Bootleg Fire in Oregon is too large and hot to contain

From an Article by Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post, July 1, 2021

Heat waves have toppled temperature records across the nation, and firefighters are actively battling 48 large blazes that have consumed more than half a million acres in 12 states. But land management agencies are carrying out fire mitigation measures at a fraction of the pace required, and the funds needed to make communities more resilient are one-seventh of what the government has supplied.

“We’re burning up, we’re choking up, we aren’t just heating up,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told President Biden at a meeting with Cabinet officials and Western governors Wednesday. “Across the board we have to disabuse ourselves of the old timelines and the old frames of engagement. … We can’t just double down.”

Yet fire experts say the escalation of wildfires, fueled by climate change, demands an equally dramatic transformation in the nation’s response — from revamping the federal firefighting workforce to the management of public lands to the siting and construction of homes.

“As our seasons are getting worse and worse … it feels like we’ve reached a tipping point,” said Kelly Martin, a wildfire veteran and president of the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. “We need a new approach.”

The West’s hot, dry start to summer has already been devastating, to people as well as trees.

On Thursday, authorities across the Pacific Northwest and western Canada said they were investigating at least 500 suspected deaths from heat illness that occurred amid the week’s record-shattering temperatures.

Thousands of residents had to be rapidly evacuated from the sprawling Lava Fire, south of the Oregon-California border, when extreme heat and strong winds caused the blaze to explode.

Many people are still missing after a fast-moving wildfire overwhelmed the tiny mountain village of Lytton, British Columbia, on Wednesday — just a day after it notched Canada’s highest-ever temperature of 121 degrees Fahrenheit.

“This is becoming a regular cycle, and we know it’s getting worse,” Biden said Wednesday. “In fact, the threat of Western wildfires this year is as severe as it’s ever been.”

‘Always doing more with less’

When Martin started her career with the U.S. Forest Service more than three decades ago, the agency had a “warlike” approach to handling wildfires. Crews used bulldozers and other equipment to cut through vegetation and create barriers that could contain an approaching front. Helicopters and big air tankers dropped retardant from high above the flames. Although land managers knew fire was an important part of most Western ecosystems, they were also under pressure to stop blazes before they reached the area’s growing population centers.

“And we were very successful at it,” Martin said. To this day, more than 95 percent of fires are suppressed before they reach communities.

But by the time Martin retired as chief of fire and aviation at Yosemite National Park last year, climate change had fundamentally altered the nature of wildfire, making the blazes that did escape containment increasingly costly and dangerous to fight.

In most forest types, the proportion of fires that are “high severity” (killing the majority of vegetation) has at least doubled in recent decades. Firefighters are seeing more and more “extreme fire behavior” — whirling “fire tornadoes,” crown fires that spew embers into the wind and blazes that move so fast and burn so hot they create their own weather.

In 2018, a veteran Redding, Calif., firefighter was killed when a vortex the size of several football fields swept down upon him as he evacuated residents ahead of the catastrophic Carr Fire.

“Watching what the current wildland firefighters are faced with, last year and this year, it is exponentially greater in terms of risk and trauma,” Martin said.

The U.S. government is the nation’s biggest employer of what are known as “wildland” firefighters. Most are temporary workers, their salaries as low as $13.45 per hour for a starting forestry technician. They spend summers traveling the country, working 16-hour days, 12 days at a time, often relying on overtime and hazard pay to make ends meet.

For decades, they’ve relied on a months-long offseason to rest and recover.

But now there is no offseason; one fire year simply bleeds into the next, as winter rain and snow is delayed and diminished by climate change. About 100 families had to be evacuated from the Santa Cruz mountains in January — usually California’s wettest month — when winds re-ignited the embers of a fire that started last August.

TYLER COUNTY, WV: 36 inch Sherwood lateral of ET-Rover Pipeline (Bill Hughes)

From an Article by Duncan Adams, Roanoke (VA) Times, September 28, 2017

The two joint ventures planning to route 42-inch diameter natural gas pipelines through forests and fields long to hear the whining roar and chatter of chainsaws felling trees.

Both the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline hope to start clearing trees in mid-November from construction rights-of-way for the buried pipelines. There is an urgency to get started: The projects plan to suspend felling trees after March 31 to comply with federal conservation guidelines tied to potential impacts to the Indiana bat, a federally endangered species, and the northern long-eared bat, a threatened species.

Restricting tree clearing to the period from mid-November to the end of March also protects some species of migratory birds that nest during other months of the year.

Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, said that the project’s timeline, and the project itself, could suer if tree clearing activities don’t get underway during this period, which could mean waiting until mid-November 2018 to re up chainsaws and other tree-felling equipment.

“It’s important that we do all the tree clearing and grading this season,” Ruby said. “It’s an important window and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Each project plans to clear all vegetation from a temporary construction right-of-way that would be 125 feet wide in most terrain. The permanently treeless rights-of-way would be 50 feet in most places.

