Friday, September 17, 2010
THIS BLOG HAS BEEN UNDER SURVEILLANCE BY PA'S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY!
Posts from us from this point on are to be taken in jest only.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Goebbels Alive and Well in PA Gasland
In his brilliant novel 1984, George Orwell instinctively grasped the sinister techniques of modern propaganda. He unforgettably illustrated the theory Goebbels practiced in Nazi Germany: if you control the media and government’s “bully pulpits,” truth and sound reasoning are totally unneeded to work your evil will. As long as people stay busy and scared, and you drown out all opposing voices, constant repetition of shallow slogans and outright lies is all you’ll ever need.
Orwell would have warned us—and Goebbels might be envious—of gas promoters’ play for Pennsylvanians’ minds. Exploiting our economic panic, they rush to drill despite a worldwide gas glut and prices near their historic low. Wonder why? Because, as self-serving liars, they must strike, like Nazis, while our fear is hot—before economic recovery kicks in and Pennsylvanians can calmly assess the manifold dangers drilling poses. A panicked, impatient public, in a nation too busy to think, is Orwell’s biggest nightmare—but gas propagandists’ wildest dream.
Lamentably, the “Goebbels of gas” are living their dream. Via endless campaign and lobbying dollars, and a constant revolving door between Harrisburg and industry, Big Gas has turned our politicians into professional “gasmouths.” The worst cases, like State Senator Gene Yaw and State Representative Garth Everett, even gush like drilling cheerleaders who’ve bedded the entire team. When “never is heard a discouraging word” from so-called “representatives,” the lie quickly spreads that few oppose drilling in Pennsylvania. In fact, hundreds of thousands oppose it vehemently, and find justice and expert opinion squarely on our side. But with limited media budgets, and broadcasters and reps in bondage to Big Gas, we get roughly the media access offered pre-Holocaust Jews.
Industry spin doctors get unlimited access. Generally, they use it for shallow arguments, misleading information, and outright repeated lies. But sometimes, as when dubbing government theft “fair pooling,” they create masterpieces of Orwellian doublespeak.
The deception and shallow arguments are almost endless, like this technology being used safely for 60 years—which blends pretty badly with the other idiocy of gas developers being “infant industries” unable to afford a severance tax. Then there’s the sheer stupidity of calling drilling opponents hypocrites for driving cars—as if a society that sacrificed bike roads and cheap public transport to gas-guzzling autos offers any real choice. And as if WE’RE not the ones working to change that.
But what I love best are the true Orwellian bits, where evil corporate Big Brother gives us all a sloppy wet kiss. Their “Marcellus Shale community” strikes me as a “community” composed of rapists and their unwilling victims. So what’s next, a “Megan’s law community”? And when Chesapeake Energy happily declares “We’re all in this together,” I think, yeah, just like Hitler and Anne Frank.
Patrick Walker, Factoryville
Orwell would have warned us—and Goebbels might be envious—of gas promoters’ play for Pennsylvanians’ minds. Exploiting our economic panic, they rush to drill despite a worldwide gas glut and prices near their historic low. Wonder why? Because, as self-serving liars, they must strike, like Nazis, while our fear is hot—before economic recovery kicks in and Pennsylvanians can calmly assess the manifold dangers drilling poses. A panicked, impatient public, in a nation too busy to think, is Orwell’s biggest nightmare—but gas propagandists’ wildest dream.
Lamentably, the “Goebbels of gas” are living their dream. Via endless campaign and lobbying dollars, and a constant revolving door between Harrisburg and industry, Big Gas has turned our politicians into professional “gasmouths.” The worst cases, like State Senator Gene Yaw and State Representative Garth Everett, even gush like drilling cheerleaders who’ve bedded the entire team. When “never is heard a discouraging word” from so-called “representatives,” the lie quickly spreads that few oppose drilling in Pennsylvania. In fact, hundreds of thousands oppose it vehemently, and find justice and expert opinion squarely on our side. But with limited media budgets, and broadcasters and reps in bondage to Big Gas, we get roughly the media access offered pre-Holocaust Jews.
Industry spin doctors get unlimited access. Generally, they use it for shallow arguments, misleading information, and outright repeated lies. But sometimes, as when dubbing government theft “fair pooling,” they create masterpieces of Orwellian doublespeak.
The deception and shallow arguments are almost endless, like this technology being used safely for 60 years—which blends pretty badly with the other idiocy of gas developers being “infant industries” unable to afford a severance tax. Then there’s the sheer stupidity of calling drilling opponents hypocrites for driving cars—as if a society that sacrificed bike roads and cheap public transport to gas-guzzling autos offers any real choice. And as if WE’RE not the ones working to change that.
But what I love best are the true Orwellian bits, where evil corporate Big Brother gives us all a sloppy wet kiss. Their “Marcellus Shale community” strikes me as a “community” composed of rapists and their unwilling victims. So what’s next, a “Megan’s law community”? And when Chesapeake Energy happily declares “We’re all in this together,” I think, yeah, just like Hitler and Anne Frank.
Patrick Walker, Factoryville
Letter to Editor - 27 Aug 2010 Scranton Times
Dear Editor:
The people pleading loudest for a moratorium on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania are NOT “environmentalists.” They’re actually regular people…some of whom you may even know. They’re people who teach our children, drive the school buses, work in our grocery stores. They’re people who’ve minded their own business for years, who went about raising their families, working at careers, paying their taxes. And suddenly, these people have woken up to a nightmare: threats of economic and environmental carnage they never thought possible in America.
I’m one of those people. And having never been an “activist” before in my life, I’m amazed at the complacency of those who live throughout the Scranton area who continue living their lives as if this industry of destruction isn’t steamrolling straight for their doorsteps! Do they not realize that the natural gas industry is relying on that complacency? Do they not realize that this time, it will NOT all work out? That we are on the threshold of a return to the days of the coal barons…and that after the natural gas drillers are done with us, they will leave us in even worse shape than ever?
Here’s what I know. I know that right along with our children’s school buses, there will be thousands upon thousands of tanker trucks filled with toxic chemicals roaring down I-81 and all roads leading in and out of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. I know there isn’t a single fire department in the local area capable of handling a major spill or a well blow out, and that the nearest emergency response team is located in Texas – five hours away. I know that the only emergency response plan in existence for an accident is evacuation. I know there are well pads being constructed within a mile of Lackawanna State Park. I know that the waste water (filled with almost 600 chemicals that are carcinogenic and disruptors of the endocrine system in fetuses) are being disposed of by crystallization and sale to PennDot to de-ice our roadways this winter. I know that what remains is being diluted and dumped into our local rivers. (You see, the technology for cleaning those fluids hasn’t been invented yet.) I know that 70 percent of the jobs in the industry are going to people from out of state…not to Pennsylvanians. I know the gas industry hopes to have 168,000 wells in place during the next five years and 785,000 wells in the next ten. I know that hunters who shoot deer that have ingested frack-water from ponds on drill sites will be taking their lives into their own hands by eating the venison.
So. Now that you know it’s not just tree-hugging radicals protesting this industry’s invasion into our area, are you the least bit concerned? I hope so. Write your legislators. Tell them to slow down. Demand a moratorium until this industry gets the kinks worked out.
Virginia Cody
The people pleading loudest for a moratorium on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania are NOT “environmentalists.” They’re actually regular people…some of whom you may even know. They’re people who teach our children, drive the school buses, work in our grocery stores. They’re people who’ve minded their own business for years, who went about raising their families, working at careers, paying their taxes. And suddenly, these people have woken up to a nightmare: threats of economic and environmental carnage they never thought possible in America.
I’m one of those people. And having never been an “activist” before in my life, I’m amazed at the complacency of those who live throughout the Scranton area who continue living their lives as if this industry of destruction isn’t steamrolling straight for their doorsteps! Do they not realize that the natural gas industry is relying on that complacency? Do they not realize that this time, it will NOT all work out? That we are on the threshold of a return to the days of the coal barons…and that after the natural gas drillers are done with us, they will leave us in even worse shape than ever?
Here’s what I know. I know that right along with our children’s school buses, there will be thousands upon thousands of tanker trucks filled with toxic chemicals roaring down I-81 and all roads leading in and out of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. I know there isn’t a single fire department in the local area capable of handling a major spill or a well blow out, and that the nearest emergency response team is located in Texas – five hours away. I know that the only emergency response plan in existence for an accident is evacuation. I know there are well pads being constructed within a mile of Lackawanna State Park. I know that the waste water (filled with almost 600 chemicals that are carcinogenic and disruptors of the endocrine system in fetuses) are being disposed of by crystallization and sale to PennDot to de-ice our roadways this winter. I know that what remains is being diluted and dumped into our local rivers. (You see, the technology for cleaning those fluids hasn’t been invented yet.) I know that 70 percent of the jobs in the industry are going to people from out of state…not to Pennsylvanians. I know the gas industry hopes to have 168,000 wells in place during the next five years and 785,000 wells in the next ten. I know that hunters who shoot deer that have ingested frack-water from ponds on drill sites will be taking their lives into their own hands by eating the venison.
So. Now that you know it’s not just tree-hugging radicals protesting this industry’s invasion into our area, are you the least bit concerned? I hope so. Write your legislators. Tell them to slow down. Demand a moratorium until this industry gets the kinks worked out.
Virginia Cody
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
State Certified Water Testing Laboratories
There are four elements that make up a legally defensible baseline water test.
1. The test must be conducted by an independent 3rd party.
2. Training and protocols must be in place
3. There must be an identifiable chain of custody
4. The test must be conducted by a Pennsylvania State Certified Laboratory.
The State Certified Laboratories that serve Northeastern PA are:
Aqua-Tech Lab, Mountaintop, PA 868-5346
Kirby Health Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA 822-4278
Benchmark Analytical, East Stroudsburg, PA, 421-5122
Prosser Labs, Effort, PA, 629-2981
QC Labs, Southampton, PA, 215-355-3900
FX Browne, Lansdale, PA, 215-362-3878
Friend Lab Inc., Waverly, NY, 607-565-2893
Honesdale Consolidated, Honesdale, PA, 253-3230
Suburban Labs, Temple, PA, 610-929-3666
Kappe Associates, Frederick, MD, 301-846-0210
Eastern Laboratory, South Waverly, PA, 888-0169
Clinical Labs, Inc., Throop, PA, 800-692-6345 Ext. 216
Northeastern Labs, Scranton, PA, 348-0775
It is recommended that you have your well water tested as soon as you see beginning of operations by the natural gas industry. Test results are usually good for only six months. However, there are less expensive tests you can have done on an intermittent basis that can tell you, if certain indicators are suddenly present, that you need to have the more expensive tests done.
If drilling has already started in your area, it is not too late to have a water test done.
Although we do not recommend any one water testing company, if you have questions about general prices, about the tests themselves (their are 3 tiers of tests to consider), we do recommend you contact Andy Goldberg, owner and technician of Independent Water Testing in Clarks Summit. His phone number is 888-MY H2O TEST. (Yes I know there's an extra digit there.) You can also email him at andy@independentwatertesting.com. He has a wealth of information that you can use as you decide when and how to have your water tested.
