February 29, 2016
Keep it Wild hikers line up for the Jacoby Falls hike in the Loyalsock State Forest - Photo credit: Jim Slotterback
"A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?"
- George Washington

In continuing coverage of a Susquehanna County family's battle for their maple trees, we bring you some sad news this week. Williams Partners still have the trees slated for the chopping block, pending approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Read all about it in our feature article. Taking action on the matter of FERC's constant approvals, the Delaware River Basin Commission initiated an important letter to Senator Maria Cantwell, ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The letter, signed by 150+ organizations, is requesting a Government Accountability Office review of FERC.

Just as Range Resources was issued a permit violation for a frackwater spill in Lycoming County, the company was also slapped with a number of permit violations for failing to "complete" well sites in a timely fashion. They were then issued further violations for failing to comply with the completion requirements in a timely manner. 

In closing out the main newsfeed, Jim Slotterback describes his experience during the latest Keep it Wild hike. Barb Jarmoska presents an important legislative action and urges RDA members to contact District 10 Representative Tom Marino. Finally, we hope you'll remember RDA during FCFP's Raise the Region fundraiser, coming up next week.

The newsletter layout has been slightly modified to include a few more sections in the sidebar. You will see upcoming Events are listed first, followed by Other News and Petitions. 

Some residents in Dimock, PA with tainted water since before the documentary Gasland was released, are finally getting a jury trial for their case against Cabot Oil and Gas. Chesapeake Energy is putting the brakes on further drilling in PA and OH. And as pipeline plans are being laid for PA, scientists are detecting benzene leakage from a pipeline near Houston, TX. Look right to read more. Other News also covers some bad news for PA solar.
 
Save the date: There is an important hearing coming up in Harrisburg on Monday, March 21st. The Democratic Policy Committee will discuss whether or not Pennsylvania should incentivize natural gas. Members of the public can submit written questions to the committee before the hearing and attend or stream the meeting live online. Click here for more details or check out this Event and more in the sidebar.

Thank you for caring and staying informed. 

May today's date inspire you to "leap" into action.
 
Sincerely,
 
Brooke Woodside
RDA Member, Managing Editor
 
The Maple Trees are Coming Down
RDA has been following this case closely. A Susquehanna County family is losing the fight for their maple trees. Click here for the initial story as presented in our February 1st newsletter. In the latest legal move, Oklahoma-based Williams Partners took the landowners to court over their recent pipeline tree-cutting protest. Fortunately for the landowners, the case was dismissed. Unfortunately, the trees are still slated for destruction. The following is an excerpt from Ecowatch's latest update by Sandra Steingraber:
 
Ruling that the lawyers for the pipeline company had inadequate proof that the five defendants were the individuals who had blocked tree-cutting, the judge dismissed the contempt of court citation against them. The five had stood accused of flaunting the judge's previous order to allow the tree cutting - which itself upheld the decision of FERC when it denied a stay on cutting the family's maple trees earlier this month. The pipeline right-of-way requires the destruction of 200 maples on this farm alone - roughly 80 percent of the family's sugaring trees. 
 
"We consider this a victory because the judge found insufficient proof of contempt," [Mike Ewall, the Holleran's attorney], told [reporter Sandra Steingraber] after the hearing ended. "Constitution Pipeline Company is threatening this family's livelihood for a pipeline that may never be built. They still don't have FERC's permission to construct, yet they bully and intimidate landowners while offering paltry compensation for taking their land."
 
Megan Holleran, 29, a family spokeswoman, agreed: "This is the best outcome that we could have hoped for." She seemed visibly relieved at the ruling, noting that her mother was one of the defendants. "We still have hope that the Constitution pipeline company will wait to cut trees until they have construction permission. We will continue to ask for that."
 
But, for those who support maple sap lines over gas pipelines, the Holleran family's triumph over the contempt charge was the only good news of the day - and could prove a Pyrrhic victory in the end.
 
The maple trees themselves were put on the literal chopping block.
 
