TOPVoices of Reason, Voices of Truth
November 23, 2015
Natural gas wells, pipelines, compressors and processing facilities, like this CNG filling station on Rt 87 in
Upper Fairfield Twp, all leak methane - a greenhouse gas and significant contributor to climate change.
As Aldous Huxley warned us, "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."

So much has happened since we last reached out to you. Although our hearts are heavy with the latest attacks on humanity, we must not get distracted from the important work ahead. To start you off with some good news, DCNR's advisory council recommended surface protections for the Clarence Moore Lands of the Loyalsock State Forest. Collectively, our efforts seem to be making a difference! 

In this week's feature article, Barb Jarmoska describes RDA's latest actions, and includes her experience at the recent Climate Stewardship Summit, with proactivity and urgency at the forefront. This is followed by details on our next Keep it Wild hike to the Haystacks, an update on the ongoing PEDF lawsuit, and the latest good and bad news regarding injection wells and earthquakes.

"In Other News" highlights even more of the good and bad news as of late. It seems that as injection wells are banned in one place, they are wreaking havoc on another; as one pipeline is blocked, another is approved, etc. Check the right column for details on Portland's bold move, piping our liquefied natural gas (LNG) to export, recent threats from Exxon stockholders, and further actions for us to consider now that the Keystone XL pipeline has been stopped. 

Frank Finan and his thermal imaging camera do a great job of exposing invisible pollutants that leak from the big green tanks present at many gas well pads. Be sure to check out his latest video along with the current well data for Lycoming County. There are also a number of action items for your participation.

We'd like more people to join us in planning RDA's strategy by taking part in our Working Group. We invite you to join us for some conversation around updates, actions and events. RDA's Working Group will meet at a new time and place, 5:30 pm the second Monday of each month at the Mill Tavern, 319 Broad Street in Montoursville. Attending a meeting does not obligate you to join the Working Group, but please come and check us out. Everyone is welcome to bring some new ideas, talents, enthusiasm, expertise, etc. Mark your calendars and plan to attend the next scheduled meeting on Monday, December 14th. 

Curious what major step you can take today to impact the energy sector? You can do your part to get off the dirty fossil fuels. There are some wonderful electricity providers that will supply you with energy from clean renewable sources. I used Community Energy (present at RDA's last Gasland screening) for a few years with very little increase in price, and the Sierra Club is currently promoting Arcadia Power. Click on the company titles to check them out. Even if your household primarily runs on oil or gas, you most likely still use electricity, and every little bit counts on the individual level to impact the global scale.

I truly thank you for staying informed. 

Enjoy your time with friends and family this week.

Sincerely,

Brooke Woodside
RDA Member, Managing Editor
 
Visit our website at:  www.rdapa.org
Voices of Reason, Voices of Truth
by Barb Jarmoska, RDA Board of Directors

The month of November has been busy for RDA, with several opportunities to make our individual and collective voices heard. We were represented at the DEP hearing at Penn College earlier this month, where several RDA members provided testimony on the state's proposed Clean Power Plan. RDA also submitted extensive and well-researched written comments to DEP prior to the November 12th deadline. RDA's formal comments on the Clean Power Plan can be accessed at this link (it takes some time for the document to load).

On November 5th, I had the honor of representing RDA at a Climate Stewardship Summit in Hartford Connecticut, where I spoke to the 200 folks in attendance about the unnatural consequences of natural gas drilling. RDA was privileged to be on the dais alongside noted faith leaders and those on the front lines of the environmental and climate change movement.

The day-long summit in Hartford was opened by the inimitable Deacon Art Miller, who proposed an 11th commandment, "Thou shalt not be a bystander." Deacon Miller made the clear connection between environmental, racial and social justice, proclaiming that ignorance and apathy are ill-advised and even dangerous given the increasing and interconnected crises we face as citizens of the global community.

Dawood Yasin, whose impressive bio includes positions at Dartmouth and Zatuna College, drew clear connecting lines between ISIS and other Muslim extremist groups and the challenges of climate change in the Middle East. His predictions for further violence and unrest are eerily accurate in light of the recent tragedy in Paris and the release of Ted Koppel's new book, "Lights Out," which warns of the vulnerability of the U.S. power grid to cyber-attack. For more on Koppel's book, listen to this interview with NPR's Diane Rehm.

