"The problem is that everywhere the gas drilling industry goes, a trail of water contamination, air pollution, health concerns and betrayal of basic American civic and community values follows."
-Josh Fox
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Breathe it in and breathe it out... feel the air filling your lungs, revitalizing you, keeping you alive. We have visited the issues of tainted water wells, polluted streams, explosive pipelines and climate change; and we have touched on the dangers to air quality from the industry through Frank Finan's fabulous FLIR images as well as some previously released reports. Following DEP's recent air emissions data release, Pennsylvania's air quality has come back to the forefront. Our featured article explores the topic.
As the end of summer nears, we hope you adventure out to enjoy all the great outdoors has to offer. RDA's most recent Keep it Wild hike to Smith's Knob reminded one hiker what it's all about. Relive his experience through the second article below.
You may remember the heart-wrenching story of the Holleran's sugar maple massacre. The third article highlights a nice tribute to the family's ongoing legal battle, as well as that of one other front-line family.
Some events are coming up quick, positive developments are happening in other states and municipalities, and the industry is moving back into PA as evidenced by numerous new permits/renewals in Lycoming County (most likely due to the lack of new regulations). Check the sidebar for more details.
Save the Date: Something special is in the works for the Old Logger's Path on Sunday, October 2nd. Plan to visit the Loyalsock State Forest during the most colorful time of the year. More details to follow in the next newsletter.
Enjoy the sunshine & Keep the dialogue flowing!
Sincerely,
Brooke Woodside
Managing Editor
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What's Wrong with the Air?
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The Department of Environmental Protection recently released air emissions data from 2014. The industry and our legislature are painting a pretty picture of the otherwise unsettling results so they can continue with Pennsylvania's transition to natural gas.
The Governor and the legislature are content they can say PA air quality is improving over all. That it is getting worse in the areas where the gas comes from is certainly not their concern, nor that of the Lycoming County legislative delegation. On the other hand, the Executive Director of the Clean Air Council claims our Pennsylvania legislators are poisoning the environment. All we know is while there is less drilling in Lycoming county, we have around 20 compressor stations operating to some capacity (about half the number of those in Susquehanna County), but there is no limit on how many more facilities may be built, how many more more engines may be permitted at the stations already existing, and no questions permitted at conditional use hearings on what may be done in the way of on-site compression once the wells are nearing the end of production.
The following is from
by Susan Phillips:
Air pollutants from Pennsylvania's natural gas production sites increased from 2013 to 2014, according to data recently released by the Department of Environmental Protection. The air inventory data for shale gas production relies on information submitted by the industry, and includes emissions from compressor stations that utilize gas from coal beds, conventional, and unconventional wells. Although the number of well sites reporting information to the DEP dropped by 2.7 percent from 2013 to 2014, the number of pipeline related infrastructure sites increased by 12 percent. Sulfur dioxide emissions saw the greatest jump, increasing 40 percent over 2013 levels. Sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain, and causes respiratory problems including asthma. Other air pollutants that contribute to public health impacts also increased, including nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. The 2014 shale gas emissions inventories include increases of 18 percent for nitrogen oxides, 25 percent for both fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOC's), and 19 percent for carbon monoxide. Particulate matter causes heart attacks, asthma, and difficulty breathing. It can be fatal for people with heart and lung disease. VOC's cause a number of symptoms including eye, nose and throat irritations; headaches, nausea, as well as liver and kidney damage.
An epidemiological study conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and recently published in JAMA, using medical records from the Geisinger Health System, found that people with asthma face a larger risk of asthma attacks if they live near heavy gas drilling activity in Pennsylvania, compared to those who don't.
Although methane and carbon monoxide emissions had decreased in the 2013 inventory, for 2014 those pollutants were up by 19 percent for carbon monoxide, and 1 percent for methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The Wolf administration announced new measures to control methane emissions in January but they have not yet been enacted. Click here to read the full article.
Want to know more about the location of oil & gas infrastructure so that you can be more proactive in your community? There is a great resource online called the Oil & Gas Threat Map.
Through these interactive maps, you can find out if your home or school is within 1/2 mile of an active oil or gas well, watch interviews with residents impacted by oil & gas pollution and watch infrared video that makes visible normally invisible air pollution. You can also find out if your county is one of the 238 across the nation for which toxic air pollution has raised average health risk for cancer or respiratory ailments according to an analysis of EPA data.
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Click the image above to be directed to PA's interactive map.
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There are a number of great resources available to help you understand how to use the threat maps. If you have an hour to spare, you can watch an informative YouTube tutorial by clicking here.
If not, the following powerpoint presentations could be of use as well:
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Keep it Wild: Smith's Knob
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by Chris King
It was HOT on July 23. The actual high temperature recorded at the Williamsport Regional Airport was 99º. We hiked at 11 am so it's fair to say that we encountered the high temperature during the hike.
As is the case with every RDA hike I have been on, while smaller than normal in numbers but not spirit, the group was diverse in age and gender, and this time even nationality. Using the standard dog day clause in their contract, most (but not all) canines opted out of this hike. After some mild debate about how best to ascend, we soon scrambled up the west approach, which, I read later, results in gaining 1,100 feet in a little over a mile and a half. This is the longest ascent on the Loyalsock Trail (LT).
We first saw the Loyalsock Creek and its deep valley from Helen's Window, a famous view shed. This is also essentially the transition point from "grueling climb" to "nice walk in the woods" before one last climb up to the knob. We ascended the western flank of the knob and the forest opened up on top. The views of the valley from the knob were spectacular. It truly is a neat place.
