup of the resulting
waste fluid from deep well drilling that has created treatment
and disposal challenges across the Commonwealth; to the
contamination of drinking water supplies and rivers and streams
that has already occurred across Pennsylvania due to improper
drilling and wastewater handling practices.
In the report, PennEnvironment unveiled a blueprint showing
simple and commonsense policies that could be put in place to
protect the public’s health, drinking water sources and the
environment as gas drilling continues in Pennsylvania.
The report calls on Pennsylvania’s elected officials to pass
drilling protections that:
• Improve the public’s right to know and access to information
about drilling;
• Put areas that supply drinking water, critical habitats, and
public lands off limits to drilling;
• Pass mandatory minimum penalties for polluters who violate
laws or destroy the environment, and implement severe penalties
using existing clean water laws;
• Increase funding to the Department of Environmental Protection
to allow for expanded enforcement, permit review and on-site
review of drilling; and
• Strengthen existing clean water laws to deal with the rapid
expansion of drilling.
“Our elected officials are going to have to make a decision: are
they going to protect the public’s health, or are they going to
put polluter profits ahead of the health of the Commonwealth’s
citizens and environment?” said Staaf.
The Marcellus Shale gas reserve runs underneath portions of a
handful of states from New York all the way down to Maryland.
However, the largest stretch of the formation is found under
Pennsylvania, across nearly two-thirds of the state. In total,
the Marcellus shale gas reserve covers about 54,000 square
miles, equal in size to the state of Florida, and runs
5,000-8,000 feet below the surface. The gas is found in the
pores and pockets created by the Marcellus Shale.
As part of the hydraulic fracturing process, drilling companies
use a cocktail of chemicals and sand to help break up the shale
and access the gas. Companies in Pennsylvania have been shown to
use between 85 and 150 different chemicals in this process,
including arsenic, benzene, xylene, pesticides, among others.
Many of these chemicals are suspected or known carcinogens,
endocrine disruptors, or causes of respiratory, neurological
other serious health problems.
PennEnvironment pointed to examples of river, stream, and
groundwater pollution in several Pennsylvania locations. In
Dimock, located in Susquehanna County, Cabot Oil and Gas
Corporation was ordered in September to cease all drilling
activities after it spilled roughly 8,000 gallons of dangerous
drilling fluids killing fish and wildlife in the area. This
cease and desist order was later lifted. Near Pittsburgh,
improperly treated Marcellus drilling wastewater was discharged
into the Monongahela River, causing a drinking water advisory
for 325,000 citizens.
PennEnvironment asserted that the gas drilling industry’s
lobbying efforts will make it challenging to implement some of
these solutions. Gas drilling industries spent over $1 million
in lobbying money this year.
“PennEnvironment’s policies ideas should serve as a blueprint
for Pennsylvania’s leaders. If the legislature implements the
policies, the state will be on its way toward allowing safe
drilling while protecting public health and preserving our
natural heritage for future generations of Pennsylvanians,”
concluded Staaf.
For More Information:
Contact Erika Staaf
(412) 521-0943
|
Natural gas drilling company agrees
to stop misleading tactics to unilaterally extend leases on New
Yorkers’ properties
Fortuna Energy, Inc. will allow
hundreds of landowners out of the improperly extended leases and
will pay $192,500 in settlement
ALBANY, N.Y. (November 24, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M.
Cuomo today announced that his office has reached an agreement with
Fortuna Energy, Inc. (Fortuna) that will allow customers who were
misled and ended up extending their natural gas leases with the
company to renegotiate their terms. The settlement also stops
Fortuna from employing industry-prevalent misleading and deceptive
tactics to secure leases from New York landowners.
The company also agreed to pay $192,500 to the state in
connection with the settlement.
“Drilling companies will not be permitted to use misleading
letters and dubious legal claims to bully landowners,” said Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo. “Many of these companies use their size and
extensive resources to manipulate individual property owners who
often cannot afford to hire a private attorney. This land-grab
practice must stop. Today’s settlement is a good first step, as
Fortuna is the first company to agree to stop these practices. My
office will continue to investigate the activities of other drilling
companies to ensure that New Yorkers who were wrongly pressured into
lease extensions will have a chance to renegotiate their leases.”
Fortuna is one of the largest natural gas exploration companies
in New York and engages in a natural gas drilling technique called
horizontal, high-volume hydraulic fracturing (“horizontal
drilling”). To do so, these companies obtain leases from landowners
which authorize them to conduct operations on the landowners’
properties, with a lease typically expiring after five years if no
operations are ongoing on the property.
Beginning in April 2009, Fortuna sent letters to hundreds of
landowners whose natural gas leases with the company were about to
expire. These letters falsely stated that Fortuna had the right to
extend these leases without the permission of the landowners.
Specifically, Fortuna falsely claimed that the leases contained
provisions that allowed Fortuna to put the lease on hold until the
company could obtain the required horizontal drilling permits from
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. In
fact, most landowners’ leases contained no such provisions.
After setting forth these false claims, Fortuna’s letters then
instructed landowners that if they did not agree to a three-year
extension of the lease with a small percentage increase in royalty
payments, the company would file a notice with the appropriate
county clerk of records declaring that the term of the lease was
halted and obtain a lien against the property. These liens prevented
landowners from freely negotiating drilling rights with other
companies.
As a result of the Attorney General’s settlement, Fortuna has
agreed to rescind the letters it sent to landowners. In addition,
Fortuna will remove any liens placed on the land of New York
property owner whose leases have expired and whose leases did not
clearly disclose that they could be extended. Landowners who agreed
to a lease extension as a result of Fortuna’s letter will be given
the opportunity to cancel that extension. Fortuna will contact all
affected landowners.
The Attorney General commended Fortuna for its cooperation in the
investigation and willingness to take corrective action.
Dean Norton, President of New York Farm Bureau, said, “Farmers
actively preserve as working agricultural landscapes over seven
million acres of land in New York, including increasingly valuable
mineral rights in areas such as the Marcellus Shale. New York Farm
Bureau applauds the agreement between the Attorney General and
Fortuna as an excellent example of cooperation that will greatly
benefit farmers and landowners who signed contracts many years ago
with little knowledge, and allow both parties to negotiate with
better information.”
Nick Schoonover, Chairman of the Tioga Landowners Coalition,
which represents 1,400 families and more than 102,000 acres in the
Southern Tier, said, “Attorney General Cuomo’s involvement in this
issue is a welcome addition that has produced positive results. He
has been a vital partner to help protect landowners and to keep
drilling companies honest. His office’s understanding of landowners’
rights and tenacity to protect residents is a great asset and I look
forward to continuing to work with his office to further protect New
York’s property-owning families.”
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General
Michael J. Danaher, Jr. under the supervision of Assistant Attorney
General-in-Charge of the Binghamton Regional Office Dennis C. McCabe
and Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs J. David Sampson.
|
|
Coalition Letter Requesting NY Governor Paterson to withdraw the
DEC's Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement
(dSGEIS) for Oil and Gas Mining |
|
Pennsylvania Residents Sue Gas Driller for Contamination, Health
Concerns
By Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica
November 20, 2009
Dimock resident Julie Sautner flushed her toilet one
day to find a rush of earth-brown water. Tests showed her drinking
water was high in aluminum, iron and methane. She is now part of a
lawsuit against driller Cabot Oil and Gas.
Pennsylvania
residents whose streams and fields have been damaged by toxic spills
and whose drinking water has allegedly been contaminated by drilling
for natural gas are suing the Houston-based energy company that
drilled the wells. A worker at the company is among the 15 families
bringing suit.
The civil case,
filed Thursday in U.S District Court in Scranton, Pa., seeks to stop
future drilling in the Marcellus Shale by Cabot Oil and Gas near the
town of Dimock. It also seeks to set up a trust fund to cover
medical treatment for residents who say they have been sickened by
pollutants. Health problems listed in the complaint include
neurological and gastrointestinal illnesses; the complaint also
alleges that at least one person's blood tests show toxic levels of
the same metals found in the contaminated water.
The suit alleges
that Cabot allowed methane and metals to seep into drinking water
wells, failed to uphold terms of its contracts with landowners, and
acted fraudulently when it said that the drilling process, including
the chemicals used in the underground manipulation process called
hydraulic fracturing, could not contaminate groundwater and posed no
harm to the people who live there.
"We've been lied
to, we've been pushed around, and enough is enough," said Julie
Sautner, whose drinking water began showing high levels of methane,
iron and aluminum in February and who is receiving fresh water
deliveries from Cabot. "We need to push back."
A Cabot
spokesman, Ken Komoroski, did not return calls for comment.
Among the 15
families bringing the case to court is Nolan Scott Ely, a Cabot
employee who could lend an inside perspective to the case on how the
company operates and how it has approached the myriad problems the
company has had in Dimock. Nolan Ely did not return calls for
comment.
Ely's relatives,
who have lived in Dimock for generations, own several properties
where Cabot has wells. In January a well at the home of Michael Ely,
one of Nolan Ely's relatives who is also part of the lawsuit, caught
fire after methane leaked underground into the water supply. At the
top of the hill near Michael Ely's home is Cabot's Ely 6H well,
which is among the most productive horizontal wells drilled in the
Marcellus Shale. Cabot has touted Ely 6H as being one of the
company's most profitable.
Cabot's problems
in Dimock go back to January, when a drinking water well
belonging to Norma Fiorentino -- who is a plaintiff in the
lawsuit -- exploded after a methane buildup. Since then methane and
metals have been found in numerous drinking water wells in the
region. In the last year Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental
Protection has determined that Cabot was responsible for several
spills of diesel fuel and drilling mud and for an 8,000-gallon leak
of hydraulic fracturing fluids being prepared by a contractor,
Halliburton, that seeped into a fresh water stream in September.
The DEP concluded
early on that faulty well construction allowed contaminants to leak
from Cabot's wells into water supplies. In September, following the
fracturing fluid spill, the state temporarily banned Cabot from
hydraulically fracturing any more wells near Dimock, but that
prohibition was lifted several weeks later.
On Nov. 4 the DEP
issued a document listing more than a dozen infractions, including
fracturing fluid spills, diesel spills and well-construction
problems that allowed methane gas to seep underground into private
drinking water wells. The document lists 13 families whose drinking
water is affected by the contamination, many of whom are being
supplied fresh drinking water by Cabot.
The lawsuit,
filed by the New York City-based law firm Jacob D. Fuchsberg and two
other firms based in Philadelphia, Pa., and Buffalo, N.Y., did not
specify what monetary damages would be sought from Cabot. Dimock
residents tell ProPublica that they would be entitled to two thirds
of the net judgment after expenses if they win.
Lawyers handling
the case did not respond to requests for comment.
In addition to
the cost of health care and health monitoring, the suit seeks
compensation for the loss of property values in the rural area --
something that would allow affected residents there, if nothing
else, to leave.
