Archive for the ‘Pennsylvania Watersheds’ Category
March 13, 2012
Dimock… Butler County… and now Franklin Township, PA… Whose water will be polluted next?
UPDATE [March 22,2012]: Marcellus shale driller offers water to Franklin Homes by Laura Legere, in The Times-Tribune, Thursday, March 22, 2012.
UPDATE [March 15, 2012]: DEP announces sampling of Franklin Township water wells DEP tracking-source-of-more-methane-in-wells by abc27.com
[Original Post]: Gas drillers want you to think Pennsylvania’s water supply was rife with shallow methane before they began fracking the Marcellus Play. Obviously methane deposits can migrate, but why would these towns have been settled in the first place if the water table was bad? Listening to residents in these Northern and Western gas drilling locales, you hear recurring themes about a whole new kind of water problem.
“Up until November, I could drink my water.”
“It’s black.”
“It’s really slimy.”
“Up there, a coupla houses, they’re starting to have some issues.”
“It won’t freeze.”
“Now, there are elevated chemicals…” (more…)
Tags:Bill Dubanevich, Franklin Township Methane, Hopey, PA American Water, Tara Howley, Templeton, Vera Duerga, WPX Energy
Posted in fracking, fresh water pollution, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
March 10, 2012
by Stop Frackin’ PA!
UPDATE [March 15, 2012]:
A sad day for the Susquehanna. Permits for MASSIVE water withdrawals were approved. Read more in Natural Gas Industry Gets Water Permits for Fracking While Science and Public Get Ignored by Earthworks at EcoWatch.org.
LINK: http://ecowatch.org/2012/natural-gas-industry-gets-water-permits-while-science-and-public-get-ignored/
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ORIGINAL POST:
On Thursday, March 15th at 8am in Harrisburg, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission will convene for a public vote on more than 60 permit applications for large-scale water withdrawals. These hotly contested withdrawals will amount to mega-millions of gallons over a four-year period, for which users are charged a mere $.005/gallon. The vast majority of this fresh water is bound for toxic Industrial Shale Gas Drilling. (more…)
Tags:Alex Lotorto, James T. O’Reilly, No Frackin' PA!, O'Malley, SRBC, Water Withdrawals
Posted in anti-fracking movement, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics, Stop Fracking PA! | 2 Comments »
March 5, 2012
I started this blog a year ago, freaked over Fracking and the hydrological catastrophe coming to Pennsylvania. I was determined to reach one thousand people with the message that industrial shale gas drilling will forever destroy beautiful, economically struggling regions of rural PA. I wanted them to know that the unchecked, under-regulated shale gas industry is already polluting the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Mostly, I wanted people to Take Action to protect the imperiled Delaware and Schuylkill River watersheds. (more…)
Posted in fracking accidents fraccidents, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | 2 Comments »
March 1, 2012
Current Drinking Water Impact Study Emphasizes “Scientific Integrity”
Many fractivists think EPA Chief Lisa Jackson isn’t doing enough to protect citizens from the environmental ravages of Fracking. Iris Bloom, Director of Protecting Our Waters, recently posted that EPA is falling short in its duty “to ensure our rights under the Pennsylvania Constitution to clean water, air, and a healthy environment.” Bloom is putting out the call to rally EPA officials to use their authority to compel Rex Energy to continue delivering replacement water to families in Butler County, whose water has become toxic since drilling began. These families have found no satisfactory recourse with the PA Department of Environmental Protection who, characteristically, insists their water is fine.
Governor Corbett and DEP Secretary Krancer have made it clear they think EPA is overstepping when it regulates Pennsylvania’s shale gas drilling. They routinely refer to EPA’s oversight actions as “duplicative” and “unnecessary.” DEP can manage just fine on its own, thank you. There’s no need for EPA to investigate why the water in Connoquenessing Township suddenly began running red, orange and gray. (more…)
Tags:DEP vs. EPA, EPA Fracking Study, Iris Bloom, Lisa Jackson, TXSharon
Posted in Energy, epa, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds | Leave a Comment »
February 14, 2012
For Immediate Release February 13, 2012
BRISTOL PA – The Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) announced the settlement of an appeal DRN filed with the PA Environmental Hearing Board concerning one of the first shale gas wells drilled in the Delaware River Basin. The well is a vertical gas well and was not hydraulically fractured.
The appeal — filed in coordination with Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and local residents — involved the Newfield Appalachia PA, LLC “Woodlands” well in Damascus Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. (more…)
Tags:delaware river, DRN, Newfield Appalachia, Shale Gas Regulation, Special Protection Waters
Posted in DEP, Environment, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds | 1 Comment »
February 13, 2012
When it comes to the pro-gas point-of-view, is there anyone worth listening to?