Judge Mannion reaffirmed his earlier decision to grant eminent domain status to the pipeline company and made clear in his ruling that, from here on out, he will direct U.S. marshals to "arrest and detain people interfering with tree cutting" and that "violations of this order may result in other penalties," including the costs of additional security and the costs to the pipeline company for delays.
 
Further, he warned the landowners that they have "an affirmative duty" to remove people from their land who intend to obstruct the tree cutting - or they themselves will be compelled to pay such costs.
 
In other words, the property owners cannot stop their trees from falling and have no right to tell the FERC-approved tree cutters to get off their land even if ...
  • those trees are the basis of the family business.
  • the owners do not consent to the seizing of their property by eminent domain to serve the needs of a pipeline company hellbent on fossil fuel expansion.
  • the sap is already running in the sap-gathering lines, and even if the maple sugar season is heartbreakingly early this year and the emergency of fossil-fuel induced climate change hangs over us all, and any hope of survival depends on many more trees pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and much less natural gas heading to burner tips.
As the federal judge in a federal courthouse made clear, with [Steingraber] and an ill-treated videographer bearing witness, the rule of law dictates that the trees must fall.
 

FERC Needs Checks and Balances
RDA was among 200+ organizations to sign on to a letter of request initiated by the Delaware River Basin Commission. The letter calls for a Government Accountability Office Review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency responsible for approving pipelines such as the one making a right-of-way through the Holleran's maple operation. It's about time FERC is held accountable for their unjust actions. The text of the letter follows:

Dear Senator Maria Cantwell

In your capacity as the Ranking Member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee we ask you to please formally request that the Government Accountability Office conduct an official investigation into the operations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") has become a demonstrably biased agency that has become a partner with, rather than a regulator of, the pipeline companies it purports to oversee. In addition, FERC is misusing legal loopholes and ignoring court orders to advance gas infrastructure projects while preventing the public from exercising their rights to judicial review or fair public participation in the process. License for FERC's abuse of power and blatant bias is provided by the agency's funding mechanism which makes it an agency funded 100% by the industry it regulates, and is advanced by the revolving employee door that exists between FERC and its regulated community.

There are four key areas that we think are particularly ripe for GAO consideration:

I. The funding mechanism which results in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission being 100% funded by the industry it regulates has resulted in blatant bias in favor of pipeline companies and against the public. For example, FERC has approved 100% of the pipeline project proposals that it has reviewed. Such an approval rate cannot be found at any other independent federal agency.

II. The revolving door between employment with FERC and the industry it regulates contributes to agency bias in the project review and certification process, the unjustifiably high approval rate of proposed projects, and the lack of oversight and enforcement for FERC approved pipeline projects.

III. FERC abuses of law that deny the public their legal rights:
a) use of "tolling orders" to allow projects to advance while denying citizens the ability to initiate an appeal in court;
b) granting permission for pipeline companies to begin construction activity prior to the company securing all necessary permits and approvals;
c) continued use of segmentation and the failure to undertake cumulative impact environmental reviews in clear violation of the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), and in disregard of a July 2014 court order and opinion from the D.C. Circuit;
d) failure to comply with the requirements of NEPA, and instead using subjective judgment to pre-determine the level of environmental review for proposed projects.

IV. Allowing the taking of public and private land via eminent domain for projects that are for private benefit as opposed to a public purpose.

It is time that Congress and the public secure an independent investigation of FERC to identify necessary reforms. Please help us by asking the Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent investigation into the funding of, and operations of, FERC when it comes to its review and approvals of natural gas pipeline infrastructure and LNG export facility proposals.

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We encourage you to take the next step and write an op-ed to your local newspaper or blog about the issue. The more attention that is given to this matter, the more likely the follow-through. 

DEP Cites Marcellus Shale Driller for Violations at Dozens of Well Sites
Range Resources was recently issued a violation for a frack water spill in Lycoming County. This doesn't come as much of a surprise after the following report from PennLive:

Dozens of Range Resources well sites were recently listed out of compliance with state environmental laws and, in some cases, it took state regulators years to record the violations.

The same violation - failure to clean up a site within nine months of drilling a well - was noted for all 44 sites inspected through an administrative review, according to Department of Environmental Protection records. The well sites were recently cited by DEP, but the agency was aware of the violations since at least August. Of the 44 violations, 40 sites were affected in Washington County, and four were found in Allegheny County.