"I don't think
we've asked for the moon here," said Victoria Switzer, a Dimock
resident who is party to the suit. "I mean, Norma just wanted water,
for goodness' sake. The compensation, if it were enough to know that
we could go away, that's all I want." |
The Percolating Pennsylvania Stream
New on
YouTube
|
"DON'T DRINK THIS WATER"
In the Red Zone
Video by Josh Fox |
|
|
Penna. Proposed Rulemaking
Wastewater Treatment Requirements
25 PA. CODE CH. 95
PDF Document (57KB)
|
2009 Public Comment
Sessions
(Must register in advance to speak) |
December 14
5 p.m.
|
Cranberry Township Municipal
Building
2525 Rochester Road
Cranberry Township, PA 16066-6499 |
December 15
5 p.m. |
Department of Environmental
Protection
Cambria District Office
286 Industrial Park Road
Ebensburg, PA 15931 |
December 16
5 p.m. |
Department of Environmental
Protection
Northcentral Regional Office
Goddard Conference Room
208 West Third Street,
Suite 101
Williamsport, PA 17701-6448 |
December 17
5 p.m. |
Lehigh County Government
Center
17 S. 7th Street
Allentown, PA 18101 |
Other Public Comments
Written Comments—Interested persons are
invited to submit comments, suggestions or objections regarding
the proposed regulation to the Environmental Quality Board,
P. O. Box 8477, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8477 (express mail: Rachel
Carson State Office Building, 16th Floor, 400 Market Street,
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2301). Comments submitted by facsimile will
not be accepted. Comments, suggestions or objections must be
received by the Board by February 5, 2010. Interested persons
may also submit a summary of their comments to the Board. The
summary may not exceed one page in length and must also be
received by the Board by February 5, 2010. The one-page summary
will be provided to each member of the Board in the agenda
packet distributed prior to the meeting at which the final-form
regulation will be considered.
Electronic Comments—Comments may be
submitted electronically to the Board at RegComments@dep.state.
pa.us and must also be received by the Board by February 5,
2010. A subject heading of the proposal and a return name and
address must be included in each transmission. If an
acknowledgement of electronic comments is not received by the
sender within 2 working days, the comments should be
retransmitted to ensure receipt.
|
Lobbyists open wallets to
influence Pa. budget
By Mario F. Cattabiani
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
November 8, 2009
HARRISBURG - When it became clear that
the state budget was in crisis mode,
three industries with much at stake in
Harrisburg opened their wallets.
Gambling interests, natural-gas
drillers, and tobacco companies have
since January spent more than $4.5
million combined on lobbying efforts,
according to expense reports filed last
week with the state.
Those industries were among the few
winners in a budget ravaged by the
recession.
Casinos are poised to introduce poker
and other newly legalized table games.
Natural-gas drillers and tobacco
companies fought off new taxes.
Six-figure lobbying campaigns are not
new in Pennsylvania's capital. And it's
hard to know the extent to which such
activity changes legislators' minds.
Even so, critics say the dollar amounts
speak for themselves.
Industries "wouldn't spend money like
that if it didn't work," said Barry
Kauffman, executive director of Common
Cause of Pennsylvania, a watchdog group.
Lobbying expenditures are, in
Kauffman's view, "a key indicator of how
Harrisburg really works: Invest a lot of
money, and you are going to have a lot
more clout at the bargaining table."
Comparing recent expenditures with
past lobbying efforts is difficult.
Pennsylvania didn't enact its disclosure
law until late 2006, long after most
states. And unless they provide gifts or
lodging, those who try to influence
state decision makers must report little
detail other than the totals spent.
Arthur Zaretsky, for one, isn't shy
about describing the details: He hosted
receptions and made his case to
legislators over food and cigars - the
latter being his business.
Zaretsky never thought he would need
a lobbyist until it became clear to him
this year that Gov. Rendell and
Democratic legislators had set their
sights on his livelihood. They wanted to
help close the budget gap by taxing
cigars.
Zaretsky, owner of Famous Smoke Shop,
an Easton Internet and mail-order
retailer of premium cigars, hired Eckert
Seamans Cherin & Mellott L.L.C., a
Pittsburgh law firm with a Harrisburg
office.
"I needed to educate the politicians
about exactly what it is we do and how
many people we employ and that putting
on a tax would not be a good idea," he
said.
Eventually, Republican legislative
leaders defeated the proposed cigar tax,
along with one proposed for smokeless
products such as chewing tobacco and
snuff. Left standing was a new tax on
little cigars - cigarillos.
In all, tobacco interests large and
small spent nearly $1.5 million on
lobbying from January through Sept. 30,
records show.
Reynolds American Inc., whose
subsidiary Conwood Co. is the nation's
second-largest producer of smokeless
tobacco products, devoted the most -
$670,658.
Lobbying in the capital takes many
forms - meetings with legislators,
letter-writing, and "blast" e-mail
campaigns orchestrated by lobbyists.
There are studies and polls and white
papers commissioned by lobbyists.
"There is nothing wrong with lobbying
per se. It is just delivering
information. It's valuable," said Rep.
Greg Vitali (D., Delaware). "The problem
comes when lobbyists try to do more than
inform, try to ingratiate themselves to
you. And that happens a lot in
Harrisburg."
To natural-gas drillers, too, the
writing was on the wall as early as
February. That was when Rendell
announced in his budget address that he
was pushing for a new tax on the
odorless, colorless gas found deep below
Pennsylvania's soil.
Rendell said the tax would bring in
about $100 million this year, thanks to
what he called the "gold rush" of new
drilling for natural gas in the vast
underground formation known as the
Marcellus Shale.
But in late August, the governor - to
the surprise of some of his aides - said
drilling executives had convinced him
that imposing the tax this year would
stunt the growth of the industry.
Rendell said he would abandon his push
until next year. The companies won
another major victory in the prolonged
budget battle, persuading lawmakers to
open up thousands of additional acres of
state forest land to drillers despite
the concerns of environmentalists. The
industry's argument: The state could
bring in more revenue by leasing the
land to drillers than by taxing the gas
extracted.
As a whole, the natural-gas industry
reported spending about $1.6 million on
lobbying thus far this year.
Range Resources Appalachia L.L.C., a
Texas company that has invested heavily
in drilling in the Marcellus Shale, led
the way, spending $605,817 this year -
nearly triple the expenditure of the
next-closest natural-gas company,
Chesapeake Appalachia L.L.C. By
comparison, Range Resources reported
spending less than $200,000 on lobbying
here last year.
"Natural gas has a big story to tell
and a good story to tell," said Matthew
M. Pitzarella, spokesman and registered
lobbyist for Range Resources. "It is
critically important that our elected
leaders and regulators have a healthy
understanding of modern natural-gas
development and the potential for
Pennsylvania."
As the economy sank, the odds of
adding table games to slots parlors,
once just a dream for the casino
industry, improved greatly. Expanding
gambling options created a "full-time
employment opportunity" for the lobbying
community, said Kauffman, of Common
Cause.
The millions in revenue that
roulette, poker, and blackjack could
raise was too great a lure for lawmakers
and Rendell to ignore, and the industry
was ready to trumpet the pros.
The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem,
which opened in May, reported spending
about $307,000 so far this year lobbying
- more than any other gaming company in
the state.
Such an amount came as no surprise in
Harrisburg. Since the state approved
slots parlors in 2004, the casino lobby
has become an "influential force in the
halls of government," said Rep. Paul
Clymer (R., Bucks), the legislature's
leading gambling foe.
The industry's pitch was simple:
Table games meant new jobs and new
revenue for a state in dire need of
both.
"They have deep pockets and have made
the right connections and, as a result,
have been successful in getting their
agenda passed," Clymer said.
"One-and-a-half million dollars might
seem like a lot of money, but when you
compare it to what they will make on
table games, well, it's a great
investment."
The lobbyists' work isn't complete.
Legislative leaders in the House and
Senate have yet to come to terms on the
details of the table-games legislation.
Sticking points include how much the
state would charge the casinos in taxes
and licensing fees.
|
|
October 2009
EWG
Testifies Before NYC Council
EWG Warns of Drilling Threat to NYC
Drinking WaterStatement of Dusty Horwitt,
JD
Senior Counsel, Environmental Working Group
Oversight Hearing on the Draft Supplemental Generic
Environmental Impact Statement Relating to Drilling for
Natural Gas in New York State Using Horizontal Drilling and
Hydraulic Fracturing Before the New York City Council
Committee on Environmental Protection Friday, October 23,
2009 at 10:00 a.m.
Submitted for the Record
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the committee: My
name is Dusty Horwitt, and I am Senior Counsel at
Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research and
advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, Oakland,
California and Ames, Iowa. I thank the members of the
Committee for this opportunity to testify.
For the last several years, Environmental Working Group
has used government and industry records to track a
virtually unprecedented increase in oil and gas drilling in
the Western United States. We have found that much of this
drilling has been completed with exemptions under most major
federal environmental laws. As part of our work, we have
investigated the practice pioneered by Halliburton known as
hydraulic fracturing that is the subject of today’s hearing.
Last year, we worked with Theo Colborn, a distinguished
scientist in Colorado who has identified dozens of chemicals
used by the natural gas industry. We found that at least 65
chemicals used by the natural gas industry in Colorado –
many of them used in hydraulic fracturing – were listed or
regulated as hazardous substances under six federal statutes
including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Superfund
but are largely exempt from these laws when used in oil and
gas drilling. We have continued to investigate hydraulic
fracturing this year and have uncovered some troubling
information about chemicals used in this process.
I’d like to add to the testimony I presented to the
committee last year by making a few comments about New York
State’s Department of Environmental Conservation’s Draft
Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the
Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program, Well Permit
Issuance for Horizontal Drilling and High-Volume Hydraulic
Fracturing to Develop the Marcellus Shale and other
Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs.
We have reviewed much of the document and believe that
the state is still not taking seriously the threat that
hydraulic fracturing and natural gas drilling poses to New
York City’s drinking water. Nor is the state taking
seriously the risk of water contamination in other parts of
New York. Our analysis confirms our belief that New York
State should not allow drilling in the watershed for New
York City’s drinking water supply nor should it allow
drilling in other areas where drinking water supplies might
be compromised. Given the seriousness of this issue and the
800-page length of the draft EIS, the state should give
citizens more than 60 days to comment.
Petroleum Distillates are a Major Concern
Perhaps the leading reason to prevent natural gas
drilling and hydraulic fracturing near drinking water
supplies is the use of petroleum distillates. The DEC notes
that “diesel-based fracturing fluid is not proposed or
reviewed by this Supplement….” However, Environmental
Working Group has recently conducted an analysis which found
that diesel – like any substance distilled from crude oil –
is a petroleum distillate. And the DEC has identified at
least 14 different petroleum distillates that are used or
proposed for use in the Marcellus Shale formation in New
York. The DEC has also identified as chemicals that are used
or are likely to be used in New York’s Marcellus Shale
formation aromatic hydrocarbons that are likely to be found
in petroleum distillates.
Environmental Working Group will release its complete
analysis of petroleum distillates within the next few weeks,
but I will share a few of our findings today. Our research
shows that petroleum distillates are likely to contain
benzene, one of the aromatic hydrocarbons identified by the
state. The EPA has found benzene to be a known human
carcinogen that is toxic in water at levels greater than
five parts per billion. Petroleum distillates are also
likely to contain all of the so-called BTEX chemicals –
benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. The EPA has
concluded that all of these substances are toxic in water at
very low levels.
Diesel has received much of the attention when it comes
to dangerous fracturing fluids. But when companies say that
they will not use diesel and then use petroleum distillates,
the data shows that it’s a bit like promising not to smoke
Marlboros and then smoking Camels, Kools, Virginia Slims and
every other type of cigarette. As far as the toxic
components, the products are roughly the same.
A major concern with petroleum distillates is benzene. To
put the toxicity of benzene in perspective, and to
demonstrate the risks to water supplies for New York City
and other towns, consider these facts from the DEC’s draft
EIS. The DEC estimates that the amount of water used to
hydraulically fracture a single well in the Marcellus Shale
will range from about one million gallons to eight million
gallons. The DEC estimates that the amount of friction
reducer mixed with the water will comprise about 0.08
percent of the total fracturing solution.