Last week, former DEP chief, John Hanger, earned props from the gas industry blog, Marcellus Drilling News, in a pithy post entitled, Former PA DEP Head Says Fracking Doesn’t Contaminate Aquifers. MDN, which is edited by Jim Willis in Binghamton, NY, was spotlighting Hanger’s comments in a recent New York Post article about “fracking hysteria.” From the start, that right-wing litterbox liner has been unabashedly anti-Environment in their coverage of issues surrounding Fracking. One can expect greater journalistic integrity from MDN, which simply distilled Hanger’s quotes to support their editorial position, that fracking is safe. My kinda of post, only ass-backwards. (more…)
Tags:Gas Industry Propaganda, Jan Jarett, Jim Willis, John Hanger, Marcellus Impact Fee, PennFuture
Posted in DEP, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
February 10, 2012
Marcellus Shale Bill Preempts Local Zoning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Clean Water Action * Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania * Delaware Riverkeeper Network * Earthworks * PennEnvironment * Sierra Club, PA Chapter
February 8, 2012: PENNSYLVANIA SENATE AND HOUSE VOTE FOR PREEMPTION OF MUNICIPAL ZONING TO FAVOR GAS DRILLING AND OPERATIONS; INDUSTRY INTERESTS DOMINATE THE PUBLIC INTEREST Organizations decry lack of concern for communities, health, and property… (more…)
Tags:gas Industry, Marcellus Shale Bill
Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics | Leave a Comment »
January 22, 2012
“Colossal Failure” of Governor Corbett and The PA Department of Environmental Protection
The EPA began delivering water to four families in Dimock PA on Friday, January 20, while they conduct further testing on 61 more households. The move signals a failure of Tom Corbett and the PA DEP to safeguard the water supply of citizens. Peacegirl posted a video of the Press Conference on Sunday, January 20, 2012 in Dimock, PA. Among the speakers introduced by Julia Walsh of FrackAction were Craig Sautner, who will be receiving EPA water, and Victoria Switzer, who will not.
“Let science speak for itself… Well, I guess it has, hasn’t it?” Sautner said. (more…)
Tags:Anti-Fracking, Cabot Oil & Gas, Dimock PA, EPA Water Delivery, Gasland 2, Press Conference, Sautner, Switzer
Posted in fracking accidents fraccidents, fresh water pollution, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
January 21, 2012
“Fifty Percent of Pennsylvania’s Land Mass (22,835 square miles) will become an heavily industrialized zone over the next fifty years…” *
“Wellbores, even perfectly sealed, will be thousands of times more porous than the rock between the shale and the surface, a multi-generational legacy of pollution could be the result.” *
“Three EPA studies have found that the migration of fracturing fluids into groundwater is unpredictable or has already happened.” *
POW! Bam!! Free Facts Fuel Democracy
Regularly circulating valuable links, articles and information, the venerable people at Protecting Our Waters are ever satisfying the public’s right-to-know about the impacts of industrial shale gas drilling on our fresh water supply. The group demonstrates that no matter how much money the gas industry spends on media and lobbying, they cannot captivate the national conversation. (more…)
Tags:Anti-Fracking, Lucinda Hart-Gonzalez, Protecting Our Waters, Shale Gas Opposition, Stephen Cleghorn
Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
December 22, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Thursday, December 21, 2011):
“CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS CALL INTO QUESTION THE LEGALITY OF ACTIONS TAKE DURING SRBC MEETING”
Today, a consortium of seven conservation and environmental groups have sent a letter to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, asking the Commissioners to reconvene to complete its meeting held on December 15. Last week, the Commission hastily adjourned its meeting in Wilkes-Barre, after a group of citizens
challenged its authority, shouted at the Commissioners and disrupted the meeting.
(more…)
Tags:American Rivers, lawsuits, Marcellus Shale, Protecting Our Waters, Sierra Club, SRBC, Susquehanna River, Water Withdrawals
Posted in anti-fracking movement, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
December 20, 2011
From wellpad construction to 25,000 miles of high-pressure pipelines slapped down to gather gas and ship it to China, hydraulic fracturing isn’t merely a threat to local box turtles, it’s murder on our watersheds. A simple assessment of the facts makes it difficult to imagine that any legislature can truly “get gas right” if they allow fracking in a watershed. And if they get it wrong, the adverse ecological and human health consequences could last, literally, for ages. Future generations will have no one to blame but us. (more…)
Tags:fresh water resources, Penn Virginia Resource Partners, SB1100, wastewater treatment plants
Posted in Environment, epa, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics | 1 Comment »
November 30, 2011
Since his appointment to PA’s top environmental cop last fall, DEP Secretary Michael Krancer has had a number of public zingers on the topic of shale gas development. Lately, Krancer seems to be on a tear, as if he’s embarked on a shale gas promotion tour with both barrels loaded. Too bad he isn’t on a Fracking Reality Tour, but if he’s interested, I’m sure one can be arranged. Taking things totally out of context? Absolutely. But the #1 comment speaks for itself.