Both pipelines are interstate projects and thus require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In a letter to FERC dated Sept. 7, top executives for three of the companies involved in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline asked FERC’s commissioners to issue an order in September to approve the project “so that initial construction activities and tree clearing can begin in November and conclude in early 2018 as described in the final [environmental impact statement].”

Ruby said that if Atlantic Coast isn’t able to clear trees during the prescribed period this fall and winter, the project could miss its intended in-service target of late 2019. He said contractual obligations to begin supplying natural gas could be affected, as could contracts with construction companies lined up to build the pipeline. Five of six shippers of natural gas on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are affiliates of partners in the joint venture.

Catherine Hibbard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the mid-November to late March window provides a time for tree clearing with less risk to the Indiana and Northern long-eared bats.

“Those are the times when we would expect the bats to be in hibernation,” Hibbard said. “They would not be roosting in trees.”

Mountain Valley Pipeline’s biological assessment reports that the company also would suspend tree clearing operations from June 1 through July 31 to prevent killing young bats not yet capable of flight. Hibbard said northern long-eared and Indiana bats leave hibernation areas in the summer for wooded areas.

“The females roost under the loose bark of dead or dying trees, where they give birth and raise their young,” she said. “Indiana bat females tend to roost in groups in maternity colonies, whereas northern long-eared bats roost in colonies or singly. Pups are nursed by the mother, who leaves the roost tree only to forage for food. The young stay with the maternity colony throughout their rst summer.”

Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for Mountain Valley, said the company will begin clearing trees as soon as it receives the necessary authorizations.

“These activities could begin as early as November 2017, in which case the majority of clearing is expected to be complete by March 31, 2018,” Cox said in an email.

The 303-mile, $3.5 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline would begin in Wetzel County, West Virginia, and end at the Transco pipeline in Pittsylvania County. The 600-mile, $5.1 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline would begin in Harrison County, West Virginia, travel southeast through Virginia and proceed south to Robeson County, North Carolina. Each would transport natural gas at high pressure.

The deeply controversial projects have received support from Gov. Terry McAulie, business groups and some legislators. But they also have stirred erce opposition because of concerns about impacts to the environment, property values and property rights. If FERC approves the pipelines — an outcome expected by most observers based on FERC’s history of approving similar projects — the joint ventures will have access to eminent domain to acquire easements across private property.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has said limited tree clearing does not require its authorization.

In an email, Ann Regn, a DEQ spokeswoman, reported, “Whether it’s MVP or ACP, hand clearing with chain saws and limited mechanical cutting depending on the type of equipment to be used is not considered land disturbing activity. Removal of cut trees, grubbing, clearing and grading activities is considered land disturbing activities and requires approved [erosion and sediment control plans].”

Many observers had anticipated that FERC would act last week to grant a certicate of public convenience and necessity to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The commission on Sept. 20 held its rst public meeting since the departure of former chairman Norman Bay in February. The commission regained a quorum in August after the U.S. Senate conrmed Neil Chatterjee, who became acting chairman, and Robert Powelson. Both men were nominated by President Donald Trump, and they joined Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur.

After the Sept. 20 meeting, however, an industry news site, Utility Dive, quoted Chatterjee saying he’d prefer to wait for the full Senate’s conrmation of two remaining FERC nominees, Richard Glick and Kevin McIntyre, before tackling the most contentious issues facing the agency. Chatterjee did not say whether he considers the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast projects to be among those contentious issues. Tamara Young-Allen, a FERC spokeswoman, said Chatterjee was quoted accurately. Opponents of both pipelines have said delays ultimately could help halt one or both projects.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
See also: www.BoldAlliance.org
Contact: Carolyn Reilly
Pipeline Fighter, Appalachia Region
Bold Alliance, (540) 488-4358
Carolyn@BoldAlliance.org

Photos can't do justice to MVP & ACP damages

New research exposes how Dominion’s proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline would decapitate 38 miles of ridgelines in VA and WV

Press Release from Chesapeake Climate Network & Friends of Nelson County, April 27, 2017

Richmond, VA — A briefing paper released today details how Dominion Resources intends to blast away, excavate, and partially remove entire mountaintops along 38 miles of Appalachian ridgelines as part of the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Engineering and policy experts have examined documents submitted by Dominion to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and, using GIS mapping software, found that Dominion would require mountaintops to be “reduced” by 10 to 60 feet along the proposed route of the pipeline. For perspective, the height equivalent of a five-story building would be erased in places from fully forested and ancient mountains.

Furthermore, Dominion has yet to reveal how it intends to dispose of at least 247,000 dump-truck-loads of excess rock and soil—known as “overburden”—that would accumulate from the construction along just these 38 miles of ridgetops.

“In light of the discovery that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cause 10 to 60 feet of mountaintops to be removed from 38 miles of Appalachian ridges, there is nothing left to debate,” said Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Dominion’s pipeline will cause irrevocable harm to the region’s environmental resources. With Clean Water Act certifications pending in both Virginia and West Virginia, we call on Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and West Virginia Governor Jim Justice to reject this destructive pipeline.”