Petroleum distillates are commonly used as friction
reducers and are also used in other components of fracturing
solutions. Therefore, the amount of petroleum distillate
used for fracturing a well in New York is likely to range
from 800 gallons to 6,400 gallons (0.08 percent of between
one and eight million gallons of water). Published levels of
benzene in petroleum distillates with names similar to those
used or likely to be used in New York range from 700 parts
per million for 140˚ flash aliphatic solvent, to 1,000 parts
per million for Stoddard Solvent to 4,000 parts per million
for kerosene to 93,000 parts per million in naphtha
solvents.
In other words, these levels of benzene range from
140,000 times the EPA’s safe level to 18.6 million times the
EPA’s safe level. These figures mean that if 800 gallons of
petroleum distillate were to contaminate a water supply,
depending on the benzene concentration, it would likely take
somewhere between 112 million gallons (800 X 140,000) and
14.9 billion gallons (800 X 18.6 million) of water to dilute
the benzene to EPA’s safe level. If 6,400 gallons of
petroleum distillate were to contaminate a water supply, it
would likely take somewhere between 896 million and 119
billion gallons of water to dilute the benzene to EPA’s safe
levels.
For comparison, the total amount of water used daily by
New York City according to the DEC is 650 million gallons,
or less than the amount of water that would be needed to
dilute the benzene in a spill of petroleum distillates in
many scenarios. In some cases, even the total amount of
water used each day by the entire state of New York (9-10
billion gallons per day) would not be enough.
To be sure, it is possible that all or part of the
petroleum distillate used to fracture a well would not
contaminate water supplies. Some or all could be trapped
underground. Petroleum distillate that is spilled prior to
fracturing or after fracturing in drilling wastewater might
be absorbed by soil or otherwise contained before it reaches
water supplies.
But the amounts of petroleum distillate likely to be used
are significant and petroleum distillate in the form of
diesel will be used to power drilling equipment even if
diesel is not used in hydraulic fracturing. The DEC reports
that an average of 29,000 gallons of diesel fuel was
required to complete fracturing jobs in the Marcellus Shale
in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. This diesel used to run
equipment will likely add to the total amount of petroleum
distillate used for the fracturing fluid. The result is an
increased likelihood that, somewhere in the process, some
quantity of petroleum distillate will spill or leak,
threatening water supplies with benzene contamination. It is
also important to note that there may be thousands of wells
drilled in New York, each of which could cause benzene
contamination. And, as we have seen, a little bit of benzene
goes a long way.
Recent Cases of Contamination Linked to Fracturing,
Drilling
Contamination from benzene or related chemicals
associated with drilling is not just a hypothetical
scenario. In the summer of 2008, in one of the few
government tests ever conducted on water contamination near
natural gas fields, the Bureau of Land Management found
benzene in drinking water wells in Sublette County, Wyoming.
Although researchers did not identify the source of the
contamination, the only likely source in the otherwise rural
area is intensive natural gas drilling involving hydraulic
fracturing.
In May 2008, Colorado outfitter Ned Prather drank water
from the tap in his rural cabin. The water was contaminated
with all of the BTEX chemicals (benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene and xylene), including 100 parts per billion
benzene. Natural gas companies have drilled 18 wells within
3,000 feet of the spring that supplies his water, there is a
pit of production water on a hill overlooking his cabin, a
second pit was reclaimed shortly after Prather took his
toxic drink, and in the winter of 2007, a company spilled
nearly 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a nearby hill when a
spigot was accidentally left open. The Denver Post reported
that “bad water has decimated his outfitting business.
Hunters don't want to stay in a cabin with suspect water or
to harvest deer and elk they fear could be drinking
contaminated water.” Thus far, medical tests have found no
damage to Prather, but he has suffered unexplained health
problems that predate his toxic drink. His hands and head
shake and the tremors have grown worse recently. “Not that
many people have turned up a glass and drank that much
benzene at one time,” he said.
In March and April 2004, the natural gas company EnCana
fractured an improperly cemented well in Garfield County,
Colorado. Gas escaped from about 7,000 feet underground,
entered a natural fracture about 3,000 feet below the
surface, and traveled laterally about 3,500 feet from the
well where it contaminated Divide Creek, forcing local
residents to drink bottled water. Inspectors found high
levels of benzene in the water (99 parts per billion) the
day after residents noticed unusual bubbles in the creek.
One nearby resident, Lisa Bracken, described the creek as
having so many bubbles that it looked like a “popped can of
soda.” Another nearby resident, Steve Thompson, said that "I
came down with a funnel and scooped some of the biggest
bubbles with it….I lit the bubbles with a match, and they
burned like gas. It even melted my funnel."
A report prepared for Garfield County found that the
contamination also included methane gas and toluene,
ethylbenzene and xyleneithin. In August 2004, the COGCC
fined EnCana a record $371,200 and imposed a moratorium on
drilling within a two-mile radius of the seep. EnCana has
operated an air sparge system for the past four years to
reduce benzene levels in the creek. This system involves the
injection of air into the creek to dissipate benzene into
the atmosphere.
In the spring of this year, Pennsylvania officials fined
Cabot Oil and Gas for an 800-gallon diesel spill from a
truck that overturned. It is unclear whether benzene
contamination resulted from the spill, but diesel typically
contains benzene. Recently, state officials ordered Cabot
Oil and Gas to stop hydraulic fracturing operations in
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania after the company was
involved in three spills in nine days.
The DEC has noted that many states have reported no
contamination from hydraulic fracturing, but we are not
aware that any states have even looked for contamination
from fracturing, including New York. Late last year, we sent
a Freedom of Information Law request to the DEC asking for
any tests that the agency had conducted on water
contamination from hydraulic fracturing. The DEC said that
it had conducted none, nor did it have tests conducted by
others.
In addition to the recent discovery of benzene in water
wells in Sublette County, Wyoming by the Bureau of Land
Management, the EPA this spring found that 11 of 39 water
wells near Pavillion, Wyoming were contaminated with
substances that may be linked to nearby gas drilling. More
tests are planned.
And Garfield County, Colorado officials released a study
last year that linked methane contamination in water wells
to methane in the same rock layer a mile and a half
underground where gas companies are drilling. The scientists
who conducted the study did not determine how the gas
reached the water, but their results provide evidence that
gas or other contaminants from drilling could work their way
to the surface from deep underground. "It challenges the
view that natural gas, and the suite of hydrocarbons that
exist around it, is isolated from water supplies by its
extreme depth," Judith Jordan, the oil and gas liaison for
Garfield County told ProPublica.
Disclosure Needed: Nurse’s Near-Death Experience Could be
Repeated
The DEC has proposed that companies be required to
disclose their fracturing chemicals before fracturing
begins. While this requirement is a step in the right
direction, it is unclear whether this disclosure would be to
the DEC or to the general public. It is critical that the
public know what chemicals companies are injecting into each
well including Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) numbers so
that the public and first responders can easily know what
chemicals are being used. The DEC deserves credit for
including CAS numbers in the DSGEIS.
Public disclosure is especially important because one of
the companies that supplied information to the DEC about
chemicals proposed for use in fracturing shale formations in
New York is perhaps the most infamous fracturing company in
terms of public disclosure. In Durango, Colorado, in 2008, a
valve broke on a tank carrying 300 gallons of a fracturing
fluid called ZetaFlow manufactured by Weatherford, the
Houston-based company that supplied chemical information to
DEC. About half of the ZetaFlow spilled out. According to
Clinton Marshall, who was one of the workers transporting
the chemical, most of the spill was captured by a spill
container, implying that some of the spill escaped. Cathy
Behr, a nurse who later treated Marshall came in contact
with the ZetaFlow that had spilled on him. As a result, Behr
became gravely ill, suffering respiratory failure, heart
failure and liver failure. As Behr’s doctor worked to save
her life, Weatherford refused to disclose the chemical’s
contents, citing trade secrets. Behr later recovered
(Slowthower 2008, Hanel 2008a, Hanel 2008b).
ZetaFlow is still advertised on Weatherford’s website.
“This ZetaFlow system can be used on all types of
formations, including a variety of sandstones, carbonates,
coals and shales,” the company says. ZetaFlow is not
mentioned in the DSGEIS, but the DEC must ensure that before
ZetaFlow or other chemicals are used in the state, their
names and constituents are made publicly available. And the
state should prohibit the use of any chemicals, such as
ZetaFlow, that are not proven safe.
Recommendations
The DEC deserves credit for proposing tougher standards
for high-volume hydraulic fracturing such as water well
testing before drilling and limits on the volume of
wastewater that can be stored in pits and the duration that
such water can remain in pits.
However, the risks from drilling, particularly with
benzene, are so great that Environmental Working Group
continues to recommend that the DEC prohibit drilling in the
watershed for New York City’s drinking water supply and in
all other areas where drinking water supplies might be
compromised. These risks are compounded by the fact the DEC
likely lacks adequate staff to enforce proposed or existing
standards as Speaker Quinn demonstrated in her questioning
of the DEC last September. Our upcoming investigation of
petroleum distillates indicates that staffing shortages also
exist for state and federal agencies charged with enforcing
the Safe Drinking Water Act.
EWG also urges the DEC to adopt our recommendations made
at previous city council hearings. These recommendations
include:
1) Requiring public disclosure of chemicals used to drill
each well prior to drilling including chemicals used in
hydraulic fracturing and
2) Prohibiting the use of chemicals that could compromise
the quality of water supplies and that are not demonstrated
to be safe for humans and the environment.
The state should apply our recommended standards to all
oil and natural gas drilling even if such drilling does not
include “high-volume hydraulic fracturing” or horizontal
drilling. Drilling for oil and natural gas involves
extremely toxic chemicals that are harmful at microscopic
levels. Just because drilling uses a lower volume of
fracturing fluid or is strictly vertical does not mean that
it is safer.
Thank you for this opportunity to testify. I look forward
to your questions.
[Source
URL]
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This
summer, two Penn State University professors, Timothy
Considine and Robert Watson, both from the College of Earth
and Mineral Sciences, passed off a paid advertisement of gas
industry talking points as a research paper.
While
Considine and Watson have good academic credentials, those
credentials are not within the discipline of community
economics. Watson is a physical scientist and Considine has
done most of his economic work on fuel markets.
Watson
admits that the Marcellus Shale Committee, a group of 50
industry companies, paid Penn State $100,000 for the paper.
At least one version, circulated in Harrisburg, during the
tax debate, didn’t include that fact.
Considine and Watson wildly over reached. They claimed the
economic impact here in 2008 was 28% of that achieved in the
Barnett Shale in Texas and had already created 32.5% of the
Barnett’s jobs. That from only 431 wells at the time, or 6%
of the then current 7170 Barnett wells.
“An
Emerging Giant”, was met with heavy criticism and outright
contempt by a number of organizations and scholars. The
Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan, policy
study concluded “The “An Emerging Giant” report serves the
narrow financial interests of its funder, the natural gas
industry.”
At a Marcellus Shale seminar in August, the
acting secretary of conservation and natural resources, John
Quigley, introduced Watson by saying that Watson's study was
“unsubstantiated by facts”. Nevertheless,
the well funded gas industry PR machine has trumpeted
“Emerging Giant” nationally so it has become the dominant
word.
