PToprotecting Communities and Special Places
  e-Newsletter  January 31 , 2014

Responsible Drilling Alliance
   quote"Simply put, this gas needs to stay in the ground.
If it's
dug up and exported, it will directly harm just about everyone in the US economy while
simultaneously
making global warming worse.
                                    ~ Bill McKibben and Mike Tidwell
Missed a week?
Find former
newsletters here
eventsUPCOMING EVENTS
Save the Date!
Keep It Wild Hike

Feb 16

Jacoby Falls

Watch for more information next week.

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Public Hearing on Proposed Oil and Gas
Regulations    
New hearing dates: 
 
February 10
Troy High School
150 High St., Troy, PA
 
February 12
Warren County Courthouse
Warren, PA 
 
New deadline for
written comments:

March 14
 
Several groups have developed talking points for Monday's hearing in Williamsport. Find PennFuture's talking points here and another set of talking points here.
 
For additional information, read the updated information here and the press release here. 
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Film Screening

"Triple Divide"


February 8
2:00 p.m.

Campus Theater
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Screening sponsored by Shale Justice; free admission, donations requested.

Look here for more information
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Film Screening

"The Ethics
of
Fracking"


February 19
4 - 5:00 p.m.

McGowan School of Business
Burke Auditorium
Kings College

The film asks ethical and moral questions of the highly publicized gas extraction process of "fracking" by looking at it from many different perspectives including scientific, medical, religious, political, and advertising.


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Shalefield Justice
Spring Break

 

March 15-22

 

Krislund Camp

Madisonburg, Pa.  

 

 

Shalefield Justice Spring Break (SJSB), inspired by the Mountain Justice Spring Break (MJSB) and Summer camps hosted in the coalfields of Appalachia will bring together members of extraction communities,

college students, environmentalists and concerned residents who are interested in learning more about shale gas hydraulic fracturing and its infrastructure, as well as other forms of extreme energy extraction.  

 

Look here for more information and to register 

  

 actionTAKE ACTION! 
Don't Sacrifice Conservation to Balance the Budget!

Rep. Greg Vitali introduced HB 1500  on January 30. This bill would restore the original intent of the oil and gas lease fund and direct monies generated from existing gas leases on Commonwealth land back into conservation projects intended to help maintain and improve our public lands.

and ask them to co-sponsor HB 1500!

Find more
information here

Vitali: Preserve Environmental Fund
Vitali: Preserve Environmental Fund
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rdaJoin RDA!

We welcome your active participation and are in  
need of help for special events, publicity, research, and other projects. Contact us
for details. 
 
Membership levels: Adventurer..............$10 
Explorer.................$20
Woodlander............$50
Guardian..............$100 
Naturalist.............$500 
Preservationist...$1,000 
 
As a 501(c)(3)  
non-profit organization, 
RDA relies on donations for the important work we do. In order for  
RDA to continue its valuable education  
and advocacy outreach 
in 2014, please consider a tax-free contribution  
to our efforts.

Please use the Donate button below to send a donation or join online, or download the membership form here  

 

coveThe Cove Point Connection 

                                                                        By ANN PINCA

 

Last week, RDA joined other community and grassroots groups in signing a letter addressed to two Maryland federal Senators concerning the proposed Cove Point LNG (liquid natural gas) export facility near Lusby, Md. The letter requests the Senators to direct the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) to perform a "programmatic Environmental Impact Statement" at Cove Point, as required under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), instead of the lesser Environmental Survey currently planned.

 

A firestorm of controversy is quickly brewing over the Cove Point LNG facility owned by Dominion Resources. Originally built as a natural gas import terminal, Dominion plans to convert the Cove Point facility into an export terminal and ship America's shale gas to overseas markets.

 

Dominion has already received approval from the DOE to export LNG to free-trade and non-free-trade countries and secured 20-year contracts last April with Japan and India. Last December, Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation announced a deal with Pacific Summit Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, to sell natural gas from the Marcellus Shale for a term of 20 years, to be exported through Cove Point. Dominion plans to begin the conversion to an export facility this year, with exports starting in 2017.