Dominion has submitted a proposal to FERC to build a 42-inch diameter pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina. Dominion has attempted to paint the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as an “environmentally-friendly” project. However, its proposed construction method and route selection across and along steep mountains is unprecedented for the region—if not the country—and is viewed as extreme and radical by landowners, conservationists, and engineers.

Similar impacts – although not yet fully inventoried – could come from the construction of a second pipeline to the south: the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) led by the company EQT Midstream Partners, LP.

“The Atlantic Coast Pipeline could easily prove itself deadly,” said Joyce Burton, Board Member of Friends of Nelson. “Many of the slopes along the right of way are significantly steeper than a black diamond ski slope. Both FERC and Dominion concede that constructing pipelines on these steep slopes can increase the potential for landslides, yet they still have not demonstrated how they propose to protect us from this risk. With all of this, it is clear that this pipeline is a recipe for disaster.”

The briefing paper released today was prepared by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in coordination with the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, Friends of Nelson, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, and the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition. It cites data from the Draft Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the Federal Energy Regulatory Council (FERC) as well as information supplied to FERC by Dominion. It also compiles information from GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping software and independent reports prepared by engineers and soil scientists.

Key findings include:

>>· Approximately 38 miles of mountains in West Virginia and Virginia will see 10 feet or more of their ridgetops removed in order to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

>>· This figure includes 19 miles in West Virginia and 19 miles in Virginia.

>>· The majority of these mountains would be flattened by 10 to 20 feet, with some places along the route requiring the removal of 60 feet or more of ridgetop.

>>· Building the ACP on top of these mountains will result in a tremendous quantity of excess material, known to those familiar with mountaintop removal as “overburden.”

>>· Dominion would likely need to dispose of 2.47 million cubic yards of overburden, from just these 38 miles alone.

>>· Standard-size, fully loaded dump trucks would need to take at least 247,000 trips to haul this material away from the construction site.

“It is astounding that FERC has not required Dominion to produce a plan for dealing with the millions of cubic yards of excess spoil that will result from cutting down miles of ridgetop for the pipeline,” said Ben Luckett, Staff Attorney at Appalachian Mountain Advocates. “We know from experience with mountaintop removal coal mining that the disposal of this material has devastating impacts on the headwater streams that are the lifeblood our rivers and lakes. FERC and Dominion’s complete failure to address this issue creates a significant risk that the excess material will ultimately end up in our waterways, smothering aquatic life and otherwise degrading water quality. Without an in-depth analysis of exactly how much spoil will be created and how it can be safely disposed of, the states cannot possibly certify that this pipeline project will comply with the Clean Water Act.”

“Even with Dominion’s refusal to provide the public with adequate information, the situation is clear: The proposed construction plan will have massive impacts to scenic vistas, terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and potentially to worker and resident safety,” said Dan Shaffer, Spatial Analyst with the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition. “There is no way around it. It’s a bad route, a bad plan, and should never have been seriously considered.”

Evidence shows that this  project is OPPOSITE of “environmentally friendly” and States must reject it.

>> Denise Robbins, 240-396-2022, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org

>> Anne Havemann, 240-396-1984, anne@chesapeakeclimate.org

>> Joyce Burton, Friends of Nelson, 434-361-2328, joybirdpt@gmail.com

The full briefing paper is available here.

Starting at 1:00 PM, Sunday, June 11th

Maryland Bans Fracking, After Votes in House, Senate, and Governor’s Approval

From an Article by Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch.com, March 28, 2017

Maryland is on track to become the third state to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and natural gas, after the Senate voted 35-10 on Monday for a measure already approved by the House.

The bill is now headed to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who is in favor of a statewide fracking ban. Hogan, who once said that fracking is ” an economic gold mine,” stunned many with his complete turnaround at a press conference earlier this month.

“We must take the next step to move from virtually banning fracking to actually banning fracking,” the governor said. “The possible environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits.” Once signed into law, Maryland would be the first state with gas reserves to pass a ban through the legislature.

Don’t Frack Maryland, a coalition of more than 140 business, public interest, community, faith, food and climate groups, has campaigned vigorously for a statewide ban through rallies, marches, petition deliveries and phone calls to legislators.

“Today’s vote is a result of the work of thousands of Marylanders who came out to town halls, hearings and rallies across the state. The grassroots movement to ban fracking overcame the high-powered lobbyists and deep pockets of the oil and gas industry,” said Mitch Jones, Food & Water Watch senior policy advocate. “We worked tirelessly to make sure our legislators and the governor were held accountable to the demands of voters and followed the science. Now we look forward to Governor Hogan signing this bill into law and finally knowing that our water, climate and families will be protected from the dangers of fracking.”

Josh Tulkin, director of the Maryland Sierra Club, also commended the Maryland General Assembly for this “bipartisan victory.”

“Congratulations go to the thousands of people across the state, particularly those in Western Maryland, who stood up for their beliefs, who organized, lobbied and rallied to get this legislation passed,” Tulkin said. “This ban is a major step for Maryland’s path to a clean energy economy.”