The summit's inspiring keynote speaker was climate-change leader Tim DeChristopher. In 2008, as bidder #70, Tim disrupted an illegitimate Bureau of Land Management auction by outbidding oil and gas companies for parcels around the Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. Tim has since become a national and internationally known figure, spreading the urgency of the climate crisis and its link to fossil fuels and calling for the actions needed to create a just and healthy world. 

On November 12th, RDA was present for the meeting with DCNR held at Williamsport's Genetti Hotel. The 2+ hour gathering was an opportunity to voice opinions on DCNR's proposed 2015 Draft State Forest Resource Management Plan (SFRMP). The deadline for written comments has been extended until January 31, 2016. RDA will prepare formal written comments, and will share critical talking points with you, as we continue to encourage each of you to write to DCNR with your ideas and feedback. You can access some of that information in our "Future of Our Forests" newsletter, archived here.

This week, Thanksgiving comes at a time when the world is reeling in an ever-widening circle of chaos and calamity. To echo Tim DeChristopher's message at the climate summit, "Although there is little cause for optimism, there is every reason for hope." Tim proposed that we have reached the limits of what can be accomplished without hope and faith in the inherent love, compassion and infinite potential that indwells us all.

Old paradigms are falling away. "Climate change is a civilizational wake-up call, a powerful message delivered in the language of fires, floods, storms, and droughts. Confronting it is no longer about changing the lightbulbs. It's about changing the world - before the world changes so drastically that no one is safe. We either leap - or we sink," writes Naomi Klein in her book, This Changes Everything.

Just over a year ago, the Pentagon released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, as it brings increased risks from terrorism. The Pentagon's characterization of climate change as a present-day threat demanding immediate action represented a significant shift for the U.S. military, which has in the past focused on climate change as a future risk. The October 2014 report called on the military to incorporate climate change into broader strategic thinking about high-risk regions such as the Middle East and Africa, where drought and food shortages could set off political unrest. Experts advised that we consider the role that climate change might have played in contributing to the rise of extremist groups like the Islamic State. "Climate change and water shortages may have triggered the drought that caused farmers to relocate to Syrian cities and triggered situations where youth were more susceptible to joining extremist groups," said Marcus D. King, an expert on climate change and international affairs at George Washington University.

Those warnings of a year ago are now playing out in news headlines across the world. And here in Pennsylvania, we sit atop reserves of the third and final fossil fuel: methane (aka natural gas) - a greenhouse gas whose impact on climate change is, by the EPA's most conservative estimate, 84 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year period. With each new well, pipeline, compressor station and other gas industry build-out (such as the compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station pictured above), more and more methane is released into the atmosphere. Methane is a proven, climate-warming fossil fuel, yet a majority of our elected officials, Chamber of Commerce members and newspaper editors tell us it is the best thing to ever happen to Pennsylvania. No doubt this "drill here/drill now" effort will one day be looked on by future generations, who bear the burden of its aftermath, as the short-sighted and greed-laced policy it is.  

Are you ready to be more than a bystander? The actions required to avoid catastrophe are needed right here, right now. Those of us who live atop the Marcellus have a crucial role to play. We invite you to join with RDA and add your voice to ours.

I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving.   
Our Next Keep It Wild Hike:  HaystacksEPA
Hike with RDA to the Haystacks in the Loyalsock State Forest, Sullivan County. This special place was named from the large rounded rocks in the Loyalsock Creek that resemble piles of hay. Jeff Mitchell, author of "Hiking the Endless Mountains," says "The Haystacks hike is probably the most popular one in the Loyalsock State Forest. This hike is accessible, relatively easy, and incredibly beautiful."

Date:  Sunday, December 6th

Time:  11 am
 
Directions:  Take US 220 north through Laporte. Continue approximately three miles, then turn left on Mead Road. Continue on Mead Road about 0.2 miles to the parking lot on the right. The 4.6 mile hike begins at the trailhead of the Loyalsock Trail. Estimated hiking time is 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Haystacks - Photo Credit:  goose2duck
PEDF Lawsuit Update
Supreme Court to hear arguments on citizens' rights

In 2012, the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Fund (PEDF) filed a case on behalf of RDA and 10 other organizations from north central PA. The basis of the case was (and remains) that our public natural resources, including Pennsylvania's state forests, are part of the public trust granted under Article I Section 27 of the PA constitution, which states, "The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people." PEDF has argued that the establishment of this public trust means that mineral rights and state-owned land cannot be leased or sold to provide money for the state's general budget.
 
