EIA: Year over Year Change in Coal Production

A career in coal geology says WV must bank on new industries

From the Opinion-Editorial by C. Blaine Cecil, Charleston Gazette-Mail, April 15, 2017

Over the past couple of years, I have followed claims about the restoration of the coal industry in the Appalachian region. As a native West Virginian and someone who still has a strong allegiance to the state, I feel compelled to offer a different perspective on the future of coal.

I am a retired geologist who has invested most of my professional career to the study of coal geology in Appalachia. These studies included, but were not limited to, geologic controls on the origin of coal and coal-bearing strata; geological and chemical characteristics of coal that effect coal cleaning; and mineral and chemical characteristics of coal and coal-bearing strata that effect mine drainage water quality. These, and other studies, were always related to coal resources (the amount of coal in the ground) and coal reserves (the amount of mineable coal).

As a result of those studies, it became evident many years ago that the amount of coal resources and reserves are finite; reserves will not last forever.

As far back as the mid-1970s, a coal company executive who was responsible for coal exploration in Southern West Virginia told me that mineable coal was getting “dirtier and deeper (and thinner)” meaning that the best coal reserves had already been mined. Since that time, newer mining technologies (such as mountaintop surface mining) have continued to deplete coal reserves. As a result of reserve depletion, it is highly unlikely that coal mining (and jobs) can be restored in a significant and sustainable manner; recovery of remaining reserves will be increasingly difficult and expensive, thereby resulting in a steady and rapid decline in coal production and associated jobs.

Much of the remaining coal resources occur in beds that are thin, discontinuous, often deeply buried and uneconomical to mine, and that will never be included in reserve calculations. If these resources are ever to be recovered, it will most likely be through underground (in situ) gasification rather than conventional mining methods.

Unless some unknown factors intervene, coal production and mining jobs in Appalachia are unlikely to recover because of the following:

Reserve depletion. Coal reserves are nearly depleted; increases in coal production will only accelerate reserve depletion and hasten the end of a significant coal mining industry in Appalachia. This is particularly true of southern West Virginia.

Electricity demand. The demand for electricity from coal-fired power plants has slowed because many major industrial consumers (e.g., steel, aluminum, and chemical manufacturing) have closed most of their plants in the United States, giving rise to the “rust belt.” The demise of these industries can also be attributed, by in large, to resource/reserve depletion of raw materials.

Natural gas replacement. Coal is being replaced by natural gas in the generation of electricity because recently discovered natural gas is now abundant, relatively inexpensive to produce, cleaner to burn and has higher heat content than coal (on a BTU/pound basis). Natural gas-fired power plants are also cheaper to build and operate than coal-fired power plants.

Energy transportation. Natural gas is easier, cheaper, and more energy efficient to transport (via pipelines) to power plants located near points of consumption (e.g., large metropolitan areas) relative to transportation of electricity over power lines from mine-mouth power plants to major markets. In addition, gas is cheaper and more energy efficient for home heating than electricity. Simply put, natural gas is currently a cheaper source of energy than coal.

In summary, economic recovery and sustainability in coal-producing regions in Appalachia must refocus economic development on commercially viable activities other than coal production. The nearly total collapse of the coal industry in Great Britain and Germany in the latter part of the 20th century is a stark reminder that coal reserves become depleted.

Readers who wish to further explore the future of coal mining in Appalachia may consult resource and reserve data that are available online from both federal and state agencies.

>>> C. Blaine Cecil, of Rockbridge Baths, Virginia, originally from Moundsville, is an adjunct professor of geology at WVU, a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution and a research geologist emeritus for the U.S. Geologic Survey.

Marcellus Pad in Butler County, PA (Winter 2014)

The Marcellus Shale Documentary Project in Pittsburgh

From an Article by Kara Holsopple, The Allegheny Front, June 10, 2016

The story of the fracking boom in Pennsylvania and nearby states runs as an almost continuous narrative in the region’s press. But covering the blow-by-blow of new drilling sites, protests, lawsuits and regulations is just one way to look at how fracking has changed the region. Back when unconventional natural gas drilling started gaining momentum, a group of photographers set out to gather a more personal perspective—by using photography to document the lives and landscapes that were being transformed by the drilling boom.

The Marcellus Shale Documentary Project has collected hundreds of images since, many of which are included in a new exhibition titled “An Expanded View.” Co-curator Laura Domencic says, in many ways, not much has changed since the project first started back in 2010: Health issues and the industrial footprint that fracking imposes on rural landscapes remain familiar themes.