The gas
industry is using this inflated and hyped study to stampede
our political and business leader into overlooking the
enormous damage unregulated drilling will do to our
environment, way of life, and ultimately to our economy.
|
DEP Fines
Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. $56,650 for Susquehanna County Spills
Company Had Three Spills
Totaling 8,000 Gallons in Less Than One Week
Williamsport – (10/22/09) – The Department of
Environmental Protection has fined Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. $56,650
for three spills of a water/liquid gel mixture at its Heitsman
natural gas well in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, last month.
“This penalty was assessed for Cabot’s violations of the Clean
Streams Law, Solid Waste Management Act and Oil and Gas Act,” said
DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell. “We expect that
Cabot will do a better job in the future of overseeing its
contractors now that the company has an improved preparedness,
prevention and contingency plan in place.”
Cabot had two spills at its Heitsman well on Sept. 16 and a third
spill on Sept. 22. The spills totaled about 8,000 gallons and caused
pollution in Stevens Creek and a nearby wetland. All three spills
involved a water/liquid gel mixture used in the hydro fracturing
process.
On Sept. 24, DEP ordered Cabot to cease all hydro fracturing in
Susquehanna County and submit an updated plan and an engineering
study. Cabot submitted those documents on Oct. 6.
DEP reviewed and approved the documents on Oct. 16, and gave Cabot
the approval to resume hydro fracturing in the county.
|
 |
|
Photos of the gas purge and flare at the MarkWest
Houston Gas Plant on Election Day 11/3/09
Note: They flared again the
following night, under the cover of darkness. What were people
downwind in Houston and Canonsburg Pa breathing? |
 |
|
Smoke filled the valley with stench for miles |
 |
| Flare could
be easily seen 5 miles away |
 |
FORT WORTH — State Sen.
Wendy Davis is
expressing surprise and
concern this week about
preliminary results of
air testing in the
Barnett Shale. As a
result, she's asking Lt.
Governor David Dewhurst
to convene a Senate
investigation prior to
the next session.
"It seems as though
there are some very
serious health concerns
that should cause us
alarm," Davis said.
Davis is referring to
the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality's
discovery of a
cancer-causing toxin in
the air near some
natural gas operations
in the Barnett Shale.
The benzene levels
were discovered as part
of a larger study on
emissions being
conducted with the help
of an infrared camera
that identifies heat.
Long-term exposure to
benzene can lead to
leukemia.
On Monday, Davis sent
a letter to Lt. Gov.
David Dewhurst, calling
for a Senate
investigation into the
environmental impacts of
gas production
processes, and
expressing concern over
the benzene levels
discovered both by TCEQ
and a private study in
DISH, a small Denton
County community. In
both cases, TCEQ says
additional testing is
needed.
Davis had previously
requested an examination
of the environmental
impacts of the Barnett
Shale prior to the next
legislative session as
part of a larger list of
proposed issues to be
considered.
However, in Monday's
letter, Davis summarized
the concerns about
benzene levels found in
Barnett Shale air.
"Given all of the above,
I respectfully re-urge
your appointment of an
interim study to review
current data, to
determine whether
further testing is
necessary, and to
recommend pollution
control methods to
assure protection of the
health of the community
that we represent,"
Davis wrote/
Thus far, Dewhurst's
office has issued no
response to Davis'
request.
|
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|
How
Marcellus Shale gas came to be tax-exempt in
Pa.
Desperate for revenue, Gov. Rendell chose
not to tax the “gold rush.”
By Mario F. Cattabiani and Amy Worden
Inquirer Staff Writers
HARRISBURG - All through Pennsylvania's
101-day budget impasse, Gov. Rendell
spoke of pain. A recession-weary state
had to tighten its belt. Revenues had to
rise - income tax, sales tax, new taxes
on whole industries. "We can't get this
budget resolved," Rendell said, "without
everyone feeling some pain."
But when the budget was finally
signed Oct. 9, one industry came away
pain-free.
The natural-gas industry's leaders
and lobbyists beat back Rendell's
proposal to tax gas as it is pulled to
the surface from the rich black-rock
reservoir known as the Marcellus Shale.
So, as drilling rigs are sprouting in
the state's northern tier and
southwestern corner, the gas those rigs
are extracting still isn't taxed. That
makes Pennsylvania unique among the 15
states that produce the most natural
gas.
What's more, the industry persuaded
Harrisburg to lease more public land to
gas drillers - even as the state's
budget for environmental protection was
being sharply cut.
What happened to Rendell's gas-tax
proposal?
He says the industry made good
arguments for staving it off. He did not
want to slow the "gold rush," as he
called it, of jobs and commerce the
drillers would bring.
One legislator came away with a more
cynical view.
"The same old influential interest
groups getting their way," said State
Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware). "It was
just another day in Harrisburg."
What follows is a closer look at some
key moments in the short life of
Rendell's proposal to help balance the
budget by taxing natural gas.
Tapping "the gold rush." As
Rendell prepared his Feb. 4 budget
address, a boom was under way.
Natural-gas industry representatives
were fanning out across the state,
securing leases and drilling wells at
twice last year's pace.
Rendell, a policy wonk, did his
homework. He spoke with Gov. Joe Manchin
III of West Virginia, a state that also
sits atop the Marcellus Shale and has
taxed natural gas for years.
In his budget address, Rendell
proposed to tax gas extracted in
Pennsylvania.
Rendell said Manchin, a fellow
Democrat, had assured him that West
Virginia's tax did not "inhibit gas
extraction and that it is continuing at
a record pace, and it's reaping
critically needed revenues so the state
can provide services to its citizens."
Rendell's plan matched West
Virginia's - a 5 percent tax on the
value of natural gas at the wellhead,
plus 4.7 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of
natural gas extracted.
By Rendell's estimates, such a tax
could raise $107 million for
Pennsylvania in its first year, helping
fill a billion-dollar budget gap.
In a recent interview, Manchin
described what he said to Rendell months
ago.
"The Marcellus Shale is a tremendous
producer. A severance tax will not
deter" the drillers, Manchin said.
"Believe me, if we didn't have the gas,
they wouldn't be here."
Manchin said he had faced industry
complaints in 2005 when he proposed to
expand the tax, with some companies
threatening to leave.
He offered to have the state buy up
their leases "so you don't lose one
penny." No one took him up on his offer.
Skin in the game. By spring,
Rendell's tax proposal was the talk of
the industry. In a June 1 panel
discussion held by a New York investment
firm, four executives spoke of what
might happen next in Pennsylvania.
They talked of the Marcellus "play" -
industry parlance for a focused drilling
campaign. Rich Weber, president and
chief operating officer of Atlas Energy
Resources of Pittsburgh, pooh-poohed
Rendell's tax proposal.
"I think the shot over the bow from
the governor was just that. He wanted to
spark discussion," Weber said, according
to a published transcript. "I think the
legislature is going to kill it for this
year. It may be inevitable down the road
but who knows."
Jim Fraser, senior vice president of
Talisman Energy Inc. in Calgary,
Alberta, did some math. "We have
encouraged the state to lease some more
of that land," he said, adding that his
"back of an envelope" figures showed the
state could raise more money by leasing
land to drillers than by taxing the gas.
Chad Stephens, senior vice president
of Range Resources Corp. of Texas,
weighed the pros and cons.
"Maybe at some point in the far-out
future if they introduce a severance
tax, once the play gets some legs,
that's a different story," he said. "But
if they do implement the tax, at least
the government will have some skin in
the game." State officials might become
"more cooperative and try to help the
play along."
Murry S. Gerber, chairman and chief
executive officer of EQT Corp., spoke
next.
"Chad said it right. Skin in the
game," Gerber said. "The local
governments need to get some of this
money back. I mean, we are on their
roads."
But the state had to be flexible, he
said. "If it's all take and no give . .
. we should just say no as long as we
can."
The meeting. Four days later,
Gerber sat with his aides and state
officials in his company's sixth-floor
conference room in Pittsburgh. His
guests included Rendell.
Gerber knew the governor well. He'd
donated $30,000 to Rendell's 2006
reelection fund, records show. Last
October, Rendell went to Pittsburgh with
a check of his own - $2.8 million in
state grants and tax credits to help
Gerber's company expand operations and
add 354 jobs.
Gerber requested the June 5 meeting.
He hoped to convince Rendell that the
state should consider all the various
natural-gas issues - wastewater
treatment, leasing royalties - and not
just a tax, said Kevin West, managing
director of external affairs and one of
four EQT executives at the meeting.
Gerber did most of the talking.
Rendell asked questions. "You could see
the governor turning a little bit" to
Gerber's pitch, West said last week.
Rendell did not say he would abandon
the tax. At the meeting's end, he said
he would create a task force of
stakeholders - legislators,
environmental officials, industry
executives - to examine Marcellus Shale
issues.
"We were very pleased with that,"
said West. "We felt he adopted our
position."
The study. As the summer
rolled on and the budget impasse
deepened, the industry made its case in
Harrisburg, spending more than $1
million to lobby legislators in the
first half of the year alone, state
reports showed.
Foes of the gas tax began citing a
Pennsylvania State University study, "An
Emerging Giant: Prospects and Economic
Impacts of Developing the Marcellus
Shale Natural Gas Play."
The study said the tax would
backfire.
Marcellus Shale drilling in
Pennsylvania was in "the takeoff phase,"
the study said. It concluded that a
severance tax would decrease revenue by
reducing drilling and slowing job
growth.
Without the tax, the study said, the
Marcellus reserve could become a bonanza
for the state "if pro-growth policies
are pursued that unleash the
entrepreneurial spirit."
The study's primary author, Robert
Watson, said Friday that the shale
contains enough gas to make Pennsylvania
"an OPEC nation."
Watson, an emeritus professor of
petroleum and natural-gas engineering,
also acknowledged that the industry had
funded the study.
The Marcellus Shale Committee, a
group of more than 50 natural-gas and
drilling companies, commissioned the
study and paid Penn State about $100,000
for it, he said.
But one version of the study that
circulated in Harrisburg did not mention
the funding source. Subsequent copies
did. Watson said the omission had been
simply a mistake made in his rush to
publish.
Pennsylvania's environmental
community lashed out at the study as a
tool of a deep-pocketed industry. Even
the state's top conservation official
questioned its findings.
At a Marcellus Shale seminar in
August, the acting secretary of
conservation and natural resources, John
Quigley, rose to introduce Watson.
Quigley also told the audience - a
citizens' advisory panel on
environmental policy - that Watson's
study was unsubstantiated by facts.
That prompted Watson to stand up and
yell, twice, "That's bull-."
Quigley remembers the meeting. "I
pointed out that the study was paid for
by the industry, and that any suggestion
that a severance tax would strangle the
infant industry in its crib strains
credulity," he said Friday.
Watson stands by his findings. "The
procedure we used was scientific," he
said. "We would have come up with the
same answers regardless of who paid for
it."
The surprise. Until August,
there was no change in Rendell's public
stance. He wanted the tax.
But in a briefing for reporters Aug.
31, the governor said, "It won't be in
the mix this year."
Rendell said industry executives had
convinced him that imposing a tax now
would stunt drilling. Also, he said a
drop in the price of natural gas made
the tax impractical. And Senate
Republicans were so opposed to the tax
that it would not pass.
It would have to wait until next
year, Rendell said.
"We felt we should let the industry
get off to a good start," he said, "and
that surpasses our need for money."
His change of position was news to
many - including Steve Crawford,
Rendell's chief of staff. "The
governor's press conferences are always
newsworthy," Crawford said last week,
"and sometimes they are even newsworthy
to those of us closest to him."
