Over 80 percent of Pennsylvania voters support a severance tax, but with staggering amounts of money being donated by the drilling industry to campaign coiffers, it appears the Senate is not concerned with holding drillers accountable and making them pay their fair share.
PA League of Women Voters position statement
Learn about Marcellus Shale -- 60 Minutes "Pros and Cons"
Sierra Club Marcellus Shale Resource Page
http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/PA_Chapter_2008/Conservation/Energy/MarcellusDrillingResourcePage.htm
http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/pinchot/campaigns.html
http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/pinchot/campaigns.html
PennFuture
Fifty years ago, the Pennsylvania legislature created the Oil and Gas Lease Fund. This Fund receives all money from leasing state land for oil and gas development and from royalties received from oil and gas production on state land. All the money from leasing and the first $50 million from royalties in the fund is used for conservation, for buying park land, and for maintenance projects on state forestland.
But now, Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Butler), the new Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, is seeking co-sponsors for legislation that would abolish the Oil and Gas Lease Fund and direct the money to an independent agency. That agency would then determine how much money, if any, to return to DCNR for key projects and conservation programs that protect and restore our precious natural resources.
As the House prepares to send the Marcellus Shale drilling tax bill to the Senate, the evidence continues to mount that some drillers apparently think that it's better to spend money on advertising than environmental protection -- you know, the BP syndrome. Click picture at left to link to PennFuture.
But now, Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Butler), the new Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, is seeking co-sponsors for legislation that would abolish the Oil and Gas Lease Fund and direct the money to an independent agency. That agency would then determine how much money, if any, to return to DCNR for key projects and conservation programs that protect and restore our precious natural resources.
As the House prepares to send the Marcellus Shale drilling tax bill to the Senate, the evidence continues to mount that some drillers apparently think that it's better to spend money on advertising than environmental protection -- you know, the BP syndrome. Click picture at left to link to PennFuture.
Drilling Fact of the Day
Last week the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that the state (meaning the taxpayers of Pennsylvania) would pay $12 million to install 12.5 miles of pipe from the public water system in Montrose to Dimock, to replace the private water wells destroyed by Cabot Oil and Gas. This announcement came after DEP had spent almost two years trying to get Cabot to do the right thing -- and the legally required thing -- to replace the contaminated water.
DEP will now have to sue Cabot for reimbursement. But meanwhile, the taxpayers are on the hook.
That same day, the Marcellus Shale Coalition adopted its "Commitment to the Community Guiding Principles," which, among other points, says "We are committed to being responsible members of the communities in which we work," and "We implement state-of-the-art environmental protection across our operations." On Sunday, former governor Tom Ridge had an OpEd in the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," reaffirming the principles. And today, the Coalition released a YouTube video that is a rapturous paean to all the wonderful things that natural gas drilling can bring.
But the people of Dimock could do with a lot fewer public relations stunts and a lot more action and substance. And the people of Pennsylvania really don’t want to be left holding the bag for companies like Cabot that refuse to follow our rules. Without a severance tax, we could be paying for environmental problems for decades.
Eighty percent of Pennsylvanians want a strong severance tax passed this year. Send an e-mail right now to your state senator with one simple message: Don’t get bought off by drillers – make them pay their fair share, through a substantial severance tax.
DEP will now have to sue Cabot for reimbursement. But meanwhile, the taxpayers are on the hook.
That same day, the Marcellus Shale Coalition adopted its "Commitment to the Community Guiding Principles," which, among other points, says "We are committed to being responsible members of the communities in which we work," and "We implement state-of-the-art environmental protection across our operations." On Sunday, former governor Tom Ridge had an OpEd in the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," reaffirming the principles. And today, the Coalition released a YouTube video that is a rapturous paean to all the wonderful things that natural gas drilling can bring.
But the people of Dimock could do with a lot fewer public relations stunts and a lot more action and substance. And the people of Pennsylvania really don’t want to be left holding the bag for companies like Cabot that refuse to follow our rules. Without a severance tax, we could be paying for environmental problems for decades.
Eighty percent of Pennsylvanians want a strong severance tax passed this year. Send an e-mail right now to your state senator with one simple message: Don’t get bought off by drillers – make them pay their fair share, through a substantial severance tax.
PA Township bans dumping frack waste
Licking Township, Pennsylvania, bans dumping frack waste. "When it comes to land use issues and the preservation of important resources, the local community is best suited to set priorities as they feel impacts most acutely," said Mik Robertson, chairman of the Licking Township Supervisors.