But she says it’s also important to continue this work to gather a broad perspective on an issue that will no doubt have a lasting impact on the region. “When you document something, it helps tell that story for generations to come,” she says. “And not that this is the entire story, but this is a part of the story that wouldn’t be heard otherwise.”

For more commentary on the new exhibition, listen to our interview with Laura Domencic. And special thanks to the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project for use of the photos below.

LISTEN: Co-curator Laura Domencic talks about the new exhibition of the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project — Audio Player

>>> Photo: Martha Rial – Longtime resident Patricia Lyons looks at a line of parked rail cars outside her home in Greentree, Pennsylvania. The trains are carrying liquefied natural gas from the Rook Rail Yard, which only saw a few trains a week until the natural gas boom turned it into a busy rail hub.

>>> Photo: Nina Berman — Brooklyn, Pennsylvania resident Rebecca Roter decided to move out of her house in 2015 because of the chemical contamination of her well water.

>>> Photo: Lynn Johnson — A town meeting at the Wilmington Township Municipal Building draws a large crowd—including a number of residents from the Amish community. A number of gas wells, pipelines and compressor stations have been proposed for the area.

>>> Photo: Scott Goldsmith — An unconventional drilling site is prepared in Butler County, Pennsylvania in the winter of 2014.

>>> Photo: Noah Addis — View of the FirstEnergy R.E. Burger power plant in Shadyside, Ohio, January 31, 2016. The plant’s coal-fired boilers were taken offline in 2011 and the facility was completely closed in 2015. Dozens of coal-fired power plants have closed around the country since the fracking boom, as utilities move to meet new environmental regulations and take advantage of cheaper natural gas. The site in Shadyside is now being considered for a new ethane cracker—a petrochemical processing plant that would take ethane from the Utica and Marcellus Shale formations and convert it into the building blocks of plastic.

Preparations for drilling & fracking

>>> Photo: Brian Cohen — Janet Muffet stands on Jan Pierce’s property, adjacent to the Muffet farm. Formerly a mix of woods and meadows that was used for farming and riding trails, this land was cleared in 2015 in preparation for a drilling site. There has been no further activity, and none of the neighbors has been able to make contact with the gas company to learn when, if at all, they will return. The assumption is that the project was put on hold when the price of gas fell in 2016.

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Want to learn more? On this Thursday, June 16^th: Martha Rial, Scott Goldsmith, Noah Addis and Brian Cohen of the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project will be participating in a public discussion about the group’s new exhibit. The event starts at 6 p.m at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PCA). Admission is free for PCA members; $5 for non-members. You can find more details and RSVP here. Also, an editor’s note: The Marcellus Shale Documentary Project and The Allegheny Front both receive financial support from the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Heinz Endowments.

Source information: 10 June 2016fracking

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Blue Line -- Jobs in WV

Supply-side (Trickle-down) economics and regulations unfairly favor oil & gas

Commentary by S. Tom Bond, Jane Lew, Lewis County, WV

Voodoo economics is famous as the economics of Ronald Regan. He was a sports announcer and then actor by training and experience. Regan was a liberal and union leader at first but became a “conservative” later. Doubtless he could have argued any position he wished.

George H. W. Bush famously used the term “voodoo economics” in his 1980 bid for presidential nomination, implying a policy that wouldn’t work – was cut loose from reality. Subsequent experience proved Bush right.

Economics is the theory of business finance, but unlike physical science, conducting controlled experiments is usually not possible. The economist must figure out causes from what happens in real life after it happens. Simple mathematical relations such as those of physical science are almost never proven, so economics has schools reminiscent of religions. Economics cut loose from reality is not rare.

For businessmen, the objective is to convince other people with money or power to let the story teller take some initiative. Such is the nature of the extractive industries, including shale drilling. In short, people judge on the basis of how good the story is, rather than going to the labor of finding out if that story is connected with reality. Some have the connection of a summer breeze to a forest – the breeze blows through with little effect. Afterwards such fine stories are seldom checked, because nothing can be done then. The practice is – if it “works,” use it. If it doesn’t, try something else.

So what about shale drilling? What is left out? Let’s begin with subsidies. These include tax breaks and giveaways, research for the energy production, certain regulations that are favorable, restrictions on exports or exemptions from restrictions on imports.

All fossil fuel industries in the U. S. are subsidized to the extent of $37.5 billion annually, according to one source. Even further subsidies have been proposed in Congress but voted down. Across the world the subsidy amounts to $775 billion to $1 trillion.