1. The test must be conducted by an independent 3rd party.
2. Training and protocols must be in place
3. There must be an identifiable chain of custody
4. The test must be conducted by a Pennsylvania State Certified Laboratory.
The State Certified Laboratories that serve Northeastern PA are:
Aqua-Tech Lab, Mountaintop, PA 868-5346
Kirby Health Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA 822-4278
Benchmark Analytical, East Stroudsburg, PA, 421-5122
Prosser Labs, Effort, PA, 629-2981
QC Labs, Southampton, PA, 215-355-3900
FX Browne, Lansdale, PA, 215-362-3878
Friend Lab Inc., Waverly, NY, 607-565-2893
Honesdale Consolidated, Honesdale, PA, 253-3230
Suburban Labs, Temple, PA, 610-929-3666
Kappe Associates, Frederick, MD, 301-846-0210
Eastern Laboratory, South Waverly, PA, 888-0169
Clinical Labs, Inc., Throop, PA, 800-692-6345 Ext. 216
Northeastern Labs, Scranton, PA, 348-0775
It is recommended that you have your well water tested as soon as you see beginning of operations by the natural gas industry. Test results are usually good for only six months. However, there are less expensive tests you can have done on an intermittent basis that can tell you, if certain indicators are suddenly present, that you need to have the more expensive tests done.
If drilling has already started in your area, it is not too late to have a water test done.
Although we do not recommend any one water testing company, if you have questions about general prices, about the tests themselves (their are 3 tiers of tests to consider), we do recommend you contact Andy Goldberg, owner and technician of Independent Water Testing in Clarks Summit. His phone number is 888-MY H2O TEST. (Yes I know there's an extra digit there.) You can also email him at andy@independentwatertesting.com. He has a wealth of information that you can use as you decide when and how to have your water tested.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wyoming County Officers and contact info
County Commissioners
Anthony Litwin, Chairman 836-3200
Judy Kraft Mead, Vice-Chair
J. Stark Bartron II
Commissioners Staff
William Gaylord, Chief Clerk/Administrator
Jim Davis, County Solicitor
Georgette Smith, Deputy Chief Clerk
Marisa Crispell-BarberAdministrative Assistant/Website Administrator
County Officers of the Court
Judge Russell D. Shurtleff 836-3151
District Justices
District 44-3-0l
P.O. Box 276 Factoryville, PA 18419 945-3038
*Clinton Township, Factoryville Borough, Lemon Township, Nicholson Borough, Overfield Township
District 44-3-02
Carl W. Smith Jr. Courthouse 836-3797
*Eaton Township, Exeter Township, Falls Township, Monroe Township, Northmoreland Township, Noxen Township, Tunkhannock Borough
District 44-3-04
John Hovan 271 Hollowcreast Rd. Tunkhannock, PA 18657 836-l66l
*Braintrim, Forkston, Mehoopany,Meshoppen, North Branch, Tunkhannock, Washington and Windham Townships, Laceyvile, Meshoppen Boroughs.
Sheriff
Richard Montross
Courthouse 836-3200
District Attorney
Jeff Mitchell Courthouse 836-3200
Chief Assessor
Tax Mapping and Assessment Office
1 Court House Square
Tunkhannock, Pa 18657
(570) 996-2262
Office hours are from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.
Eric A. Brown, CPE, Chief
Catherine J. Voda, CPE Chief Deputy
County Planning Commission
Paul Weilage, Planning Director:
pweilage@wycopa.org 996-2267
Planning Commission Board Members:
Walter Derhammer
Richard Fitzsimmons
Thomas Davis
Dale Brown
Marta Ruiz
Jim Cappucci
Glenn Shupp
Jon Howard
Randy Ehrenzeller
County Solicitor
John Hovan 836-5507
Emergency Management Agency
Martha Decker, Coordinator Human Services Building 836-2828
Betty Carpenter, Operations and Training Officer
Communications Center
836-9111
Emergency Calls 9ll
Hours of Operation:
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
After hours emergency: (570) 836-6161
Housing Authority
John Jennings, Executive Director
Michael Dziak, Chairman
Members:
Philip Shebby
Stacy Huber
Osbert Patton
Ronald Burr
Bailey Apartments Nicholson 942-63l0
Susquehanna Apartments 836-5282
Old Orchard Apartments Falls
White's Ferry Apartments Falls
Meshoppen Townhouse Apartments
Exeter Township Apartments
Redevelopment Authority
Bailey Apartments, Nicholson 942-6l55
John Jennings, Executive Director
Philip Shebby, Chairman
Members:
James Cruver
Michael Dziak
C. Ronald Burr
Stacy Huber
Anthony Litwin, Chairman 836-3200
Judy Kraft Mead, Vice-Chair
J. Stark Bartron II
Commissioners Staff
William Gaylord, Chief Clerk/Administrator
Jim Davis, County Solicitor
Georgette Smith, Deputy Chief Clerk
Marisa Crispell-BarberAdministrative Assistant/Website Administrator
County Officers of the Court
Judge Russell D. Shurtleff 836-3151
District Justices
District 44-3-0l
P.O. Box 276 Factoryville, PA 18419 945-3038
*Clinton Township, Factoryville Borough, Lemon Township, Nicholson Borough, Overfield Township
District 44-3-02
Carl W. Smith Jr. Courthouse 836-3797
*Eaton Township, Exeter Township, Falls Township, Monroe Township, Northmoreland Township, Noxen Township, Tunkhannock Borough
District 44-3-04
John Hovan 271 Hollowcreast Rd. Tunkhannock, PA 18657 836-l66l
*Braintrim, Forkston, Mehoopany,Meshoppen, North Branch, Tunkhannock, Washington and Windham Townships, Laceyvile, Meshoppen Boroughs.
Sheriff
Richard Montross
Courthouse 836-3200
District Attorney
Jeff Mitchell Courthouse 836-3200
Chief Assessor
Tax Mapping and Assessment Office
1 Court House Square
Tunkhannock, Pa 18657
(570) 996-2262
Office hours are from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.
Eric A. Brown, CPE, Chief
Catherine J. Voda, CPE Chief Deputy
County Planning Commission
Paul Weilage, Planning Director:
pweilage@wycopa.org 996-2267
Planning Commission Board Members:
Walter Derhammer
Richard Fitzsimmons
Thomas Davis
Dale Brown
Marta Ruiz
Jim Cappucci
Glenn Shupp
Jon Howard
Randy Ehrenzeller
County Solicitor
John Hovan 836-5507
Emergency Management Agency
Martha Decker, Coordinator Human Services Building 836-2828
Betty Carpenter, Operations and Training Officer
Communications Center
836-9111
Emergency Calls 9ll
Hours of Operation:
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
After hours emergency: (570) 836-6161
Housing Authority
John Jennings, Executive Director
Michael Dziak, Chairman
Members:
Philip Shebby
Stacy Huber
Osbert Patton
Ronald Burr
Bailey Apartments Nicholson 942-63l0
Susquehanna Apartments 836-5282
Old Orchard Apartments Falls
White's Ferry Apartments Falls
Meshoppen Townhouse Apartments
Exeter Township Apartments
Redevelopment Authority
Bailey Apartments, Nicholson 942-6l55
John Jennings, Executive Director
Philip Shebby, Chairman
Members:
James Cruver
Michael Dziak
C. Ronald Burr
Stacy Huber
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
email your reps
If you need to do a mass email to your reps, here's a partly completed list. Just cut and paste! If you get mailer daemons on any of them, let me know.
Republicans House
wadolph@pahousegop.com, mbaker@pahousegop.com,
parep160@aol.com, jbear@pahousegop.com, kbeyer@pahousegop.com,kboback@pahousegop.com, sboyd@pahousegop.com, jchristi@pahousegop.com, srohrer@pahousegop.com ,cross@pahousegop.com, cschrode@pahousegop.com, shsmith@pahousegop.com, csonney@pahousegop.com, jstern@pahousegop.com, Wtallman@pahousegop.com, Ktrue@pahousegop.com, mturzai@pahousegop.com, Kwatson@pahousegop.com, dobrien@pahousegop.com, boneill@pahousegop.com, doberlan@pahousegop.com, mpeifer@pahousegop.com, sperry@pahousegop.com, Spetri@pahousegop.com, mphillip@pahousegop.com, tpickett@pahousegop.com, jpyle@pahousegop.com, tquigley@pahousegop.com,
dreed@pahousegop.com, Mreese@pahousegop.com, dreichle@pahousegop.com, broae@pahousegop.com, pclymer@pahousegop.com, bcutler@pahousegop.com, Gday@pahousegop.com, Sdelozie@pahousegop.com, gdenling@pahousegop.com, gdigiro@pahousegop.com, jevans@pahousegop.com, geverett@pahousegop.com, rfairchi@pahousegop.com, Ffarry@pahousegop.com, rgeist@pahousegop.com, mmustio@pahousegop.com, dmilne@pahousegop.com, rmiller@pahousegop.com, dmillard@pahousegop.com, NickMicc@pahousegop.com, kgillesp@pahousegop.com, mgingric@pahousegop.com, ggrell@pahousegop.com, kharper@pahousegop.com, aharris@pahousegop.com, Shelm@pahousegop.com, thenness@pahousegop.com, dhess@pahousegop.com, Dheckern@pahousegop.com, rkauffma@pahousegop.com, mkeller@pahousegop.com, tkillion@pahousegop.com, jknowles@pahousegop.com, Tkrieger@pahousegop.com, jmarshal@pahousegop.com, dmetcalf@pahousegop.com
Democrats House
Unfortunately, it looks like you have to email each of them individually. Am working on getting specific emails.
Senate:
alloway@pasen.gov, dargall@pasen.gov, lbaker@pasen.gov, boscola@pasenate.com, pbrowne@pasen.gov, mbrubaker@pasen.gov, jcorman@pasen.gov, costa@pasenate.com, andy@pasenate.com, jearll@pasen.gov, jeichelberger@pasen.gov, eerickson@pasen.gov, ferlo@pasenate.com, mfolmer@pasen.gov, fontana@pasenate.com, jgordner@pasen.gov, sgreenleaf@pasen.gov, hughes@pasenate.com, kitchen@pasenate.com, logan@pasenate.com, cmcilhinney@pasen.gov, mellow@pasenate.com, bmensch@pasen.gov, musto@pasenate.com, opake@pasenate.com, jorie@pasen.gov, jpiccola@pasen.gov, dpileggi@pasen.gov, jpippy@pasen.gov, jrafferty@pasen.gov, jscarnati@pasen.gov, lsmucker@pasen.gov, stack@pasenate.com, stout@pasenate.com, tartaglione@pasenate.com, rtomlinson@pasen.gov, vance@pasen.gov, washington@pasenate.com, mwaugh@pasen.gov, dwhite@pasen.gov, mwhite@pasen.gov, williams@pasenate.com, wozniak@pasenate.com, gyaw@pasen.gov
Republicans House
wadolph@pahousegop.com, mbaker@pahousegop.com,
parep160@aol.com, jbear@pahousegop.com, kbeyer@pahousegop.com,kboback@pahousegop.com, sboyd@pahousegop.com, jchristi@pahousegop.com, srohrer@pahousegop.com ,cross@pahousegop.com, cschrode@pahousegop.com, shsmith@pahousegop.com, csonney@pahousegop.com, jstern@pahousegop.com, Wtallman@pahousegop.com, Ktrue@pahousegop.com, mturzai@pahousegop.com, Kwatson@pahousegop.com, dobrien@pahousegop.com, boneill@pahousegop.com, doberlan@pahousegop.com, mpeifer@pahousegop.com, sperry@pahousegop.com, Spetri@pahousegop.com, mphillip@pahousegop.com, tpickett@pahousegop.com, jpyle@pahousegop.com, tquigley@pahousegop.com,
dreed@pahousegop.com, Mreese@pahousegop.com, dreichle@pahousegop.com, broae@pahousegop.com, pclymer@pahousegop.com, bcutler@pahousegop.com, Gday@pahousegop.com, Sdelozie@pahousegop.com, gdenling@pahousegop.com, gdigiro@pahousegop.com, jevans@pahousegop.com, geverett@pahousegop.com, rfairchi@pahousegop.com, Ffarry@pahousegop.com, rgeist@pahousegop.com, mmustio@pahousegop.com, dmilne@pahousegop.com, rmiller@pahousegop.com, dmillard@pahousegop.com, NickMicc@pahousegop.com, kgillesp@pahousegop.com, mgingric@pahousegop.com, ggrell@pahousegop.com, kharper@pahousegop.com, aharris@pahousegop.com, Shelm@pahousegop.com, thenness@pahousegop.com, dhess@pahousegop.com, Dheckern@pahousegop.com, rkauffma@pahousegop.com, mkeller@pahousegop.com, tkillion@pahousegop.com, jknowles@pahousegop.com, Tkrieger@pahousegop.com, jmarshal@pahousegop.com, dmetcalf@pahousegop.com
Democrats House
Unfortunately, it looks like you have to email each of them individually. Am working on getting specific emails.
