February 27, 2010
February 24, 2010
A Package of information concerning Gas Drilling
We all know what happened when the financial system was deregulated. Here is what we laypeople have seen happen since the gas industry was deregulated.
This is a good overview from Dr. Theo Colborn:
http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/chemicals.video.php
more info:
http://www.flypmedia.com/issues/21/#3/1
Propublica is doing a fantastic job covering this. for example:
http://www.propublica.org/feature/pas-gas-wells-booming-but-so-are-spills-127
More;
http://www.youtube.com/user/DivideWatch#p/u
http://www.youtube.com/user/lighthouseservices#p/u/12/gCIGVe6dbMs
http://www.binghamtonsustainability.org/index.php?/test/gas-drilling-education-amp-action/
This technology has come East. If it is oked by New York State for the Southern Tier of the Catskill Mountains, it will poison the water of 5 percent of the population of the country because this area is the water source for the drinking water of New York City as well as the beginning of the Delaware River, which supplies water to people down to Philadelphia. By the way, the Catskills have uranium deposits, so the water afterwards will have radioactive chemicals that cannot be filtered.
See:
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/10/watchdog_new_york_state_regulation_of
Which way will the tide flow? Check out the digest
I was perusing Brendan O’Connor’s 13 posts on
the Sustainable Otsego list and decided to put them
into an excerpted format in a pdf file so I can distribute
them and make the point that the tide is changing for
the natural gas extraction industry. One would not
find this many articles over a two day period in the
past year.
James Herman – Sustainable Otsego
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Stone Energy Corporation Proposed Surface Water Withdrawal and Natural Gas Well Site
View Draft Dockets D-2009-013-1and D-2009-018-1
SUMMARY: Because of the high level of public interest in projects within the Delaware Basin that are associated with natural gas drilling activities, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC or “Commission”) will hold a special public hearing on two projects sponsored by the Stone Energy Corporation (hereinafter, “Stone Energy”) to support natural gas exploration and development activities within the basin. One of the two projects entails a surface water withdrawal from the West Branch Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township, Pennsylvania (Docket No. D-2009-13-1). The other concerns an existing natural gas well drilling pad site in Clinton Township, Pennsylvania (Docket No. D-2009-18-1). Both projects are located in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, within the drainage area of a portion of the main stem Delaware River that the Commission has classified as Special Protection Waters.
DATES: The hearing will take place on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Written comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on March 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: The hearing will take place at the Best Western Inn at Hunt’s Landing, 126 Routes 6 & 209, Matamoras, Pennsylvania 18336, beginning at 3:00 p.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m. Written comments may be submitted at the hearing and may also be sent as follows: via email to Paula.Schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us and otherwise to the attention of the Commission Secretary, DRBC, either by fax to (609) 883-9522; U.S. Mail to P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360; or delivery service to 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. Regardless of the method of submission, comments should include the name, affiliation (if any) and address of the commenter and the subject line “Public Comment – Stone Energy Dockets.”
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Draft dockets. Dockets Nos. D-2009-13-1** (water withdrawal) and D-2009-18-1** (natural gas well drilling pad site) can be viewed on the Commission’s website, DRBC.net, as a link from this notice.
Hearing Procedure. In order to give everyone who wishes to testify a fair and equal opportunity to do so at the public hearing, which is expected to be heavily attended, the following procedures will be in effect:
Registration to testify. Individuals who wish to speak at the hearing will be requested to print their names on a numbered list and complete a separate DRBC commenter card. Registration to present oral testimony will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m. (30 minutes prior to the beginning of the hearing) and will continue until the hearing is closed. There will be no advance registration prior to February 24. For the convenience of those who wish to speak, more than one registration list may be used. Accordingly, speakers will be called in roughly, but not exactly, the order in which they registered.
Time allowances. In order to allow everyone who wishes to speak an opportunity to do so, individuals will be allotted no more than three minutes to present their oral testimony. Speakers will not be permitted to cede their time to others; however, after everyone who wishes to speak has had a chance to do so, the hearing officer will accept requests from those who wish to supplement their earlier remarks. Individuals who have prepared written testimony are asked to summarize their comments during the three-minute period for oral testimony and to submit their complete written comments either at the public hearing or via email, fax, U.S. Mail, delivery service, or hand delivery in accordance with the “Addresses” section above, before 5:00 p.m. on March 12.
Stenographic record. A court stenographer will be present to capture all verbal comments for the public record.
Other. The sole purpose of the hearing on February 24 is to provide members of the public with an opportunity for oral testimony on the proposed Stone Energy dockets. The Commissioners and staff will not respond to comments at the hearing, nor will they conduct any other business that day. Because a separate hearing on the Stone Energy dockets is being held on February 24, oral testimony on these dockets will not be accepted during the Commission’s regularly scheduled business meeting and public hearing on March 3, 2010. A separate notice will be published listing the hearing items and other matters to be considered during the meeting on March 3.
