Piscatorial Plunder @ Pisgah

  
More dead fish.

Is there a natural gas well nearby? I'm told there is. Has it been fracked yet? Are the well casings bad? Is there a connection?

We'll probably never find out.

Read more about this developing story here.

Thanks to my friends in Bradford County for allowing me to post the pic at the top of this blog. You won't find it elsewhere online.

More to follow.
 

FrackiLeaks III: Freedom of the Pre$$

  
   
In advance of the May 17th release date, details regarding the Susquehanna being named the most endangered river in the nation by American Rivers were provided to various media outlets on an embargoed basis.  The terms of the embargo were very simple and easily understood. Bottom line: the earliest the media could have direct & specific discussions with anyone mentioned in the designation was Monday, 5/16 after 4:00 pm.

Unfortunately, in direct violation of the terms of the embargo, a PA newspaper provided detailed information about the upcoming designation to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission a week in advance of the release date, who in turn passed the information to the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Think these folks aren't working together behind the scenes?

Guess again.

In direct conversation with a spokesperson for the SRBC, the offending party was described as a "young woman...newsroom editor" who "obviously didn't know what the word embargo meant..."

I will comment further in a future post, but the next time you read a pro-industry article from a media outlet that accepts advertising $ from the NG folks...think twice.

 

The Rage Builds

  
Folks, I have a honey-do list the size of a small novelette sitting on the kitchen counter, so today's post will be brief.  Between a pile of mulch delivered yesterday, a power-washing job, a second-story shutter needing replacement, and the upper level gutters needing cleaning...I'll be outside most of the day.

And no, that's not what I'm raging about.

While doing my normal internet news search earlier this morning, I ran across this article with several key quotes from our current Lt. Governor.

This was my favorite:

"There has never been a documented case of water being affected by fracking for Marcellus shale," Cawley said. "Yes, there are sections of this state where you can turn on the tap and light your water on fire. Methane is in the water. That is caused by irresponsible drilling 50 and 60 years ago."

Followed by this:

     "Cawley's deputy chief of staff, Chad Saylor, said the lieutenant governor's comments were nonetheless accurate. The process of fracking is not in itself risky, Saylor said."
  

What arrogant idiots. As a tax-paying, voting native born son of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, these folks - who work for me - are really starting to grate on my nerves with their outright industry-supporting revisionist lies. That is the rage that is building.

I'll be back with an MER Redux post later this weekend.

                           

Bubbling Waters: Nine Months and Counting

  
    
The Susquehanna River has been bubbling methane for nine months in Bradford County. The DEP has accused Chesapeake Energy of causing the methane migration. Chesapeake claims it's not their fault. The Marcellus Shale Coalition is avoiding the issue altogether. And the organizers of the 2011 Wyoming Valley RiverFest have accepted Chesapeake Energy as a sponsor.

This circle jerk is about to be interrupted.

Stay tuned.
  
      

Susquehanna RiverFest Protest Planned

  
I cannot sit idly by and watch the Wyoming Valley RiverFest be sullied by the likes of Chesapeake Energy and Williams Energy. The decision to allow these companies to be sponsors of this annual event disgusts me.  Equally, the silence of the other so-called river advocates, especially the outfitters participating in this event, is deafening to my ears. They should all withdraw - IMMEDIATELY.

To that end, I am planning a very visible and vocal protest @ RiverFest, and my e-mail and LTE campaign begins this weekend.
 

RiverFest Embraces Toxic Sponsors

      
Recently, Chesapeake Energy was fined $1.1 MILLION by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for contaminating ~16 private wells and various other significant violations of our commonwealth's environmental laws. In Texas, Williams Energy is doing just as well:

The water wells for three homes at the north end of Hill County were ruined when Williams Production-Gulf Coast Company began fraccing nearby. Benzene, toluene, methane, and other chemicals got into the aquifer and thence into the water wells, killing livestock and making the water unfit for human use (“Water Foul,” April 30, 2008). Williams denied any responsibility, claiming the chemicals were already present, but finally agreed to purchase all three properties late last year, with a stipulation that none of the homeowners could talk to the press about the settlement.

  
In addition to contaminating our waters and ruining people's lives on a regular/ongoing basis, Chesapeake and Williams have something else in common: they are both sponsors of this year's Wyoming Valley RiverFest.

As someone who has been involved at some level in almost every Wyoming Valley RiverFest paddling trip throughout the years as a volunteer, river guide, participant and organizer, I have a definite and major issue with these two companies being accepted as sponsors.  Seems everyone has their price...

I will not spend one red cent of my money supporting this event. That's "Plan A".

Plan B? Stay tuned.