TOPClimate Change Changes Everything
September 25, 2015
Compressed natural gas filling station adds to ongoing industrialization of Fairfield and Upper Fairfield Townships.

Although low oil and gas prices have caused a slow-down in drilling, evidence is building that we may be in the proverbial calm before the storm. Two important local updates follow: 

First, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) approved a consumptive water withdrawal application for Chief Oil & Gas, permitting the company to build a withdrawal station beside the Loyalsock Creek in Forksville. You may remember the SRBC public hearing announcement we included our July newsletter. There was a good turnout at the hearing, and due to the volume of public outcry, SRBC made certain provisions to the application, including a reduction in the amount of water permitted from two million gallons-per-day (gpd) to one point five million gpd.

Second, Judge Lovecchio's commendable decision made last year regarding the Shaheen well-site in Fairfield Township has just been reversed by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. The site, located east on Quaker State Road off of Rt 87 N, is near Marshalek's Orchard. Lovecchio's Lycoming County Court decision ruled that the well-site did not meet zoning requirements and that the constitutional right of citizens to a healthy environment "cannot be ignored and must be protected." The reversal, however, ruled that Inflection's plans DO meet the zoning restrictions and that "there is no probative evidence to show the well-site will present a detriment to the health and safety of the neighborhood."

Once a gateway to the endless mountains and Loyalsock State Forest, Route 87 is fast becoming a gas-industry infrastructure and well-access highway. Take a four mile drive out Route 87 from Montoursville to the Loyalsock Valley Elementary School. Along the way, you'll see a gas industry staging area, recently expanded compressor station, clear-cut forest for the pipeline that crosses the Loyalsock Creek, odorizing station and CNG filling station (both under construction), newly widened highway with a turning lane for trucks, and three well pads (one just two-tenths of a mile southwest of the school playground).

And now for the newsfeed:  with the Pope's historic visit to the US to discuss issues such as climate change, it seems perfect timing for our feature story, DEP Secretary John Quigley's response to the PA Climate Impacts Assessment Update. Quigley stated, "This report is profoundly disturbing. Science is showing us that not only are the changes and disruptions to our state's climate significant, but they are also occurring alarmingly fast, in ways that will affect key sectors of the economy, our health, and our quality of life....as a father, I see that the Pennsylvania that my son and his children will inherit is a different one than the one I have known.The findings of this assessment are stark. It shows that climate change changes everything." 

Speaking of climate change, one of the "Action Points" in the sidebar is a petition to "Kick Big Polluters out of Climate Policy." Be sure to sign if you feel this should be presented to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

This issue closes with an announcement for the upcoming EPA public hearing in Pittsburgh and the introduction of a new short film by Josh Fox. There is lots of other news and information in the sidebar as well.

Enjoy the colors and the crisp onset of Fall.

Thanks for reading,

Brooke Woodside
RDA Member, Managing Editor
 
Visit our website at:  www.rdapa.org
Report Shows Climate Change Could Change Everything in PA
by John Quigley, September 14, 2015

The Pennsylvania we know today is being fundamentally altered by the impacts of climate change, according to scientists and economists from Pennsylvania State University. Their Climate Impacts Assessment Update, prepared for the Department of Environmental Protection at the direction of the General Assembly, finds that Pennsylvania has warmed 1.8 degrees in the past 110 years, and the warming will increase at an accelerated rate. By 2050, Pennsylvania will be 5.4 degrees warmer than it was in the year 2000. By 2050, Philadelphia's climate will be similar to current-day Richmond, Va. Pittsburgh will be similar to current-day Washington, D.C., or Baltimore.

This report is profoundly disturbing. Science is showing us that not only are the changes and disruptions to our state's climate significant, but they are also occurring alarmingly fast, in ways that will affect key sectors of the economy, our health, and our quality of life. 

Climate change could worsen air quality - increasing pollen and mold concentration, and ground-level ozone - causing longer allergy seasons, aggravating asthma, and increasing mortality among at-risk populations.
Vector-borne diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease could increase due to more favorable conditions for mosquitoes and deer ticks.

Some changes will be positive. Longer growing seasons and more tolerable temperatures for crops not currently grown in Pennsylvania offer new opportunities for farmers. But warmer temperatures will bring more favorable conditions for agricultural pests like weeds and insects.

Severe storms - strengthened by warmer temperatures - could affect reliable electric service and threaten our current electric infrastructure.

As the former mayor of Hazleton, I know the stressors that climate change puts on communities. Extreme precipitation events that are even now punctuating the lives of Pennsylvanians will increase in frequency. And that means communities will face stormwater management problems and threats to safe drinking water. Our cities will see vulnerable segments of their populations - the elderly, the infirm, and low-income individuals - be put at significantly greater risk of death from heat waves.

As a former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, I worry about the fundamental changes to Penn's Woods. The composition of our forests and their ecosystems are already changing, facing increased stress. Those impacts will have unquestionable effects - on our water quality, on the way we use and enjoy our forests and parks, and on significant industries like our forest products sector and our outdoor recreation and tourism economies.

As secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, I recognize the sources of the emissions that are causing climate change: our homes, businesses, vehicles, power plants, and our energy economy.

And as a father, I see that the Pennsylvania that my son and his children will inherent is a different one than the one I have known.

The findings of this assessment are stark. It shows that climate change changes everything. So, I encourage all Pennsylvanians to take some time to read this study, and learn about the effects to you, your families, and the state we all love.

DEP Secretary John Quigley - photo credit: Philly.com


EPA Public Hearing Announcement EPA
Help Crack Down on Fracking Pollution

The oil and gas industry is running amok, and public health, our climate, and our communities are at risk. The EPA is developing important new rules to slash climate pollution from the oil and gas industry. We need to make sure the EPA approves strong protections.