His switch also surprised his party's
lea ders in the legislature, who made
a last-ditch effort to revive the tax
before the budget was signed.
Rendell declined requests for an
interview for this article, but he
authorized aides to describe several
meetings he had with industry officials.
Gary Tuma, Rendell's press secretary,
said the governor had changed his mind
on the tax in July, but had not told
aides at that time.
As for the Marcellus Shale task force
that Rendell told Gerber he'd create:
The governor abandoned the idea because
he'd decided to nix the tax for this
year, Tuma said.
The tax fight is over for now. But
the industry is still stockpiling
resources for future contact with
Pennsylvania officeholders.
Range Resources, the Texas driller,
recently hired away a top Rendell aide
to be its vice president for government
relations and regulatory affairs. K.
Scott Roy had been Rendell's executive
deputy chief of staff and his liaison to
the natural-gas industry and
environmental groups.
Range Resources also hosted a
luncheon this month near Pittsburgh for
legislators from both parties. After
sandwiches, the dozen legislators toured
a drilling site.
Among those at the lunch was State
Rep. Timothy J. Solobay (D.,
Washington), an unabashed natural-gas
cheerleader. He's seen drillers
transform his district. Steamfitters and
welders are getting work. Job-training
and truck-driving classes are full.
Natural gas "is the new steel," said
Solobay. "They all told me is that
severance [tax] is coming," he said of
industry executives. "They are only
asking for a couple of years to get the
infrastructure in place."
State Sen. Jake Corman (R., Centre)
has seen drill rigs rising in his
district, too. Eventually, Corman said,
a tax could help towns defray the
related costs. "I think a day will come
when there's a severance tax," he said.
"I just didn't think that day was
today."
Others are less sanguine. "This was
the best time to do it," State Rep.
David K. Levdansky (D., Allegheny) said
of the tax. Next year, he said, "the
industry will just dig in their heels
even harder in hopes that a Republican
governor more sympathetic to their cause
wins election."
In June, Range Resources launched a
political action committee in
Pennsylvania. Nine executives put in a
total of $49,500. The PAC's first
donation, for $5,000, went to a
Republican campaign fund begun by state
Attorney General Tom Corbett.
He's running for governor next year.
The investment bank RBC Capital
Markets invited institutional investors
and corporate executives to a conference
on global energy in June. A transcript
of the event shows several industry
executives discussing, among other
issues, Gov. Rendell's February proposal
to tax natural-gas extraction. To read
the transcript, go to
http://go.philly.com/marcellus2
Contact
staff writer Mario F. Cattabiani at
717-787-5990 or
mcattabiani@phillynews.com.
Inquirer
staff writers Larry King and Joseph
Tanfani contributed to this article.
|
10-19-09 Press Release
Environmental Defense Fund today released an
analysis that compared trends in air pollution data
collected by the state with public records of oil and
gas activity in the Barnett Shale and found a
correlation between the ambient levels of common
hydrocarbons and the amount of condensate produced by
natural gas wells in Denton County.
A
related analysis released today of state air
pollution monitoring data between 2002 and 2008 found
that the air in Denton county contained more non-methane
hydrocarbons (including some potentially hazardous
pollutants) than any of the other counties in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area where such monitoring was
conducted.
Hydrocarbons include many chemicals found in natural gas
and petroleum. Most are considered volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), which contribute to the formation of
ground-level ozone or smog. Environmentalists are also
concerned because methane, a main component in natural
gas, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate
change.
"EDF is not opposed to shale drilling for natural gas, a
valuable national resource and cleaner transition fuel,"
said Ramón Alvarez, Ph.D., senior scientist who led the
analyses. "We simply want to see production done in the
most environmentally responsible way possible. The good
news is that many emissions controls can actually
increase profits for natural gas producers."
Results of these analyses come at a time when the oil
and gas industry is drawing increased attention from the
development of unconventional resources like the Barnett
Shale, some of which are located near population
centers. The New York Times
reported last week about the challenge of persuading
gas and oil producers to employ emission reduction
measures that frequently pay for themselves.
Numerous cost-effective ways exist to reduce
emissions from oil and gas production. Most of these
measures have paybacks of less than one year. "An
environmental trifecta is within our reach," Alvarez
said. "Oil and gas operators can use proven emissions
controls to increase profits after short payback
periods, while helping improve local air quality and
minimizing climate change."
The oil and gas industry releases about 37 tons of VOC
emissions per day in Denton County, which ranks second
in the region behind Wise County's 42 tons per day.
These emissions are substantial, nearly equal to a third
of the 100 tons of VOC emissions produced daily from all
of the cars and trucks in the nine-county DFW ozone
nonattainment area.
Proposed recommendations by EDF include: expansion of
VOC monitoring, especially in other Barnett Shale
counties with significant condensate production (e.g.,
Wise, Hood, Parker); adoption of cost-effective oil and
gas emissions controls, beginning with condensate tanks;
and analyzing the effects of emissions in the Barnett
Shale area on health and regional ozone levels.
Analyses are available via downloadable PDFs on the EDF
website. To access the self-guided presentation of
EDF's analysis, visit
here. To access the related analysis "Analysis of
AutoGC and VOC Canister Data in the DFW Area" by Dr.
Birnur Guven, visit
here.
|
N E W S R E L E A S E
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/14/2009
CONTACT:
Helen Humphreys
Phone: (412) 442-4183
DEP Detects Total
Dissolved Solids Over Standards in Monongahela River
PITTSBURGH (Oct. 14) -- The Department of Environmental
Protection announced today that levels of total dissolved
solids, or TDS, in the Monongahela River have again exceeded the
water quality standard for taste and odor established by state
and federal authorities.
“DEP is working closely with water suppliers
to monitor TDS levels on the Monongahela,” said
Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger. “Already 12
monitors, funded in part by DEP, have been installed on the
river and its tributaries. The resulting data will create an
early warning system for water suppliers and industry and
draw a sharper focus on the river’s water quality.”
Conductivity readings taken by the River
Alert and Information Network, or RAIN, U.S. Geological
Survey gages along the Monongahela and analytical data
provided by Carnegie Mellon University, show that TDS
levels began exceeding 500 parts per million (ppm) on
Sept. 22 near Crucible, Greene County. Over the last two
weeks, additional violations of the 500 ppm standard
have been documented as far downstream as the borough of
Elizabeth. The total river length currently affected is
46 miles. The highest TDS levels documented this fall
were at Brownsville on Sept. 29 where a level of 577 ppm
was found.
Conductivity levels, which are an
indicator for TDS, peaked on Oct. 10 at 867 micro
semens/centimeter, roughly equal to 600 ppm TDS, at
Elizabeth. Confirmatory water samples have been sent
for lab analysis. As was done last year, lab results
will be posted to the DEP Web site. The results can
be accessed by clicking on the southwest region to
the left of the home page.
TDS is a measure of all elements
dissolved in water and can include carbonates,
chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium,
potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Sources of TDS can include
sewage treatment plants, stormwater runoff,
metal mining, mining, abandoned mine
drainage, meat packing plants, vegetable
processing plants, grain milling plants,
bakeries, beverage processing facilities,
agricultural chemical manufacturing, oil and
gas drilling, petroleum refining, leather
processing, primary metal industries,
fabricated metal products, electric
services, refuse systems, scrap and waste
material industries.
The department, as well
as the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, have established secondary
maximum contaminant levels of 500 ppm of
TDS for the commonwealth’s drinking
water and waterways.
Concerned residents
may opt to use bottled water for
drinking and preparing food until
the levels of TDS decrease to normal
levels.
Water treatment
plants are not equipped to
remove TDS from drinking water
and therefore the increased
levels may cause drinking water
to taste salty.
Last fall,
for the first time since
data has been collected, TDS
levels in more than 90 miles
of the river exceeded 500
ppm with levels in excess of
900 ppm recorded.
With the
assistance of DEP, the
RAIN Network has
installed water quality
probes that will allow
it to remotely monitor
water quality, including
conductivity, pH and the
temperature of the
water. The monitors have
been installed and are
logging data which is
being downloaded by
water suppliers and
provided to DEP.
RAIN
is working to
connect the monitors
electronically so
that the data will
be available real
time. Once the
connections are
complete, RAIN plans
to make the data
available to the
public online.
In April 2009
DEP released a
proposed
strategy for new
discharges of
high TDS
wastewater to
meet an effluent
standard of 500
ppm by January
2011. These new
standards were
approved by the
Environmental
Quality Board on
Aug. 18, and
will be
available for
public comment
later this year.
|
|
WildEarth Guardians' Petition Ruling Promises to Protect Clean Air
in the West from Oil and Gas Drilling
EPA Reverses Bush-era Rollbacks: Rules Pollution from Oil and
Gas Operations Must be Aggregated and Assessed Cumulatively, Rejects
State of Colorado-Issued Air Permit
For Immediate Release:
October 14, 2009
For More Information Contact:
Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director, WildEarth
Guardians, (303) 573-4898 x 1303, cell (303) 437-7663.
Denver—In response to a petition filed by WildEarth Guardians
challenging an air pollution permit issued by the State of Colorado,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a landmark ruling
that oil and gas operations must be held to aggregation safeguards
under the Clean Air Act, reversing a Bush-era rollback and promising
greater protection of public health and the environment throughout
the American West.
“This ruling is clear: the oil and gas industry doesn’t get a free
pass to pollute,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program
Director for WildEarth Guardians. “This is a major victory for
clean air and public health.”
Under the Clean Air Act, connected sources of air pollution must be
aggregated together when determining what constitutes a single
source for permitting purposes. Aggregation is a standard
requirement that ensures connected sources of air pollution are not
arbitrarily broken down into smaller sources and ensures that
polluters secure permits that meet stringent emission control
requirements under the Clean Air Act.
Oil and gas operations consist of hundreds to thousands of polluting
pieces of equipment including drill rigs, compressor engines, and
leaking pipelines and tanks. Collectively, this pollution adds up.
In the Denver metropolitan area for example, state inventories show
that oil and gas operations in the Wattenberg gas field of Weld
County release more smog forming compounds than all the cars and
trucks in the region.
Colorado, as well as other Western states, have failed to aggregate
oil and gas operations under the Clean Air Act. This has led states
to ignore the cumulative pollution from oil and gas wells when
issuing permits. This refusal to aggregate was upheld by a 2007
memo issued by a Bush Administration political appointee within the
EPA, which exempted the oil and gas industry from aggregation
safeguards. The failure to aggregate has led to numerous air
quality problems in West, including unhealthy ground-level ozone
levels in oil and gas producing regions of Wyoming, Colorado, and
New Mexico.
“The failure to aggregate is the root of many of the West’s air
pollution problems,” said Nichols. “By ignoring the pollution
impacts of individual oil and gas wells, states have turned their
backs on the cumulative impacts of oil and gas drilling. Sadly,
this was not only condoned, but encouraged by the Bush
Administration.”