Since 2012, PEDF has fought numerous procedural battles in the Commonwealth Court, which held a three day hearing on the issues of the case in 2014. At that hearing, the court decided not to deal with the constitutional issues raised and dismissed the case.
 
This past Wednesday, November 18th, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted oral argument on the issues that the Commonwealth Court would not address. By so doing, the Supreme Court has specifically determined that it will address the questions of the Robinson Township Plurality Opinion dealing with the standards for review of cases under Article I Section 27, and decide them with a majority opinion. The Supreme Court will also decide whether, under Article I Section 27, the General Assembly can use the Fiscal Code to take Oil and Gas Lease Fund money away from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
 
We surely hope that the rights granted to Pennsylvania citizens under the PA Constitution will be upheld.
Injection Wells and Earthquakes
The good news:  Communities are taking action. Grant Township in Indiana County, PA, recently passed the country's first municipal charter establishing a local bill of rights. The Grant Township Bill of Rights codifies environmental and democratic rights, and bans fracking wastewater injection wells as a violation of those rights. Click here to read more about Grant Township's actions.

The bad news:  Earlier this year an interesting story came out regarding industry pressure on an Oklahoma seismologist, and how that pressure influenced his public discussions of the relationship between fracking wastewater injection wells and earthquakes.

And now, there's this:

It's Official, Oklahoma Experiences More Earthquakes than 
Anywhere Else in the World

by Lorraine Chow, Ecowatch, November 16, 2015

It's official: Oklahoma now has more earthquakes than anywhere else in the world, according to a spokesman from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), which oversees the Sooner State's oil and gas industry.



"We have had 15 [earthquakes] in Medford since 5 o'clock Saturday morning," said spokesman Matt Skinner on Nov. 9, according to the Enid News. "We've got an earthquake issue."

"OCC has developed areas of interest, where earthquake clusters have occurred. A cluster is two earthquakes within a half mile of each other, with one measuring at least magnitude 3.2. Originally, they were three-mile circles, then six-mile circles. The circles grew in number and now encompass a very large area of Oklahoma-about 9,000 square miles in all, [Skinner] said," reported the Enid News.

Scientists have linked this never-ending spate of tremors to the state's drilling boom. The Oklahoma Geological Survey concluded that the injection of wastewater byproducts into deep underground disposal wells from fracking operations has triggered the seismic activity in Oklahoma.
As EcoWatch reported two months ago, Oklahoma went from two earthquakes a year before 2009 to two a day. This year, roughly 700 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or higher have shaken the state, compared to 20 in 2009.

The tremors are such a frequent occurrence that the OCC has forced changes to 500 disposal wells around the state, including the shutdown of wells around the city of Cushing, which holds one of the largest crude oil storage facilities in the world.

The OCC is requiring well operators to show that water is not being injected below the state's deepest rock formations, since that is believed to contribute to the earthquakes.

Incidentally, Oklahoma has about 4,500 disposal wells with about 3,500 still in operation, so these regulations only applied to a small fraction of the wells.

Skinner said the Oklahoma Geological Survey has seen an overall reduction in earthquakes. However, he noted, "Now, this weekend may have blown that out of the water, I don't know."

"Again, based on the data, it would appear that even if you do the right thing, it's going to take a long time," he said. "There's no quick off switch."

In August, even pro-business Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin admitted there was a "direct correlation between the increase of earthquakes that we've seen in Oklahoma [and] disposal wells."

However, Fallin is still weighing some of the pros and cons of fracking in her state. Oklahoma is one of the top natural-gas-producing states in the country, and the sector provides a significant number of jobs in the state.

In This Issue
Events/
Action Points
In Other News InOtherNews
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Portland Passes Resolution Opposing All New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

Portland, Oregon, took a step toward combating climate change on Nov. 12 when its leaders unanimously supported a resolution to actively oppose the local expansion of all new fossil fuel storage and transport.

Hailed as "historic" and "visionary" by climate campaigners, the resolution -passed by the mayor and four commissioners of Oregon's largest city - is the latest in a series of major climate actions nationally. President Barack Obama recently announced the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline on climate grounds. Citing New York's pledge to mitigate "catastrophic effects of climate change," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 12 blocked the Port Ambrose liquefied natural gas project. A week earlier, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and six other Democrats proposed the "Keep It In the Ground" bill to end new fossil fuel extraction on public lands.


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Bon Voyage, Marcellus Gas!