Project Descriptions. Detailed descriptions of the two projects are included in the draft dockets posted on the Commission’s website (DRBC.net) as links from this notice. Brief descriptions of the two projects follow:
Stone Energy Corporation D-2009-13-1. An application for approval of a surface water withdrawal project to supply up to 21.0 mg/30 days (0.70 mgd) of water from a withdrawal point located on the West Branch Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania within the drainage area of the section of the Delaware River classified as Special Protection Waters (SPW). The water will be used to support natural gas well stimulation activities in an existing well located in Clinton Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania (the Matoushek #1 well), located within the drainage area of SPW, and in proposed natural gas wells targeting the Marcellus Shale geologic formation within the SPW drainage area in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Flow-back water from well stimulation activities is proposed to be exported to approved treatment facilities located outside of the Delaware River Basin.
Stone Energy Corporation D-2009-18-1. An application for approval of an existing natural gas well drilling pad site, including an existing vertically orientated natural gas well known as Matoushek #1, located in Clinton Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. The well is proposed to be stimulated through hydraulic fracturing from a proposed surface water source. An application for the proposed surface water withdrawal is being reviewed by the Commission under Docket No. D-2009-13-1. The proposed surface water withdrawal is located on the West Branch Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. The target gas bearing geologic formation of Matoushek #1 is the Devonian-age Marcellus Shale. Flow-back water resulting from stimulation activities at the well is proposed to be exported to approved treatment facilities outside of the Delaware River Basin. The proposed drilling site is located within the drainage area of the section of the non-tidal Delaware River known as the Upper Delaware, which is designated as Special Protection Waters.
Additional public records relating to the draft Stone Energy docket may be available for review consistent with Article 8 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (RPP) governing public access to records and information. The RPP are also available on the Commission’s website, http://www.drbc.net.
Individuals in need of an accommodation as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act who wish to attend the hearing should contact the commission secretary directly at 609-883-9500 ext. 203 or through the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) at 711, to discuss how the Commission can accommodate your needs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about the upcoming hearing that are not answered in the section of this notice entitled “Supplementary Information”, please contact Ms. Paula Schmitt at 609-477-7224 or Ms. Katharine O’Hara at 609-477-7205.
Dated: February 9, 2010
Pamela M. Bush
Commission Secretary & Assistant General Counsel
Truck trips is a more useful measure of traffic that a Marcellus well would generate:
Truck trips is a more useful measure of traffic that a Marcellus well would generate:
From chapter 6 of the SGEIS (section 11) DEC estimates the number of truck trips required for a multi-well pad in the Marcellus Shale
Drill pad & road construction equipment 10 – 45 trucks
Drilling rig 60 trucks
Drilling fluid & materials 200 – 400 trucks
Drilling equipment (casing, etc) 200 – 400 trucks
Completion rig 30 trucks
Completion fluids & materials 80 – 160 trucks
Completion equipment (pipe, wellhead) 10 trucks
Hydraulic fracture equipment 300 – 400 trucks
Hydraulic fracture water 3200 – 4800 tankers
Hydraulic fracture sand 160 – 200 trucks
Flowback water removal 1600 – 2400 tankers
February 14, 2010
THE REAL DEAL, MAYOR CALVIN TILLMAN
NO FRACKING WAY!
By any measure, our January 25th rally and lobbying day was a great success. Despite the stormy weather, between four and five hundred hardy souls made their way to Albany to register their strong opposition to unconventional shale gas extraction. In the afternoon, we broke up into small groups and met with over seventy legislators and staff members.
Two main themes emerged from these meetings:
First, state budget woes and the continuing economic slump are now driving the rush to drill. Revenue from a gas severance tax has been included in Governor Paterson’s budget, and many of our lawmakers seem convinced that exploitation of the Marcellus Shale will be a boon to our regional economy. Catskill Citizens disagrees. We believe that unconventional drilling would be a costly mistake for New York State and a disaster for our local economy. We made this case in a letter we sent to State Senator John Bonacic.
Second, even at this late date, there are legislators and staff who have never heard of the Marcellus Shale and are clueless about the threat that high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) poses to our health and environment. Educating our lawmakers, as well as the public, is still of paramount importance.
IT’S OK, JUST DON’T BREATHE THE AIR
The tiny town of DISH, Texas, in the heart of Barnett Shale gas fields, has eleven compressor stations, three metering stations and twenty pipelines within two square miles. And it has something else-an extraordinarily high rate of health complaints. Last summer Mayor Calvin Tillman and the DISH City Council were forced to spend almost fifteen percent of the town’s budget on an ambient air study which confirmed what many DISH residents long suspected-the natural gas infrastructure around their town was emitting high levels of toxic emissions and making them sick.