Senate:
alloway@pasen.gov, dargall@pasen.gov, lbaker@pasen.gov, boscola@pasenate.com, pbrowne@pasen.gov, mbrubaker@pasen.gov, jcorman@pasen.gov, costa@pasenate.com, andy@pasenate.com, jearll@pasen.gov, jeichelberger@pasen.gov, eerickson@pasen.gov, ferlo@pasenate.com, mfolmer@pasen.gov, fontana@pasenate.com, jgordner@pasen.gov, sgreenleaf@pasen.gov, hughes@pasenate.com, kitchen@pasenate.com, logan@pasenate.com, cmcilhinney@pasen.gov, mellow@pasenate.com, bmensch@pasen.gov, musto@pasenate.com, opake@pasenate.com, jorie@pasen.gov, jpiccola@pasen.gov, dpileggi@pasen.gov, jpippy@pasen.gov, jrafferty@pasen.gov, jscarnati@pasen.gov, lsmucker@pasen.gov, stack@pasenate.com, stout@pasenate.com, tartaglione@pasenate.com, rtomlinson@pasen.gov, vance@pasen.gov, washington@pasenate.com, mwaugh@pasen.gov, dwhite@pasen.gov, mwhite@pasen.gov, williams@pasenate.com, wozniak@pasenate.com, gyaw@pasen.gov
A Warm, Fuzzy Day with Cabot
(The Cabot Community Picnic, Montrose Area High School, August 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.)
Corporate Big Brother loves you. Or just has really bad taste. But in a gesture right out of George Orwell’s 1984, Cabot invites us all to a community picnic. Can this be Cabot, the company behind the environmental screw-ups poisoning PA daily? The very same. Cabot? Community? The two words blink across the page at each other in disbelief.
See, a friend of mine with years of Hazmat safety experience—even gigs with the good ol’ gas boys of Oklahoma and Texas (the same types swarming here)—told a curious yarn about Cabot. Currently unemployed, he drove hours to drop his resume at a local Cabot office. On entering, he said he’d picked up a serious vibe of “We don’t like yer kind ’round here, boy.” He just wasn’t sure if they meant Yankees, local guys—or safety men.
Talk of good ol’ boys suggests another tale. After the War Between the States, we Yanks blew off Honest Abe’s plan to “bind up wounds,” and what goes around comes around. But mark my word, Scarlett, these nomads—these “reverse carpetbaggers”—aren’t flowers of Southern chivalry. No, Gone with the Wind is the wrong movie here; we’re talking Deliverance. Certain crew members have flashed guns at complaining landowners—not owners under contract, but neighbors griping of trespass. A pickup with Texas plates swerved to nearly hit me as I expressed (with my middle finger, for a keepsake photo) my free citizen's views on a fracking tower. A small hotel owner’s lovely Victorian rooms were drunkenly smashed when she refused to slash her price. All besides the usual DUIs, fistfights, meth abuse,and rape.
To be fair, these aren’t all Cabot people (the pickup guy was Chief), just the vagrant "roughnecks" gas drillers hire. Probably it’s not a Southern thing, but an “invading army” thing; people with no stake in a community aren’t prone to behave well when faced with long hours of boredom and discomfort laced with moments of sheer terror. Hiring local people might help. But naw, they’d never think of that—except for ex-cons and dropouts. Probably to serve as role models.
Cabot, like other drillers, is deaf to gripes about these problems. Once you’ve bought state houses and lawyers out the wazoo, PR mustn’t matter much. Or perhaps to fix things in Texas, y'all just throw a big barbecue.
Corporate Big Brother loves you. Or just has really bad taste. But in a gesture right out of George Orwell’s 1984, Cabot invites us all to a community picnic. Can this be Cabot, the company behind the environmental screw-ups poisoning PA daily? The very same. Cabot? Community? The two words blink across the page at each other in disbelief.
See, a friend of mine with years of Hazmat safety experience—even gigs with the good ol’ gas boys of Oklahoma and Texas (the same types swarming here)—told a curious yarn about Cabot. Currently unemployed, he drove hours to drop his resume at a local Cabot office. On entering, he said he’d picked up a serious vibe of “We don’t like yer kind ’round here, boy.” He just wasn’t sure if they meant Yankees, local guys—or safety men.
Talk of good ol’ boys suggests another tale. After the War Between the States, we Yanks blew off Honest Abe’s plan to “bind up wounds,” and what goes around comes around. But mark my word, Scarlett, these nomads—these “reverse carpetbaggers”—aren’t flowers of Southern chivalry. No, Gone with the Wind is the wrong movie here; we’re talking Deliverance. Certain crew members have flashed guns at complaining landowners—not owners under contract, but neighbors griping of trespass. A pickup with Texas plates swerved to nearly hit me as I expressed (with my middle finger, for a keepsake photo) my free citizen's views on a fracking tower. A small hotel owner’s lovely Victorian rooms were drunkenly smashed when she refused to slash her price. All besides the usual DUIs, fistfights, meth abuse,and rape.
To be fair, these aren’t all Cabot people (the pickup guy was Chief), just the vagrant "roughnecks" gas drillers hire. Probably it’s not a Southern thing, but an “invading army” thing; people with no stake in a community aren’t prone to behave well when faced with long hours of boredom and discomfort laced with moments of sheer terror. Hiring local people might help. But naw, they’d never think of that—except for ex-cons and dropouts. Probably to serve as role models.
Cabot, like other drillers, is deaf to gripes about these problems. Once you’ve bought state houses and lawyers out the wazoo, PR mustn’t matter much. Or perhaps to fix things in Texas, y'all just throw a big barbecue.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Marcellus Shale: The Hazards of Toxic Oligarchy
Marcellus Shale: The Toxic Hazards of Oligarchy
(A letter sent to The Nation)
I read with passionate agreement Bernie Sanders' essay "No to Oligarchy." Never was a tax better in tune with democratic institutions than the so-called "death tax"; not to impose it simply amounts to a large welfare handout to the near and dear of the rich. Somehow, I suspect they're already not hurting.
Although Sanders' piece hints at the hazards of oligarchy to the American people, it lacked the length to give examples. I can cite a telling one: the breakneck-paced, unjust imposition of gas drilling by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") on communities throughout Pennsylvania. The whole history of industry lobbying in our state, now exposed in a Common Cause study titled "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets," reveals how painstakingly gas industry lobbying and campaign funding assure that their siren voice rings round the clock in lawmakers' ears--at whatever incalculable cost to the common good.
As citizens of rural Pennsylvania, my wife and I will soon be among the many to pay that cost. Even if we dodge the horrors of water contamination documented in Josh Fox's award-winning film Gasland, we'll still face certain air pollution and the virtual industrial dismantling of the peaceful rural community we picked to live in. Far more broadly, the water supplies and recreational fishing and boating of the unsuspecting millions served by the Susquehanna and Delaware watersheds will soon be at risk. And all for the sake of a supposedly "clean fuel" that a Cornell University study shows, once its extraction process is considered, to be a worse greenhouse gas offender than even mountaintop coal.
In all of this, the only "advice and consent" that occurred was between gas industry lobbyists and U.S. and PA legislators, or between drillers and leasers of drillable land--many cash-strapped farmers scarcely equipped to negotiate shrewdly with well-heeled, well-rehearsed industry touts. Perhaps the best evidence of the iron grip of toxic oligarchy on our lawmakers is that increasingly many activists believe our only chances to force a moratorium lie in civil disobedience--or in citizens invoking their Second Amendment rights. Clearly we should have said "no to oligarchy" long before it came to this pass.
(A letter sent to The Nation)
I read with passionate agreement Bernie Sanders' essay "No to Oligarchy." Never was a tax better in tune with democratic institutions than the so-called "death tax"; not to impose it simply amounts to a large welfare handout to the near and dear of the rich. Somehow, I suspect they're already not hurting.
Although Sanders' piece hints at the hazards of oligarchy to the American people, it lacked the length to give examples. I can cite a telling one: the breakneck-paced, unjust imposition of gas drilling by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") on communities throughout Pennsylvania. The whole history of industry lobbying in our state, now exposed in a Common Cause study titled "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets," reveals how painstakingly gas industry lobbying and campaign funding assure that their siren voice rings round the clock in lawmakers' ears--at whatever incalculable cost to the common good.
As citizens of rural Pennsylvania, my wife and I will soon be among the many to pay that cost. Even if we dodge the horrors of water contamination documented in Josh Fox's award-winning film Gasland, we'll still face certain air pollution and the virtual industrial dismantling of the peaceful rural community we picked to live in. Far more broadly, the water supplies and recreational fishing and boating of the unsuspecting millions served by the Susquehanna and Delaware watersheds will soon be at risk. And all for the sake of a supposedly "clean fuel" that a Cornell University study shows, once its extraction process is considered, to be a worse greenhouse gas offender than even mountaintop coal.
In all of this, the only "advice and consent" that occurred was between gas industry lobbyists and U.S. and PA legislators, or between drillers and leasers of drillable land--many cash-strapped farmers scarcely equipped to negotiate shrewdly with well-heeled, well-rehearsed industry touts. Perhaps the best evidence of the iron grip of toxic oligarchy on our lawmakers is that increasingly many activists believe our only chances to force a moratorium lie in civil disobedience--or in citizens invoking their Second Amendment rights. Clearly we should have said "no to oligarchy" long before it came to this pass.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Corporate Tyranny Acid Test
Like rapidly growing numbers of Pennsylvanians, my wife and I now have a second full-time job. Lately, we’ve spent every free moment combatting frackers’ blitzkrieg, totalitarian assault on our communities.
“Totalitarian” is just the word. Give these drillers an inch, and you’ve lost a region you love. You simply surrender all say over safe air and water, traffic volume on roads, our rural landscapes’ charm , the dollar value of homes, or drug abuse and crime in your community. Any wonder PA’s finest citizens—some quite literally—are “up in arms”?
It’d be nice to say our U.S. and PA reps were battling at our side. In fact, they simply macadam roads for these liberty-trampling Huns. They ease their Nazi march with bills on forced pooling or eminent domain, or pulverize our last defensive bulwarks with bills gutting town supervisors’ sway. In a nation founded to fight “taxation without representation,” its tyranny’s imposed on us daily. Presumably for our own good.