Supporters of fracking say it creates jobs and provides energy security. “Denying Maryland consumers, businesses and job-seekers the benefits that come with in-state energy production through hydraulic fracturing shuts the door on an important share of the American energy renaissance and western Maryland’s future economic growth,” Drew Cobbs, executive director of the Maryland Petroleum Council, told the Associated Press after the vote.

But opponents of the drilling process, which involves shooting highly pressurized water and chemicals into underground formations to release oil and gas, cite health and environmental risks such as air and water pollution and earthquakes.

Fracking does not currently take place in Maryland but a moratorium on issuing permits ends in October.

Elisabeth Hoffman of Howard County Climate Action said that alarming research about fracking’s harms has emerged during the state moratorium, adding that “voices from fracked states were sounding the alarms as well.” “We are relieved and overjoyed that the state Senate has said NO to fracking,” she added.

The implications of the Senate’s vote are far reaching, according to Natalie Atherton of Citizen Shale. “Western Maryland is surrounded by fracking just across our state borders. We have learned from and worked with our neighbors whose health has been compromised for years,” Atherton said. “Already Citizen Shale is being approached by communities in other states, hoping to learn how they can ban fracking where they live. This has become a movement of people, and it won’t stop with Maryland.”

Yesterday’s vote was widely applauded by environmental groups especially in light of the Trump administration‘s apparent assault on environmental regulations.

“Despite Trump’s efforts to block climate action and roll back protections for people and the planet, communities in Maryland took matters into their own hands. This is an incredible victory that speaks to the power of grassroots organizing to take on the fossil fuel industry. Fracking is a reckless practice that threatens health and safety while intensifying the climate crisis,” 350.org Fracking Campaign coordinator Linda Capato Jr. said.

Capato is urging a similar movement worldwide.

“Maryland is taking a huge step forward, but communities are continuing to suffer as fracking and extreme extraction expands worldwide. This fight is a great reminder that when communities organize, we win,” she said. “As more people fight back against this dangerous and dirty industry, elected officials everywhere should follow Maryland and other state’s example by banning fracking and putting the health of our communities and climate first.”

See also:  Engage Mountain Maryland

Selected Frack Chemicals -- Wilma Subra

Two more lawsuits filed against Antero for fracking damages

From an Article by Kyla Asbury, WV Record, January 27, 2016

Charleston, WV — Two more lawsuits have been filed against Antero Resources Corporation for damages due to the company’s fracking practices.

Antero Resources Appalachian Corporation and Hall Drilling LLC were also named as defendants in the suits.

Slathial A. Simmons, Tracie D. Simmons and E.T.S., a minor; and Kenna Sue Adams filed motions to join already filed cases to an existing mass litigation, according to two complaints filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.

James C. Peterson and Aaron L. Harrah of Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler; and Anthony J. Majestro and J.C. Powell of Powell & Majestro moved that the civil actions join in to the existing Marcellus Shale litigation currently pending in Ohio Circuit Court.

In support of the motion, the plaintiffs state that these firms already represented more than 200 plaintiffs in similar actions and the allegations in the plaintiffs’ complaints of nuisance and negligence are similar to those already alleged, according to the motions.

The plaintiffs claims are similar to previously filed lawsuits, which claim that the plaintiffs own property in close proximity to numerous well pads owned, operated, drilled, maintained and otherwise controlled by the defendants.

The defendants’ activities and instrumentalities frequently produce spills, emissions and discharges of hazardous gases and materials, chemicals and other industrial/hazardous wastes, according to previous suits.

The plaintiffs claim the defendants have frequently, repeatedly and substantially interfered with their use and enjoyment of their property.

The defendants have also repeatedly concealed the dangerous nature of their natural gas activities and the impact these activities have on nearby landowners and the environment, according to previous suits.

The cases are assigned to Circuit Judges Tod J. Kaufman and James C. Stucky.

Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 15-C-1993, 15-C-1994

#   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

Fracking’s road to ruin, in Butler County, PA, and elsewhere

Letter to Editor, Butler PA Eagle Online, January 23, 2016

In light of all the negative effects of the oil and gas industry lately, from earthquakes in the Midwest where the waste fluid is disposed of, to the massive methane leak in California, and contaminated drinking water, how can the evidence be ignored? This should be front page news every day.

All of these events are the product of the deceptive practices of the oil and gas industry.

They are exempt from some sections of environmental and conservation acts which means we have less protection. This has allowed this industry to prey on the ignorance of the American people.

So why does the Butler Eagle print editorials supporting the industry? Recent editorials on the topic suggest an extraction tax is a bad idea and that fracking is the answer to our energy independence, and has influenced the events in the Middle East.

A recent editorial speculated that half of the Marcellus Shale gas producers will go bankrupt. What they will leave behind in the wake of this boom is an environmental catastrophe. We will be the ones living in it.

No amount of money, regulations or government agency will be able to fix what we have allowed them to do. Our reliance on gas fracking is keeping us from moving to renewable energy sources.