In 2008, WildEarth Guardians challenged the failure of Colorado to
aggregate oil and gas operations under the Clean Air Act and
challenged the 2007 Bush Administration memo. In a petition filed
with the Administrator of the EPA, WildEarth Guardians attacked the
failure of Colorado to aggregate connected oil and gas wells with
the Frederick natural gas compressor station, a massive compressor
station owned by Kerr-McGee, a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum in
Weld County north of Denver, before issuing an operating permit
under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA agreed on both counts. On September 22, 2009, the agency
reversed the 2007 Bush Administration memo, holding that oil and gas
operations must be subject to aggregation safeguards under the Clean
Air Act like any other industry. And on October 8, 2009, the EPA
Administrator upheld WildEarth Guardians’ petition, overturning the
permit issued by Colorado for the operation of the Frederick natural
gas compressor station. The EPA ruled, “I grant the Petitioner’s
request for an objection to the permit on the issue of CDPHE’s
failure to provide an adequate basis in the permit record for its
determination of the source” under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA further recommended that Colorado undertake a never-before
done assessment of the oil and gas operations connected to the
Frederick natural gas compressor station, including:
-
An evaluation of Kerr-McGee/Anadarko’s complete
system, including all pollution emitting activities, in the
Wattenberg gas field north of Denver;
-
A determination of whether the pollutant emitting
activities that are a part of the system are contiguous or
adjacent to, and under common control with the Frederick natural
gas compressor station; and
-
An assessment of the flow of natural gas within
the Wattenberg gas field to determine whether facilities are
interrelated with the Frederick natural gas compressor station.
According to Kerr-McGee/Anadarko, the company owns and operates more
than 3,600 gas wells north of Denver in the Wattenberg gas field,
many of which are connected to the Frederick natural gas compressor
station. Data from Colorado indicates that each well annually may
release 2.2 tons of volatile organic compounds individually and more
than 7,000 tons of volatile organic compounds together. The ruling
promises to ensure that these sources and pollution are aggregated
with the Frederick natural gas compressor station to determine
whether Kerr-McGee/Anadarko should be held to more stringent
emission limits.
If aggregated, Kerr-McGee/Anadarko would likely be required to
install the best available pollution controls at its oil and gas
wells. With available controls, emissions could be reduced by as
much as 95% or more.
“This is great news. Never before has the EPA set the bar this
high,” said Nichols. “This all but ensures that states throughout
the U.S. will be finally forced to hold the oil and gas industry
accountable to aggregation safeguards, ensuring lasting protection
of clean air and public health.”
Under the Clean Air Act, the State of Colorado has 90 days to
respond to the EPA's ruling.
The EPA's ruling can be
downloaded here
WildEarth Guardians’ petition can be
downloaded here
The EPA’s reversal of the Bush-era memo can be
downloaded here |
Press Statement by
FWCanDo, Founder Don Young
FWCanDo
Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Operations
P.O. Box 470041
Fort Worth, TX 76147
817-731-2787
For Release: October 13, 2009
FWCanDo calls on
State of Texas to place emission controls on gas
infrastructure throughout the Barnett Shale region Applauds
DISH Mayor on leadership to protect community from toxic
emissions
Fort Worth, TX
-- “ Today, FWCanDo
joins hands with Mayor Tillman of DISH, Texas, the Texas Oil
and Gas Accountability Project and many others in demanding
a solution to the toxic emissions from oil and gas
infrastructure that are impacting the people of DISH and the
Barnett Shale region.
FWCanDo (Fort
Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Operations)
began urging Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief and city council
members to conduct environmental studies on the impacts of
natural gas production in 2005. We were rebuffed with the
explanation that, “the State of Texas does not require us to
do so. ” With the completion of a Barnett Shale emissions
study by Dr. Al Armendariz in January 2009, the release of
damaging infrared videos by TCEQ in July and the recent DISH
air study, it is now clear:1
Natural gas
regulations in the State of Texas are inadequate. Public
health and safety and the environment are directly
harmed by toxic emissions from natural gas production. Our
prayers go out to the people of DISH. We support your right
to breathe clean air and raise your families, pets and
livestock in a safe environment. FWCanDo will continue
encouraging elected officials and regulatory agencies in
Texas to halt all natural gas production activities until
proper safeguards are in place and that timely and vigorous
inspections are carried out.
We believe that
the people of the DISH and all Texans deserve much better
from the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. We
believe they have shown favoritism to the oil and gas
industry and failed to protect the environment we call home.
It is now time
for that to change.”
Don Young,
817-731-2787
1
http://www.edf.org/documents/9235_Barnett_Shale_Report.pdf
|
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation
The draft Supplemental Generic
Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) for potential natural gas
drilling activities in the Marcellus Shale formation is now
available for public review and comment. The draft SGEIS
supplements the existing Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS)
and analyzes the range of potential impacts of shale gas development
using horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The
draft SGEIS outlines safety measures, protection standards and
mitigation strategies that operators would have to follow to obtain
permits.
The public comment
period will be open until November 30, 2009. The Department is
offering three ways in which to submit comments. We have created an
on line
submission system which will allow you to write comments and tag
them to your areas of concern. Attachments can also be included. You
may submit
e-mail comments; please include your name, e-mail or return mail
address to ensure notice of the Final SGEIS when it is available.
Finally, written comments should be sent to: Attn: dSGEIS Comments,
Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation, NYSDEC Division of Mineral
Resources, 625 Broadway, Third Floor, Albany, NY 12233-6500
NY State DEC
website
PDF of draft (23.7MB document)
Pennsylvania is part of
their wastewater plan:
5.13.3.4 Out-of-State
Treatment Plants
The only regulatory role DEC has over disposal
of flowback water at out-of-state municipal or
industrial treatment plants is that transport of these
fluids, which are considered industrial waste,
must be by a licensed Part 364 Transporter.
For informational purposes, Table 5.14 lists out-of-state
plants that have been proposed for
disposition of flowback water recovered in New York.
Table 5-14
Out-of-state treatment plants proposed for disposition of NY
flowback water
Treatment
Facility - Location
- County
Advanced Waste Services
- New Castle, PA Lawrence
Eureka Resources -
Williamsport, PA Lycoming
Lehigh County Authority Pretreatment Plant -
Fogelsville, PA Lehigh
Liquid Assets Disposal -
Wheeling, WV Ohio
Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport -
McKeesport, PA Allegheny
PA Brine Treatment, Inc. -
Franklin, PA Venango
Sunbury Generation
- Shamokin Dam, PA Snyder
Tri-County Waste Water Management
- Waynesburg, PA Greene
Tunnelton Liquids Co. -
Saltsburg, PA Indiana
Valley Joint Sewer Authority -
Athens, PA Bradford
Waste Treatment Corporation -
Washington, PA Washington
DRAFT SGEIS 9/30/2009, Page 5-123
|
|
Coalition Calls on EPA to Stop Fish Kill from Drilling Wastewater
Urges
Immediate Action to End Dumping of Untreated Waste
Clean Water Action -
Pennsylvania
September 21, 2009
(Pittsburgh) –
A state coalition of environmental, watershed, and sporting
organizations is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
to take immediate action following a large scale fish kill in
Dunkard Creek. Over the past two weeks, 10,000 fish in both West
Virginia and Pennsylvania have been reported killed in Dunkard Creek
as a result of the dumping of untreated wastewater from Marcellus
Shale gas drilling operations.
The PA
Campaign for Clean Water, which has 150 member organizations, wrote
to Jon Capacasa, Director of Water Protection for EPA Region III,
urging immediate action to stop gas drilling discharges to Dunkard
Creek, and to review existing drilling dischargers that Pennsylvania
and West Virginia have issued permits to.
“It’s time for
EPA to stop the discharges of untreated wastewater from Marcellus
gas drilling. Whether an agency has given a permit to someone to
discharge wastewater, or if it’s happening in the middle of the
night, the discharge of untreated drilling wastewater has got to
stop,” stated Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director, Clean Water Action.
Scott Hoffman,
President of Chestnut Ridge Trout Unlimited, stated, “DEP needs to
stop issuing more drilling permits until we have regulations for
proper disposal of drilling wastewater in place. We are going to
see more disasters like Dunkard Creek unless we act now.”
The PA
Campaign for Clean Water is calling on EPA to:
1)
Take immediate action to shut down known discharges to
Dunkard Creek with high levels of total dissolved solids and
chlorides. Chlorides (salts) are a clear indication of gas drilling
wastewater.
2)
Require that Marcellus Shale drilling operations in
Pennsylvania and West Virginia document where all wastewater is
disposed of and that plants taking drilling wastewater can properly
treat it.
3)
Reopen permits that Pennsylvania and West Virginia have
issued to plants taking drilling wastewater, but without proper
treatment facilities.
“Fish kills,
mussels and salamanders wiped out, thirty miles of creek polluted –
how can this go on and why hasn’t it been stopped? It is an outrage
that such a deadly discharge can go unchecked in this day and age.
Haven’t the agencies learned from the water quality emergency on the
Monongahela River last year that our streams and rivers can’t
tolerate being choked with TDS and other gas drilling pollutants?”,
said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.
The PA
Campaign for Clean Water is a coalition of 150 environmental,
conservation, sporting, and religious groups from all corners of the
state that speaks in one voice in support of federal and state
policies to protect and restore Pennsylvania’s water resources. |
|
THE REAL COST
OF GAS EXPLORATION
Water Air Land Economy
By: The Responsible Drilling Alliance
Much has been made of the economic benefits of gas
exploration for our region. Certainly, the development of gas
resources will bring jobs and economic growth. But if the history of
exploration in other parts of the country is any guide, these
benefits could come at great costs to our area’s cherished natural
resources – the water we drink, the air we breathe, the land we farm
and hunt upon. Economic studies tend to discount these costs, or
ignore them altogether. The risks of gas development are real,
however. If we understand them, we can work to contain them – and so
maximize the benefits that development may bring.
WATER:
The industry uses an enormous amount of fresh water
which it uses, pollutes, treats in someway, and then returns to the
environment. The manufacturers of chemical conditioners, used in the
fracture of the shale formation, have successfully claimed
proprietary secrecy for their formulas. This secrecy, makes it
almost impossible to be confident the industry’s waste water is
being treated successfully before returning it to the environment.
It is also very difficult to prove that aquifer, stream, or well
pollution has occurred. Medical and emergency personnel, exposed to
fracking fluids or treating exposed persons, work without
information they need to be safe.
POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS
AQUIFERS, LEAKS AND SPILLS
The industry has consistently claimed that the hydro fracturing
mixture is only water, sand and so few chemicals, 1%, as to be
innocuous. With the process happening thousands of feet below the
surface, the industry also claims it couldn’t possibly effect
aquifers near the surface.
Pavillion, Wy, August 14, 2009 -
This week U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
told a group of over 70 that
initial investigations found 11 of 39 tested drinking water wells
were contaminated. Among the contaminants are toxics used in oil and
gas production. EPA confirmed the presence of 2-butoxyethanol
(2-BE), a known constituent in hydraulic fracturing fluids, in three
wells.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 6/4/09
reported that a leaking pipe at a
local Marcellus drilling site sent stored fracking liquid into a
small stream that feeds a lake in a popular park; the contamination
killed fish and other aquatic life for three-quarters of a mile
downstream.
In April,
production fluid or fracking fluid from a Chesapeake drilling
operation in Spring Ridge, Louisiana., spilled into a pasture. Cows
drank the fluid and 17 died.
ShreveportTimes.com 8/6/09
Response: Pass
the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, or
FRAC Act, introduced by Sen. Robert Casey (DPA) and Rep. Diana
DeGette (D-CO) to remove the oil and gas industry’s 2005 exemption
for drilling activities from the Safe Drinking Water Act,.
The oil and gas industry has recently
begun a strong lobbying campaign to defend against this new
legislation.
Support careful regulation of well casing procedures
and use environmentally better well pad placement in relationship to
streams, lakes, and wetlands. Assure industry waste water is
returned to the environment free of toxic chemicals, dissolved
salts, and low level radioactivity. Demand the industry use
environmentally benign chemicals, as they are required to do in
marine environments.