"A few of the sites should have been restored in 2012, but most of the violations began in 2014 and 2015," department spokesman Neil Shader said in an email Monday evening.

The violations were recorded after an administrative file review. The review was triggered by the company's response to a question asked last summer. DEP on June 26 sent a letter to all unconventional oil and gas operators that fracked into the Marcellus and Utica shale regions of Pennsylvania. The letter requested those operators to provide a status update on the restoration of each well site.

Range Resources responded to the request in August and has met with officials in DEP's Southwest Regional Office several times regarding the restoration of its well sites, Shader said.

DEP waits until a site has been completely cleaned up before calculating the total days of the violation. Each day a site isn't restored is considered a new violation and can yield a new penalty amount. But it's unclear if Range will face any monetary penalty at all. The agency's southwest office will continue to work with Range to gain compliance at the 44 well sites, Shader said.

As of Monday evening, DEP had not documented any offsite environmental impact of the violations. The only impact is the presence of a larger well site than what is needed for production, Shader said. Oil and gas operators typically need a larger area and more equipment to drill and complete a well than they need once a well is in production.

The state's Oil and Gas Act requires an operator to remove certain equipment and reduce the size of their footprint within 9 months of completing a well. That site restoration wasn't completed by Range and that's why DEP last week sent the company those official Notices of Violation.

Range Resources has been cited by DEP multiple times since September 2014 - two months before the Wolf administration took office. Nearly all of the citations reveal the company had been out of compliance with state environmental laws for years before state regulators issued fines.

For example, the $4.15 million fine in September 2014 was for environmental violations that began in 2009. In June of last year, DEP issued a record $8.9 million fine to Range for a well leaking methane into nearby water supplies in Lycoming County - a violation first noted in 2013.

As part of the September 2014 fine, the agency told the company to close five impoundments and upgrade two others to state standards. Cleanup is still ongoing. Range was operating one of those impoundments without a state permit, DEP records show.

At another Washington County site in 2011, Range flushed a drill cuttings pit in without permission and contaminated 700 tons of soil. That pit was closed with contamination still in place, according to court records.

Ongoing violations give DEP the right to deny permits, according to the Oil and Gas Act, but the agency has not taken such action against Range.

"Range Resources has voluntarily complied with responding to our request for information and is actively working with the department to identify and correct any compliance issues," Shader said. "Failure to comply with the department's well site restoration regulations could result in additional actions."

"This began with a voluntary request from the DEP that Range is complying with," Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella said in an email Tuesday afternoon. "And while there are aspects of the NOV that Range has a different perspective on than the DEP, we remain steadfast in our commitment to work cooperatively and positively with the department on these (and) all matters related to the sustainable development of clean burning natural gas in Pennsylvania."

As previously reported, DEP has not documented any offsite environmental impact of the violations, and no formal enforcement action has been taken.


Keep It Wild:  Jacoby Falls
by Jim Slotterback, RDA President

Jacoby Falls never disappoints. This special place offers unique and beautiful adventures every season and our hike was no exception. More than forty people came to explore this hidden gem on a beautiful, cool Sunday morning.
 
We traversed the bog on DCNR's newly constructed raised planks (see banner photo) and entered the forest, hiking along the base of the mountain. While most of the snow had melted, the trail was icy in the shade and muddy in the sun, making the walk a little treacherous at times. The trail turned and followed a small stream in a wide canyon. 

As we walked along, the canyon walls became steeper and the trail, icier. Massive ice walls blanketed huge rock formations. Soon I could hear the sound of Jacoby Falls cascading down the rock face. I was one of the last to arrive. 

Hikers had all found their own place at the base of the falls and were taking a break and enjoying the beautiful sights, sounds and smells. In the center of the falls, the water was flowing fast and pulsing down the rocks. On either side of the flowing water were magnificent ice formations over forty feet tall. Some people had already made their way behind the ice and were taking pictures from behind the falls. I, of course, had to do that too. 