>>> Laurel Colonello, Middlesex Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania

See also:  www.Marcellus-Shale.us

Open Letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

TO: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20426

RE:  Limit Interstate Pipelines for Natural Gas & NGL from Fracked Horizontal Gas Wells

We assert to you a responsibility to apply the following principles to your consideration of the PIPELINES and COMPRESSOR STATIONS now being planned in the United States:

>> Natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) are hydrocarbons and fossil fuels, as such they are greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the EARTH; and, when they are consumed will ultimately become carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas already above 400 ppm in the atmosphere, an unsafe level which promotes Global Warming and other problems.

>> The President of the US has mandated that greenhouse gases are to be controlled and limited to reduce Global Warming and Climate Change, which has already reached extremes as demonstrated by global temperature measures and weather conditions.

>> The US EPA seeks to control and limit greenhouse gases from all sources, particularly the fossil fuels that are the major contributors of methane and carbon dioxide.

>> The US Department of the Interior seeks to limit damages to our public lands, and this example should carryover to State properties of Schools, Parks, Forests, and others.

>> The US Forest Service has expressed substantial concerns for certain damages to our National Parks, National Forests, and other forested lands due to pipeline construction, compressor stations, and extensive land and forest damages including fires and explosions that are not uncommon.

>> The right of “eminent domain” which grants permission to private companies for the taking of personal property has been grossly abused by FERC; therefore, only in the most urgent and essential cases should such authority be granted, the instances should be very few and the land taken should be a very small amount and of marginal value.

>> The “Halliburton loopholes” should be set aside as not appropriate in the regulation of the environmental damages of fracking and pipelines to water supplies, air quality and other protections where the public health is at risk.

These considerations should apply to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline across WV, VA, and NC; to the Mountain Valley Pipeline across WV and VA, to the Nexus Pipeline across Ohio, Michigan and Canada; to the ET Rover Pipeline across WV, OH, Michigan and Canada; to the Sunoco Mariner East 2 Pipeline across Ohio, WV and PA, and to the many other large diameter and long distance pipelines that are being developed.

This should also apply to the thousands of miles of smaller and shorter pipelines within the individual States, as we are particularly concerned about Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Virginia where extensive pipeline develop is underway.  Access road construction and pipeline/compressor station installation and operation are destructive of the land, result in subsidence, sedimentation, fragmentation and other damages.

Air pollution results from gas well development and from vents, leaks, flares, fires and explosions.  The fracking silica sand and diesel trucks and other equipment have been shown to create dangerous health conditions due to ultra-fine particulates and other pollutants.

Duane G. Nichols, Board Member, Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition

cc: President Obama, Governors of PA, OH, VA and WV

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

See also the regional protest activities:  ”Hands Across Our Land“

Commentary: Scientific Case for banning fracking on federal land

By Larysa Dyrszka, MD and Mary Menapace, RN

Larysa Dyrszka, MD, of Sullivan County is co-founder, and Mary Menapace, RN, of Syracuse is a member, of Concerned Health Professionals of New York, www.concernedhealthny.org, an organization dedicated to researching and raising awareness about the public health risks of high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

The final fracking review has been released and the paperwork has been completed to make New York’s long-awaited fracking ban official. We are proud to celebrate Governor Cuomo’s bold and necessary decision, which confirms what many of us working in healthcare already knew – fracking anywhere in New York would put public health and safety at great risk. As a doctor and a nurse, we can speak to the objective, scientific examination of shale drilling and fracking from a public health standpoint, on which Governor Cuomo wisely based his decision in order to protect the health and water of all New Yorkers.

In the past four years, the number of peer-reviewed studies on shale drilling and fracking has gone from almost zero to more than four hundred, according to the Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy public database. That’s a lot of data, with topics including health impacts, air pollution, water contamination, seismic impacts (including earthquakes), wastewater, engineering issues, climate impacts, and economics.

And the overwhelming consensus from this thorough, objective, independent and rigorous analysis is that fracking has serious dangers and the best course of action is to prohibit fracking. Given that, we are among hundreds of doctors, scientists, health professionals and medical organizations who applaud Governor Cuomo’s decision to ban fracking anywhere in New York. It’s the only scientifically responsible course, and the necessary action to protect the health and water of all New Yorkers.

We are both among a group of New York State scientists and health professionals who have closely followed the science for years, Concerned Health Professionals of New York. Last summer, and again this past December in an updated second edition, we took the approach of looking at trends in the data, releasing a compendium of key findings organized into sixteen areas of concern, written in a manner designed to inform the debate by making technical data more accessible to the public, journalists, elected officials, as well as researchers.

Our report concludes that, “A growing body of peer-reviewed studies, accident reports, and investigative articles is now confirming specific, quantifiable evidence of harm and has revealed fundamental problems with the drilling and fracking.” In short, the trends in the data raise grave concerns about the public health impacts of shale drilling and fracking.