The idea of dictating to people—never asking—what’s for their own good conjures up Leninist Russia. Our state and U.S. reps now strut like the vanguard of some glorious “clean gas” future, which we poor benighted proles must swallow whole, though we’ll hence build heroic statues to our wise “People’s commissars.” In fact, they’re just the vanguard of a deranged status quo, and their dangerous coup against our water, air, and lives must end as badly as the Bolsheviks’. Already, an independent Cornell study shows that “clean gas,” factoring in its extraction, is a dirtier greenhouse fuel than mountaintop coal. And for THIS we’re ceding basic rights?
Tyranny has a dismal history, and corporate tyranny might prove the worst of all. It simply hands our government’s command powers and planet-threatening technologies to those with vested interests against the common good. Support for a moratorium on fracking—ASAP—should be the acid test for which of our reps support corporate tyranny. And free citizens, who possess both polling booths and civil disobedience—and failing both, the Second Amendment—should then know what to do.
Note: The Cornell study I cited can be found at
________________________________________
http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/GHG%20emissions%20from%20Marcellus%20Shale%20--%20with%20figure%20--%203.17.2010%20draft.doc.pdf
“Totalitarian” is just the word. Give these drillers an inch, and you’ve lost a region you love. You simply surrender all say over safe air and water, traffic volume on roads, our rural landscapes’ charm , the dollar value of homes, or drug abuse and crime in your community. Any wonder PA’s finest citizens—some quite literally—are “up in arms”?
It’d be nice to say our U.S. and PA reps were battling at our side. In fact, they simply macadam roads for these liberty-trampling Huns. They ease their Nazi march with bills on forced pooling or eminent domain, or pulverize our last defensive bulwarks with bills gutting town supervisors’ sway. In a nation founded to fight “taxation without representation,” its tyranny’s imposed on us daily. Presumably for our own good.
The idea of dictating to people—never asking—what’s for their own good conjures up Leninist Russia. Our state and U.S. reps now strut like the vanguard of some glorious “clean gas” future, which we poor benighted proles must swallow whole, though we’ll hence build heroic statues to our wise “People’s commissars.” In fact, they’re just the vanguard of a deranged status quo, and their dangerous coup against our water, air, and lives must end as badly as the Bolsheviks’. Already, an independent Cornell study shows that “clean gas,” factoring in its extraction, is a dirtier greenhouse fuel than mountaintop coal. And for THIS we’re ceding basic rights?
Tyranny has a dismal history, and corporate tyranny might prove the worst of all. It simply hands our government’s command powers and planet-threatening technologies to those with vested interests against the common good. Support for a moratorium on fracking—ASAP—should be the acid test for which of our reps support corporate tyranny. And free citizens, who possess both polling booths and civil disobedience—and failing both, the Second Amendment—should then know what to do.
Note: The Cornell study I cited can be found at
________________________________________
http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/GHG%20emissions%20from%20Marcellus%20Shale%20--%20with%20figure%20--%203.17.2010%20draft.doc.pdf
Thursday, July 22, 2010
GDAC Statement - Environmental Quality Board of the DEP
Good Evening. My name is Virginia Cody. I represent the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition. It is our contention that due to its very nature, hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale CANNOT be accomplished safely at this time. Environmental studies must be undertaken; without them, the rules concerning safe construction of the wells designed to utilize this process are, at best, a stab in the dark. Until the Environmental Protection Agency completes its latest study, we – the DEP and the public – cannot possibly know whether these rules are going to have the desired effect. We recommend the state issue a moratorium on the process until the studies are done.
That said, however, I would like to express my gratitude to the Board for the hard work they’ve put into this revision of the Oil and Gas Act, Chapter 78. I stand before you this evening after having fully read Chapter 78 and its proposed revisions to identify a number of areas which need further explanation or modification.
A copy of this statement has been provided to you.
Section 78.1 Definitions
I recommend this list include a complete explanation of hydraulic fracturing, both horizontal and vertical. This section should include, but not be limited to identification of all chemicals used in the “fracking” process so that in later years there can be no doubt as to what this process may have caused. Identification of these chemicals is critical to conforming to requirements outlined in Chapter 78.51 Protection of water supplies, 78.54 EPA Method 9090, Compatibility Test for Wastes and Membrane Liners, the Solid Waste Management Act, and Chapter 78.56 The Clean Streams Law.
Section 78.13 Permit transfers
I recommend that transfers of permits not be allowed under any circumstances. Surface landowners negotiate in good faith with individual companies, some of which are reputable, some of which are not. However, if this section is retained, I believe it should be primarily up to the discretion of the surface landowner as to which natural gas company is to have access to their land.
Section 78.17 Permit renewal
I recommend that water supply owners within 1 mile of a site be notified of a permit renewal request. I also recommend that these owners have the ability to veto such renewal if they have been impacted negatively by the natural gas companies ‘ operations.
Section 78.19 Permit application fee schedule
This fee schedule is thoroughly inadequate. In general, homeowners requesting permits to improve their properties with new windows, doors, etc. are required to pay permit fees in an amount approximately 5% of the improvement cost. The gas companies’ cost for each well is approximately $5,000,000. Gas companies should not be receiving a break on permit fees. Charge them the full 5% per well. If necessary, hold any excess in escrow in order to assist in any contamination abatement of abandoned wells which has arisen or may arise in the future.
Section 78.21 Opportunity for objections ….surface landowners
I recommend that a surface landowner be able to object to any well location for any reason. The surface land is what the surface landowner lives off of; if he is prevented from living his life the way he chooses, then the gas company is infringing on his rights. The gas company has leased the minerals, not the entire tract of land above those minerals.
Section 78.32 Recommendation by the panel.
The panel should make a recommendation as to the location of the well based on NOT the financial considerations of the parties, but on the most environmentally-sound location of that well.
Section 78.51(c) Protection of water supplies
I recommend the Department investigate a claim within 30 days.
Section 78.51-1(v)
I recommend a sentence be added to the effect that the permanent payment cannot be negated if the operating company sells its interest in the well drilling operation. Any sales agreement must stipulate this, and/or the offending operating company must place in escrow sufficient funds to pay for water in perpetuity.
Section 78.51-4
I recommend this section include a requirement to provide a water purification system to the landowner.
Section 78.52 (a) (d) Predrilling or prealteration survey
I recommend that the landowner be given the right to ask for and receive a second opinion on the results of these surveys.
Section 78.72(a)(1)
Recommend the sentence be revised to read “When drilling any well (including exploratory) that is intended…”
Section 78.72(a)(2)
Recommend the sentence read “Whether or not well head pressures or natural open flows are anticipated….”
Section 78.72(a)(5)(c)
This section states that controls must be located away from the drilling rig. I recommend a safe distance be established and included in this section.
Section 78.83[b](c)
I recommend that “freshwater based drilling fluid” NOT be an option in an alternative method.
Section 78.89 Gas Migration response
This section says that “When an operator or owner is notified of…a natural gas migration…the operator shall…conduct an investigation,” if the Department says it should. It is my contention that any report of natural gas migration should be investigated immediately whether or not the Department makes that recommendation. Furthermore, while the company may initiate said investigation, it is up to the Department to fully examine the situation and order the company to take corrective action.
John Hanger has stated that he is “not pleased with the performance of the industry” and that “this industry must be tightly regulated” and “do better than it’s doing.” I, therefore, recommend that this section include a statement that “failure to comply with these requirements will result in civil and criminal charges.”
Finally, there are four items about this revision which are of concern to us.
1. While Chapter 78 addresses the construction of wells in detail, it doesn’t address elevations of well pads in relation to homes, barns, paddocks, etc. It should – the materials used in this industry are highly toxic and are liable to flow downhill.
2. Chapter 78 does not address the building of roads on well sites. The location of the necessary roads should be coordinated with and approved by the surface landowner.
3. Chapter 78 does deal with certain personnel issues such as training. In light of that fact, Chapter 78 should also contain verbiage regarding use of drugs and alcohol by well workers. Both drugs and alcohol should be explicitly forbidden, with alcohol being forbidden within 24 hours of manning any position on a well site, and well operators’ permits should be placed in jeopardy if there are violations.
4. Finally, we are very concerned as to whether adherence to the tenets of Chapter 78 by the natural gas companies can protect our aquifers. The process by which these companies extract the gas leaves horizontal bore holes in the underlying structure – the shale – that holds our aquifers in place. Will this structure be compromised? If the earth at 8000 to 12000 feet beneath our feet shifts, do we know whether vertical fissures will form? Will those aquifers collapse into the earth? Data from the US Geological Survey office indicates that this area is prone to minor earthquakes. Attached to my statement you will find a reprint of some of that data. Please allow me to read a short exerpt from one of the USGS essays; this is a report of problems associated with an earthquake here in 1954 which resulted a mine subsidence and.
“…caused damage estimated at $1 million in …Wilkes-Barre ….. Hundreds of homes were damaged, ceilings and cellar walls split and backyard fences fell over. Sidewalks were pushed sharply upward … and then collapsed. Gas and water mains snapped; methane gas rising from cracks in the earth presented a temporary emergency. Two days later a second disturbance was reported. More cracks appeared in ceilings and walls of apartment buildings. Curbs pulled away from sidewalks, and street pavements buckled. Additional water and gas mains were broken.”
If this is what can happen at the surface, can the DEP or the natural gas companies be sure that worse will not occur 8000 to 12000 feet below ground? You cannot –because there is no history of horizontal hydraulic fracturing through shale.
Thank you,
Virginia Cody
Pennsylvania
Earthquake History
Record of early earthquakes in the Northeastern United States provide limited information on effects in Pennsylvania until 1737, 55 years after the first permanent settlement was established. A very severe earthquake that centered in the St. Lawrence River region in 1663 may have been felt in Pennsylvania, but historical accounts are not definite. Likewise, a damaging shock at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1727 probably affected towns in Pennsylvania. A strong earthquake on December 18, 1737, toppled chimneys at New York City and was reported felt at Boston, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Castle, Delaware. Other shocks with origins outside the State were felt in 1758, 1783, and 1791. In 1800, two earthquakes (March 17 and November 29) were reported as "severe" at Philadelphia. On November 11 and 14, 1840, earthquakes at Philadelphia were accompanied by a great and unusual swell on the Delaware River.
Dishes were thrown from tables (intensity V) at Allentown by a strong shock on May 31, 1884. Thirty towns from Hartford, Connecticut, to West Chester, Pennsylvania, reported fallen bricks and cracked plaster from an earthquake apparently centered near New York City on August 10, 1884. A tremor, described as lasting 10 seconds, was felt on March 8, 1889, at Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Reading, York, and other towns in that area. The intensity was estimated at V. An extremely local earthquake on May 31, 1908, at Allentown shook down a few chimneys (VI). The disturbance was not felt over more than 150 square kilometers.
On October 29, 1934, a shock of intensity V was felt at Erie. Buildings swayed, people left theaters, and dishes were thrown from cupboards. The earthquake was felt with lesser intensity at Edinboro, Girard, Mill Village, North East, and Waterford. Another shock with very localized effects occurred in southern Blair County on July 15, 1938. Broken dishes and fallen plaster (VI) were reported at Clover Creek and Henrietta. Wells were affected in Clover Creek Valley.
The area around Sinking Spring, west of Reading, experienced minor damage from an earthquake on January 7, 1954. Plaster fell from walls (VI), dishes and bottles tumbled from shelves, and furniture was upset. Other slight damage to several brick and frame buildings was reported. The tremor was felt in western Berks County and eastern Lancaster County. During the rest of the month, many smaller shocks were felt in the vicinity of Sinking Spring.
