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Chesapeake Energy, with its foreign-owned partner StatoilHydro, and several other national energy companies, have deployed landmen to our region to sign natural gas leases with Pike County property owners. Currently, thousands of acres of Pike County land are under lease.
Next, these national energy companies will apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) for permits to drill for natural gas using a new technology called hydraulic fracturing—commonly called “fracking”—which allows gas to be extracted from shale deep under the ground using millions of gallons of water per well combined with chemicals. Permit applications will also be filed with the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to draw the necessary high volumes of water from regional sources to accomplish the fracking process. Permits have already been requested on the New York side of the river, requesting approval from the DRBC for withdrawal of one million gallons of water from the Delaware River per day.
As the rush intensifies to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation that runs deep under Pike County soil, what are the potential costs to our health, our environment, and the long term economic impacts on Pike County, where America’s conservation movement began over 100 years ago?
Free seminar Jan. 17th
Pike County Citizens for Clean Water will sponsor “What is Fracking?”, a free community educational program to explore the potential health and environmental effects of natural gas extraction on Saturday, January 17th at 1:30 p m . at the Delaware Valley High School.
Presentations will include "Upper Delaware, Lower Delaware: One River" by Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director of Delaware Riverkeeper; "Overview of the Process of Mining for Natural Gas" by Barbara Arrindell; and "The Legacy of our Watershed to Our Children" by Pat Carullo, both of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability. A speaker from the PA DEP is also expected. Media presentations that document the process of hydraulic fracturing and its impact on communities that have been “fracked” will be shown. Printed materials will be available and a town hall question and answer forum will follow. Visit www.twcwc.com and click ‘Fracking’ for more information.
Residents of Pittsburgh were recently advised to drink bottled water. Fracking has been occurring in that part of the state for more than a year. On October 23, the Acting Secretary of PA DEP, John Hanger, announced an investigation into the source of contaminants in the Monongahela River in the southwestern part of the state. He said that 40 percent of the problem appears to be due to high volumes of water from deep gas well drilling that has been released by sewage treatment facilities along the river. “What is Fracking?” will explore who is looking after our drinking water along the Delaware River here in Pike County.
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (www.endocrinedisruption.com) analysis of products pumped deep into the ground during the fracking process to produce natural gas in Colorado revealed 278 toxic chemicals, 93% of which have adverse health effects. The highest exposure risks are to eyes, skin, and sensory organs, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract and liver; brain and nervous systems. Do all of those chemicals stay in the ground? “What is Fracking?” will explore this question.
Gas line explosion
Local water safety concerns seem even more pressing in light of the November 5, 2008 explosion of a natural gas line near the Milford, PA exit of I-84, closing the highway for a time. The 60-year-old pipeline burst with enough force to remove the tops of surrounding trees during pressure testing under a wetlands area that feeds into Sloat Brook.
Concerned politicians and environmental groups are calling for more careful regulation and scrutiny of the potential risks of fracking. Some have called for a moratorium until Environmental Impact Studies can be completed and public safety insured. “What is Fracking?” is an opportunity for Pike County citizens to learn more about this matter so that we can offer informed input to public policy decisions that will have long-term consequences.
“What is Fracking?” is presented free of charge to the public by Pike County Citizens for Clean Water and Twin and Walker Creeks Watershed Conservancy, with co-sponsors: Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, Lackawaxen River Conservancy, PA State Rep. John Siptroth, Pike County Commissioner Karl Wagner, Delaware Twp Supervisors Ileana Hernandez and Ted Parsell, Walker Lake Landowners Assoc., Shohola Twp Supervisors, Delaware Twp Envionmental Council, Milford Magazine and other local community groups to explore the health and environmental repercussions of gas drilling in our communities.
For more information contact: Keith LaPan at 917-748-0930 or by e-mail at krlapan@nyc.rr.com.
Chesapeake Energy, with its foreign-owned partner StatoilHydro, and several other national energy companies, have deployed landmen to our region to sign natural gas leases with Pike County property owners. Currently, thousands of acres of Pike County land are under lease.
Next, these national energy companies will apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) for permits to drill for natural gas using a new technology called hydraulic fracturing—commonly called “fracking”—which allows gas to be extracted from shale deep under the ground using millions of gallons of water per well combined with chemicals. Permit applications will also be filed with the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to draw the necessary high volumes of water from regional sources to accomplish the fracking process. Permits have already been requested on the New York side of the river, requesting approval from the DRBC for withdrawal of one million gallons of water from the Delaware River per day.
As the rush intensifies to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation that runs deep under Pike County soil, what are the potential costs to our health, our environment, and the long term economic impacts on Pike County, where America’s conservation movement began over 100 years ago?
Free seminar Jan. 17th
Pike County Citizens for Clean Water will sponsor “What is Fracking?”, a free community educational program to explore the potential health and environmental effects of natural gas extraction on Saturday, January 17th at 1:30 p m . at the Delaware Valley High School.
Presentations will include "Upper Delaware, Lower Delaware: One River" by Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director of Delaware Riverkeeper; "Overview of the Process of Mining for Natural Gas" by Barbara Arrindell; and "The Legacy of our Watershed to Our Children" by Pat Carullo, both of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability. A speaker from the PA DEP is also expected. Media presentations that document the process of hydraulic fracturing and its impact on communities that have been “fracked” will be shown. Printed materials will be available and a town hall question and answer forum will follow. Visit www.twcwc.com and click ‘Fracking’ for more information.
Residents of Pittsburgh were recently advised to drink bottled water. Fracking has been occurring in that part of the state for more than a year. On October 23, the Acting Secretary of PA DEP, John Hanger, announced an investigation into the source of contaminants in the Monongahela River in the southwestern part of the state. He said that 40 percent of the problem appears to be due to high volumes of water from deep gas well drilling that has been released by sewage treatment facilities along the river. “What is Fracking?” will explore who is looking after our drinking water along the Delaware River here in Pike County.
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (www.endocrinedisruption.com) analysis of products pumped deep into the ground during the fracking process to produce natural gas in Colorado revealed 278 toxic chemicals, 93% of which have adverse health effects. The highest exposure risks are to eyes, skin, and sensory organs, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract and liver; brain and nervous systems. Do all of those chemicals stay in the ground? “What is Fracking?” will explore this question.
Gas line explosion
Local water safety concerns seem even more pressing in light of the November 5, 2008 explosion of a natural gas line near the Milford, PA exit of I-84, closing the highway for a time. The 60-year-old pipeline burst with enough force to remove the tops of surrounding trees during pressure testing under a wetlands area that feeds into Sloat Brook.
Concerned politicians and environmental groups are calling for more careful regulation and scrutiny of the potential risks of fracking. Some have called for a moratorium until Environmental Impact Studies can be completed and public safety insured. “What is Fracking?” is an opportunity for Pike County citizens to learn more about this matter so that we can offer informed input to public policy decisions that will have long-term consequences.
“What is Fracking?” is presented free of charge to the public by Pike County Citizens for Clean Water and Twin and Walker Creeks Watershed Conservancy, with co-sponsors: Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, Lackawaxen River Conservancy, PA State Rep. John Siptroth, Pike County Commissioner Karl Wagner, Delaware Twp Supervisors Ileana Hernandez and Ted Parsell, Walker Lake Landowners Assoc., Shohola Twp Supervisors, Delaware Twp Envionmental Council, Milford Magazine and other local community groups to explore the health and environmental repercussions of gas drilling in our communities.
For more information contact: Keith LaPan at 917-748-0930 or by e-mail at krlapan@nyc.rr.com.