The scientific community has come a long way in our understanding of the impacts of shale drilling and fracking since 2010, with a growing body of empirical data showing harms where we previously only had anecdotal evidence. Additionally, many more studies are currently under way, including a number of major studies that are looking at some of the cumulative impacts that have yet to be examined.

This much is clear, however: hundreds of studies – the best science we have – show that shale drilling and fracking pose a threat to public health, our water, and the environment. In their own examination of the science, the New York State Department of Health likewise concluded that drilling and fracking pose “significant public health risks.”

Unfortunately, the federal government is not being as cautious as Governor Cuomo’s administration. President Obama’s administration recently issued regulations which will allow fracking on federal land – including in national parks. Putting people and our public lands at risk makes no sense.

The people of New York overwhelmingly support our state ban on fracking. Our United States senators and members of Congress have an opportunity to protect our public treasures and our health by working to ban fracking on federal lands. They should listen to the science and the public health experts and do it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Also, see “The Human and Environmental Impact of Fracking: How Fracking Shale for Gas Affects Us and Our World,” Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy.”

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Buckhannon - Upshur High School

The Safety Aspect of Very Large Pipelines

From Kevin Campbell (background below) as told to S. Thomas Bond

Although Marcellus drilling in Upshur county has been light, I worked for a while driving chemical (HCl) trucks from a hydrochloric acid tank on the banks of the creek in Anmoore, Harrison County, to wells being drilled in Doddridge County. I have taken as much as 4,000 gallons of HCl to one site in one day. You have to have a special license to drive chemical trucks. After that, I drove an EMT vehicle in Doddridge. Today I am with the Adrian Fire Department.

When I saw where the pipeline was going I began to think about how that would affect emergency response. The most conspicuous thing is how near it comes to Buckhannon-Upshur High School, about one-half mile. It also travels very close to several populated areas. Fire departments wouldn’t be able to get equipment to within two miles because of the heat.

These 42 inch pipelines are new to the United States. They have had them in Canada and elsewhere for some time. The engineering details are well known. For example they operate at a maximum allowed pressure of 1440 psi, almost 100 times atmospheric pressure. Then with a hole four times in diameter the thickness of the pipe would cause the pipe to rupture like a balloon, digging a trench along the pipeline hundreds of feet long.

The fire will burn for days, because the distance between the valves to shut off flow are many many miles away. If a valve doesn’t work (as happened at Sissonville in December 2012), it continues to burn longer because the available gas burns until it is gone.

The explosion itself affects things out to one-quarter mile. That is four times the 100 yards of a football field. Technically, this is called the “blast zone.” No fire yet. When the outer edge of the gas, mixing with air around it, gets to 15% gas it can explode. Mixtures between 5 and 15% gas can burn – explosively. Any spark will do this, EVEN TURNING ON A CELL PHONE. They recommend you retreat when you smell even a small gas leak until you are well away from it before using a cellphone.

An exploding gas line, where the gas keeps rolling out under pressure requires you to go a huge distance – and don’t use a gasoline vehicle. Don’t start a diesel because the starter system can ignite the gas cloud.  If you need to flee the area, you need to do it safely; your information is valuable to responders. The probability of a large gas-air mixture not catching fire is almost zero. Static electricity or transformers if close enough can also be an ignition source.

When the fireball occurs, the heat and radiation will fry almost everything within half a mile almost instantly and set all flammables on fire. When it has burned for a few minutes, the heat and radiation will set things on fire within a mile or more depending on flammability and conditions -wet or dry, but deep snow is best. If it occurs in a drought, there may be a 15 mile perimeter to contain.

In the event the pipe line bursts anywhere near the high school, the road from Buckhannon to Adrian will be closed off by the fire. Both units would be called, as will may others from a great distance around for a fire of that size.  Essentially nobody has any training in such fires, nor do they have appropriate equipment. The terrain around the high school is typical West Virginia landscape, i.e., steep and forested usually with deep mud impassable to typical fire trucks, which are designed to travel hard roads. Anytime it rains and all the time in winter, most of the landscape is not accessible to fire trucks.

And what about the drilling trucks and road damage? I remember driving the EMT vehicles great convoys of trucks that slowed down traffic – of course we had to travel with them because much of the way on crooked roads we couldn’t pass. At times the road speed of 55 was reduced to 35 because of road damage, and sometimes it wasn’t safe to travel more than 20 miles an hour. I hate to admit it, but we lost several patients by having to go so slow.

And think of all the unpaved roads where people live, where fire trucks offer little protection for them. In Canada they have much better laws for big pipelines. They have some experience and proper engineering. They need a 3 kilometer uninhabited corridor for a 42 inch (one meter) line. And the company must pay for damage when there is an explosion.

Do you think an insurance company will pay for an “accident” involving hundreds of kids, practically the whole population of Upshur County of a certain age, hundreds of cars and a multiple million dollar school complex? Of course, the company would be considered a self-insured entity, which offers no protection for the community in case of a catastrophic event. How do you think the executives and stockholders would react knowing this? Would they want to “do the right thing.”