I made my way up the steep, slick rocks and crawled behind the ice. Thick ice covered everything and it was slow going but I eventually emerged just behind the running water. I peered out at the clear blue sky through gaps in the ice.  The only sound was the water. These are the special times that you never forget.
 
Jacoby Falls - a frozen wonder - Photo credit: Jim Slotterback

We met some great people and have new friends after this adventure. We all experienced the falls in our own way. Jacoby Falls is a special place worth visiting any time of year in any weather. 

RDA Keep It Wild hikes are a great way to explore the Pennsylvania Wilds and meet new people who value and care about our lands and community. Join us on our next hike!
Taking Action on Climate Change
by Barb Jarmoska, RDA Board of Directors

Last week, a new inventory of fugitive greenhouse gases (primarily methane) was released, prompting EPA Secretary Gina McCarty to admit, "New info shows methane emissions from existing sources in the oil and gas sector are substantially higher than we previously understood."

Along with water, air and soil contamination, invasive species, deforestation and other challenges, methane is emerging as perhaps the greatest global challenge of natural gas drilling, fracking, transport and processing activities.

This crucial issue is sadly not a part of the debate when the Republican presidential candidates take the stage. However, one Republican in Congress is admitting the growing severity of the facts and acknowledging the rapidly increasing body of science regarding climate change.

New York Congressman Chris Gibson (R) has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives (H.R. 424) that recognizes the impact of climate change and calls for action to reduce future risk.

H.R. 424 begins by acknowledging the basic tenet of conservative principles:
Whereas it is a conservative principle to protect, conserve, and be good stewards of our environment, responsibly plan for all market factors, and base our policy decisions 
in science and quantifiable facts on the ground; Whereas prudent, fact-based stewardship of our economy and our environment is a critical responsibility for all Americans in order to ensure that we preserve our great Nation for future generations.

The resolution goes on to state, "If left unaddressed, the consequences of a changing climate have the potential to adversely impact all Americans." And concludes that the House should commit to "working constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact."

The resolution concludes,
"Whereas prudent, fact-based stewardship of our economy and our environment is a critical responsibility for all Americans in order to ensure that we preserve our great Nation for future generations."

At this time, Representative Gibson has been joined in his efforts by 12 of his fellow Republican representatives. District 10's Tom Marino is not among them. RDA urges all our members to phone Congressman Marino and ask for his sponsorship of this crucial legislation. 

Raise the Region
RDA is once again pleased to participate in First Community Foundation Partnership's biggest fundraiser of the year. Raise the Region 2016 is a unique, 30-hour, online giving event that provides an opportunity for people who care about their community to come together and raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits. The event begins at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, March 9 and ends at 11:59 pm on Thursday, March 10Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships has generously donated $150,000 that will be used to stretch a portion of every donation. Mark your calendars & consider making a contribution to RDA during this annual event.



In This Issue
Events Events
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RDA Working Group Meeting - Announcing New Location

Our next Working Group meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 9th at 5:30 pm at Cloud Nine Restaurant in the Williamsport/Lycoming County Airport.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. We welcome your active participation and are in need of help for special events, publicity, research and other projects. Please come join us & see what the RDA Working Group is all about. Attendance at a meeting is not an obligation to join the group.

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Public Hearing on PA Natural Gas Incentives

Monday, March 21, 10 am, Minority Caucus Room, 418 Main, Harrisburg, PA

The House Democratic Policy Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss if Pennsylvania should incentivize natural gas. The issue will be examined from a climate change, economic and health perspective.

The hearing, organized by state Rep. Greg Vitali, will be led by Vitali, the Democratic chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, and Policy Committee Chairman Michael Sturla. A number of speakers will provide information.

The hearing will be streamed live at www.pahouse.com/live.

Public attendance is welcome, but questions will be limited to Policy Committee members. Members of the public can submit written questions and comments to the committee.

If you have any questions or would like to submit comments or questions, please contact Rob Fogel at [email protected]


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This Changes Everything

Thursday, April 7, 7:30 pm, Community Arts Center, Williamsport, PA

RDA will sponsor a free screening of the award-winning documentary
This Changes Everything. The film is based on Naomi Klein's book of the same name. 


