Co-author Dr. John L. Adgate, CO School of Public Health

From an Article by John Ingold, Denver Post, April 9, 2018

A new study led by researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health concludes that the air quality around oil and gas wells places those who live next door at an increased risk of developing cancer, but a state health official said Monday that more testing is needed to better understand what is happening.

The study looked at the concentration of cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene in the air near several oil and gas sites in northern Colorado. It contends that people living within 500 feet of an oil and gas facility have a lifetime excess cancer risk eight times higher than the upper limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency. What that means is that breathing the air near an oil and gas well for years at a time places people at additional risk of developing cancer above normal rates, according to the study.

Five hundred feet is a magic number in Colorado oil and gas regulations because it is the minimum distance the state requires new wells to be set back from existing houses. But the new study found at least a small potential added cancer risk based on air samples taken slightly farther away.

“The cumulative lifetime excess cancer risk increased with decreasing distance to the nearest (oil and gas) facility,” the study’s authors wrote.

The study was published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, which is produced by the American Chemical Society. Funding for the study came from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Boulder County Public Health Department.

In a statement, Boulder County Public Health air quality program coordinator Pam Milmoe said the study shows the need for better emissions controls on wells and better detection of leaks, as well as stricter setback rules.

“The results underscore the importance of not locating extraction facilities near homes, schools and recreation areas, and having policies that require effective monitoring and reducing emissions from oil and gas facilities, for sites already in those areas,” Milmoe said.

The new study contradicts the results of one published last year by CDPHE, which found little evidence of health harms from living near oil and gas sites. That study found that lifetime cancer risk was not increased near wells due to exposure to benzene or other chemicals.

Lisa McKenzie, a professor at the School of Public Health and the paper’s lead author, said her study used California guidelines for assessing benzene toxicity, which are stricter than the guidelines used in the CDPHE study. She said her study also incorporates newer research.

In a statement, CDPHE executive director Dr. Larry Wolk said the new study’s most dramatic findings came for measurements inside the 500-foot minimum setback and said, so far, a CDPHE mobile lab conducting air monitoring in communities near oil and gas sites has not detected worrying levels of benzene or other chemicals. The department expects to have another report based on what it calls more comprehensive air-quality data completed this summer.

Wolk and McKenzie have clashed before over her previous findings of health risks to people living near oil and gas wells, and he said the latest findings need more follow-up research.

“This report underscores the potential public health importance of the 500-foot setback and the need to collect more comprehensive air quality data in communities in close proximity to oil and gas operations,” Wolk said.

McKenzie said the added lifetime risk of developing cancer was based on an assumption of 30 years of exposure — a period that may exceed the lifespan of an oil and gas well.

“In areas of oil and gas development, no one is living next to just one well,” she said. “They’re usually living in a area with a lot of wells.”

WV teachers at the State Capitol

Dear Friends, ……. Date: March 4, 2018

There’s a revolution happening here in West Virginia. I’ve been fighting for working families in West Virginia my entire life.

For the last 10 days, we’ve been standing arm-in-arm with the teachers and support personnel who have been on strike in all 55 counties of our state. They seek only what all workers deserve: dignity and respect. And right now, that means a living wage and stable health care premiums.

We’ve been livestreaming daily massive protests at the state Capitol and doing all we can to support the courageous teachers who’ve been standing up to threats, standing strong for what’s right, and who are changing the political landscape in West Virginia before our eyes.

The situation for our teachers and support personnel in West Virginia is bad.

Our state is ranked 48th in the nation for teacher pay. More than 700 teaching positions remain open, because the pay and benefits are so low. And because the state legislature has failed to fully fund the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), teachers in West Virginia have seen their premiums and deductibles skyrocket.

West Virginia doesn’t recognize the right of public employees to bargain collectively. When they walked out, these workers opened themselves up to great risk for themselves and their families.

I remember standing on the line with my mom and her colleagues, and my teachers and friends’ parents, back in 1990, the last time West Virginia teachers went on a statewide strike. It was my first lesson in solidarity and standing up for what’s right. It’s why I continue to stand with our teachers and public employees during this current crisis.

Our teachers are joining a fight for the soul of West Virginia that started a century ago, when coal miners fought and died for the right to unionize. Now these striking teachers have captured the attention of the nation, and are serving as an inspiration for public workers and teachers around the country.

This has been a truly been a grassroots-driven movement, and I have no doubt that it will change West Virginia for the better. One of the most powerful outcomes has been how emboldened people have become, realizing that direct action produces results. We are already actively identifying and recruiting new leaders across the state.

After our governor and union leaders announced a hastily made deal last week that was heavy on promises, teachers came back to the Capitol angrier than ever. We want to make sure they have the support they need to keep up the fight for as long as it takes.