  

But it's not a done deal yet. Cove Point LNG still needs approval from the FERC and permits from the state of Maryland before it can begin construction. Part of the FERC approval process is to prove that LNG exports from Cove Point  are "not inconsistent with the public interest." Dominion's application lists a "host of benefits" in the public interest, including support for the continued development of natural gas, increased tax revenues, a huge economic stimulus, and of course, the creation of thousands of jobs.  

 

Many Maryland residents and other citizens see it differently, citing pollution and public safety concerns, and also sky-rocketing natural gas prices as exports commence. On January 8, members of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) rallied with other supporters in Annapolis to support a Maryland Sierra Club appeal to a previous Cove Point court decision. Recently, Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, joined with CCAN director Mike Tidwell to bring Cove Point's impacts on global warming to national attention through a Politico Magazine article.  

 

Where does RDA fit in with Cove Point? Consider that Cove Point's application to the DOE relied heavily on reports alluding to the 100-year supply of U.S. natural gas to make its case for LNG exports. Many disagree with that figure, including Bill Powers, author of Cold, Hungry and in the Dark, who warns that "America's natural gas resources are far less" than we've been led to believe.  

 

Financial consultant Deborah Rogers makes the same prediction in "Shale and Wall Street." As Rogers points out, sharp decline rates for unconventional wells coupled with 20-year LNG export contracts will spur a surge in drilling and hydraulic fracturing that will have dire environmental impacts in shale regions--like Susquehanna County, Pa., where citizens have already experienced documented water contamination problems.  

 

An article  discussing Cabot's recent Cove Point export deal says the exported gas will have little impact on Cabot's overall production, yet confirms more drilling, stating that "Cabot has thousands of more wells to drill in Susquehanna County in the coming years (decades)."  The same will hold true for other Pennsylvania shale counties including RDA's home base, Lycoming County, where to date, 843 wells out of 1,283 well permits have been drilled. An Environmental Impact Statement will address the  

cumulative issues that surround LNG exports from Cove Point, from increased well pads in Pennsylvania through the additional pipelines and compressor stations needed to transport the gas to Cove Point. 

 

Many politicians favor LNG exports, citing economic advantages. In a Tribune-Democrat article earlier this month, Pa. Senator Gene Yaw said "he'd like to see a pipeline from the state's northern tier to Philadelphia, so the port could be used to export natural gas." Back in Calvert County, Md., home to Cove Point LNG, the local Board of County Commissioners is in favor of Cove Point LNG exports, which promises 3,000 temporary construction jobs and 74 permanent jobs upon the facility's completion.

 

Meanwhile, citizens from Pennsylvania to Maryland question the wisdom of shipping out a finite resource that claims to bring American energy independence, suspecting that the real economic benefits will only go to the natural gas industry and its investors. 

 

As the letter signed by RDA and others says: "Unconventional gas production, tied to Cove Point, comes with significant costs for Maryland, the region, and our nation." Whether upstream or downstream, the long-term impacts of Cove Point will affect us all.   

 

All images above were taken at the CCAN rally in Annapolis on January 8.

Courtesy Wendy Lynne Lee 

 

The existing Cove Point terminal as seen on GOOGLE MAPS      


twoTwo Opportunities to Speak Up in Maryland!


Peoples Forum
Stop the Frack Attack is hosting a Peoples Forum in Annapolis on

February 4. Join John Fenton, Craig Stevens, and Ray Kemble, who all were in the documentary Gasland 2, to bring the realities of the gas patch to Maryland at a discussion with members of the Maryland Legislature.
To register and for more information, look here.

Stop Cove Point Rally in Baltimore
On Thursday, February 20, hundreds of people--from the fracking fields of Pennsylvania to the Western mountains of Maryland to the D.C. suburbs and the Eastern Shore--will hold one of the largest environmental rallies ever organized in downtown Baltimore to draw a region-wide line in the sand against Cove Point. Look here for more information and to register.



  redbankRedbank Valley Trails Chosen 2014 Trail of the Year

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Ellen Ferretti  announced earlier this week that Redbank Valley Trails in Armstrong, Clarion and Jefferson counties is the 2014 Trail of the Year in Pennsylvania. This new designation is coordinated by DCNR's Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee to elevate public awareness of the thousands of miles of trails available for public enjoyment in Pennsylvania.   