A local disturbance probably caused by subsidence of an underground coal mine caused damage estimated at $1 million in a five-block residential area of Wilkes-Barre on February 21, 1954. Occupants fled into the street. Hundreds of homes were damaged, ceilings and cellar walls split and backyard fences fell over. Sidewalks were pushed sharply upward by a heaving motion and then collapsed. Gas and water mains snapped; methane gas rising from cracks in the earth presented a temporary emergency. Two days later (February 23), a second disturbance was reported from the same section of Wilkes-Barre. More cracks appeared in ceilings and walls of apartment buildings. Curbs pulled away from sidewalks, and street pavements buckled. Additional water and gas mains were broken.
On September 14, 1961, a moderate earthquake that was centered in the Lehigh Valley shook buildings over a broad area and alarmed many residents. There was only one report of damage - loose bricks fell from a chimney at Allentown (V). However, police and newspaper switchboards throughout the area were swamped with calls from citizens. Other places with intensity V effects included Bethlehem, Catasauqua, Coplay, Egypt, Fountain Hill, Freemansburg, Hellertown, and Weaverville.
A similar disturbance occurred on December 27, 1961, in the northeast portion and suburbs of Philadelphia. Buildings shook, dishes rattled, and other objects were disturbed. Police and newspaper offices received many calls from alarmed citizens inquiring about the loud rumbling sounds (V). Several New Jersey communities across the Delaware River experienced similar effects.
A strong local shock, measured at magnitude 4.5, cracked a wall and caused some plaster to fall (VI) at Cornwall on May 12, 1964. Slight landslides were reported in the area. In one building, a radio was knocked from a table and a wall mirror moved horizontally. Workers in an iron mine about 360 meters underground were alarmed by a "quite severe jarring motion."
A small earthquake whose epicenter was in New Jersey caused intensity V effects at Darby, and Philadelphia. The December 10, 1968, shock was measured at magnitude 2.5. Although relatively minor, it broke windows at a number of places in New Jersey. Toll booths on the Benjamin Franklin and Walt Whitman Bridges in Philadelphia trembled during the earthquake.
On December 7, 1972, slight damage (V) was reported at New Holland. In addition, Akron, Penryn, and Talmage experienced intensity V effects. The total area covered approximately 1,200 square kilometers of Berks and Lancaster Counties.
Abridged from Earthquake Information Bulletin, Volume 8, Number 4, May - June 1973, by Carl A. von Hake.
Earthquake Facts and Statistics
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes
Magnitude Average Annually
8 and higher 1 ¹
7 - 7.9 15 ¹
6 - 6.9 134 ²
5 - 5.9 1319 ²
4 - 4.9 13,000
(estimated)
3 - 3.9 130,000
(estimated)
2 - 2.9 1,300,000
(estimated)
¹ Based on observations since 1900.
These numbers have been recently updated, based on data from the Centennial catalog (from 1900 to 1999) and the PDE (since 2000).
² Based on observations since 1990.
Magnitude vs. Ground Motion and Energy
Magnitude Change Ground Motion Change
(Displacement) Energy Change
1.0 10.0 times about 32 times
0.5 3.2 times about 5.5 times
0.3 2.0 times about 3 times
0.1 1.3 times about 1.4 times
This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake?
The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant. See: Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?
________________________________________
Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2010
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
8.0 to 9.9 1 1 0 1 2 1 2 4 0 1 1
7.0 to 7.9 14 15 13 14 14 10 9 14 12 16 9
6.0 to 6.9 146 121 127 140 141 140 142 178 168 142 95
5.0 to 5.9 1344 1224 1201 1203 1515 1693 1712 2074 1768 1776 1043
4.0 to 4.9 8008 7991 8541 8462 10888 13917 12838 12078 12291 6908 5019
3.0 to 3.9 4827 6266 7068 7624 7932 9191 9990 9889 11735 2899 1957
2.0 to 2.9 3765 4164 6419 7727 6316 4636 4027 3597 3860 3009 1510
1.0 to 1.9 1026 944 1137 2506 1344 26 18 42 21 26 14
0.1 to 0.9 5 1 10 134 103 0 2 2 0 1 0
No Magnitude 3120 2807 2938 3608 2939 864 828 1807 1922 20 20
Total 22256 23534 27454 31419 31194 30478 29568 29685 31777 * 14798 * 9668
Estimated
Deaths 231 21357 1685 33819 228802 88003 6605 712 88011 1787 225510
Starting in January 2009, the USGS National Earthquake Information Center no longer locates earthquakes smaller than magnitude 4.5 outside the United States, unless we receive specific information that the earthquake was felt or caused damage.
Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2010
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
8.0 to 9.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7.0 to 7.9 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
6.0 to 6.9 6 5 4 7 2 4 7 9 9 4 1
5.0 to 5.9 63 41 63 54 25 47 51 72 85 55 31
4.0 to 4.9 281 290 536 541 284 345 346 366 432 293 300
3.0 to 3.9 917 842 1535 1303 1362 1475 1213 1137 1486 1491 1621
2.0 to 2.9 660 646 1228 704 1336 1738 1145 1173 1573 2374 1255
1.0 to 1.9 0 2 2 2 1 2 7 11 13 26 14
0.1 to 0.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
No Magnitude 415 434 507 333 540 73 13 22 20 16 13
Total 2342 2261 3876 2946 3550 3685 2783 2791 3618 * 4260 * 3236
Estimated
Deaths 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
That said, however, I would like to express my gratitude to the Board for the hard work they’ve put into this revision of the Oil and Gas Act, Chapter 78. I stand before you this evening after having fully read Chapter 78 and its proposed revisions to identify a number of areas which need further explanation or modification.
A copy of this statement has been provided to you.
Section 78.1 Definitions
I recommend this list include a complete explanation of hydraulic fracturing, both horizontal and vertical. This section should include, but not be limited to identification of all chemicals used in the “fracking” process so that in later years there can be no doubt as to what this process may have caused. Identification of these chemicals is critical to conforming to requirements outlined in Chapter 78.51 Protection of water supplies, 78.54 EPA Method 9090, Compatibility Test for Wastes and Membrane Liners, the Solid Waste Management Act, and Chapter 78.56 The Clean Streams Law.
Section 78.13 Permit transfers
I recommend that transfers of permits not be allowed under any circumstances. Surface landowners negotiate in good faith with individual companies, some of which are reputable, some of which are not. However, if this section is retained, I believe it should be primarily up to the discretion of the surface landowner as to which natural gas company is to have access to their land.
Section 78.17 Permit renewal
I recommend that water supply owners within 1 mile of a site be notified of a permit renewal request. I also recommend that these owners have the ability to veto such renewal if they have been impacted negatively by the natural gas companies ‘ operations.
Section 78.19 Permit application fee schedule
This fee schedule is thoroughly inadequate. In general, homeowners requesting permits to improve their properties with new windows, doors, etc. are required to pay permit fees in an amount approximately 5% of the improvement cost. The gas companies’ cost for each well is approximately $5,000,000. Gas companies should not be receiving a break on permit fees. Charge them the full 5% per well. If necessary, hold any excess in escrow in order to assist in any contamination abatement of abandoned wells which has arisen or may arise in the future.
Section 78.21 Opportunity for objections ….surface landowners
I recommend that a surface landowner be able to object to any well location for any reason. The surface land is what the surface landowner lives off of; if he is prevented from living his life the way he chooses, then the gas company is infringing on his rights. The gas company has leased the minerals, not the entire tract of land above those minerals.
Section 78.32 Recommendation by the panel.
The panel should make a recommendation as to the location of the well based on NOT the financial considerations of the parties, but on the most environmentally-sound location of that well.
Section 78.51(c) Protection of water supplies
I recommend the Department investigate a claim within 30 days.
Section 78.51-1(v)
I recommend a sentence be added to the effect that the permanent payment cannot be negated if the operating company sells its interest in the well drilling operation. Any sales agreement must stipulate this, and/or the offending operating company must place in escrow sufficient funds to pay for water in perpetuity.
Section 78.51-4
I recommend this section include a requirement to provide a water purification system to the landowner.
Section 78.52 (a) (d) Predrilling or prealteration survey
I recommend that the landowner be given the right to ask for and receive a second opinion on the results of these surveys.
Section 78.72(a)(1)
Recommend the sentence be revised to read “When drilling any well (including exploratory) that is intended…”
Section 78.72(a)(2)
Recommend the sentence read “Whether or not well head pressures or natural open flows are anticipated….”
Section 78.72(a)(5)(c)
This section states that controls must be located away from the drilling rig. I recommend a safe distance be established and included in this section.
Section 78.83[b](c)
I recommend that “freshwater based drilling fluid” NOT be an option in an alternative method.
Section 78.89 Gas Migration response
This section says that “When an operator or owner is notified of…a natural gas migration…the operator shall…conduct an investigation,” if the Department says it should. It is my contention that any report of natural gas migration should be investigated immediately whether or not the Department makes that recommendation. Furthermore, while the company may initiate said investigation, it is up to the Department to fully examine the situation and order the company to take corrective action.
John Hanger has stated that he is “not pleased with the performance of the industry” and that “this industry must be tightly regulated” and “do better than it’s doing.” I, therefore, recommend that this section include a statement that “failure to comply with these requirements will result in civil and criminal charges.”
Finally, there are four items about this revision which are of concern to us.
1. While Chapter 78 addresses the construction of wells in detail, it doesn’t address elevations of well pads in relation to homes, barns, paddocks, etc. It should – the materials used in this industry are highly toxic and are liable to flow downhill.
2. Chapter 78 does not address the building of roads on well sites. The location of the necessary roads should be coordinated with and approved by the surface landowner.
3. Chapter 78 does deal with certain personnel issues such as training. In light of that fact, Chapter 78 should also contain verbiage regarding use of drugs and alcohol by well workers. Both drugs and alcohol should be explicitly forbidden, with alcohol being forbidden within 24 hours of manning any position on a well site, and well operators’ permits should be placed in jeopardy if there are violations.
4. Finally, we are very concerned as to whether adherence to the tenets of Chapter 78 by the natural gas companies can protect our aquifers. The process by which these companies extract the gas leaves horizontal bore holes in the underlying structure – the shale – that holds our aquifers in place. Will this structure be compromised? If the earth at 8000 to 12000 feet beneath our feet shifts, do we know whether vertical fissures will form? Will those aquifers collapse into the earth? Data from the US Geological Survey office indicates that this area is prone to minor earthquakes. Attached to my statement you will find a reprint of some of that data. Please allow me to read a short exerpt from one of the USGS essays; this is a report of problems associated with an earthquake here in 1954 which resulted a mine subsidence and.
“…caused damage estimated at $1 million in …Wilkes-Barre ….. Hundreds of homes were damaged, ceilings and cellar walls split and backyard fences fell over. Sidewalks were pushed sharply upward … and then collapsed. Gas and water mains snapped; methane gas rising from cracks in the earth presented a temporary emergency. Two days later a second disturbance was reported. More cracks appeared in ceilings and walls of apartment buildings. Curbs pulled away from sidewalks, and street pavements buckled. Additional water and gas mains were broken.”
If this is what can happen at the surface, can the DEP or the natural gas companies be sure that worse will not occur 8000 to 12000 feet below ground? You cannot –because there is no history of horizontal hydraulic fracturing through shale.