This includes the following:

>>> Expensing intangible drilling costs: Since 1913, this tax break has let oil companies write off some costs of exploring for oil and creating new wells. When it was created, drilling meant taking a gamble on what was below the earth without high-tech geological tools. But software-led advances in seismic analysis and drilling techniques have cut that risk down.

>>> Deducting percentage depletion for oil and natural gas wells: Since 1926, this has given companies  tax breaks based on the amount of products extracted from its wells.

>>> The domestic manufacturing deduction for oil and natural gas companies: In 2004, American manufacturing was being ravaged by China’s entrance on the global scene. But, the refining process  involves high-tech manufacturing, so there was never any danger that either drilling or refining was going to migrate overseas.

The expense on research and development of fracking was more than $100 million over a course of 20 years. A lot of it was done in Morgntown, WV, in the Eastern Gas Shales Project. Much of the experience of George Mitchell, who is given credit for the first successful well, is told by his geologist, Dan Steward. Details are here. (Note: The “Breakthrough.org” is a pro-industry site.)

The ultimate example of favorable regulation is the Energy Act of 2005, also known as the “Halliburton Loophole.” It was Dick Chaney’s baby, when he was able to exert undue influence on government while George Bush II was president. It exempted oil and gas from many regulations that restrict other industries although O&G are larger, with a vast number of locations dispersed over a significant part of the United States.

The O & G industry is exempt from: the Clean Water Act, the Safe drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Release Inventory under the Emergency Planning and Community,    Right-to-Know Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, otherwise known as the Superfund Act.

You just have to stand back and say ‘Wow!” to that list. Just where is the interest of the citizenry in that? Nowhere! Not now nor in the future.  The oil and gas industry has set up some big long term problems, too, given the aging oil and gas pipelines all over the country.

Furthermore, federal regulation of fracking is forbidden. The individual states can regulate fracking, but are faced with limited know-how, limited funds to operate regulatory agencies, and the influence of lobbying by national and international corporations.

Then there is the big complaint of residents in shale areas of externalized damage – damage the industry doesn’t pay for. Property devaluation – what do you think a well pad, access road and attendant pipelines does to property value? It can ruin the small property owner, and hurts the large landowner.

Also, there are road damages, courthouse expenses, extra policing and other public expense. Then there are damages to citizen health. There are 16,719 entries on the List of the Harmed published by the Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air, as of August, this year. Some of the entries involve as many as 30 individuals. One can be sure that is a minority of those harmed, most remain quiet. You have to do a search to understand the number and variety of health problems caused.

If water sources are destroyed, there is little accountability by many companies. For example, two public drinking water systems have been impacted and at least six private water supplies allegedly contaminated due to ongoing pollution being caused by a natural gas fracking operation of JKLM Energy in Potter County, Pennsylvania.

When water buffalos are put out after fracking destroys an aquifer, they are usually abandoned when the drilling company leaves.

All those Jobs? “The development of the Marcellus Shale has led to a boom in West Virginia’s natural gas production. But aside from the increase in drilling activity and state and local tax revenue, the natural gas boom has not brought with it the jobs and economic growth that many predicted. While the state’s natural gas production has increased dramatically over the past several years, West Virginia has lagged behind the rest of the country in terms of job growth and fewer West Virginians are employed today than before the boom. Even in the counties where production has increased the most, job growth has been lackluster.”

Further economic news: “US shale producers lost more than $30 billion during the first half of 2015, as the prolonged slump in oil prices takes its toll. Bankruptcies and restructuring are on the rise as independent oil and gas companies do what they can to survive. Data company Factset reports that capital spending exceeded cash from operations by about $32 billion in the first six months of the year and is quickly approaching the deficit of $37.7 billion reported for the whole of 2014.

“Cutting the fat: A slump in oil prices is forcing the oil and gas services industry for the first time in 15 years to trim costs in a way that executives say will create a lasting change away from their usual lavish way of doing business. (9/12)

“Costly sales: Some U.S. oil producers are trying to sell parts of their lucrative saltwater disposal businesses in a sign that cheap crude is already forcing cash-starved companies to sell assets so oil can keep flowing.”

FERC is starting to listen to thousands of protests

Public Comments at FERC Scoping Meeting on ACP Pipeline in Elkins (3/25/15)

Submitted by April P. Keating, Concerned Resident, Upshur County, WV

Elkins, WV –On the evening of March 25, at the Elkins High School, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held a public hearing over the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). About 200 members of the public attended and around 34 people spoke. There were approximately 20 speakers against the project and 11 in favor.