Other News InOtherNews
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Gasland Retribution

Trial began this week in a case alleging that an oil and gas company contaminated drinking water in Dimock, Pennsylvania. The tiny town is now internationally notorious over claims that drilling and fracking tainted people's drinking water and caused it to become flammable.

This lawsuit is the first such case out of Dimock to reach a jury, nearly a decade after many residents of Carter Road, a short stretch of dirt road in the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania, first noticed that their water seemed to have gone bad.

It's a legal case that is as noticeable for the allegations being tried -  that Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. negligently contaminated the water supplying Nolan Scott Ely and his family and that living without water for years was a serious nuisance for the Elys and the Huberts, a family living in a trailer on the Ely's land - as for the claims and evidence that the jury will not hear.


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Chesapeake Energy Halts Drilling in PA and OH

Chesapeake Energy, one of the state's largest gas producers with more than 800 active wells in Bradford and Susquehanna counties, has stopped drilling new wells in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. The Oklahoma based oil and gas producer, which also operates in Texas, Louisiana and Wyoming, announced Wednesday a net loss of $14.8 billion in 2015.

It put just three new Marcellus wells on production last year, compared to 25 new wells in 2014. Chesapeake also plans to cut its capital expenditures by more than half in 2016 and sell off between $500 million and $1 billion in assets. The company divested $700 million in assets in 2015.

In Pennsylvania Chesapeake has racked up about $1.4 million in fines with 428 violations. It's also facing allegations of cheating Pennsylvania leaseholders out of royalties. While the company denies this, Attorney General Kathleen Kane is investigating. The company is the subject of several class action lawsuits and was also recently subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking information about its royalty practices.
 

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Pipeline Belching Benzene Near East Houston

Houston has long grappled with air pollution, and toxic substances like benzene - a chemical that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined causes cancer - showing up in neighborhoods near refineries and other industrial complexes along the Houston Ship Channel for years.

A short exposure to benzene can leave a person dizzy and confused with a racing heart along with tremors, headache and various other symptoms. Long-term exposure has been known to cause anemia and irregular periods in women and can lead to leukemia and other types of cancer in blood-forming organs, according to the CDC.

Most people would have bet that the benzene in the air would be tied directly back to the refineries. However, it didn't turn out to be that simple for the researchers at Houston Advanced Research Center, led by Jay Olaguer.

The benzene spikes matched up with the pipeline systems and showed that the pipelines were sporadically belching benzene vapors. These unpredictable emissions were releasing benzene into the air at levels that were much higher than reported in the same areas in the 2011 National Emissions Inventory, the Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution inventory system that is built using data collected from state and local agencies.
 

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Solar Advocates Decry PUC Decision on Net Metering

Solar energy advocates say a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will stifle alternative energy growth in the state. But the PUC says the decision was a compromise between two conflicting state laws.

In Pennsylvania, anyone who puts solar panels on their rooftops can sell extra energy they don't use back to utilities. This is referred to as "net metering," because the owner can reap the net benefits of what they use versus what gets put back on the grid.

State law limits individual solar arrays to 50 kilowatts of generation. Utilities are required to buy back excess power at the retail price, which is what consumers pay for electricity. That retail price is higher than what the utilities typically pay on the wholesale market. PA also has laws that require utilities to purchase power at the lowest available price, according to Nils Hagen-Fredriksen, spokesman for the PUC.

Well Count - Lycoming County

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The following permits and violations were issued in northern Lycoming County. Click on the blue title below the company name for more information on each well.

Cogan House Township
Range Resources, App, LLC

Jackson Township
SWN Production Co, LLC

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Due to the drop in price, gas well starts in 2015 dropped 61% compared to the peak development year 2011. 2015 starts declined 43% when compared to the previous year. 

RDA celebrates this drop in well construction. At the same time, we realize that the industry is biding its time, waiting for infrastructure build-out combined with government subsidies, incentives and export permits. This fact makes the 2016 elections of both President and Congress all the more crucial.