We made the hike a loop by descending the knob via a steep and eroded section of the LT to a forestry road. From this road, the LT lead us down to Painters Run, a beautiful, moss covered mountain stream. The trail follows the stream valley. With the steep mountain walls, this landscape is as neat and awe inspiring as the magnificent views from on top. Eventually, Painters Run crosses Little Bear road, where we took a right and walked a little less than a mile back to our cars.
It was HOT on July 23. But we got a great workout, we made new friends and we learned that guns are essentially banned in Australia. We weren't watching tv or online, we were talking while hiking through the woods. The quietness of nature allows the most basic communication to take place. And it reminds us of what is worth saving.
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PA Environmentalist Donates Award to Front Line Families
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Alex Lotorto, organizer of the Energy Justice Network received a Community Sentinel Award for $1000, which he plans to donate to the Holleran and Gerhart families for their on-going legal battles. You may remember the Holleran story regarding the unnecessary destruction of their sugar maples before the planned pipeline was even approved. Click here to read more about the award and what you can do to help.
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Events
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Compressor Station Information Session
County Conservation Bldg
702 Sawmill Rd, Bloomsburg
Healthcare professional, Dr. Pouné Saberi, will present the
health risks of living near natural gas facilities.
Organizer Deirdre Lally from the Clean Air Council will provide updates on the permitting process for the proposed compressor in
Orange Township. Q&A to follow presentations.
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments provided.
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Keep it Wild Hike -
RB Winter State Park
Sunday, August 28 - 11 am
The park is located on PA 192 in Union County, 18 miles west of Lewisburg. Hiking trails pass through a variety of terrain with only short stretches of steep inclines. Trails within the park are marked and maintained
Check the RDA Facebook event page for more details.
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RDA Working Group Meeting
Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. We welcome your active participation and are in need of help for special projects, publicity, research and other endeavors. Please come join us and 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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In Other News 
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Civil Disobedience Ordinance and Home Rule in Grant Township, PA
In what is perhaps the nation's first law that legalizes direct action, Grant Township in Indiana County PA, passed an ordinance permitting nonviolent direct action aimed at stopping local frack wastewater injection wells.
Pennsylvania General Energy Company (PGE) sued the Township to overturn a local democratically-enacted law that prohibits injection wells. In 2013, residents in Grant Township learned that PGE was applying for permits that would legalize the injection well. Despite hearings, public comments, and permit appeals demonstrating widespread residents opposition to the project, the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued a permit to PGE. In response, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and Grant Township Supervisors passed an ordinance the next year establishing rights to clean air and water, and the right to local community self-government. If a court fails to uphold citizens' right to stop corporate activities threatening the community's well-being, the ordinance provides that, "any natural person may then enforce the rights and prohibitions of the charter through direct action." It also says that any nonviolent direct action to enforce their Charter is protected from any legal actions brought by private or public entities.
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Talen Energy to Co-fire Montour Plant
Talen Energy Corporation has completed a feasibility assessment related to bringing natural gas to the Montour plant and installing boiler modifications to enable a dual-fuel, also known as co-firing, capability. The company's Board of Directors approved the project, which will enable the Montour plant to operate on coal, natural gas or in combination.
Engineering and design work is already in progress and, based on obtaining all necessary permitting and regulatory approval, the anticipated completion date is the second quarter of 2018.
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Massachusetts' Highest Court Rejects Public Subsidies for Fossil Fuels
In its decision, the Court declares it unlawful for Massachusetts to force residential electricity customers to subsidize the construction of private gas pipelines, requiring the companies themselves to shoulder the substantial risks of such projects rather than allowing that risk to be placed on hardworking families across the Commonwealth.
"The course of our economy and our energy markets runs counter to the will of multi-billion dollar pipeline companies, and, thanks to the (MA Supreme Court) decision, the government will no longer be able to unfairly and unlawfully tip the scales."
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Colorado to Put Fracking on the Ballot
This fall, Colorado residents will vote to give themselves the power to set the direction on what is best for their own communities.
Local environmental groups have collected at least 98,492 signatures for measures 75 and 78, which will allow voters to decide the fate of oil and gas operations in the state. Now, the petitions only need to pass a validation review by the Secretary of State's office to make it onto the ballot.
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Well Count - Lycoming County
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New permits and renewals were issued in the following townships since our last publication. Click on the blue titles for more information on each well:
Cascade Township
ANADARKO E&P ONSHORE
(renewal)
Eldred Township:
SENECA RESOURCES
Pine Township
RANGE RESOURCES APP
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Make Frackers Pay for Water
Even though hard-working Pennsylvanians have to pay monthly water bills, fracking companies and other large industries are free to consume billions of gallons of water from the state's rivers and streams without paying a dime. Luckily, State Representative Mike Sturla is working to change that by introducing a proposal to place a fee on water withdrawals greater than 10,000 gallons per day for non-agricultural and non-municipal uses.
It's time for frackers to pay their fair share for our most important public resource. Ask your state representative to support H.B. 2114 today.
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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.
Membership levels:
Adventurer..................$10
Explorer.....................$20
Woodlander.................$50
Guardian...................$100
Naturalist..................$500
Preservationist..........$1,000
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RDA Newsletter
Brooke Woodside, RDA Working Group, Managing Editor
RDA Working Group Members/Contributing Editors:
Barb Jarmoska, Ralph Kisberg, Ted Stroter, Norm Lunger
RDA Board of Directors:
Jim Slotterback, President
Robbie Cross, Vice President
Jenni Slotterback, Secretary
Mark Szybist
Roscoe McCloskey
Dianne Peeling
This 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.
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(Our website is currently under construction) Phone: 888.332.1244 (toll free)
Please mail donations to: RDA, PO Box 502, Williamsport, PA 17703 |
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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