# 10…. (more…)
Tags:Michael Krancer, Quotes on Fracking
Posted in Environment, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | 1 Comment »
November 22, 2011
One would think, for all the recent public outcry, that the Delaware is the only river in Pennsylvania. So what if it’s the longest, free-flowing, un-dammed course of fresh water in North America? Who cares that a University of Delaware report concludes that the 330-mile long waterway generates $22 billion for the regional economy? There happens to be another, rather large, really important river in Pennsylvania – The Susquehanna. (more…)
Tags:PA fresh water supply, Schuylkill River Watershed, Susquehanna River
Posted in fresh water pollution, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | 1 Comment »
November 18, 2011
In what is being hailed as a BIG WIN FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED, The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has cancelled, or postponed, its scheduled November 21st meeting in which the commission was to vote on opening the Delaware River Watershed to industrial shale gas drilling. THE MORATORIUM STANDS! It’s a victory for the nearly 74,000 people who petitioned the DRBC not to frack in the river basin. The watershed protection coalition’s news release is bounding across the internet this morning. (more…)
Tags:delaware river, DRBC, November 21, Riverkeeper, Shale Gas Regulations
Posted in Energy, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
November 10, 2011
Josh Fox, whose Oscar-nominated documentary Gasland inspired a global movement, is calling all water activists to stand up to and say NO! to Fracking in the Delaware River Basin on Monday, November 21, 2011 in Trenton, NJ. The rally begins at 8am at The Patriots Theater, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, NJ, where the next Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) meeting is to be held. If the commission votes to enact its new draft regulations for industrial gas drilling, the Delaware River Watershed, source of drinking water for 15.6 million people, will be immediately be open to 300 new frack wells, with many more to follow 18 months later. Fox has his detractors, even in the mainstream media, but a Gasland sequel is reportedly in the works with HBO, and there’s buzz over a possible trilogy. I’m a card-carrying fan. This Vimeo clip features Fox’s most recent call-to-action. (more…)
Tags:Delaware River Basin Commission, DRBC, Gas Drliing Regulations, Gasland, Josh Fox
Posted in anti-fracking movement, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics | 2 Comments »
November 3, 2011
Fight for Our River – Re-designate The Delaware!
It’s time for public officials to hear from the public. Legislation is flying through Harrisburg, and lawmakers need to be aware that a growing number of constituencies are concerned about the toxic threat posed by industrial gas drilling. Urge them – today – to value clean water over dirty fossil fuels, to protect our existing high water quality, and to ensure ongoing protections in the face of an unprecedented Shale Gas Boom.
DEP Secretary Michael Krancer has said he’s the boss who wants to hear whatever you think he doesn’t want to hear. He is a public official, after all, and perhaps the most pivotal figure aside from the governor when it comes to establishing the policies and enforcing the new regulations that may, or may not, protect my family’s drinking water. So I take this as an open invitation. You should, too. (more…)
Tags:delaware river, Michael Krancer, PA DEP, PACleanWaterCampaign
Posted in PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
October 31, 2011
VOTE FOR FRACTIVIST-FRIENDLY LEADERSHIP
A recent post on Protest Shale Gas Drilling informed me about a new Facebook page, Marcellus at the Polls. The new page is a compilation of candidate information, a consummately useful 2011 environmental voter’s guide to PA, NY, OH, and WV – the Marcellus Shale states. Click on “docs” at the top of the page to learn more about Fractivist friendly candidates in your neck of the woods. You’ll find a wealth of links, current comments and topical information. Then, be sure to exercise your franchise at the polls on Tuesday, November 8, 2011. (more…)
Tags:Anti-Shale Gas Movement, Forouzan, Pennsylvania State Elections
Posted in fresh water pollution, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | 1 Comment »
October 24, 2011
I’ve never been to Happy Valley though I think a lot about Penn State. Since posting about fracking on state college campuses last month, I keep wondering where is The Left? Aren’t college campuses supposed to be hotbeds of liberal thinking? I know some schools are more conservative than others, but in public institutions such as state universities, shouldn’t there at least be a viable progressive contingent?
I’m happy to say, I’ve finally stumbled upon the nerve center of progressive discourse at State College, in the form of Sustainability Now Radio – a well-established website and weekly radio show, Fridays from 4 to 5 pm on TheLion.fm/listen 90.7fm WKPS. It’s worth a listen, and their blog is definitely worth a read. That’s where I first viewed this seriously harrowing video of a western PA mom, (more…)
Tags:MarcellusProtest2011, Penn State, Peter Buckland, PSU, Stephanie Hallowich
Posted in anti-fracking movement, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | 2 Comments »
October 5, 2011
UPDATE: The DRBC announced today that it will postpone the October 21 meeting date to vote on the new gas regulations. The meeting is now scheduled for November 21, 2011.
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ORIGINAL POST: The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will vote on October 21, 2011 whether to open the “Special Protection Waters” of The Upper Delaware to industrial shale gas drilling. If new DRBC regulations are passed, the current moratorium on hydraulic fracturing will come to an end, and fracking will begin in earnest in the Delaware River watershed region. (more…)
Tags:delaware river, DRBC, New drilling regulations, PA DEP
Posted in anti-fracking movement, Energy, Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
Keep Tap Water Safe 