PA STATEWIDE
Year / Starts
2010 / 1,600
2011 / 2,067
2012 / 1,386
2013 / 1,227
2014 / 1,378
2015 / 786

Petitions

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Tell PA Legislators to Support the Clean Power Plan

In February, the Clean Power Plan was dealt a new hurdle when the Supreme Court issued a temporary delay on the rule.

Fortunately, Governor Wolf and the Department of Environmental Protection have announced that they are committed to moving forward as intended with a state plan. Secretary Quigley said, "The rule's in effect, the rule hasn't gone away . . . we want folks to understand that we're not taking our foot off the gas pedal."

Write to your legislators and tell them you support Governor Wolf's commitment to curbing climate change and that you hope they will support him in moving forward with the Clean Power Plan.


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Tell the EPA to Address Civil Rights Violations

Earthjustice is one of many groups that's trying to push the Environmental Protection Agency to do a better job of acting on civil rights complaints.

Recently Earthjustice went to court to demand that the EPA's Office of Civil Rights complete investigations filed more than a decade ago of civil rights violations in vulnerable communities that have been disproportionately exposed to toxic contamination. The EPA hasn't resolved any of these investigations, and instead has responded by proposing to eliminate deadlines for acting on complaints and further weaken the laws that would protect communities against environmental racism.

Now we have a chance to let our voices be heard before the comment period expires on March 14 to tell the EPA to clean up its act. The agency should enforce the law and not allow a backlog of civil rights complaints to grow while doing nothing for communities exposed to dangerous pollution.


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Demand the US Coastguard Ban Fracking Waste Now

This just in:  The U.S. Coast Guard has decided to use 40-year-old regulations that fail to address hydraulic fracturing waste. Frontline community groups are outraged. The Coast Guard believes that no new rules are needed on increasing shipments of toxic, radioactive hydraulic fracturing waste. Fracking wastes contain benzene and are laced with radioactive materials like water soluble radium-226, which is linked to leukemia and bone cancers. The Coast Guard will allow these shipments on a "case-by-case" basis with the cloak of secrecy. Citizens, local governments and even water providers will not be allowed to know what is in these barges. This is un-American, we have the right to know!

Help us protect our nation's drinking water. Please join with local activists in their petition to the Coast Guard asking that fracking waste be banned.

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Block the Alberta Clipper Pipeline Scheme
 
Canadian pipeline company Enbridge is pushing an illegal plan to nearly double the amount of dirty tar sands oil it pumps into the U.S. through its Alberta Clipper pipeline, bypassing the environmental review required by law - and the State Department is prepared to allow this disastrous plan to move forward. Last November, we convinced President Obama to reject the climate-wrecking Keystone XL pipeline. Now let's stand together and demand that Secretary of State John Kerry put the American people before polluters and block the reckless Alberta Clipper pipeline scheme!
 

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Stop the Constitution Pipeline's Path of Destruction
 
This week, Williams Companies and Cabot Oil and Gas plan to move forward with the seizure and destruction of the Holleran family's land and livelihood for construction of the proposed Constitution Pipeline. 

The Hollerans depend on the sugar maples on their property for their family maple syrup business, North Harford Maple. Williams has refused to reroute the pipeline to avoid the trees, and plans to cut them down within the next few days.

Take action now to pressure the investors of Williams and Cabot to drop these companies and this destructive unnecessary pipeline!
 

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Fully Fund PA DEP
 
Over the years, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been cut to the bone, resulting in failure to enforce our environmental laws. The DEP needs full funding in order to afford the resources to properly protect Pennsylvanians' air, water and health. Now, state legislators are holding hearings on Governor Wolf's proposed 2016/2017 budget, and DEP can't afford more cuts.

Join RDA!
It costs nothing to sign up for our e-newsletter, but tax-free donations are accepted & greatly appreciated. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to RDA. 

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 2016 and beyond, please consider a tax-free contribution to our efforts.

You can send a donation to the address listed at the bottom of this email, click here to donate via PayPal or click here to download our current membership form to fill out and send in along with your donation.
 
Membership levels:
Adventurer..................$10 
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Woodlander.................$50
Guardian...................$100 
Naturalist..................$500 
Preservationist..........$1,000 

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