 

A snowy day along the
Old Loggers Path  

IMAGE: ANN PINCA

"Eighteen fantastic trails were nominated 

during this inaugural year for this

designation," Ferretti said. "Redbank Valley Trails stood out because of the dedicated work of tremendous volunteers; its scenic beauty; connection to other trail systems; and quick and efficient pace of development."  

RDA's Land Conservation Committee and Keystone Trails Association both nominated the Old Loggers Path for the 2014 Trail of the Year in expectation that this wonderful path through the Loyalsock State Forest would be selected. Our thanks to both groups for their good efforts to promote the Old Loggers Path.

groupsGROUPS:  EXPECT MORE WV-STYLE WATER DISASTERS UNLESS OBAMA SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER PROTECTING U.S. WATER FROM
ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

 

West Virginia is Not Alone: 10 Similar "Sacrifice Zones" Identified in Colo., La., Mass., N.D.,  Okla., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Texas, and Vt.; Warning That Water Will Be Subject to Repeated Disasters in Absence of  Water/Energy Roadmap, Clear Priorities.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 30, 2014 -- Sixty groups from across the United States called on President Obama today to issue an executive order protecting water availability and quality in the U.S. from haphazard energy exploration, warning that in the absence of a national water/energy "roadmap" there will be many more "sacrifice zones" like the coal-processing chemical spill in West Virginia that contaminated the drinking water of 300,000 people and created a federal state of emergency.

 

In making the case for the draft executive order they are presenting to the White House, the groups led by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) highlighted 10 West Virginia-style water "sacrifice zones" illustrating the danger of unbridled energy extraction in the following states:Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont. 

 

Available online at www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org, the draft executive order would require: (1) the completion of a long-overdue national water census; (2) the creation of a "U.S. Water Budget"; and (3) a plan for a shift by 2030 from fossil fuel and nuclear power to clean energy, increased energy efficiency, and enhanced energy storage technologies in key watersheds identified by the U.S. Geological Survey.

 

Tracy Carluccio, deputy director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Bristol, Pa., said: "The runaway consumption of water by shale gas development in the United States places huge demands on our watersheds, compromising the security of the drinking water they supply and the health of our communities. Through water pollution and water depletion, gas drilling and fracking translates into an outsized water footprint that is turning entire regions of the country into sacrifice zones. We must assess what is being lost, critically evaluate the use, and get with a plan to replace water-intense energy extraction such as fracking with energy sources that support rather than squander our limited fresh water resources."

 


RDA Newsletter

Ann Pinca, managing editor
Ted Stroter, RDA Board of Directors editor
Ralph Kisberg, contributing editor
Robbie Cross, President - RDA Board of Directors
Jenni Slotterback, Secretary - RDA Board of Directors
Barb Jarmoska, Treasurer - RDA Board of Directors
Mark Szybist - RDA Board of Directors
Roscoe McCloskey - RDA Board of Directors
Jim Slotterback - RDA Board of Directors

This weekly e-letter is written and designed by the RDA consultants and Board of Directors and sent to RDA members/subscribers. Every effort is made to assure complete accuracy in each issue. This publication and the information contained herein is copyrighted by RDA and Ann Pinca and may not be reproduced without permission.
All rights reserved. Readers are invited to forward this newsletter in its entirety to broaden the scope of its outreach. Readers are also invited to comment to the managing editor regarding contents and to submit articles to be considered for publication in a future issue.      
Please note: The RDA newsletter includes reporting on a variety of events and activities, which do not necessarily reflect the philosophy of the organization. RDA practices only non-violent action in voicing the organization's beliefs and concerns.
 


Contact RDA with questions and comments using either the address below, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 888-332-1244 (toll free).   
For more information, visit the RDA web site, or like us on Facebook.

Donations can be sent by mail to: Responsible Drilling Alliance, P.O. Box 502, Williamsport, PA 17703 
Thank you for your support!
      undefinedResponsible Drilling Alliance