In Solidarity, Ryan Frankenberry,
State Director, WV Working Families Party

>> See also the Jacobin article by WVWFP co-chair Cathy Kunkel on how we are working to transform West Virginia politics. And follow the hashtag #55strong.

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LETTER: What are we willing to pay?

Letter to the Washington PA Observer-Reporter, March 4, 2018

What are we willing to pay? What are we willing to pay to be safe and prosperous?

In real budget terms, how much are we willing to pay for being safe? How much more in taxes are we willing to pay to improve school safety?

How much more are we willing to pay for better roads?

How much more for better jobs? Would you pay to have an industry bring in new jobs?

Each month as I do my monthly budget, I wonder what these things cost. So I began look at some simple things.

According to studies done in the last few years, citizens never break even, or receive any benefit, on many of these issues. Corporate giveaway projects, like stadiums or attracting industry, fail to bring the benefits touted by elected officials.

This is not new. Let’s take the coal industry, for example. Some studies indicate Pennsylvania citizens never received a fair share from coal being removed and sold to the world. The Marcellus Shale industry looks the same. The question might be, should the commonwealth’s citizens receive some benefits from folks that extract our resources, or our work effort? Yes, a small group of folks do get paid big for this, but is that enough to balance the cost of schools or infrastructure?

As I write a bigger check to pay my school taxes because the state has trimmed its education budget, or ride down the road and break a tire hitting a pothole caused by a 40-ton water truck, I am angry.

We have the second-largest state government in the U.S., and as far as I can see our state motto should be, “Bring money, we will sell anything.”

John Andrews, Jefferson, Greene County, PA

State of WV Promotes Fracking

Fracking Approved Under Ohio River in Marshall  & Wetzel Counties, WV

From a Report by WTRF News 7 — Wheeling, March 25, 2015

For the first time ever, officials in West Virginia have come to an agreement to allow fracking under the Ohio River. It will happen on about 474 acres of land beneath the river in Marshall and Wetzel Counties.

The deal was reached between the state of West Virginia and Statoil. The company has agreed to pay an average price of $9,000 per acre. The state will receive 20 percent production royalties.

Leasing state-owned land for hydraulic fracturing is a new venture for the state. Many people said they are worried about the effects.

“To me, knowing what I know about fracking in general, you know it seems like it could affect the quality of the water,” said Patricia Thibeault of Moundsville.

Fish Creek resident Robin Hoyt agreed. “I think it’s a little dangerous myself. It could get into the water system, or different things if it would break and it scares me a little bit. All of the gas scares me a little bit because there is just so much of it and so many places now,” she said.

Department of Commerce spokeswoman Chelsea Ruby told the Associated Press that the state is still finalizing drilling agreements with Gastar Exploration and Noble Energy.

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Note: The State of WV should have learned lessons from the drilling & fracking in the Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area where extensive damages were done to the public lands, the streams, the roads, etc.  Recall the following information posted by SkyTruth:

The Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Boom in Wetzel County, West Virginia

Extracted from an Article by Jim Sheehan, SkyTruth Blog, October 7, 2012

Much of Wetzel County is forest, and as such exemplifies some of the best that “Wild and Wonderful” West Virginia has to offer. I believe this forest has particularly high value, ecologically and for other reasons, and may be vulnerable to this type of disturbance.

With the help of SkyTruth, here I explore the recent development of Marcellus (and other unconventional drilling) in Wetzel County. To show the increase in drilling I used well information and geographic coordinates for 102 completed unconventional wells in Wetzel Co. from 2007-2011 that I obtained from the West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey’s “Pipeline-Plus” database.

According to Pipeline-Plus, most of the 102 wells drilled target the Marcellus formation (75 as of 2011), but I also included wells that drill other Devonian Period formations. I did this after zooming in on all the well sites in Google Earth and finding they share a scale of activity (large pads for example) different from the conventional oil and gas drilling long a part of this region. It turns out the other Devonian Period formations can also hold high-value natural gas (wet gas or super-rich gas).

While the state owns the surface, most of the subsurface rights are privately owned. Because the area is public, it’s easy to directly observe the activity (within reason!), which I’ve done since 2008. Wyatt Run is one of the area’s forested headwater streams that in particular interests me, since it was one of the most pristine but now has been degraded by new activity. The integrity of headwater streams is crucial to downstream water quality. Wyatt Run flows to Fishing Creek, which in turn flows to the Ohio River.

The side of the ridge top well pad and a new one that occurred after the 2011 NAIP aerial, have “slipped” substantially due to the steep, rather unstable terrain, and are causing heavily sedimentation in Wyatt Run. There are efforts to correct the problem, but unfortunately it appears to be difficult to stop the erosion. As of September 2012 the sedimentation continues, and there have even been substantial direct impacts to the stream itself. Clearly, better planning is needed during the siting of well pads to avoid situations like this, and the amount of activity, at least in this watershed, appears to be at odds with industry claims of a light environmental footprint.

