Susquehanna:$6.15M - Delaware:Priceless

Two ancient rivers, two separate outcomes.

On Wednesday, the Delaware River Basin Commission voted to suspend issuing permits for natural gas drilling in the Delaware's watershed, or, in other words, issued a moratorium on all drilling until further notice.

"We're looking at things that have happened to the west of us and what needs to be put in place to prevent that," Collier said. "We're learning a lot, and we want to do it right."

This is a major victory for those fighting to protect that river. Read the rest of the article here.

For those geographically challenged folks out there, "west of us" is the Susquehanna River watershed. On Monday, our DCNR signed an agreement with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to allow drilling under the Susquehanna River in Bradford County. All for $6.15 million. This statement by the DEP gives me a great deal of confidence:

The state Department of Environmental Protection says that under-river gas exploration poses no more risk than any of the 1,400 other wells drilled into the Marcellus formation, which is a mile below the surface.

You mean...like in Dimock? Read it and weep here.

As stated in my last post, I know what lies ahead for much of northeastern PA. A few weeks back, a friend asked me to, in essence, take it easy on the DCNR because they were on "our" side. I wonder how he feels now?

To the north, New York currently has a moratorium on all drilling in Marcellus Shale. To the east, the same applies in the Delaware's watershed.  But my Susquehanna....

I was not the first to use this term, and I will not be the last.

We are at war to protect our environment, and the DCNR & DEP are on their side.

That new blogger - Fracking Underground - has it right.

The gloves have got to come off.

EnCana: Serwquacksi

The graphic above was taken from today's Times Leader.

According to the file date, I snagged the bitmap of Luzerne County below in 1999. Can anyone locate Campbell's Ledge, Toby's Creek, the Ceasetown Rez. or Harvey's Lake? I can.

As evidenced by one of the comments in yesterday's Citizen's Voice, people are now recognizing what's about to happen and giving fair notice there will be repercussions. We need more folks who feel the same way to join in. The first graphic above should scare the hell out of anyone with an IQ above 50.

Growing up in Luzerne County, I had some great science teachers in grade school, high school and college. Those I remember include George Black, O.C. Sparks, Chuck Mattei, and Dr.'s Bruce Berryman, Mohamed El-Ashry, Jeff Cline and Fred Bellas. Like with most things in my life, if the topic interested me, I dove into the subject matter with absolute and total passion. If it didn't...I could probably not open a book more than a few times and get a C or B with minimal effort. The paper below is from ~1969.

Anyway, I openly admit I have a real and serious problem regarding this whole Marcellus Shale ploy. Thanks to some really great teachers and a lifelong passion about the science of the environment....my problem is that I GET IT! Without having to read another book or attend another symposium, I truly grasp that pumping millions of gallons of chemical-laden water underground ( ~80% of which stays down there ) and fracturing bedrock a mile or so below the surface is going to have devastating environmental impacts that will last generations and cost billions to remediate, if that will even be possible. And while companies like EnCana, Whitmar, Chesapeake and others pocket their billion$ from the rape of our lands and waters, our children and grandchildren will be left holding the empty, contaminated bag.

It is clearly evident that the "leaders" of Luzerne County, and those that represent that region in Harrisburg and Washington, have failed to learn the ugly lessons of the past that are still evident from just about every vantage point in the Wyoming Valley. In my opinion, the only real hope is if the voters of northeastern PA pump new blood into this fray by electing people who openly support a moratorium on all drilling as a major plank on their platform. If they change positions after taking the oath of office, we can talk about tarring and feathering separately.

Unfortunately, for the land and waters and people of Luzerne County, I know what lies ahead, and must now prepare for the whirlwind to come.

To my friend "The Susquehannock"...agaendeero.

To EnCana:  serwquacksi

Hoona sattaande.

EnCana: A Musical Tribute

Sit back and Enjoy!

This group should play at RiverFest 2010 in the Wyoming Valley!!!

You should also check out the "Gas Boom" video at Divide Creek.

Happy Hump Day!

Chesapeake Lease - Post #1

Before I begin, just for the record, I will not alter the excerpts from this lease in any way. This is real text from a real document from Chesapeake Landman J. Powell. Cut & paste...and that's it.

For the record, part 2, there is no restrictive/prohibitive language on the lease, i.e. no "cannot be reproduced without the written permission of" or anything remotely similar. Too bad.

Here's the language regarding the term of the lease. I don't know why they even bother to mention "5 years", as the minute you cash any of their checks (more on that in a future post), you've essentially sold your soul.

*******************

LEASE TERM. This Lease shall remain in force for a primary term of five (5) years from 12:00 A.M. ______________________________ (effective date) to 11:59 P.M. ______________________________ (last day of primary term) and shall continue beyond the primary term as to the entirety of the Leasehold if any of the following is satisfied:


(i) operations are conducted on the Leasehold or lands pooled/unitized therewith in search of oil, gas, or their constituents, or

(ii) a well deemed by the Lessee to be capable of production is located on the Leasehold or lands pooled/unitized therewith, or

(iii) oil or gas, or their constituents, are produced from the Leasehold or lands pooled/unitized therewith, or

(iv) the Leasehold or lands pooled/unitized therewith is used for the underground storage of gas, or for the protection of stored gas, or

(v) prescribed payments are made;

****************************

Chesapeake Appalachia Landman J@s*n P*w3ll

I've received a copy of a "Paid-Up Oil & Gas Lease" presented to some folks up in Broome County, NY.

I'll be posting excerpts here over the next few days. I do find it interesting that this Chesapeake Landman didn't bother to do his research prior to the meeting, as he was sitting face-to-face discussing a lease with one of the most outspoken critics of Marcellus Shale drilling at that time.

"...said the spider to the fly" comes to mind.

More in a few, including a video of the meeting. You're truly gonna love this one. 

Weekend Weminiscing - 5/2/10

Living the the exurbs, surrounded by lands that a generation or so ago were mostly farmlands, has its pluses & minuses. I've had turkeys trotting across my back deck, and have a family or two of woodchucks living on my property. I've seen deer out my kitchen window as recently as last Wednesday, and we wake up to a symphony of birds every morning. Here are just a few pics of what I've discovered and witnessed on our property over the years.

From a winter windstorm. Good thing it fell away from our shed.

A woodchuck hole...I think.

A local farmer getting ready to plant soybeans in the field behind our property. 

 

With the wet winter, we have a bumper crop of Spring Beauty...and poison ivy.

Our sun room receives filtered light throughout the day...which is why (I think) my orchids do so well.

Right now...I have four species blooming in our sun room.

Above: Robin's nest in an arbor.  Below: Phoebe's nest on my outside electronic thermometer.

A small hawk lands on our deck looking for a quick meal.

We're surrounded by woods, primarily oak & hickory trees.

We'll talk about squirrels at a later date.

BIG OIL'S "Marcellus Massacre"

When two of the largest daily newspapers on the planet competing in the same marketplace run the same story on their front page on the same day, even BIG OIL should grasp the significance.

Try: "National Significance"

When a much smaller newspaper in a much smaller marketplace that heretofore had embraced BIG OIL allows the following "Marcellus Massacre" letter to be printed on the same day...something is definitely up here. Take the time to read this letter. Then look at today's headlines above.

Think about this happening a mile or so underground. Tens of thousands of times.

Is the "Canton Prophesy" too hard to imagine? Impossible in this day and age?

BIG OIL'S "responsible drilling" is a myth...another lie.