FERC is an “independent” federal agency whose members are appointed by the President. They are perhaps the only thing standing between the public and this project. It is their duty to decide whether this project should be approved, and, more specifically, whether such a pipeline is in the interest of the public need. Some, including attorneys from Appalachian Mountain Advocates, have said that it is not clear whether this project qualifies for a “certificate of public convenience and necessity” because it is not clear that this project fills a public need, as it is not supplying gas directly to consumers.

From the FERC website: “Scoping meetings, which are sponsored by FERC, are utilized by staff to identify relevant issues of major Certificate projects, pursuant to NEPA. Scoping is the process of defining and refining the scope of a environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment (EA) and the alternatives to be investigated. The scoping process is one of the opportunities for public involvement. Affected property owners and other stakeholders can provide detailed comments about issues pertaining to their properties. For example, stakeholders can provide information on sensitive environmental features in the project area; suggest alternatives to be evaluated; or help identify construction constraints.”

The FERC has a duty to evaluate every comment, and Wednesday evening’s docket certainly provided them with a large list of concerns to consider. It took over two hours for everyone to speak. The speakers ranged from suited business leaders to “little old ladies” and everything in between. The list of topics was as varied as the people in attendance, and included environmental concerns, safety issues, economic matters, property values and landowner rights, and corridor sharing. Most of those in favor were, predictably, higher-ups in the industry, but those who spoke against the pipeline came from all walks of life. It was interesting and inspiring to hear their comments.

Several people came with speeches prepared, a few spoke off-the-cuff or from notes. Some were informed by science, others by experience, and a few by faith. Some addressed their comments to the room, but most people spoke directly to the commission, whose representative on stage took notes during the comments. The audience was quietly respectful, but would occasionally break out in applause for a comment that was particularly relevant to the heavy burden this pipeline would place on our culture, our way of life, our health, and our safety.

Of course, all the industry people spoke of employment, clean air, and supposed tax revenues, all blown up figures, in my opinion, except for the money they stand to make. They were unabashed about that.

Listings of topics covered and some not covered are provided in the attached Comment.

Though it was gratifying to hear so many comments outlining the dangers, it was a bit disappointing that more people did not speak of the effects on such things as geologic formations, historical and archaeological sites, and other data-driven material.

The scoping comment period is open until April 28. To comment online, go to: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp and use docket # 15-6-000 for ACP,  15-5-000 for the supply header (they are attached, so both should be included) and 15-3-000 for Mountain Valley Pipeline.

I was pleased with the turnout, and though it could have been larger, it was probably better than that in Bridgeport, where gas and oil seem to be king. I can tell you that if we don’t pay attention to the ramifications of these projects, we will soon be out of water and asking ourselves, Why, oh why, didn’t we stop it when we had the chance?

Note:  April Keating is an active member of the local group named Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance.

See also:  www.FrackCheckWV.net and www.MAREproject.org

WBOY News 12, Clarksburg, WV

Update: U.S.  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission heard concerns on Atlantic Coast Pipeline project

From an Article by Allen Clayton, WBOY, March 24, 2015

Clarksburg, WV — U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held its final meeting Tuesday evening at Bridgeport High School allowing residents to talk about their concerns of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Corky DeMarco, Executive Director of West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association said they encourage the public to give input regarding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Many residents are concerned what environmental impacts the pipeline will have. DeMarco said all the disturbances will be temporary and they plan to reseed and replace vegetation.

Some residents were in support of the pipeline project and spoke of the jobs it would provide to West Virginians. Others who were concerned on the impact to the land and wildlife said residents are concerned for some of the endangered species in those areas of the state.

“My principle concern at this point is that local fire departments are not equipped to take care of the effects if a pipe line should explode,” said Tom Bond, Lewis County resident.

Bond also said he’s concerned if the pipeline was to get a hole in it the size of pencil or a little larger could result in an explosion. He also said he feels concerned how emergency crews will be trained to handle those situations.

Original: 3/23/15

U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held a meeting Monday evening at Elkins High School in Randolph County to talk about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said the purpose of the meeting is to provide an opportunity to residents and businesses to verbally comment on the projects. The pipeline project would affect approximately 295.6 miles of a 42-inch-diameter pipeline in Harrison, Lewis, Upshur, Randolph, and Pocahontas Counties in West Virginia.

The Commission was speaking about the “Supply Header Project” which would involve construction and operation of approximately 38.7 miles of pipeline loop and the modification of existing compression facilities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. A pipeline “Loop” is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to and existing pipeline to increase capacity.

“You’re going to have people here that are for this project because of the jobs that are going to be brought and the economic development that it will have in this area. Then there will be people who will be opposed because maybe the project may be on their property,” said Bob Orndorff, Senior Policy Advisor Dominion, WV.