Community Rights Ordinance to ban gas drilling - CELDEF
http://www.celdf.org/mayor-of-mountain-lake-park-maryland-introduces-community-rights-ordinance-that-bans-drilling-for-natural-gas-
Thursday, January 6, 2011 - Tonight, the Mayor of Mountain Lake Park in Garrett County, Maryland introduced Ordinance No. 2011-01 for a First Reading. The bill, titled Mountain Lake Park’s Community Protection from Natural Gas Extraction Ordinance, “establishes a Bill of Rights for Mountain Lake Park residents and removes legal powers from gas extraction corporations within the Town.”
At the heart of the Ordinance is this statement of law: “It shall be unlawful for any corporation to engage in the extraction of natural gas within the Town of Mountain Lake Park, with the exception of gas wells installed and operating at the time of enactment of this Ordinance.”
The bill also recognizes the right of the people to “a form of governance where they live which recognizes that all power is inherent in the people, that all free governments are founded on the people’s authority and consent, and that corporate entities and their directors and managers shall not enjoy special privileges or powers under the law which make community majorities subordinate to them.”
“Why are we doing this?” asked Mayor Leo Martin. “Our main duty is to protect the health and welfare of the town, and especially to protect our water.”
Thursday, January 6, 2011 - Tonight, the Mayor of Mountain Lake Park in Garrett County, Maryland introduced Ordinance No. 2011-01 for a First Reading. The bill, titled Mountain Lake Park’s Community Protection from Natural Gas Extraction Ordinance, “establishes a Bill of Rights for Mountain Lake Park residents and removes legal powers from gas extraction corporations within the Town.”
At the heart of the Ordinance is this statement of law: “It shall be unlawful for any corporation to engage in the extraction of natural gas within the Town of Mountain Lake Park, with the exception of gas wells installed and operating at the time of enactment of this Ordinance.”
The bill also recognizes the right of the people to “a form of governance where they live which recognizes that all power is inherent in the people, that all free governments are founded on the people’s authority and consent, and that corporate entities and their directors and managers shall not enjoy special privileges or powers under the law which make community majorities subordinate to them.”
“Why are we doing this?” asked Mayor Leo Martin. “Our main duty is to protect the health and welfare of the town, and especially to protect our water.”
Shale gas drilling waste is going into Cumberland County landfill near Chambersburg PA
http://www.cumberlink.com/article_f03db212-0413-11e0-b864-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.cumberlink.com/news/local/article_fda88134-0413-11e0-96ee-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.cumberlink.com/news/local/article_fda88134-0413-11e0-96ee-001cc4c002e0.html
Gas migration into drinking water
http://www.pittsburghgeologicalsociety.org/naturalgas.pdf
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/oilgas/oilgas.htm
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22789965/detail.html
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/oilgas/oilgas.htm
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/22789965/detail.html
New Jersey legislature bans fracking
New Jersey legislature bans fracking: “New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s signature is all that is necessary now for this critical and timely statewide ban to go into effect,” said Jim Walsh, Eastern Region Director of the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. “If he approves it, New Jersey will be the first state to stand up against the devastating environmental and public health impacts of fracking, which have wreaked havoc on other states across the U.S.”
Protect drinking water, support the FRAC Act!
The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (H.R. 2766), (S. 1215)—was introduced to both houses of the the United States Congress on June 9, 2009, and aims to repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act. It would require the energy industry to disclose the chemicals it mixes with the water and sand it pumps underground in the hydraulic fracturing process (also known as fracking), information that has largely been protected as trade secrets. Controversy surrounds the practice of hydraulic fracturing as a threat to drinking water supplies.[1] The gas industry opposes the legislation.[2]
The House bill was introduced by representatives Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Maurice Hinchey D-N.Y., and Jared Polis, D-Colo. The Senate version was introduced by senators Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The House bill was introduced by representatives Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Maurice Hinchey D-N.Y., and Jared Polis, D-Colo. The Senate version was introduced by senators Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Water well contamination suit in Dimock, PA
http://kdka.com/wireapnewsfnpa/Pa.DEP.chief.2.1939183.html
http://www.propublica.org/article/pa-residents-sue-gas-driller-for-contamination-health-concerns-1120
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/breaking/report-fracking-chemicals-found-in-dimock-pa-water-wells-already-contaminated-with-methane-103048404.html
http://hancockgaslease.com/?p=298
http://www.startribune.com/business/103048049.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiacyKUnciatkEP7DhUr
http://www.propublica.org/article/officials-in-three-states-pin-water-woes-on-gas-drilling-426