In response to the study, the gas industry took action-but it didn’t clean up its act, it retaliated against the town. In what many interpreted as an attempt to force the town to run up ruinous legal fees, the gas industry has reportedly threatened to sue to obtain the personal medical records of the residents who participated in the air quality study.
Not to be bullied, the DISH Town Council instituted a 90 day drilling permit moratorium on February 8th.
You can contribute to the Town of DISH Legal Defense Fund at http://baddish.blogspot.com/.
THE REAL DEAL, MAYOR CALVIN TILLMAN
DISH Mayor Calvin Tillman didn’t always oppose unconventional drilling; in fact he originally thought natural gas extraction could play an important role in his town’s economy. But now that he’s seen the effect that drilling has had on the health of town residents, he’s become an outspoken critic of an industry that seems indifferent to the devastation it leaves in its wake.
Next week Mayor Tillman will be coming to our area to tell us what we can expect if and when the drillers come to our town. He’ll kick off his visit with a live broadcast on WJFF’s program Connections. (Monday, February 15th at &:30 PM at 90.5 FM and streaming online.) See our home page for the full schedule of his public appearances in our area.
The Mayor refuses to accept compensation for his speaking engagements and he’s even refused to accept reimbursement for his travel expenses-that’s why we call Mayor Tillman the real deal.
EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED
You might remember Stone Energy-that’s the drilling outfit that began to sink a well in Wayne County in 2008 without bothering to get a water withdrawal permit from the Delaware River Basin Commission. Now Stone Energy is back-it wants to take 7000,000 gallons of water a day from a “high quality cold water fishery stream” in Wayne County. If this request is granted it will be the first time that a driller has been given permission to take water from the Upper Delaware Basin!
The public will have a chance to speak out a hearing scheduled for February 24th in Matamoras, PA. Please try to attend this important public meeting. (See our home page for details and to read Stone Energy’s water withdrawal request (which is called a ‘docket’).
MORE “LEARN MORE”
We’ve finally undertaken a long overdue revamping of the “Learn More” page of our website. We’ve already posted several dozen new items, and we’ll continue posting more material in the days to come. Please check it out and let us know how we can further improve this page.
February 3, 2010
DISH, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman To Speak
about the disastrous effects on the health of the citizens of his town
caused by hydraulic fracture gas drilling. Please tell all your friends and neighbors!
ONEONTA, Tuesday, February 16 from 7-9, Unitarian Universalist Society, 12 Ford Avenue.
DOWNSVILLE, Wednesday February 17 from 7-9 p.m., Downsville Central School, Room A 15.
It’s not often that a mayor of a town with a population of less than 200 becomes the focus of national attention, but since last summer, DISH Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman has been in the spotlight.
In response to numerous health complaints, Tillman and the DISH City Council spent almost 15 percent of the town’s annual budget on an ambient air study that confirmed what many DISH residents long suspected – the natural gas infrastructure around their town was emitting high levels of toxic emissions and making them sick. (DISH is located in the heart of the Barnett Shale gas fields. It has 11 compressor stations, three metering stations and 20 pipelines within two square miles.)
The independent study, conducted by Wolf Eagle Environmental engineers and consultants, confirmed the presence of high concentrations of carcinogens and neurotoxins in the air, and reported that some town residents tested positive for chemicals being emitted from the natural gas facilities. According to Wolf Eagle, almost all the town’s residents who participated in the study reported smelling noxious odors and over two thirds of them reported respiratory illnesses including breathing difficulties and bronchitis. DISH residents also reported many other diseases associated with high concentrations of airborne toxins including burning eyes, nausea, dizziness, irregular heartbeat and pre-cancerous lesions.
In response to the Wolf Eagle report, the state of Texas announced that it will take a closer look at air quality in the state’s natural gas fields, and has promised to respond more quickly to odor complaints. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to test DISH residents in what will be the state’s first look at the impact of drilling toxins on human health. The federal Center for Disease Control has also announced that it will sample the blood and urine of DISH residents for a study of its own.
Tillman will be coming to the Marcellus region this month to speak at public meetings, and to confer with public officials in Broome, Delaware, Otsego and Susquehanna (PA) counties. He is scheduled to appear at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 12 Ford Avenue, on Tuesday, February 16 from 7-9 and at the Downsville Central School, Room A 15 on Wednesday February 17 from 7-9 p.m. These events are free and open to the public.
Tillman insists on paying his own travel expenses, and he refuses to accept any compensation for his public speaking engagements. In recognition of his extraordinary efforts to protect the health of his townspeople, Tillman was recently honored with the 2009 Gold Star Texan award by the Texas Progressive Alliance.
For more information, visit the town’s website (www.townofdish.com) and see Mayor Tillman’s blog at http://baddish.blogspot.com. It provides links to the Air Quality Assessment and a number of relevant news articles.