Proposed construction of the planned facilities would affect more than 12,000 acres of land for the pipeline project and aboveground facilities. The environmental impact of the projects will be considered in one environmental impact statement that will be used by the commission. The commission said in its decision will be to determine whether its projects are a public convenience and necessity.

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More Landowners Resisting Gas Pipelines in WV & VA

From an Article by Dan Heyman, Public News Service, March 23, 2015

More landowners are going to court to oppose huge pipelines intended to carry Marcellus and Utica natural gas to eastern markets. They say they are concerned in part about construction impacts.

CHARLESTON, WV – Huge pipelines intended to carry Marcellus and Utica natural gas to eastern markets are running into spreading resistance from landowners.  Richmond-based Dominion Resources and its partners have filed about 100 lawsuits against landowners who are resisting surveying crews for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Now landowners in the path of a different pipeline, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, have filed preemptive suits to stop surveying crews hired by the Pittsburgh-based EQT energy company and its partners.

Isak Howell is an attorney with Appalachian Mountain Advocates, a non-profit organization that represents dozens of landowners along each line. “These companies are proposing to use the right of eminent domain -– the extraordinary power to take private property against the landowners’ wishes – and it should not be granted lightly,” Howell states.

Each pipeline would cost billions of dollars, run for hundreds of miles and carry billions of cubic feet of gas a day. They are designed to carry Marcellus and Utica natural gas to North Carolina and Virginia, with other connections. Both projects would go through rugged, hard-to-build-in terrain. The companies argue the projects would put people to work and would lower gas prices, which they maintain would be good for the economy.

Howell says the landowners don’t expect to see any benefit in their region, just the negative impact on land and water. “They’re definitely going to have a huge environmental impact out on the land,” he stresses. “The companies should be held to the letter of the environmental laws before these pipelines are ever approved.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will determine much of the future of both projects. Both cross national forests, which complicates the picture. And the landowner lawsuits in state courts will also need to be addressed.

Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed suit on behalf of three families in Summers and Monroe counties. Howell says their cases turn on the interpretation of a law that’s more than a century old.  He says it states a company can use eminent domain for a public use. But he says the gas won’t be used in West Virginia, which leaves open the question of whether it qualifies.

“There’s not a definitive case answering this question that I’ve been able to find, and so, possibly very soon, it’s going to be up to a West Virginia court to decide whether that bar is as high as we think it is,” he explains.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Proposed Large Long Distance Pipelines

Update from the Appalachian Chronicle: ‘Then & Now from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Allegheny Plateau’

From an Internet Post by Michael Barrick, Appalachian Chronicle, March 22, 2015

Seeking Dominion over His Own Land: Randolph County landowner on the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline route: ‘It’s my land; it must be my choice!’

Mill Creek, WV – Joao Barroso spent years looking for the perfect parcel of land on which to eventually settle his family and build a natural preserve for others to enjoy. Finally, in September 2011, Barroso, 57, found such a place in an approximately 500-acre forested tract near Mill Creek, a small community situated in a picturesque valley in Randolph County.

Beginning in 2014, Barroso added extra acreage to his property, bringing it to a total of about 650 acres. This expansion, he pointed out, demonstrates his determination to acquire land to preserve its natural wonder and beauty.

Now, however, the home place he dreamed of having for more than 40 years is in the sights of Dominion Energy, which wants to cross his land with the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). So, what started out as a dream may well turn out to be a nightmare.

Read more.

See also:  Appalachian Preservation Project, LLC, Appalachian Chronicle, The Barrick Report

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Upcoming Meetings:

The public scoping meeting schedule is below:

Monday, March 23, 2015 at 7:00 PM. Elkins High School, 100 Kennedy Drive, Elkins, WV.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 7:00 PM. Bridgeport High School, 515 Johnson Avenue, Bridgeport, WV.

Informational meeing hosted by the Greenbrier River Watershed Association and Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance:

Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:00 PM. American Legion Building, Kanawha Street, Buchannon, WV.

Natural  Gas Production In West Virginia in 2010, 2011, and 2012

Source: WV Geological & Economic Survey, The State Journal, August 30, 2013.

The total volume of natural gas produced in WV for the past three full years in “billion cubic feet” (Bcf) is: 298 (2010), 408 (2011), and 541 (2012). This represents an increase of 36.9 % for 2011 over 2010 and an increase of 32.5 % for 2012 over 2011.  WOW! 