Thank you,
Virginia Cody
Pennsylvania
Earthquake History
Record of early earthquakes in the Northeastern United States provide limited information on effects in Pennsylvania until 1737, 55 years after the first permanent settlement was established. A very severe earthquake that centered in the St. Lawrence River region in 1663 may have been felt in Pennsylvania, but historical accounts are not definite. Likewise, a damaging shock at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1727 probably affected towns in Pennsylvania. A strong earthquake on December 18, 1737, toppled chimneys at New York City and was reported felt at Boston, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Castle, Delaware. Other shocks with origins outside the State were felt in 1758, 1783, and 1791. In 1800, two earthquakes (March 17 and November 29) were reported as "severe" at Philadelphia. On November 11 and 14, 1840, earthquakes at Philadelphia were accompanied by a great and unusual swell on the Delaware River.
Dishes were thrown from tables (intensity V) at Allentown by a strong shock on May 31, 1884. Thirty towns from Hartford, Connecticut, to West Chester, Pennsylvania, reported fallen bricks and cracked plaster from an earthquake apparently centered near New York City on August 10, 1884. A tremor, described as lasting 10 seconds, was felt on March 8, 1889, at Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Reading, York, and other towns in that area. The intensity was estimated at V. An extremely local earthquake on May 31, 1908, at Allentown shook down a few chimneys (VI). The disturbance was not felt over more than 150 square kilometers.
On October 29, 1934, a shock of intensity V was felt at Erie. Buildings swayed, people left theaters, and dishes were thrown from cupboards. The earthquake was felt with lesser intensity at Edinboro, Girard, Mill Village, North East, and Waterford. Another shock with very localized effects occurred in southern Blair County on July 15, 1938. Broken dishes and fallen plaster (VI) were reported at Clover Creek and Henrietta. Wells were affected in Clover Creek Valley.
The area around Sinking Spring, west of Reading, experienced minor damage from an earthquake on January 7, 1954. Plaster fell from walls (VI), dishes and bottles tumbled from shelves, and furniture was upset. Other slight damage to several brick and frame buildings was reported. The tremor was felt in western Berks County and eastern Lancaster County. During the rest of the month, many smaller shocks were felt in the vicinity of Sinking Spring.
A local disturbance probably caused by subsidence of an underground coal mine caused damage estimated at $1 million in a five-block residential area of Wilkes-Barre on February 21, 1954. Occupants fled into the street. Hundreds of homes were damaged, ceilings and cellar walls split and backyard fences fell over. Sidewalks were pushed sharply upward by a heaving motion and then collapsed. Gas and water mains snapped; methane gas rising from cracks in the earth presented a temporary emergency. Two days later (February 23), a second disturbance was reported from the same section of Wilkes-Barre. More cracks appeared in ceilings and walls of apartment buildings. Curbs pulled away from sidewalks, and street pavements buckled. Additional water and gas mains were broken.
On September 14, 1961, a moderate earthquake that was centered in the Lehigh Valley shook buildings over a broad area and alarmed many residents. There was only one report of damage - loose bricks fell from a chimney at Allentown (V). However, police and newspaper switchboards throughout the area were swamped with calls from citizens. Other places with intensity V effects included Bethlehem, Catasauqua, Coplay, Egypt, Fountain Hill, Freemansburg, Hellertown, and Weaverville.
A similar disturbance occurred on December 27, 1961, in the northeast portion and suburbs of Philadelphia. Buildings shook, dishes rattled, and other objects were disturbed. Police and newspaper offices received many calls from alarmed citizens inquiring about the loud rumbling sounds (V). Several New Jersey communities across the Delaware River experienced similar effects.
A strong local shock, measured at magnitude 4.5, cracked a wall and caused some plaster to fall (VI) at Cornwall on May 12, 1964. Slight landslides were reported in the area. In one building, a radio was knocked from a table and a wall mirror moved horizontally. Workers in an iron mine about 360 meters underground were alarmed by a "quite severe jarring motion."
A small earthquake whose epicenter was in New Jersey caused intensity V effects at Darby, and Philadelphia. The December 10, 1968, shock was measured at magnitude 2.5. Although relatively minor, it broke windows at a number of places in New Jersey. Toll booths on the Benjamin Franklin and Walt Whitman Bridges in Philadelphia trembled during the earthquake.
On December 7, 1972, slight damage (V) was reported at New Holland. In addition, Akron, Penryn, and Talmage experienced intensity V effects. The total area covered approximately 1,200 square kilometers of Berks and Lancaster Counties.
Abridged from Earthquake Information Bulletin, Volume 8, Number 4, May - June 1973, by Carl A. von Hake.
Earthquake Facts and Statistics
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes
Magnitude Average Annually
8 and higher 1 ¹
7 - 7.9 15 ¹
6 - 6.9 134 ²
5 - 5.9 1319 ²
4 - 4.9 13,000
(estimated)
3 - 3.9 130,000
(estimated)
2 - 2.9 1,300,000
(estimated)
¹ Based on observations since 1900.
These numbers have been recently updated, based on data from the Centennial catalog (from 1900 to 1999) and the PDE (since 2000).
² Based on observations since 1990.
Magnitude vs. Ground Motion and Energy
Magnitude Change Ground Motion Change
(Displacement) Energy Change
1.0 10.0 times about 32 times
0.5 3.2 times about 5.5 times
0.3 2.0 times about 3 times
0.1 1.3 times about 1.4 times
This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake?
The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant. See: Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?
________________________________________
Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2010
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
8.0 to 9.9 1 1 0 1 2 1 2 4 0 1 1
7.0 to 7.9 14 15 13 14 14 10 9 14 12 16 9
6.0 to 6.9 146 121 127 140 141 140 142 178 168 142 95
5.0 to 5.9 1344 1224 1201 1203 1515 1693 1712 2074 1768 1776 1043
4.0 to 4.9 8008 7991 8541 8462 10888 13917 12838 12078 12291 6908 5019
3.0 to 3.9 4827 6266 7068 7624 7932 9191 9990 9889 11735 2899 1957
2.0 to 2.9 3765 4164 6419 7727 6316 4636 4027 3597 3860 3009 1510
1.0 to 1.9 1026 944 1137 2506 1344 26 18 42 21 26 14
0.1 to 0.9 5 1 10 134 103 0 2 2 0 1 0
No Magnitude 3120 2807 2938 3608 2939 864 828 1807 1922 20 20
Total 22256 23534 27454 31419 31194 30478 29568 29685 31777 * 14798 * 9668
Estimated
Deaths 231 21357 1685 33819 228802 88003 6605 712 88011 1787 225510
Starting in January 2009, the USGS National Earthquake Information Center no longer locates earthquakes smaller than magnitude 4.5 outside the United States, unless we receive specific information that the earthquake was felt or caused damage.
Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2010
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
8.0 to 9.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7.0 to 7.9 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
6.0 to 6.9 6 5 4 7 2 4 7 9 9 4 1
5.0 to 5.9 63 41 63 54 25 47 51 72 85 55 31
4.0 to 4.9 281 290 536 541 284 345 346 366 432 293 300
3.0 to 3.9 917 842 1535 1303 1362 1475 1213 1137 1486 1491 1621
2.0 to 2.9 660 646 1228 704 1336 1738 1145 1173 1573 2374 1255
1.0 to 1.9 0 2 2 2 1 2 7 11 13 26 14
0.1 to 0.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
No Magnitude 415 434 507 333 540 73 13 22 20 16 13
Total 2342 2261 3876 2946 3550 3685 2783 2791 3618 * 4260 * 3236
Estimated
Deaths 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All these lethal hazards -- and greenhouse gases too!
At a time when all serious climate scientists consider global warming denial about as respectable as, say, Holocaust denial, our politicos seem to have fallen in love with it. Otherwise, how could they seriously offer gas drilling by fracking as the wonder cure for our energy ills? With a deranged fervor matched only by Flat Earthers and Elvis worshippers, they tout the miracles of this widely abundant “clean” fuel. In fact, the only miracle here would be their brains regenerating enough, after long years of huffing methane and money, to face the ”inconvenient truth.”
Now, if natural gas obtained by fracking isn’t exactly clean, that’s all because it isn’t exactly “widely abundant.” If the word “abundant” suggests something readily available, that’s as far as possible from being true here. In fact, to get Mother Earth to cough up the vast reserves of natural gas guarded jealously in her bosom, you have to give her some serious stabs. Sure, she’s a tough old bird, but when pierced thousands of times with slurries of water, sand, and toxic chemicals at pressures of thousands of pounds per square inch, she’s apt to bleed just a bit. In fact, quite a lot. Not surprisingly, one of the things she bleeds is methane, the main component of natural gas. Which is roughly 72 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. Hmmm.
So let’s get this straight. In times when climate experts consider global warming our world’s most deadly threat, we’re investing billions of dollars and running damn-the-torpedoes ahead with an energy that, all things considered, is probably the worst greenhouse culprit of all fossil fuels, outpolluting even coal? Yup, that’s about it. And not only that, we’re putting our air and water at risk, hacking hideous scars in our landscape, disrupting ecosystems , and virtually overturning the lives of tranquil rural communities to do so. Our suits and pols gotta be getting off on some serious methane buzz.
To any sane person, this is criminal madness—and needs to stop. Many will say it can’t, it’s already gone too far; our “corps and govs” stand to lose billions. Sorry, way too fracking bad. Nothing in the U.S. and PA constitutions says that free citizens must play patsy—and at what apocalyptic cost?—for reckless, fume-addled pols and suits asleep at the national wheel. (But I pray we finally learn from this, as citizens or shareholders, that perhaps our most treasonous act is a thoughtless, ill-informed vote.)
In today’s most madcap Flat Earth or Elvis-worship conventions—our state and federal legislatures—the few sane souls who support a moratorium (leading preferably to a ban) look pretty crazy to their peers. In fact, they’re the only rational animals afoot. As for the others, they probably should be in some halfway house or lunatic asylum. Or possibly recalled or impeached. But never again should they see public office without convincing proof—like support for a moratorium and ban—that their brains have fully rehabbed from the heady, toxic cocktail of corporate dollars and gas.
Now, if natural gas obtained by fracking isn’t exactly clean, that’s all because it isn’t exactly “widely abundant.” If the word “abundant” suggests something readily available, that’s as far as possible from being true here. In fact, to get Mother Earth to cough up the vast reserves of natural gas guarded jealously in her bosom, you have to give her some serious stabs. Sure, she’s a tough old bird, but when pierced thousands of times with slurries of water, sand, and toxic chemicals at pressures of thousands of pounds per square inch, she’s apt to bleed just a bit. In fact, quite a lot. Not surprisingly, one of the things she bleeds is methane, the main component of natural gas. Which is roughly 72 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. Hmmm.
So let’s get this straight. In times when climate experts consider global warming our world’s most deadly threat, we’re investing billions of dollars and running damn-the-torpedoes ahead with an energy that, all things considered, is probably the worst greenhouse culprit of all fossil fuels, outpolluting even coal? Yup, that’s about it. And not only that, we’re putting our air and water at risk, hacking hideous scars in our landscape, disrupting ecosystems , and virtually overturning the lives of tranquil rural communities to do so. Our suits and pols gotta be getting off on some serious methane buzz.
To any sane person, this is criminal madness—and needs to stop. Many will say it can’t, it’s already gone too far; our “corps and govs” stand to lose billions. Sorry, way too fracking bad. Nothing in the U.S. and PA constitutions says that free citizens must play patsy—and at what apocalyptic cost?—for reckless, fume-addled pols and suits asleep at the national wheel. (But I pray we finally learn from this, as citizens or shareholders, that perhaps our most treasonous act is a thoughtless, ill-informed vote.)