With new well pads comes much associated infrastructure that can fragment previously continuous forest, and potentially have a negative effect on wildlife that prefer large, undisturbed forest patches. While some wildlife may benefit, new roads and pipelines can also act as corridors – bringing in undesirable or exotic plants and animals. The drilling and site preparation also result in noise and air pollution. I can say first-hand that recreation (hunting, wildlife viewing, etc.) is much reduced in the formerly popular Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area, and heavy vehicle traffic and the dust and potholes it brings seriously disturb the local community.

In closing, given the rapid increase in drilling, it is clear that the impacts to the forests of Wetzel County can happen very quickly.  I wish to use what we can now see to increase awareness of environmental costs seldom heard about, and make them an important consideration in the development of this energy resource.

Jim Sheehan, GIS and remote-sensing specialist & PhD student at WVU, October 7, 2012

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Montgomery County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors Meeting in Blacksburg

Linzey: To stop pipeline, force local governments to pick a fight

By Thomas Alan Linzey, Roanoke Times, December 14, 2014

Kudos to The Roanoke Times for telling it like it is (“Friendly advice for pipeline opponents,” — Nov. 23 editorial). In a nutshell: The law protects energy corporations, not pipeline opponents.

It’s been manufactured that way, of course, to make sure that energy corporations are shielded from community efforts to stop them. Corporations use agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide an additional layer of insulation and control between communities and those corporations “regulated” by the agency; and corporations routinely use state legislatures to roll over trespass and other property laws.

It’s an unwelcome fact, but corporations have privatized our governments. In Virginia, people trying to stop intermodal transportation projects, pipelines, boondoggle smart roads, uranium mines and a slew of other projects are thus forced to fight not only the corporations proposing the projects, but their own state and federal governments.

We end up trying to convince state and federal agencies to deny permits in hearings where communities are lucky if the microphones are even connected; or fighting lengthy battles that aren’t even about whether the project happens or not — only whether more compensation will be paid as it happens.

Virginia wasn’t always this way, of course. With their Massachusetts counterparts, Virginians spearheaded the American Revolution, and were the first people in the country to adopt a declaration of rights in their constitution — the content of which was copied by every other state in the country.

That declaration of rights established that the role of government is to protect our civil and political rights, and that governments are legitimate only if they are controlled by the people who live under them. If they don’t do either, it is our right — indeed, our duty — to replace those governments with ones that will.

Our forebears wouldn’t recognize the system we currently have, which miserably fails both of those tests. Our local governments are forcibly prevented from protecting our civil and political rights due to a variety of accepted legal doctrines — like pre-emption, corporate rights, and the Dillon Rule.

As for the actual people living within each county, while the system “sees” municipal corporations like county governments, it doesn’t “see” the people who live in those municipalities as having any authority whatsoever.

Realizing that, communities in Pennsylvania are now using their local governments to adopt bills of rights that ban pipelines, frack injection wells,and fracking itself. In New Hampshire, communities have joined together to adopt community bills of rights that ban new powerline projects and the pumping of their water by multinational corporations. In New Mexico and California, people acting through their county governments have banned all fracking.

Want to stop the newest pipeline that’s been proposed? Stop fighting under the corporate script that’s been written for you. Turn your back on FERC and the state legislature. Make them irrelevant.

Force the county boards of supervisors to enact a law that bans certain major eminent domain takings unless approved by a referendum of county voters. Force them to enact a law that refuses to recognize parts of the state law legalizing trespass. Force them to enact a law that forces energy corporations to make their case for public necessity at the county level prior to filing eminent domain actions.

Will the corporation and the state argue that the county doesn’t have the power to take these actions? Of course. But without forcing a confrontation between the state and the local, and between the corporation and we the people of each county, silence is considered consent.

Forcing the corporation to sue the community to vindicate corporate rights over the community’s right to decide dispels the persistent myth that we have a democratic system.

Because you don’t have a pipeline problem, Virginia, you have a democracy problem.

Since the corporations have the system locked up, stopping the pipeline inevitably means engaging in this kind of collective municipal civil disobedience; and it will probably also require doing the traditional kind — physically stopping the surveyors and bulldozers in nonviolent actions in community after community.

While that’s happening, it may even mean building a community-based movement to change the Virginia constitution to elevate people’s rights above the rights of corporations. Communities in eight states are doing that now, and a National Community Rights Network had its first meeting in October.

It’s a tall order. But then again, Virginians have risen before to cleanse the system, by building a new one outside of it.  Just ask the 1776 crowd!

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NOTE: Thomas Alan Linzey is the Executive Director and Chief Counsel of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), a nonprofit law firm that has provided legal services to over five hundred local governments and community groups across the United States. He was raised in southwestern Virginia and served as the attorney leading legal opposition to the “smart” road near Blacksburg.  See also:  www.celdf.org