I have noticed that there is a water tank between the pipeline route and the school, so they would instantly lose their reserve supply of water for fire fighting.  In that spot, within a quarter more or half mile, it would not be possible to protect oneself from the fireball or get away as the 42 inch gas line would be too close.  They would simply fry in place.  And the secondary blast is much bigger than the first blast.

Local “hazmat” (hazardous materials) teams are not adapted to fighting this kind of fire, nor can the teams that put out well fires do it either. The scale is just too large and the effects too quick. The fire will continue to burn for days. A fire like that couldn’t be fought with “water bombers,” like they use for forest fires in the West. (These are airplanes which can fly low over a body of water and pick up water directly from the surface, then fly and dump it on the forest fire. West Virginia doesn’t have bodies of water large enough and suitable for airplanes to fly down and pick up the water, nor does it have any water bombers.)

The bottom line is that the people planning these large pipelines seem to consider ordinary people to be expendable.  They seem to considersuch projects to be worth the risk to achieve their financial and personal objectives. Even a lot of people and important facilities such as the high school seem to be worth the “slight” risk involved.

>>> Kevin Campbell was a marine electrical engineer in Florida for many years. He worked on a team of industry leaders to develop the standards for marine electrical systems, which later became U.S. Coast Guard standards. After his wife died, he looked for a new place and change of lifestyle, one of peace and quiet. He was attracted to WV by the kindness of a state policeman and a courtesy car operator who helped him on the Turnpike. He found a suitable building for his equipment, and a good place to live, in Adrian, WV. He is currently an EMT, volunteer firefighter (since 2008), SUBA’s representative to the Upshur County CVB, a board member and former president of the Upshur County CVB.

>>>>>>>>>>

We Care about Life Down on the Farm

Let us count the ways energy production causes damages

Commentary by S. Tom Bond, Retired Chemistry Professor & Resident Farmer, Lewis County, WV

I remember a Soil Conservation pamphlet I saw as a child called “6,000 years of civilization.” The thesis was that most of the civilizations before the Romans, and the Romans, too, had destroyed the soils in their areas of the Middle East by ignoring soil depletion. Each generation looked out for itself, extracted the yield without thought of the future. Eventually there was not enough food production (transportation was crude and slow) and eventually there was not enough that the armies could hold the empires together. The principal exception was Egypt, which had the renewing soil deposits from the annual Nile flood. It held on for 3,000 years, when the average empire lasted about 250 years.

I thought of this when I read the editorial in the 13 February Science, the Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science which is the world’s largest scientific organization, and the most prestigious place to publish science.  It was titled “Give soils their due.” Being keen on that sort of thing, since I am a life-long farmer, I realize that at any time the earth has a “carrying capacity.” Just like my pasture can only carry so many cows without being degraded, the earth can only support so many people.

I also remember reading about what caused the 1977 revolution in modern Egypt – high price of food got the hungry people out on the street. There was a riot because of food prices in Argentina in 1989 and in one in Italy not many years ago. Nothing gets people stirred up like having hungry kids. I also remember a graph in Science of the population of China on the vertical scale and time on the horizontal scale. Each bump up was labeled with a new food stuff which caused the increase. Millet, very early, dry land rice, wet land rice and toward the present, corn and then potatoes.

The authors of “Give soils their due” also talk about how properly managed soils hold water and purify it, remove carbon from the air and incorporate it in soil organic matter. It reintroduces nutrients from dead plants and unused plant parts, and prevents wind loss in dust storms. All this is linked to human and animal health, as well as food supply.

These authors recognize paving land over for cities, expansion of farming to marginal soils in deserts and far North regions, and cut down the tropical forests. Unfortunately, nothing is said about modern methods of extracting hydrocarbons for energy.

Now let us count the ways present day energy causes damage to the earth and its inhabitants. Drilling in deep ocean water, like the BP disaster, risks spilling very large quantities of oil into the ocean. The biggest fear of that event was that the leak was around the outside of the drill pipe, and the entire oil reservoir would drain out with no way to stop it, a disaster tens or hundreds of times more serious. Seafood and wildlife were damaged as was the productive capacity of the Gulf. The dispersants, used to break up the oil mass were offenders, too. BP pleaded guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and a felony count of lying to Congress. BP also agreed to four years of government monitoring of its safety practices and ethics, and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that BP would be temporarily banned from new contracts with the US government. As of February 2013, criminal and civil settlements and payments to a trust fund had cost the company $42.2 billion. Drilling in the Arctic, being pushed by the oil companies, would be even worse, since the platforms would be subject to the surging ice, and spill cleanup would, too.

Fracking destroys the surface by pushing aside top soil and covering the spot with crushed stone for the drilling pad and roads, and preventing forest growth along the numerous pipelines. Also by emitting hazardous chemicals into the air from drilling pads and compressor stations, by contaminating aquifers and streams with waterborne chemicals, all of which degrades farming or forestry, and living in the area where fracking is done. Disposal of fracking water causes earthquakes. Storm water is diverted from the natural channels, and it carries contaminates. The huge area that can be subject to fracking is easily recognizable by looking at a map of the shale beds believed to have gas potential. It even affects the area outside of that due to sand mining in the Upper Midwest and waste water disposal in other places.

