Helderberg Community Watch
OUR MISSION:
To utilize public education
and to actively encourage citizen participation in the government process to protect the health, safety and welfare of Hilltown residents, and to safeguard the beauty and rural character of the Hilltowns for this and future generations.
HYDROFRACKING ARTICLES ARCHIVE
Pa. DEP: Cabot well led to methane in water
By The Associated Press
Moday, January 9, 2012
NICHOLSON, Pa. — State environmental regulators say a faulty natural gas well contaminated the water supplies of three northeastern Pennsylvania homes with methane.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says an improperly constructed well casing at the Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. well in Lenox Township, Susquehanna County allowed methane to contaminate the aquifer.
Read rest of article The Epoch Timeswebsite››
Lawsuits Predicted as New York Towns Ponder Whether to Block Fracking
By Nicholas Kusnetz, ProPublica
Friday, July 8, 2011
New York environmental officials have released a blueprint for regulations that eventually would allow hydraulic fracturing to begin in most parts of the state—except for key watersheds and aquifers and on state land.
Drilling is still months away at the earliest, but talk has already begun about legal
challenges from energy companies and landowners in the areas where high-
Read rest of article ProPublica website››
DEC Leaves Hydrofracking Loophole: Municiple Zoning Law Could Keep Oil Companies Out
By Tara MacIsaaac, Epoch Tines Staff
Monday, July 4, 2011
NEW YORK—New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner
Joe Martens gave his seal of approval on extracting natural gas from 85 percent of
the Marcellus Shale in upstate New York using high-
The method involves extracting natural gas by breaking up shale with a solution of water and toxic chemicals, the disposal of which has contaminated drinking water in Pennsylvania. With fracking comes a whole slew of concerns from leaking well casings, to air pollution caused by well site machinery, to noise and falling property values.
Martens marked as off-
While satisfying some moderate opponents to fracking, many upstate New Yorkers still don't want fracking in their neighborhood, and they might still have the power to do something about it.
Read rest of article The Epoch Timeswebsite››
Town of Wales, NY Adopts Community Rights Ordinance that Bans Fracking
Media Release by The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 14th, the Town of Wales, NY, adopted a community
rights ordinance titled "Town of Wales Community Protection of Natural Resources.”
The Ordinance ( No.3-
The Ordinance was
drafted in consultation with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF)
and advocated for by the community group Protecting Our Water Rights (POWR).
Two key
prohibitions are enacted to protect the rights enumerated. The Ordinance bans “ any
individual or corporation to engage in the extraction of natural gas or oil utilizing
in whole or in part the process commonly known as and herein defined as hydraulic
fracturing” and also prohibits “any individual or corporation to engage in the extraction
of natural gas or oil utilizing in whole or in part the process commonly known as
horizontal gas well drilling,” with the exception, in each case, of gas wells installed
and operating at the time of enactment of the Ordinance.
The bill also recognizes the right of the people to a form of government where they live “which recognizes that all power is inherent in the people, that all free governments are founded on the people’s authority and consent, and that neither individuals nor corporate entities and their directors and managers shall enjoy special privileges or powers under the color of state law which purports to make community majorities subordinate to them.”
Read rest of media release PDF››
Read rest of media release CELDF website››
Loophole in Water Withdrawal Bill Gives Fracking Industry Unlimited Rights
By Coalition to Protect New York
Friday, June 10, 2011
"We estimate that if the hydrofracking industry were to segment their water delivery needs among various independent water haulers, the 100,000 gallon loophole would provide more than enough to fulfill their water needs for fracking, without the need for any permit,” said Kevin Bunger, a member of the Coalition to Protect New York, one of the grassroots groups opposed to the water withdrawal bill.
How Slop from Natural Gas Fracking Could End Up in Your Food
By Leah Zerbe, Rodale June 13, 2011
Sewage sludge, a common farm fertilizer banned in organic farming, could be laced with toxic chemicals from natural gas drilling.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Here's an unappetizing reality of our food production system: Today's farming practices include the application of sewage sludge (muck that's left over after wastewater is treated); it can be sprayed all over food crops and on the crops grown for animals that we go on to eat. This practice in and of itself is causing problems with soil contamination, and is even blamed for "farm deaths" down South. But now, there's a new addition to the toxic burden of the sludge as a result of the race to build thousands of natural gas drilling wells across the country.
Oneonta Common Council Bans Gas Drilling
By Jake Palmateer, thedailystar June 8, 2011
ONEONTA—The Common Council voted Tuesday to ban all forms of natural gas drilling in city limits. One alderman said he will work to see the city takes even more steps.
The vote was not unanimous. With Third Ward Alderman Erik Miller absent, Seventh Ward Alderman Liz Shannon abstained.
After the meeting, she said she supports the concept of banning natural gas drilling, but said the draft ordinance was poorly written.
Several members of the public spoke out in favor of the measure, including Colleen Blacklock, who submitted a petition with 1,888 signatures.
The measure makes it unlawful for any person or corporation to drill for natural gas within the city. Under the proposed ordinance, violators are subject to a maximum fine of $250 for each day a violation occurs.
Forced Pooling: When Landowners Can’t Say No to Drilling
By Marie C. Baca, ProPublica May 19, 2011
As the shale gas boom sweeps across the United States, drillers are turning to a controversial legal tool called forced pooling to gain access to minerals beneath private property– in many cases, without the landowners' permission. Forced pooling is common in many established oil and gas states, but its use has grown more contentious as concerns rise about drilling safety and homeowners in areas with little drilling history struggle to understand the obscurities of mineral laws.
Read rest of article ProPublica website››