Training to be held at Wellsboro's Penn Tech College, December 8

The Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group is holding its second training workshop for Waterdogs to help document and record possible environmental violations at Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling operations in the Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga county area.  The training session will be held on December 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, North Campus on Route 6 east of Wellsboro.        
                                                                       
While the Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for permitting and inspecting these Marcellus Shale drilling sites, DEP personnel cannot maintain a watch on the activity of all the people, rigs and trucks contracted and subcontracted to produce the gas. Many contractors and companies brought in from outside the state are not yet familiar with our regulations regarding water usae, erosion and sedimentation, and waste disposal. The region is too large and the resources of the regulators too limited to effectively keep track of the exponential growth inactivity taking place.

This training will show participants how to document and record important observation information and who to call in the event of envirnmental harm or public safety issues. Those completing the training program will be provided with a bumper sticker, registration card and logbook for recording observations. There is a $10 registration fee to cover cost of materials. There is a limited of 35 Waterdog trainees for this class. Call 724‐1801x118 to register.

This Thursday: Info session on what drilling means for Tioga County

Thurs., DEC. 3, 2009 
7:00 PM
Hubbard Auditorium
56 Main Street, Owego, NY

"Marcellus Gas Drilling--What it means to Tioga County"

Chris Burger will present a slide show and talk about what changes we may see in Tioga County when gas drilling begins in the Marcellus Shale. It is especially timely in view of the DEC public hearings on the supplemental DEIS. As president of the Carantouan Greenway I have seen presentations in schools, businesses and churches. Chris's presentation highlights how the impacts of gas spacing, road and pipeline construction affects you - me - us, and is a presentation you do not want to miss.

Chris Burger is chair of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition, served on Cornell University's Eco-Justice Project, a former Broome County Legislator and chaired the Soil and Conservation District and the Sourthern Tier East Regional Planning and Development Board.

This program is sponsored by the Carantouan Greenway.


Thanks to http://splashdownpa.blogspot.com/ for the program info!  Be sure to check out this blog based out of Bradford County, PA.

Interview with president of Ithaca NY's Toxics Targeting

This videoclip is Amy Goodman's interview with the president of Toxics Targeting, an upstate NY based organization that has created an interactive map database documenting hazardous environmental conditions and accidents in New York State.  TT utilizes local, state & federal public records--some of which are no longer available for research due to homeland security regulations--and continuously updates a database that currently documents nearly 300,000 such sites.  While the interview is based on the particulars of the current natural gas drilling phenomenon occurring in NY, the information is largely transferable to those of us across the border in PA.  Take a moment and either view the clip or read the transcript.  By following this link, you will also find recent, related articles about the environmental issues upstate NY is currently facing due to hydraulic fracturing.

Pipe Dreams in Pennsylvania?

Marcellus Shale: Pipe dreams in Pennsylvania?
A region is discovering that the price of the economic boom from natural gas drilling may be irreversible environmental damage and residents' peace of mind.

...[W]ith nearly 700 Marcellus wells drilled throughout the state, the environmental costs of drilling are becoming clear. The gas in the Marcellus "play" may ameliorate the United States' energy needs, but the technique to extract it has damaged streams, water supplies and Pennsylvania's famous forests. It has transformed some of the state's most beautiful landscapes into industrial zones and brought hardship to some who thought it was their lifeline.... 'The regular folk out here will never see the compensation they deserve, and their original water supply is forever gone,' Switzer said. 'I'm never going to make any money on this. All I've lost is my soul.'"

Read the article in its entirety in the Bay Journal from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

December 1st forum @ Cornell University

On Tuesday, December 1st, Cornell University's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, the Paleontological Research Institution, the Cornell Water Resources Institute and Cornell Cooperative Extension will host a panel discussion entitled “The Marcellus Shale:  Energy, Environment and the Public Interest.”  The forum will be hold in Uris Hall Auditorium from 4:45-6:45.


This forum is intended to inform the Cornell faculty on the broad range of energy and environmental issues that underlie the current controversy regarding extraction of shale gas from the Marcellus Formation in southern N.Y. and northern Pennsylvania. Cornell experts in geology, energy, groundwater, and public policy will be present to help answer questions regarding the potential risks and benefits associated with this national energy resource.

For more information, see shaleshock.org