In today’s most madcap Flat Earth or Elvis-worship conventions—our state and federal legislatures—the few sane souls who support a moratorium (leading preferably to a ban) look pretty crazy to their peers. In fact, they’re the only rational animals afoot. As for the others, they probably should be in some halfway house or lunatic asylum. Or possibly recalled or impeached. But never again should they see public office without convincing proof—like support for a moratorium and ban—that their brains have fully rehabbed from the heady, toxic cocktail of corporate dollars and gas.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Calendar of Events
September 7, Scott Township Planning Commission meeting, 7:00 p.m.
September 10, PennFuture breakfast, Radisson, 8:00 a.m.
September 11, Pennsylvania Forestry Assoc. Meeting re Marcellus Shale
September 11, Delaware Jazz Festival
September 13 and 15, EPA Hearing, Binghamton
Wyoming County Supervisors Meeting - Every other Wed. 9 a.m.
Clinton Township Meeting Second Wed. 7:30 p.m.
Factoryville Meeting, Second Wed. 7:30 p.m.
Falls Meeting, Second Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Nicholson Borough Meeting, First Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Nicholson Township Meeting, First Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Overfield Meeting, Second Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
Tunkhannock Borough Meeting, First Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
Tunkhannock Township Meeting, First Monday, 7:00 p.m.
September 10, PennFuture breakfast, Radisson, 8:00 a.m.
September 11, Pennsylvania Forestry Assoc. Meeting re Marcellus Shale
September 11, Delaware Jazz Festival
September 13 and 15, EPA Hearing, Binghamton
Wyoming County Supervisors Meeting - Every other Wed. 9 a.m.
Clinton Township Meeting Second Wed. 7:30 p.m.
Factoryville Meeting, Second Wed. 7:30 p.m.
Falls Meeting, Second Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Nicholson Borough Meeting, First Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Nicholson Township Meeting, First Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Overfield Meeting, Second Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
Tunkhannock Borough Meeting, First Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
Tunkhannock Township Meeting, First Monday, 7:00 p.m.
We're Getting Screwed
As a Pennsylvania citizen, voter, and activist, I am deeply disturbed and embittered by the rapid, unjust imposition of gas drilling by hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on communities in our state. On the scale this is happening, fracking poses untested but potentially catastrophic risks to air and water; it virtually overturns the lives of rural communities everywhere it’s applied. Yet the Penn State Extension website gives us an extensive list of “what to expect”—thereby implying free citizens must simply “expect” cataclysmic changes that could lay waste their communities and their state’s environment without consultation or choice. I vigorously reject that implication.
Why should I, a free U.S. citizen and living person who must actually breathe air and drink water, bow slavishly to the will of fictitious legal persons known as “corporations”? Why indeed, when behind the corporate fiction lurk simply other citizens (many of them rich enough to buy legislatures) who have their own interests—and clearly neither mine nor the common good—at heart? Thomas Jefferson warned against looming threats to liberty posed by “large enterprises,” and Abraham Lincoln against corporations, already dangerously vast in his day, by name. By stark contrast with these preeminent “friends of the people,” today’s “representatives” simply fiddle out the corporate tune we must dance to. Feeling cruelly betrayed, “we the people” are starting to fondly recall a Revolution fought against “taxation without representation”—which is precisely what most Pennsylvanians face today.
If you doubt my words, that’s only because habitually hearing only corporate voices has deafened you to real people’s. But get this on your radar fast: active citizens of Pennsylvania—not wingnut kooks, but some of the best and the brightest—are in revolt. Model parents, churchgoers, professional people, hard-working taxpayers who’ve never committed a crime are seriously discussing invoking their Second Amendment rights or training for civil disobedience. And usually the discussion isn’t about whether a revolt over fracking is justified (that’s simply assumed), but whether the election of those who reject a moratorium on fracking—or the blatant tyranny of forced pooling—should be the trigger event. Most telling to me were the thoughts of a dental hygienist, a mother I’d never have suspected of thinking such things, who said, “Remember, I’m not just an environmentalist; I’m a gun owner too.”
Don’t dare insult my intelligence by asking me to see both sides. I take great pains to inform myself on vital issues, and know when my basic rights are under siege. Besides a love of natural beauty and a vivid sense of community rights, a single reading of the series on fracking by the online journal ProPublica—the only online journal to win a Pulitzer—ought to convince any thinking person that horizontal fracking (the type being done in PA) is a young, largely untested technology that plays Russian roulette with our state’s air and water. Why else has Congress commissioned the EPA to do a thorough “lifecycle” study of the process—a study the EPA acknowledges is desperately needed?
Pending completion of that EPA study, to allow widespread fracking in the face of Pennsylvania’s woefully inadequate regulatory and enforcement regime (and how can the state regulate what no one yet understands?) is a betrayal of your Constitutional mandate to defend our lives and well-being. A moratorium—the sooner the better—is the only morally permissible course. If a moratorium isn’t passed soon, expect to jail some of our best citizens, or needlessly shed the blood of others simply exercising their Second Amendment right to defend their lives and property.
I defy you to find a single fault of fact or logic in what I have said. You had better answer me, as your silence will simply imply consent—and I will hold you responsible for the quality and seriousness of your answer. And FYI, I am sending a copy of this, under the title “An open challenge to our legislators,” to every media outlet I can think of in the state.
Sincerely and with intent to act,
Patrick Walker, Factoryville
(570) xxxxxxxx
pjwalkerzorro@yahoo.com
Why should I, a free U.S. citizen and living person who must actually breathe air and drink water, bow slavishly to the will of fictitious legal persons known as “corporations”? Why indeed, when behind the corporate fiction lurk simply other citizens (many of them rich enough to buy legislatures) who have their own interests—and clearly neither mine nor the common good—at heart? Thomas Jefferson warned against looming threats to liberty posed by “large enterprises,” and Abraham Lincoln against corporations, already dangerously vast in his day, by name. By stark contrast with these preeminent “friends of the people,” today’s “representatives” simply fiddle out the corporate tune we must dance to. Feeling cruelly betrayed, “we the people” are starting to fondly recall a Revolution fought against “taxation without representation”—which is precisely what most Pennsylvanians face today.
If you doubt my words, that’s only because habitually hearing only corporate voices has deafened you to real people’s. But get this on your radar fast: active citizens of Pennsylvania—not wingnut kooks, but some of the best and the brightest—are in revolt. Model parents, churchgoers, professional people, hard-working taxpayers who’ve never committed a crime are seriously discussing invoking their Second Amendment rights or training for civil disobedience. And usually the discussion isn’t about whether a revolt over fracking is justified (that’s simply assumed), but whether the election of those who reject a moratorium on fracking—or the blatant tyranny of forced pooling—should be the trigger event. Most telling to me were the thoughts of a dental hygienist, a mother I’d never have suspected of thinking such things, who said, “Remember, I’m not just an environmentalist; I’m a gun owner too.”
Don’t dare insult my intelligence by asking me to see both sides. I take great pains to inform myself on vital issues, and know when my basic rights are under siege. Besides a love of natural beauty and a vivid sense of community rights, a single reading of the series on fracking by the online journal ProPublica—the only online journal to win a Pulitzer—ought to convince any thinking person that horizontal fracking (the type being done in PA) is a young, largely untested technology that plays Russian roulette with our state’s air and water. Why else has Congress commissioned the EPA to do a thorough “lifecycle” study of the process—a study the EPA acknowledges is desperately needed?
Pending completion of that EPA study, to allow widespread fracking in the face of Pennsylvania’s woefully inadequate regulatory and enforcement regime (and how can the state regulate what no one yet understands?) is a betrayal of your Constitutional mandate to defend our lives and well-being. A moratorium—the sooner the better—is the only morally permissible course. If a moratorium isn’t passed soon, expect to jail some of our best citizens, or needlessly shed the blood of others simply exercising their Second Amendment right to defend their lives and property.
I defy you to find a single fault of fact or logic in what I have said. You had better answer me, as your silence will simply imply consent—and I will hold you responsible for the quality and seriousness of your answer. And FYI, I am sending a copy of this, under the title “An open challenge to our legislators,” to every media outlet I can think of in the state.
Sincerely and with intent to act,
Patrick Walker, Factoryville
(570) xxxxxxxx
pjwalkerzorro@yahoo.com
Let's Call Out the Militias - Letter to Editors
Let’s call out the militias—peace militias
The rapid spread of gas drilling by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") in Pennsylvania has meant the forced imposition of corporate will, aided and abetted by UNrepresentative government, on U.S. citizens given almost no chance to learn what's hitting them. Given the sheer brute force, complexity, and relative newness of horizontal fracturing, the proven toxic chemicals it uses, and the vast harm fracking has caused elsewhere, mere common sense says citizens of a democracy should be given a moratorium to decide whether they want this process to rule their lives. And given the scope on which it's planned, it surely will rule our lives.
Of course, it's a given that corporations with vast profits to earn have utter contempt for democracy. What's good for Halliburton is what's good for America, period. But except for the courageous few who have embraced a moratorium, like U.S. Congressman and Senatorial candidate Joe Sestak, our politicians have betrayed their Constitutional mandate to defend the lives and freedoms of U.S. and Pennsylvania citizens. I for one plan to spend all my ample free time assuring that those who don't support a moratorium are defeated at the polling booth—and recalled if elected.
But now there's talk of eminent domain and forced pooling to enforce the will of "frackers" on free citizens of Pennsylvania. And they have the Orwellian gall to claim this will allow them to do fracking in a safer, more socially responsible way—when in fact there's no hard, objective scientific proof (only the pie-in-the-sky promises of gas industry touts) that horizontal fracking can be done safely at all. Truth is, Congress has commissioned the EPA to do a vast new study of the whole process, which the EPA acknowledges is urgently needed. But in Pennsylvania, it's like some weird remake of Dr. Strangelove, where the leering mad scientist rubs his hands together saying, "First vee use zis process evreevaire, then vee test eet's environmental effects!"
In New York State, which has responsibly adopted a moratorium, people say to Pennsylvanians, "You guys are guinea pigs." As a free American citizen, I do NOT consent to be a guinea pig, and violating private landowners' sacred property rights to make me one satisfies any definition of tyranny I know. In our U.S. Constitution, the Second Amendment guarantees our right to fight tyranny by means of armed militias. While I think any people who use guns to defend their property against forced pooling are legally justified—and far better Americans than most of our politicians—I don't like a citizen militia's chances against a government that has predator drones, chemical weapons, and nuclear bombs. And even if Constitutionally justified, you'll be taken by your misguided peers as some deranged wingnut. In modern times, the peaceful civil disobedience so brilliantly practiced by Gandhi and Martin Luther King—two worldwide heroes, the latter now honored by a national holiday—is our only weapon of choice.
If forced pooling or eminent domain becomes a reality, hundreds of thousands of honest, taxpaying citizens who've never committed a crime need to be prepared to go to jail, to shame our legislators into seeing who really holds the moral high ground. We need peace militias now—and I publicly offer myself as the first volunteer.