How much do we need? WV consumes about 120 Bcf per year.  So we are producing  4.5  times our consumption.  And, the WV-DEP, under authority of the Governor and Legislature, continues to grant permits for more drilling, fracking, huge trucks, road damages, land disturbances, noises, lights, air pollution, water pollution, residual wastes, accidents, explosions, fires, threats to the public health, threats to the occupational health and safety of our workers.   If we are going to continue to grow this Marcellus gas industry at a greater than 30% per year growth rate, doesn’t it require some rational regulation.

The top four companies producing this natural gas in 2012 were: Antero Resources 105.7 Bcf (19.5%), Chesapeake Energy 73.6 Bcf (13.6%), EQT Production 42.2 Bcf (7.8%), XTO Energy 13 Bcf (2.4%), and so on for a total of 541.2 Bcf for 2012.

By county, the natural gas production in 2012 was: Harrison 121.7 Bcf (22.5%), Wetzel 63.7 Bcf (11.8%), Doddridge 56.8 Bcf (10.5%), Marshall 48.5 Bcf (9%), Taylor 21.3 Bcf (3.9%), Upshur 21.3 Bcf (3.9%), and so on for a total of 541.2 Bcf. These are the counties that are taking the greatest beating to their environment.

Natural gas liquids in barrels (bbl) for 2012 was 716,000 bbl, this coming from Wetzel County 39.5%, Ohio County 20.3%, Doddridge County 15.6%, Marshall County 13.2%, plus Tyler and Ritchie Counties, primarily.

NOTE: The Big Moses gas well in Tyler County was estimated at 100,000,000 cubic feet per day which is 36.5 Bcf per year. But, it is doubtful that the Big Moses well continued this high of a production for a year, since there was likely a rather steep depletion curve for the first few weeks and months.

EDITORIAL: Morgantown Dominion Post, November 29, 2012

Ruling scratches surface of rights: The decision to recommend that lawmakers take up the appeal of DEP gas well permits is right

Which should come first: Judicial review of proposed gas well permits or complaints and hearings about any resulting damages?  About a year ago, the Legislature passed the groundbreaking Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act, the first such comprehensive legislation in the Appalachian Basin to address regulation of Marcellus shale drilling. Yet, if you want to know why this law has gained so little traction among surface owners, you need look no further than a decision by the state Supreme Court last week.

At issue was a Doddridge County surface owner’s right to appeal a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) gas well permit on his property. State code does not provide for administrative hearings and judicial reviews of DEP permits for gas wells. We’ll reserve our judgment on this ruling. However, the court was correct to refuse to rewrite the code from the bench and to recommend in its 19-page ruling that the Legislature take up this issue.

We urge lawmakers to revisit this issue in February and amend the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act to provide for surface owners’ right of appeal of any DEP gas well permits on their land. Virtually every legislative candidate we interviewed prior to Election Day — Democrats and Republicans — was quick to admit that surface owner rights got the short end of the stick when the Marcellus shale bill was approved. Yet, some defer now — and others may later — that since these regulations are just a year old, we need to step back and watch them work to determine their shortcomings. We think not. This recent ruling by the high court is an eyeful.

Furthermore, to argue that surface owners’ comments alone about the DEP’s gas well permits are enough based on the premise that they can seek remedies if their land is unduly damaged, is a case of too little, too late.  To file a complaint in circuit court after the fact is much like taking up public safety after the flood, or mine safety after the explosion, or vehicular homicide after the wreck.

It’s in everyone’s best interest if there are going to be questions that merit judicial review to answer them before the fact, to spare all parties.

Obviously, these appeals of DEP permits may still end with the same result. However, such a review allows for discovery of any number of issues.  Such appeals are already granted to coal seam owners. They can request judicial reviews of DEP permits, while surface owners can only offer comments on proposed gas wells within 30 days. These concerns are not secondary. Let’s hope our legislators think so, too.

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WV host farm program is the result of concerns for the surface owners and residents: West Virginia landowners living on or near drilled properties and/or compressor stations opt to participate in the program by becoming volunteer “host farms” for researchers and journalists. Through a managed database of participant landowners throughout the state, the WV Host Farms Program serves as a point of contact between those in the environmental community seeking suitable locations for study of Marcellus in WV, and those who are landowners able to provide them.  See www.wvhostfarms.org

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Organic farmer concerned about fracking

Stephen Cleghorn owner, of a 50 acre certified organic farm and goat dairy in Reynoldsville, PA, is concerned about hydraulic fracturing gas drilling activity nearby and how it might affect his animals and the farm he and his wife started in 2005. See the video “here.”

Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil Keeps on Talking

Commentary by S. Tom Bond, citizen farmer of Lewis County, WV
 
When researching, one may do “wildcating,” too, in the sense one examines places that don’t have a sure return on the time invested.  The other day I hit on a item that proved to be fascinating .  It was a talk by Rex W. Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation to the Council on Foreign Relations.  The CFR is primarily concerns itself with advancing governmental and banking globalization.  The fit of speaker to audience is perfect – both operate with high level generalities, not details.
 
The article (see below) is an almost instantaneous transcription of the introduction plus Tillerson’s talk and questions from the listeners.
 
The interesting way to approach the article is to view it as a myth, in the sense this word is used by sociologists and psychologists.  So myth as used herein is a story which people believe in, with out reference to truth or verifiability of the story.  The value of this approach is to differentiate Tillerson’s Weltanschauung (worldview) from the worldview of people experiencing shale drilling and the citizenry in general.
 
The introduction of Mr. Tillerson referred to a book by Steven Coll called “Private Empire.”  In the book Coll “refers to Exxon Mobil as a corporate state within the American state, with its own intricate web of international relations and, in a sense, its own foreign policy.”  This sets the tone for what followed.
 
First we note Tillerson’s repeated characterization of all opposition as ignorant. “Ours is an industry that is built on technology,” he says “it’s built on science, it’s built on engineering, and because we have a society that by and large is illiterate in these areas, science, math and engineering, what we do is a mystery to them and they find it scary. And because of that, it creates easy opportunities for opponents of development, activist organizations, to manufacture fear.”  Further, “  It requires a lot of education, requires taking an illiterate public …. and trying to help them understand why we can manage these risks…”  And “[the consequences] are not life-threatening, they’re not long-lasting.”  This is said with all the certainty of a critic of medieval village peasants who are afraid of the dragon on the other side of the hill.
 
So one wonders if he is unaware of people like Dr. Theo Colborn, Dr. Poune Sabri, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, Arthur E. Berman, Dr. Al Armendariz, Deborah Rogers, Elaine L. Hill, Dr. Marvin Resnikoff, Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, Dr. Karlis Muehienbachs, Dr. Robert W. Howarth and….do I need to go on?  You get the point.  Are these people ignorant?  Or rabble rousers?
 
And by the way, who would be more reliable to judge about ability to “manage these risks” and “not life-threatening and not long-lasting,” the man who constantly flits from one ivory tower to another, or the person who hears, sees, smells and tastes what is going on in the shale fields?
 
A second major Tillerson theme is parsing “energy security” and “energy independence.”  The former is an adequate supply from what-ever sources, he says, the latter is enough to serve the nation’s need, obtained within it’s boundary.  There is no claim the industry will be able to do the latter – ever.  The former will be secure for a while, with the new technology, he says, but we will continue to get energy (energy = petroleum, in Mr. Tillerson’s use) from beyond our borders.  It doesn’t seem to matter where or how the U. S. gets it, however.  Obviously, the military, although unmentioned, looms quite important.  And “If you don’t like the people you’re buying it from, that’s a different issue,” he says.
 
Tillerson seems to consider Canada and Mexico as natural extensions of the United States.  At present they are our principal suppliers of petroleum , and  Canada refines much of it into finished product, too.  This view of greater North America doubtless sits well with the globalist CFR.  Actually, only 22% of U. S. petroleum imports come from the Persian Gulf. Those who deliver from that source are well paid.  A certain Saudi prince recently bought an Airbus jet airliner, equipped as a luxury hotel, for his personal use, paying $485 million.  Nice toy.
 
Also, according to Tillerson, “if people are equating energy independence to some kind of price stability or narrow price band, then they have to be putting that in a context of a very rigid policy and regulatory control around that system, because otherwise it’s going to continue to move with the global prices.”  Translated that means “don’t expect us to keep petroleum prices down.”

He does allow that “the energy mix is switching,” that is, so far the increased use of gas to generate electricity comes from using mostly gas in dual fuel – coal and gas – in plants designed to use gas primarily to meet demand peaks.  He says gas is a clean-burning fuel, divorcing it from the extraction end of the process.  I suppose that is because extraction takes place out where the illiterates live.
 