The EPA is holding one of three public hearings in Pittsburgh to get input directly from people like you. Join hundreds of activists and concerned citizens on September 29 to show the EPA that we demand an end of business-as-usual for the oil and gas industry.

Here are the details --

WHAT:  EPA public hearing on proposed regulations to cut down on methane pollution from the oil and gas industry

WHEN:  Tuesday, September 29, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., with a rally in front of the hearing at noon

WHERE:  William S. Moorhead Federal Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 

The Sierra Club will be providing bus transportation for a small fee to Pittsburgh from State College and Harrisburg, PA; Cleveland or Columbus, OH; and Morgantown, WV.

GASWORK
A new short film by Josh Fox

GASWORK: The Fight for CJ's law is a powerful new short by filmmaker Josh Fox that investigates the dangerous working conditions in the oil and gas fields.

When we hear politicians and gas companies extoll the virtues of fracking, jobs created by drilling is usually high on their list of talking points.  But the jobs created by fracking are not the kind of quality jobs American workers deserve.

They are extremely dangerous, exposing workers to chemicals whose long-term impacts on human health are yet unknown. In fact, the fatality rate of oil field jobs is seven times greater than the national average.

In GASWORK, The Fight for C.J.'s Law, Josh Fox conducts an investigation into worker safety and chemical risk and has interviewed many workers who have been asked to clean drill sites, transport radioactive and carcinogenic chemicals, steam clean the inside of condensate tanks which contain harmful VOC's, PAH's and other chemicals and have been told to do so with no safety equipment.  

The film will also be available online so if you're not free to watch on October 1st you can view the film another day. As he did with the Gasland films, Josh is encouraging house parties to get people together for the viewing.

TRAILER FOR GASWORK THE FIGHT FOR CJ's Law   A NEW SHORT FILM BY JOSH FOX
Trailer for GASWORK - The Fight for CJ's Law
In This Issue
Events/
Action Points
In Other News InOtherNews
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PA DEP Recognizes Community Authority to Ban Frack Wastewater Injection Wells

On August 12, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) took an unprecedented step, for the first time suspending the issuance of a state frack wastewater injection well permit on the basis of a local ordinance banning injection wells.

In a letter mailed to Pennsylvania General Energy Company, LLC (PGE), the state agency notified the corporation that it was suspending its review of the company's permit application to site an injection well in Grant Township (Indiana County). The DEP letter states that "as part of its permit application review, the Department has an obligation to consider applicable local ordinances related to environmental protection and the Commonwealth's public natural resources."

The letter comes as PGE is suing Grant Township to overturn the Township's Community Bill of Rights Ordinance prohibiting injection wells. The ordinance, drafted with assistance from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), establishes the community's right to self-govern on matters such as fracking, and recognizes the rights of human and natural communities to a healthy environment and pure water. Under the Ordinance, frack injection wells are prohibited as a violation of those rights.

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Fracking Chemicals can Cause Endocrine Disruption and Illness, Says Study 

There is mounting data to suggest that fracking can have adverse affects on the environment. A new study, however, suggests that populations living close to fracking sites also have a higher incidence of health complications.

More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function," one researcher said. The studies were directed at understanding the human impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that were released as a result of chemical spills. 

"Fracking is exempt from federal regulations to protect water quality, but spills associated with natural gas drilling can contaminate surface, ground and drinking water. This could raise the risk of reproductive metabolic neurological and other diseases, especially in children who are exposed to EDCs."


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Public Herald Releases Report on Fracking Water Contamination in PA 

Investigative journalists have uncovered numerous cases involving complaints against oil and gas companies that were not made publlic.


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Well Count

New/renewed permits were issued in Lycoming County for the following Townships. Click on the blue titles below the company name for more detail on each well:

Pine Township:
PA Gen Energy Company, LLC
(renewal)

Hepburn Township:
Seneca Resources, Corp.

Mifflin Township:
Range Resources App, LLC

Lycoming County:
Total wells permitted - 1450
Wells drilled/being developed - 944

The time has come to stop treating big polluters as legitimate "stakeholders" and to remove them from climate policymaking."

Today, we are facing the prospect of the destruction of life as we know it and irreversible damage to our planet due to climate change. Scientists are telling us with ever more urgency that we must act quickly to stop extracting fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the world's largest polluters have prevented progress on bold climate action for far too long.

A decade ago, the international community took on another behemoth industry - Big Tobacco - and created a precedent-setting treaty mechanism that removed the tobacco industry from public health policy. This can happen again here.


The Senate's Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 is anything but modern.

Instead of moving toward the truly clean, renewable energy that we need, the bill would push us back into the dark ages of energy policy. While virtually ignoring renewables like wind and solar and gutting some useful energy efficiency programs, the bill expedites approval for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities to ship more fracked gas abroad.

Any effort to modernize energy in the US should decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and increase our use of truly clean renewables like wind and solar.

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RDA Newsletter

Brooke Woodside, RDA Working Group, Managing Editor
Barb Jarmoska, Treasurer - RDA Board of Directors, Editor
Ralph Kisberg, RDA Working Group, Contributing Editor
Ted Stroter, RDA Working Group, Chemical Advisor & Contributing Editor
Jim Slotterback, President - RDA Board of Directors
Robbie Cross, Vice President - RDA Board of Directors
Jenni Slotterback, Secretary - RDA Board of Directors
Mark Szybist - RDA Board of Directors
Roscoe McCloskey - RDA Board of Directors 
Dianne Peeling - RDA Board of Directors

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