The Obama Administration has quietly approved expansion of a major pipeline carrying fracked gas destined for the global export market.

The Gulf Trace pipeline, owned by The Williams Companies, is set to feed into Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana. As first reported by Reuters, LNG tankers loaded with super-chilled liquefied natural gas obtained via hydraulic fracturing ('fracking") will set sail for the first time from Sabine Pass in January 2016.


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Holding Exxon Accountable

Exxon Mobil shareholder groups are turning up the heat on management over the oil giant's history of resisting action to confront climate change. They are making a first-ever request asking the company to accept moral responsibility for global warming.


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Here's What You Can Fight Now That Keystone XL Is Dead

So the president rejected the permit for Keystone XL (well, the northern part of it, anyway). And there was much rejoicing, especially on the interwebs. "THOU HAST NOT EATEN BALONEY SANDWICHES BEHIND BARS IN VAIN, DEAR COMRADE!" wrote Rebecca Solnit on Facebook to nature writer Christopher Shaw, who was one of the 70 KXL protestors who spent three days in D.C.'s Central Cell Block in August of 2011. "THANK YOU!"

KXL was the training ground for a generation of activists - from the young college students who are the usual suspects in these situations to new and unexpected arrivals, like the Cowboy and Indian Alliance. The coalition-building around KXL spilled over to and informed some enormous actions, like the People's Climate March.


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Venting -  
Lathrop Township, 
Susquehanna County

Frank Finan captured a disturbing volume of pollutants venting from the Chief/Phelps site in Lathrop Twp. Frank had been hearing some noise down the road for a few hours he assumed was related to road work. When he investigated with his thermal imaging (FLIR) camera, this is what he found. Click on the image below to watch this short video.

Venting - Lathrop Twp, PA
Venting - Lathrop Twp, PA


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Well Count

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

McIntyre Township:
Anadarko E&P Onshore, LLC

Hepburn Township:
Inflection Energy (PA), LLC

Upper Fairfield Township:
Inflection Energy (PA), LLC

Lycoming County Stats

1,455 - Total wells permitted 

831 - The total number of violations reported by DEP

609 - The highest number of those violations belong to Cabot

97,667,740 - The total amount of liquid unconventional well waste produced up to September 30, 2015

World leaders are gathering in Paris in December for COP 21 - to reach an agreement to address climate change.

It is critical that world leaders create a bold agreement to keep fossil fuels in the ground. In particular, fracked natural gas and oil cannot be part of any climate solution.

The oil and gas industry touts fracked gas as a "bridge fuel" and a "climate solution," but this is not true. The industry has spent millions pushing their disastrous pro-fracking message forward, but there is a growing consensus that fracking is inherently dangerous and destructive to our communities and climate. 

Send a message to President Obama, your U.S. members of Congress, your Governor and select Mayors who will be attending the upcoming climate talks in Paris and tell them fracking should not be a part of a climate change solution plan.


The Pennsylvania Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force recently released its draft report on the anticipated massive construction of gas industry infrastructure. The task force and DEP will accept public comments on the recommendations of the report only until Monday, December 14. No public hearings are scheduled, in spite of the fact that the report acknowledges that, "All told, this pipeline infrastructure build-out will impact communities and the environment in every county in Pennsylvania." 


Pennsylvania's rivers, streams, lakes and other waters are where we go to swim, fish, canoe or just enjoy the scenery. They supply us with clean drinking water. And we should be doing all we can to protect them. 

But polluters and their allies in Congress are fighting to reverse the president's historic action to protect the waters we love. 

We're setting the record straight: Pennsylvanians are for clean water. Not polluting rollbacks.


SRBC
Take Action to Cut Down on Climate-Damaging Fracking Pollution
The oil and gas industry is running amok, and public health, our air and our communities are paying the price. But there's also invisible damage being done -- to our climate. The methane pollution the oil and gas industry releases annually has the climate-disrupting impact of more than 160 coal-burning power plants!

It's clear that fracking can never be made safe, but the EPA is developing important new rules to slash climate-damaging methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.

Take action today to make sure the EPA finally cracks down on frackers and approves strong climate protections.

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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

This biweekly e-newsletter 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 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. There is a forward link below. Readers are also invited 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.

Responsible Drilling Alliance | [email protected]
Phone:  888.332.1244 (toll free)

Please mail donations to:
RDA, PO Box 502, Williamsport, PA 17703