Shale oil and tar sands have very low Energy Return on Energy Invested. Tar sands need to be diluted with a light oil supplied from somewhere else, other drilling.

Coal is dirty. In addition to the carbon, it contains a wide variety of elements that contaminate the air: sulfur (as much as 5 percent) and heavy metals, which are bad because the body has no mechanism to eliminate them once inhaled or ingested. I remember reading decades ago that coal contains enough uranium and thorium to generate as much power as the coal itself does. It poisons water with selenium, and if it is strip mined, destroys top soil and drainage.

And then there is the product of burning carbon in air. Few articles remind us that one ton of carbon takes two and two-third tons of oxygen out of the air to make three and two-thirds third tons of carbon dioxide. The kicker, though, is that 400 parts by volume in the atmosphere means carbon dioxide is diluted by 2500 more volumes of pure air to reach the concentration of carbon dioxide the atmosphere. Said in another way, one volume of carbon dioxide will pollute 2500 parts of air. The volume of the atmosphere is huge, but our present way of getting energy, now well over 150 years old is now obsolete.

All the different ways to obtain energy above hurt the earth and its people, the poorest first. There is no moral charity in advocating, or for anyone of any faith to advocate, anything other than reducing burning carbon for energy as quickly as rationally possible.

>> Tom Bond is active with the Guardians of the West Fork and other West Virginia citizens concerned about the impacts of proposed large diameter natural gas pipelines.

Seven Frac Sand Train Cars Jump Over

Fracking Sand Mining in MN and WI has Become Extreme, Damaging, and Dangerous

From an Article by Taylor Chase, WisconsinWatch.org, February 10, 2015

Our in-depth stories since 2011are on our frac sand project page.

A derailed train outside of Uniontown, Penn. spilled frac sand within six feet of a residential home. A former University of Pittsburgh public health dean said if he lived there, he would consider moving. <Pittsburgh Post Gazette January 22, 2015> < See video here:  http://youtu.be/Qomm_mg9on0 >

After several months, Houston County, Minn.’s planning commission has finally approved an ordinance on frac sand mining that will go next to the county board. Chairman Dan Griffin said this final version of the ordinance strikes the right balance between protecting citizens from potential impact while allowing the county to get some of the economic benefit. <The Caledonia Argus January 27, 2015>

Frac sand mining opponents throughout Minnesota have been calling out government bodies and officials recently. In St. Paul, with help from the Land Stewardship Project, residents protested an informational meeting for not allowing public participation. And in Houston County, a county board member questioned the propriety of closed-door meetings, while a longtime resident complained, “I hope one of these new mines opens up next to you.”  <PostBulletin.com andChannel 8000 January 27, 2015>

After a two-year delay, Minnesota Sands LLC has restarted planning for a four-county-wide frac sand operation. The renewed effort was sparked again after the company delivered $130,450 to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board for an extensive environmental review, money the state had required two years ago when the operations were first proposed. < The Star Tribune February 4, 2015>

But enough about Minnesota. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has announced it will be moving forward with plans for a strategic analysis of the frac sand industry in the state. The department will begin with a public comment period throughout February and March. This comes after a statewide petition last fall from the nonprofit Madison-based law firm. < Midwest Environmental Advocates.WDIO January 28, 2015>

<< The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. >>

Photo: A conveyor pours crushed sand into a stockpile before it is washed and sorted by grain class size at Preferred Sands mine in Blair, WI.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hold leaders accountable, addend public hearing on February 18, 2015

From an Article by Jim and Cindy Hobelsberger / La Crescent Township, February 11, 2015

We want to remind residents of Houston County that your county board of commissioners is holding the last public hearing on the proposed mineral extraction and mining ordinance to address frac sand mining at 10 a.m. Wednesday, February 18th, in the commissioner’s room at the courthouse. If at all possible, please attend and voice your opinions on this important issue. Your commissioners need to hear what you want this decision to be.

If you’ve been following the development of the proposed ordinance, you are aware of the dysfunction, lack of credibility, and personal agendas that appear to be at work within our county government and are ultimately undermining our rights as citizens. We live in a democracy where our elected officials and appointed leaders are supposed to make decisions based on what their constituents want and what is in the best interest of all, not just a select few or worse yet, to support their personal biases.

If you have attended any planning commission or county board meetings, viewed the recordings of those meetings on the Houston County website (www.co.houston.mn.us) or had a discussion with some of the county commissioners, you quickly perceive there are certain individuals who demonstrate a strong intent to control the outcome of this decision and will not consider a ban on frac sand mining, regardless of what the people want. The term “dictatorship” comes to mind. If you haven’t been following or engaged in this issue, you need to do so now.

Contact your county commissioners and attend the public hearing. Based on our personal experience, we recommend contacting them as a group via email so they all get the same message and can hold each other accountable in their response. Make your voices heard and hold your elected leaders accountable to do their job.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>