AIR:
Air pollution may actually be the most pervasive
environmental threat from gas exploration. “In Boulder, Wyoming,
(Sublette County), population 75, ozone levels surpassed the healthy
level 11 times in the first three months of 2008. This may cost the
industry and taxpayers millions to come into compliance with federal
clean air laws.” (The Associated
Press, “Pollution in town rivals that of cities”, May 8, 2008)
In Fort Worth-Dallas region the oil and gas sector,
(7700 wells) produces greater emissions than all the motor vehicles
in the 5-county metropolitan area ( 6.3 million people) according to
Al Armendariz, Ph.D. Department of
Environmental and Civil Engineering, Southern Methodist University
The industry tried,
unsuccessfully, to discredit Armendariz’s report and is stonewalling
the needed changes.
“More than 50 pollutants are released during the oil
and gas drilling processes. Sources of the pollution include
“venting, dehydration, gas processing, compression, leaks from
equipment (fugitive emissions), flaring wells, open-pit waste ponds,
and land application of volatile wastes.”
(“Drilling Down”, NRDC,
2007)
“Volatile organic compounds emitted include benzene,
toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and fugitive natural gas (methane).
These mixed with nitrogen oxides (from the exhaust of diesel-driven
equipment), form ground level ozone. The ozone can spread up to 200
miles from the site of gas production.”
(The Endocrine Disruption
Exchange)
“Ozone causes a number of health problems, including
shortness of breath, increased susceptibility to respiratory
infections, increased risk of asthma attacks and possibly premature
mortality.”
(American Lung Association)
Response: A
large portion of the gas industry’s air pollution is gratuitous
damage. Much of the emissions of volatile organic chemicals could be
inexpensively contained by better practices.
Al Armendariz, Ph.D. Department of
Environmental and Civil Engineering, Southern Methodist University.
DEP should institute a
rigorous review of industry practices and require the best
technology to be used.
LAND:
Industrialization of the rural landscape:
The issues of land use include the
economy, way of life, health and quality of life. Recent economic
studies have treated gas drilling as an additive event on top of
what already exists. In reality, the industrialization of the rural
landscape, concentrated spacing of well pads and numerous compressor
stations, will supplant already existing economic activities such as
agriculture and tourism.
Concentrated well spacing:
“...as of March, 2008, the
company (Devon Energy) announced it had drilled 57 wells at 40-acre
spacing (or, according to the company, 500 feet apart), and that it
plans to drill pilot wells at 20-acre spacing this year (according
to the company, that’s 250 feet apart).”
“Focus on the Marcellus
Shale” Lisa Sumi for the Oil & Gas Accountability Project/
Earthworks, May 2008
Loss of property value:
“The property values not tied to
minerals have continued to drop. I believe this is mostly due to the
massive natural gas compressors, pipelines and metering stations.
They have all but made the surface property here worthless; The
average person will not purchase the property right next to a well
site or compressor, providing they are made aware of it.”
Calvin Tillman, Mayor,
Dish, Texas
Road issues:
“...this exploration destroys
roads, which are very expensive to maintain and replace. None of the
existing roads were designed to withstand the constant pounding from
an 80,000 pound waste-water truck. To build roads to handle this
traffic can cost millions of dollars.”
Calvin Tillman, Mayor,
Dish, Texas
Wildlife:
“Drilling requires land to be
cleared for well pads, and roads and pipes are needed to transport
heavy equipment, rigs and gas. These cause forest fragmentation,
accelerated spread of invasive plant species, disturbance of
sensitive habitats and decreases in wildlife populations in species
such as songbirds and amphibians.”
Penn State Live: Wildlife Expert Warns of Ecological Risks of
Natural Gas Drilling” January 23, 2009
Quality of life:
“Until you experience it, you
cannot fathom the noise of these operations, the explosions that
rattle your home, the humming of the generators and the rumble of
increased traffic. Sitting on our porch at night was like watching a
scene from hell as the clouds reflected red from flaring gas.”
Losing the Ranch to
Gas Drilling”, By ROSEMARY BILCHAK, Writers on the Range
Response:
Local municipalities and county
governments can protect against many of the negative aspects of
drilling practices by instituting good zoning and land use
ordinances. DEP should require mile separations between well pads
but allow multiple wells on each pad so the industry can harvest gas
from the full area under on each square mile.
REGULATION FREE ZONE:
In the preamble to
“Drilling Down” Natural Resources Defense
Council, 2007 Amy Mall details
the extent federal regulations have been removed from gas drilling.
State governments are left to handle the problem. In Pennsylvania,
the task has fallen primarily to the Department of Environmental
Protection which has neither the personnel or the regulatory clout
to do a credible job.
(Federal)
“Decades of dealmaking by the
industry, Congress, and regulatory offices have resulted in
exemptions for the oil and gas industry from protections in the
Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as the
Superfund law), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the
Safe Drinking Water Act. In addition, the oil and gas industry is
not covered by public right-to-know provisions under the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, meaning that companies can
withhold information needed to make informed decisions about
protecting the environment and human health.”
(State) Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act of 1984
predates the new intense drilling
methods of hydro fracturing and its chemical attendants. The Act is
essentially an industry document meant primarily to regulate
relationships within the related industries of drilling and mining.
Environmental concerns are almost absent, making it dangerously
inadequate for protecting health, environment and quality of life.
Gas Act example: you may not drill a gas well closer than 100 feet
to a stream, lake, river or wetland or closer that 200 feet from a
house or water well. Both of these inadequate restrictions can be
appealed by the industry.
TAX FREE ZONE:
Gas drilling will impose a great deal of infrastructure cost on
local governments in terms of fire and police protection, schools,
hospitals, water and sewer, and road repair. Unlike in western
states, Pennsylvania has no direct taxes that local municipalities
can collect from the gas industry to offset these costs.
Essentially, the industry will transfer its cost of doing business
to the local taxpayer.
(Penn State Cooperative
Extension “ Marcellus Shale: What Local Government Officials Need to
Know”) “Pennsylvania is among
the nation’s largest natural gas-producing states, but it does not
impose any tax on methane extracted from underground.”
Buchanan Ingersoll and
Rooney, Oil and Gas Industry Group, No. 1 on Central Penn Business
Journal’s list of top lobbying firms.
The industry is rigorously lobbying against
a severance tax claiming it would be unfair because Pennsylvania has
a high corporate tax. In fact, many drilling companies have set up
limited liability companies, “more than 70% of the wells in the
Marcellus Shale will only pay the state’s 3.07% Personal Income Tax
rather than the 9.99% Corporate Net Income Tax.”
(Pennsylvania Budget and
Policy Center) The gas industry
has also been very successful in avoiding taxes on the federal
level. Range Resources paid just 4/10’s of 1% of their income in
federal taxes last year, $400 for every $100,000 earned.
(Business Week 4/23/09)
HOW DO THEY DO IT?
How does the gas industry manage to avoid regulations and taxes?
They put a lot of money and effort into lobbying. In the mid part of
this decade they reportedly invested $70 million dollars to become
exempt from the federal Clean Drinking Water Act and are presently
spending heavily to fight off pending legislation to keep the
exemption. In the first half of this year, companies working in
Pennsylvania have reported spending over $1 million in lobbying
expenses in Harrisburg (Penn
Future). It is an effective
strategy because it focuses a large amount of money on relatively
few representatives, senators, and regulators working on relatively
obscure issues deep in the regulatory and legislative weeds. The pay
off, for the gas industry, has been enormous.
|
Check the facts:
70% of Marcellus Shale Wells Don't Pay
Corporate Net Income Tax
Pennsylvania Budget & Policy Center
(PDF
version) |
Water quality tested
PITTSBURGH—-Carnegie Mellon University's Jeanne M. VanBriesen
and Kelvin Gregory will use a $100,000 grant from the
Pittsburgh-based Colcom Foundation to study water quality in the
Monongahela River.
The focus will be on the presence and effect of bromide
associated with Marcellus Shale gas produced water, and sulfate
from acid mine drainage, according to VanBriesen, a professor of
civil and environmental engineering and faculty director of the
Center for Water Quality in Urban Environmental Systems (WaterQUEST).
"The public has expressed increased concern about the
produced water that may result from ongoing development of the
southwestern Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale formation, which is
reported to contain more than 300 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas," VanBriesen said.
Developers using hydraulic fracturing, which involves
injecting water and sand into major shale formations to help
natural gas flow up a well, will need millions of gallons of
water to complete the process at well sites. Water that returns
to the surface, called flowback or produced water, is collected
for reuse or disposal. Disposal at wastewater treatment plants
along the Monongahela in 2008 is suspected as a contributing
factor in high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) observed
in the river.
Carnegie Mellon researchers will work with the River Alert
Information Network (RAIN), a regional association of drinking
water suppliers that has been selected by the state to monitor
the river quality.
"We will essentially collect data from sensors that RAIN
deploys at various sites along the Monongahela River," said
Gregory, an assistant professor in Carnegie Mellon's Civil and
Environmental Engineering Department. The sensors will monitor
for some aspects of water quality, and the Carnegie Mellon team
will take additional samples for bromide and sulfate.
Besides the fieldwork, Carnegie Mellon researchers will add
data to RAIN's Web-based public information system to promote
additional education and discussion among environmental groups
about river water quality. WaterQUEST will host a "State of the
Monongahela River" event to share data and research about the
river.
"Carnegie Mellon's work to understand the water quality
impacts from shale gas production in Pennsylvania represents a
thoughtful, farsighted effort to avert a problem before it
arises. Carnegie Mellon's research resonates with the mission of
the Colcom Foundation, which has a long history of assessing and
addressing the cause before it's necessary to respond to the
symptom. It's a privilege to support Carnegie Mellon's
preventative strategy," said Carol Zagrocki, program director of
the Colcom Foundation, established in 1996 by the late Cordelia
S. May, a dedicated conservationist who served as chairman until
her death in 2005.
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The FRAC
Act
June 9, 2009 - U.S. Senator Bob
Casey (D-PA) joined U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey
(D-NY) and Jared Polis (D-CO) today to introduce companion Senate
and House bills, the FRAC Act -- Fracturing Responsibility and
Awareness of Chemicals Act, amending the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Email
your representatives
today and encourage them to support these Bills |
For Immediate Release
June 19, 2009
House Appropriations Committee Advances Hinchey Provision
Urging EPA to Conduct New Study on Risks that Hydraulic Fracturing
for Natural Gas Poses to Drinking Water Supplies
Washington, DC - In an important
step forward, the House Appropriations Committee last night approved
a provision authored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that
would formally urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to conduct a new study on the risks that hydraulic fracturing for
natural gas exploration and drilling pose to drinking water
supplies. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies, of which Hinchey is a member,
approved the congressman's language last week as part of the report
accompanying the Interior Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010.
Now that the full House Appropriations Committee passed the bill and
report, the measure now moves to the floor where it will be voted on
by the full House as early as next week.
"We're now one important step closer toward securing a new, unbiased
EPA study on the risks that hydraulic fracturing pose to our
nation's drinking water supplies," Hinchey said. "As we enter a
period in time when we may very well see a dramatic increase in
natural gas drilling, it's important that we have policies in place
that will safeguard our drinking water supplies so that we don't
destroy one natural resource while pursuing another. Natural
gas drilling should be allowed, but it must be done in a way that is
environmentally sound."