Patrick Walker, Factoryville (570)xxxxxxxx petportraitscody@yahoo.com
The rapid spread of gas drilling by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") in Pennsylvania has meant the forced imposition of corporate will, aided and abetted by UNrepresentative government, on U.S. citizens given almost no chance to learn what's hitting them. Given the sheer brute force, complexity, and relative newness of horizontal fracturing, the proven toxic chemicals it uses, and the vast harm fracking has caused elsewhere, mere common sense says citizens of a democracy should be given a moratorium to decide whether they want this process to rule their lives. And given the scope on which it's planned, it surely will rule our lives.
Of course, it's a given that corporations with vast profits to earn have utter contempt for democracy. What's good for Halliburton is what's good for America, period. But except for the courageous few who have embraced a moratorium, like U.S. Congressman and Senatorial candidate Joe Sestak, our politicians have betrayed their Constitutional mandate to defend the lives and freedoms of U.S. and Pennsylvania citizens. I for one plan to spend all my ample free time assuring that those who don't support a moratorium are defeated at the polling booth—and recalled if elected.
But now there's talk of eminent domain and forced pooling to enforce the will of "frackers" on free citizens of Pennsylvania. And they have the Orwellian gall to claim this will allow them to do fracking in a safer, more socially responsible way—when in fact there's no hard, objective scientific proof (only the pie-in-the-sky promises of gas industry touts) that horizontal fracking can be done safely at all. Truth is, Congress has commissioned the EPA to do a vast new study of the whole process, which the EPA acknowledges is urgently needed. But in Pennsylvania, it's like some weird remake of Dr. Strangelove, where the leering mad scientist rubs his hands together saying, "First vee use zis process evreevaire, then vee test eet's environmental effects!"
In New York State, which has responsibly adopted a moratorium, people say to Pennsylvanians, "You guys are guinea pigs." As a free American citizen, I do NOT consent to be a guinea pig, and violating private landowners' sacred property rights to make me one satisfies any definition of tyranny I know. In our U.S. Constitution, the Second Amendment guarantees our right to fight tyranny by means of armed militias. While I think any people who use guns to defend their property against forced pooling are legally justified—and far better Americans than most of our politicians—I don't like a citizen militia's chances against a government that has predator drones, chemical weapons, and nuclear bombs. And even if Constitutionally justified, you'll be taken by your misguided peers as some deranged wingnut. In modern times, the peaceful civil disobedience so brilliantly practiced by Gandhi and Martin Luther King—two worldwide heroes, the latter now honored by a national holiday—is our only weapon of choice.
If forced pooling or eminent domain becomes a reality, hundreds of thousands of honest, taxpaying citizens who've never committed a crime need to be prepared to go to jail, to shame our legislators into seeing who really holds the moral high ground. We need peace militias now—and I publicly offer myself as the first volunteer.
Patrick Walker, Factoryville (570)xxxxxxxx petportraitscody@yahoo.com
Public Utilities Commission Hearing - Walker Testimony
Public Testimony of Patrick Walker, 243 Riverside Dr., P.O. Box 128, Factoryville, PA 18419
Phone: (570) xxxxxxxxx E-mail: petportraitscody@yahoo.com
The issue we face today is whether Laser Northeast Gathering LLC, a gas-piping company, should be granted utility status, with the accompanying right to declare eminent domain. As I understand eminent domain, it involves the claim that the activity it enables is so important a public good that it trumps individual property rights, normally sacred in our nation.
Now Laser’s argument that its gas-piping activity is a vital public good depends entirely on the claim that gas drilling by fracking is itself a vital public good. In a democracy (if we still wish to have one), that question should be decided by a duly informed public which has been given time to reflect on the matter, not by profit-hungry industry reps or extensively lobbied legislators who’ve heard only their side of the story. I submit that the gas-drilling industry holds such a huge advantage in information and legislative influence over PA’s general public that without an extensive moratorium, a vast public education effort, and statewide public hearings, no decision that respects democratic values or the common good is even remotely possible.
Further, ample prima facie evidence shows that the gas-drilling industry lives in virtual contempt of the common good. Simply their rush to start drilling is a slap in democracy’s face. And who, after all, lobbied for the Halliburton loophole to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which virtually grants gas-drilling companies license to perform unsupervised chemical experiments on the public water supply? Indeed, this insane, irresponsible loophole—along with similar exemptions from the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund Law—shows just how little disposed our legislators are to protect us from a dangerously powerful and under-regulated industry. The same industry, by the way, that gave us the Gulf oil spill. If our judiciary can afford us no last-ditch protection of our basic rights, where lawmakers have perpetually failed us, many lifelong law-abiding taxpayers will be forced against our wills into the desperate crapshoot of civil disobedience.
The gas-drilling industry talks of wondrous economic benefits, but even the benefits it claims are based on discredited economics. Nobel Prize-winning economists like Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz now assure us that mere growth in jobs or GDP is no measure of public welfare; growth must be of the right kind. Every new dollar we squander on Big Gas and Oil carries a huge opportunity cost: the time and resources lost for developing safer, more planet-friendly energy technologies before it’s too late. If gas drillers claim to offer us ample energy at minimal cost, this is only because governments irresponsibly fail to make their costs reflect the untold harm they do to innocent third parties and local communities. My wife and I will soon watch our property value plummet and the rural Pennsylvania we love ravaged by the cancer of rapid, unplanned development—hideous strip-mall architecture, endless noise and traffic congestion, broken roads, polluted air and water, the end of recreational fishing and bird watching, meth labs catering to overworked hard-drinking “nomads” with no stake in our area—who’ll operate dangerous equipment, by the way. Will the gas drillers—or Mr. Karam—buy our unsellable homes, or find us suitable jobs in a region as lovely as the one they callously stole from us?
The worldwide recession wrought by Big Finance, acting hand-in-glove with big government, should make us deeply suspicious of outright grabs for corporate welfare, like Mr. Karam’s today. Companies like his need to clear a high bar of proof that they’ve even heard of the common good, let alone be allowed to seize our homes in its name. Mr. Karam betrayed his barely concealed contempt for his fellow citizens’ real interests by saying in our papers that we’d probably come here to “vent”—yes, “vent” about the very substance of our lives! No, Mr. Karam, I am not venting; I am speaking truth to power—a power whose money screams so loud that the voice of its innocent victims rarely gets heard. I pray to God it gets heard here today.
Phone: (570) xxxxxxxxx E-mail: petportraitscody@yahoo.com
The issue we face today is whether Laser Northeast Gathering LLC, a gas-piping company, should be granted utility status, with the accompanying right to declare eminent domain. As I understand eminent domain, it involves the claim that the activity it enables is so important a public good that it trumps individual property rights, normally sacred in our nation.
Now Laser’s argument that its gas-piping activity is a vital public good depends entirely on the claim that gas drilling by fracking is itself a vital public good. In a democracy (if we still wish to have one), that question should be decided by a duly informed public which has been given time to reflect on the matter, not by profit-hungry industry reps or extensively lobbied legislators who’ve heard only their side of the story. I submit that the gas-drilling industry holds such a huge advantage in information and legislative influence over PA’s general public that without an extensive moratorium, a vast public education effort, and statewide public hearings, no decision that respects democratic values or the common good is even remotely possible.
Further, ample prima facie evidence shows that the gas-drilling industry lives in virtual contempt of the common good. Simply their rush to start drilling is a slap in democracy’s face. And who, after all, lobbied for the Halliburton loophole to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which virtually grants gas-drilling companies license to perform unsupervised chemical experiments on the public water supply? Indeed, this insane, irresponsible loophole—along with similar exemptions from the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund Law—shows just how little disposed our legislators are to protect us from a dangerously powerful and under-regulated industry. The same industry, by the way, that gave us the Gulf oil spill. If our judiciary can afford us no last-ditch protection of our basic rights, where lawmakers have perpetually failed us, many lifelong law-abiding taxpayers will be forced against our wills into the desperate crapshoot of civil disobedience.
The gas-drilling industry talks of wondrous economic benefits, but even the benefits it claims are based on discredited economics. Nobel Prize-winning economists like Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz now assure us that mere growth in jobs or GDP is no measure of public welfare; growth must be of the right kind. Every new dollar we squander on Big Gas and Oil carries a huge opportunity cost: the time and resources lost for developing safer, more planet-friendly energy technologies before it’s too late. If gas drillers claim to offer us ample energy at minimal cost, this is only because governments irresponsibly fail to make their costs reflect the untold harm they do to innocent third parties and local communities. My wife and I will soon watch our property value plummet and the rural Pennsylvania we love ravaged by the cancer of rapid, unplanned development—hideous strip-mall architecture, endless noise and traffic congestion, broken roads, polluted air and water, the end of recreational fishing and bird watching, meth labs catering to overworked hard-drinking “nomads” with no stake in our area—who’ll operate dangerous equipment, by the way. Will the gas drillers—or Mr. Karam—buy our unsellable homes, or find us suitable jobs in a region as lovely as the one they callously stole from us?
The worldwide recession wrought by Big Finance, acting hand-in-glove with big government, should make us deeply suspicious of outright grabs for corporate welfare, like Mr. Karam’s today. Companies like his need to clear a high bar of proof that they’ve even heard of the common good, let alone be allowed to seize our homes in its name. Mr. Karam betrayed his barely concealed contempt for his fellow citizens’ real interests by saying in our papers that we’d probably come here to “vent”—yes, “vent” about the very substance of our lives! No, Mr. Karam, I am not venting; I am speaking truth to power—a power whose money screams so loud that the voice of its innocent victims rarely gets heard. I pray to God it gets heard here today.
Commentary on Harvey's Lake Leasing Land to Gas Drilling Companies
I’m gonna put this in language so crude that even the crass humanly stunted money-grubbing trolls who run gas companies might get it. You know, most Pennsylvanians – and I mean millions of us – are innocent third parties with no contract dollars, jobs to gain, or business benefits from drilling. We have everything to lose, and almost nothing to gain from your activity. Yet, you’re shoving this down our throats – literally!— without once asking our advice or consent. I’d say we’re being treated like the weakest, most limp-wristed con in a federal prison.
But we’re not the wusses you think, and many of us here refuse to bend over and be raped by you.
You know, unlike gas-drilling companies and PA’s politicians, most of us don’t look up to Voldemort from the Harry Potter movies or the Borg from Star Trek as role models. I refuse to be assimilated into your vision of my state of Pennsylvania – a vision I find crass, aesthetically and morally tone deaf, and above all, criminally irresponsible.
Since I’ve become an activist in this cause, I’ve seen parts of my own state I’d never seen…like Harvey’s Lake…and I always marvel at their beauty. These companies, not content to gamble with our air and water, rush to rob us of this beautiful natural heritage. And they’d gladly use eminent domain to force us all into their Borg-like vision. If our legislators understood their true responsibilities, they’d be using eminent domain to seize all properties with drilling contracts, so not one precious acre of our lovely state can ever be raped again.
But we’re not the wusses you think, and many of us here refuse to bend over and be raped by you.
You know, unlike gas-drilling companies and PA’s politicians, most of us don’t look up to Voldemort from the Harry Potter movies or the Borg from Star Trek as role models. I refuse to be assimilated into your vision of my state of Pennsylvania – a vision I find crass, aesthetically and morally tone deaf, and above all, criminally irresponsible.
Since I’ve become an activist in this cause, I’ve seen parts of my own state I’d never seen…like Harvey’s Lake…and I always marvel at their beauty. These companies, not content to gamble with our air and water, rush to rob us of this beautiful natural heritage. And they’d gladly use eminent domain to force us all into their Borg-like vision. If our legislators understood their true responsibilities, they’d be using eminent domain to seize all properties with drilling contracts, so not one precious acre of our lovely state can ever be raped again.
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