At one point Tillerson gets in a punch for the shale oil project of Exxon Mobil in Canada, even dirtier and more disgusting than shale drilling.  In another he gives his opinion that oil never drove the relationships with nations in the Middle East.  Further, cheap natural gas will rebuild American manufacturing and he manages to knock electric cars
 
Perhaps the most interesting thing in the talk, however, is how he handles the “white elephant in the room” of fossil fuel discussion, global warming.  “And as human beings as a — as a — as a species, that’s why we’re all still here. We have spent our entire existence adapting, OK? So we will adapt to this. Changes to weather patterns that move crop production areas around — we’ll adapt to that. It’s an engineering problem, and it has engineering solutions. And so I don’t — the fear factor that people want to throw out there to say we just have to stop this, I do not accept.

“I do believe we have to — we have to be efficient and we have to manage it, but we also need to look at the other side of the engineering solution, which is how are we going to adapt to it. And there are solutions. It’s not a problem that we can’t solve.”
Take that, you tree-huggers!  Exxon Mobil and its friends will be around to save you from the damage they caused to the environment! And if that doesn’t work????

One of the ways social scientists analyze myth is to look for the utility of the myth to the elite promoting it.  That method yields results here.

REFERENCE: The New North American Energy Paradigm: Reshaping the Future; Speaker: Rex W. Tillerson, Chairman and CEO, Exxon Mobil Corporation, June 27, 2012. Transcribed by Federal News Service, a private firm not connected to the government, which specializes in quick transcriptions for news release.

http://www.cfr.org/united-states/new-north-american-energy-paradigm-reshaping-future/p28630

A non-profit group working out of Shepherdstown, WV, is dedicated to the use of modern imaging methods and scientifically sound techniques to examine environmental issues in our region, around the nation and world.

SkyTruth promotes environmental awareness and protection with remote sensing and digital mapping technology. We provide stunning images backed by scientifically robust information about our changing environment to stimulate changes in habitat protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable resource management. We design and conduct our projects in close partnership with environmental groups, local planners and resource managers to complement their work on a broad spectrum of environmental issues. SkyTruth’s mission is to motivate and empower new constituencies for environmental protection.  We use scientifically credible satellite images and other visual technologies to create compelling pictures that vividly illustrate environmental impacts and provide these pictures and supporting data to environmental advocates, the media, and the public.

SkyTruth envisions a world where all people can see and understand the environmental consequences of human activity everywhere on the earth, and are motivated to take action to protect the environment.

To find out how we can help you, learn more about what we do…

For an example of an Alert from SkyTruth, this one regards a Dominion Resources permit for horizontal well fracking in Harrison county, WV, click here.

Amy Mathews Amos of SkyTruth has recently written an article excerpted below entitled:  “Tracking Fracking: The Sky’s the Limit”

The Cessna single engine plane could seat only four people, but LightHawk pilot Jamie Gamble, Tioga County Planner Jim Weaver, chief photographer George Patterson of The Downstream Project and Downstream’s Director Bill Howard were serving as the eyes for thousands of concerned citizens on the ground. In a first time ever collaborative effort on May 31, they took grass roots monitoring of Marcellus shale gas activity in north central Pennsylvania to the sky, combining cutting edge technologies with the expertise of at least nine different nonprofit organizations and government partners. As they looked down at the landscape below, dotted with farms, forests and small towns, the guys in the cockpit realized this was a game changer: Even in the remote forests of Pennsylvania, the impacts of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for natural gas would no longer be hidden. 

With roughly 2,000 sites permitted across a five county region that includes remote state forest land—and more than 10,000 sites permitted statewide since 2008—information gaps are inevitable. Questions remain about what people are finding in their watersheds and just what everyone should be looking for in the first place.

 “The science isn’t here now to really understand the impacts of fracking on the environment for the long term,” according to Julie Vastine, Director of the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM). ALLARM developed the scientific protocol used by many local groups to measure changes in water quality, and over the past two years has trained more than 750 people in Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia to monitor their water for fracking impacts. But they want to do more.

“We had this really big aha moment about six months into our program,” says Vastine, when they realized that combining data across the state was critical. “Because we have so many streams—83,000 miles of streams and rivers in the state—as many volunteer sites that we can add to a central repository will add to our knowledge of what’s happening.”

SkyTruth, based in neighboring West Virginia, can help. SkyTruth’s Alerts System already maps sites permitted for fracking activity by state agencies in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, making basic information about drilling activity accessible to the public. The next step is helping citizens and scientists share their data to study impacts as gas sites morph over time from pristine forest land to active drilling sites to spent wells.

The Shale Network, a collaborative effort involving Penn State University, ALLARM and the University of Pittsburgh, is working to make those data available to government and academic scientists around the world for in depth studies. High on the list of priorities: creating an interactive, user-friendly portal that will give the Waterdogs and other citizen’s groups an easy way to connect with the universities’ networks and share their information with scientists.