Hinchey's provision comes one month after the congressman asked EPA
Administrator Lisa Jackson at an Interior subcommittee hearing about
the need for such a study. Jackson told Hinchey that she
believed her agency should review the risk that fracturing poses to
drinking water in light of various cases across the country that
raise questions about the safety of the natural gas drilling
practice. Hinchey's measure would simply formalize that
congressional request for an EPA study on the risks that toxic
chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing pose to drinking water
supplies in New York and across the nation. The EPA did
conduct a study on the matter in 2004 under the Bush administration,
but that study is widely considered to be flawed for a variety of
reasons, including the way data was selectively collected from
sources that had a vested interest in the oil and gas industry while
other relevant information was ignored.
The language that Hinchey had inserted into the report reads, "The
Committee is concerned about the risks posed to drinking water from
hydraulic fracturing. The Committee questions whether past reviews
by the Agency relied on independent sources of information and the
best available science. The Committee urges EPA to review the risks
that hydraulic fracturing poses to drinking water using the best
available science, as well as independent sources of information."
In the now infamous 2005 Energy Policy Act, which Hinchey strongly
opposed and voted against, the then Republican-controlled Congress
exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act,
which was designed to protect people's water supply from
contamination from toxic materials. This loophole, which some have
called the Halliburton Loophole, created an extremely dangerous set
of circumstances.
Last week, Hinchey, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), and several
of his colleagues introduced the FRAC ACT -- Fracking Responsibility
and Awareness of Chemicals Act, which would close the loophole that
exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The FRAC Act would also require the oil and gas industry to disclose
the chemicals they use in their hydraulic fracturing processes.
Currently, the oil and gas industry is the only industry granted an
exemption from complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” is used in almost
all natural gas wells. It is a process whereby fluids are injected
at high pressure into underground rock formations to blast them open
and increase the flow of fossil fuels. This injection of unknown and
potentially toxic chemicals often occurs near drinking water wells.
Troubling incidents have occurred around the country where people
became ill after fracking operations began in their communities.
Some chemicals that are known to have been used in fracking include
diesel fuel, benzene, industrial solvents, and other carcinogens and
endocrine disrupters. |
BLIP TV VIDEO - 6/15/09
Dr.
Theo Colborn discusses frac fluids used in hydraulic fracturing
|
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By
JACK Z. SMITH
April 29, 2009
Ft Worth Star-Telegram
Uncle Sam has drilled what is essentially a dry hole
in attempting to extract tax revenue from
Fort Worth-based Range Resources,
an independent natural gas producer.
A survey by
Business Week magazine,
done with the help of data tracker Capital IQ, examined companies in
the S&P 500 index to determine the businesses that paid the most
federal corporate income tax and those that paid the least between
2005 and 2008.
Range ranked No.
1 on the list of those paying the least, paying taxes at an average
annual rate of only 0.4 percent (that’s two-fifths of 1 percent) of
its income over the past four years, according to the calculations
published in the magazine’s May 4 edition.
Under a graphic
called "Tiny Tax Bills,"
Business Week said Range’s tax tab had been especially
low because of "heavy drilling for oil and gas, plus losses from the
late 1990s and early 2000s."
Rodney Wallace,
senior vice president and chief compliance officer for Range,
explained the small tax bill this way: "Essentially, if you’re
drilling, and adding [oil and gas] reserves in the U.S., you’re
incurring a lot of intangible drilling costs, and that’s currently
deductible."
Intangible
drilling costs include multiple items, "like the cost of the
[drilling] rig that makes the hole," Wallace said. The tax treatment
is generally available to petroleum producers.
In the hot
Barnett Shale gas field in North Texas, "about 75 . are intangible
drilling costs," he said. . . percent
of your drilling costs That includes the cost of fracturing
wells, Wallace said, which is needed to release the gas and which
can cost as much or more than drilling the well in the first place.
Range and other
energy companies doing extensive drilling actually are deferring
taxes, rather than avoiding them altogether, Wallace said.
That helps U.S.
producers increase domestic production and reduce America’s reliance
on foreign petroleum supplies, he said. He also noted that the Obama
administration, which is proposing to reduce tax breaks available to
oil and gas producers, supports tax incentives for "green"
alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Business Week
quoted Range Chief Financial Officer Roger Manny as saying that
ending deferments could hurt the cash flow of the Fort Worth
company, discourage oil and gas exploration across the industry and
result in higher energy prices.
On Tuesday, Range
reported net income of $32.6 million for the first quarter of 2009
on record-high production. |
|
Millions of
gallons of water use approved
New
York City Council meets on impact to city’s drinking water
By TOM KANE and FRITZ MAYER
The River Reporter
September 18, 2008
HARRISBURG, PA — The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC)
has granted approval for the withdrawal of more than 30 million
gallons of water a day from the river basin in response to 40
applications from drilling companies seeking to drill for natural
gas in the area. Six applications were tabled. The move increases
the amount of water that drillers can take from the watershed to 41
million gallons per day.
This amount does not include what is called “approval by rule,”
or withdrawals that occur when a drilling company gets its water
from a public water source. The commission met on September 11.
“Our technology staff, which is very strict about these things,
feels that that number of gallons a day could be drawn from the
streams, ponds and the Susquehanna River with no threat to water
resources,” said Susan Obleski, SRBC spokesperson.
There are a number of power plants in the river basin that
withdraw from nine to 40 million gallons a day without causing a
problem, she said.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, one million gallons
could be held in a tank about 267 feet long (almost as long as a
football field), 50 feet wide and 10 feet deep.
The SRBC also settled fines with several companies that had
violated water withdrawal limits. Among them, Cabot Oil and Gas
agreed to pay $375,000, Chief Oil and Gas will pay $475,000, EOG
Resources will pay $450,000 and Range Resources will pay $475,000.
New York City Council weighs in
In other gas drilling news, the New York City Council held an
emergency public hearing on September 10 to address concerns that
plans for natural gas drilling in the city’s upstate watersheds
could contaminate local drinking water.
Council member James Gennaro, who organized the hearing, said
that drilling also threatens to cost taxpayers billions of dollars
if the city loses a waiver from the federal government that exempts
it from filtering its drinking water. The city’s water supply is
allowed to go unfiltered as long as periodic federal testing finds
it to be clean. According to Gennaro, if the water supply were to be
contaminated as a result of the drilling and the exemptions taken
away, the city would be forced to pay billions of dollars to
construct and maintain a new filtration plant.
“This is an industrial activity that is completely inconsistent
with a drinking water supply,” Gennaro said. Drilling in the
watershed has become something of a campaign issue in the state
senate race between Gennaro and incumbent senator Frank Padavan.
Padavan has said he will reintroduce legislation in next year’s
session that would prevent drilling in the watershed that serves New
York City.
At the hearing, several environmental groups, including Delaware
Riverkeeper, the Natural Resource Defense Fund, Catskill
Mountainkeeper and the Sierra Club ,warned about the possible
dangers of gas drilling.
Not everyone agreed. The American Petroleum Institute and the
Independent Petroleum Association of America issued a statement that
read, “The associations believe that development of natural gas
resources in the Marcellus Shale will not pose any significant risk
to the drinking water supplies of New York City.” |
|
By Susan Evans
The Tribune-Democrat
February 23, 2008
The geologist offering his paid services as an agent to area
landowners to help them get the best gas lease also is an executive
with the Pennsylvania Game Commission who is in charge of, among
other things, gas leases on state gamelands.
Some question whether this moonlighting poses a conflict of
interest.
In his day job in Harrisburg, William Capouillez is director of the
Bureau of Wildlife Habitat and oversees oil and gas and mining
leases on 1.4 million acres of gamelands.
After working hours, and described only as a geologist and not as a
state employee, he conducts seminars for landowners who have been
approached by natural gas companies wanting a lease.
If they sign with him as their agent, he will get them higher lease
income and better terms, he says. In return, he and his private
company, Geological Assessment and Leasing of McVeytown, would get
25 cents of every dollar Capouillez negotiated for the landowner
above the rate first offered by the gas company, plus 50 percent of
royalties above the set rate.
For the Game Commission manager, it’s an extra income above the
approximate $70,000 annually he earns from the state. For the
landowner, it’s a better lease than expected.
But for some gas companies, a state official wearing these two hats
poses, in the words of one, “a sensitive situation.”
They must please a state official who controls gas leasing on state
gamelands, and who at the same time is a private consultant to
landowners negotiating their own gas leases – often with the same
gas company.
Capouillez says his outside activities are on record and sanctioned
by the Game Commission and that he has no conflict of interest or
dubious ethics area.
In fact, the only reason he does not disclose his state employment
when conducting seminars is to avoid a conflict of interest.
“If you print in the paper that a Pennsylvania Game Commission
director is working for private landowners, and a person called me
to act as their agent, I could not represent them,” he said.
“I could have a conflict of interest because they would expect
favors,” he said.
But Capouillez said he is aware of the gas companies’ concern.
“I have had at least three gas companies complain to the governor’s
office because they felt that my presence there (at private
negotiations) influenced how much the companies had to pay, but they
couldn’t prove that I advertised,” he said.
The dual role of state gamelands leasing overseer, coupled with
private lease negotiator, is raising the eyebrows of natural gas
company representatives who have heard his seminar presentations.
Capouillez is aware of that.
“I guarantee that if you print anything about my affiliation with
the Game Commission, it will cause me grief. There would be
repercussions. Anybody there would think that my presence would
influence higher prices,” he said.
“So if, let’s say, there’s Western Land Services and they’re leasing
for $20 an acre, and anyone comes and does what I do, the landowners
are going to reap the benefit, at the cost of the industry,” he
said.
“But I do not advertise my affiliation with the Game Commission,” he
said.
Officials at Western Land Services, a Michigan firm that is
soliciting area landowners for natural gas leases, declined to
comment.
Capouillez said that he has approval for his outside employment
through the governor’s office, so that his activities do not pose a
conflict of interest.
But Chuck Ardo of the governor’s press office said that the
governor’s office does not approve supplemental employment for Game
Commission workers.
“I can tell you, though, that the governor does not look with favor
on employees who seek personal gain based on their work experience,”
he said.
Game Commission officials say that Capouillez’s activities are
approved by the commission itself, not the governor.
“As a bureau director, he is required to file annual reports with
the state Ethics Commission, as well as having received approval for
supplemental employment,” said spokesman Jerry Feaser.
“If all those boxes have been checked off, all that is perfectly
legal,” he said.
A 2001 complaint from a company alleging that Capouillez had a
conflict of interest was investigated by the Game Commission and
dismissed as unfounded, officials said.
Pennsylvania’s Ethics Act defines a conflict of interest as “use by
a public official or public employee of the authority of his office
or employment of any confidential information received through his
holding public office or employment for the private pecuniary
benefit of himself, a member of his immediate family, or a business
with which he is a member.”
Capouillez repeatedly said during an interview that his private gas
leasing services are not connected to the Game Commission or its gas
leasing.
He said he was concerned that publicity about his state job would
harm him.
Commenting on the Ethics Act, he said, “My concern here is that I am
a public employee and my employment affiliation when noted in your
article may cause pecuniary benefit to me through my business,” he
said.
Feaser said the issue of Capouillez’s outside job is a dead one.
“It’s not new, it’s something that’s been there. I know it’s been
brought up as an issue of concern, but it’s been reviewed by the
Game Commission so I would have nothing to add.”
Cambria County Farm Bureau President Robert Davis, who has organized
the seminars for landowners being offered a gas lease, said he was
aware of Capouillez’s role with the Game Commission and had been
assured that it is “approved and legal.”
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