Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by hunter777 on March 31, 2010 at 2:14am

To be fair, make sure you have them stop by at the houses of the "satisfied customers" also.
While I would never minimize the water issues that a few of my neighbors have, not all of Dimock is the "catastrophic nightmare" that it is described as. I happen to live there!

Permalink Reply by daniel cohen on March 31, 2010 at 2:51am

Dear CJK & Hunter777,
I'm currently traveling out of my area so I can only access the comments infrequently for now. This topic was/is sorely needed to shed the necessary light upon the issues to help us all protect ourselves and each other. Thank you CJK for starting it, and for your comments Hunter. Our shared goal is to protect and to prosper.
All good thoughts,
Dan

Permalink Reply by CJK on March 31, 2010 at 3:19am

Hunter you are correct. I have talked to many that are happy but the drilling is not over yet and no one can be sure that it will remain the same for all the other happy residents. While it might be a few neighbors what is being done to prevent it from happening somewhere else? and to help those whose lives have been affected by it? other than providing them with weekly water. What I see to come is pockets of these nightmares that remain hidden to the average eye and ear.

Permalink Reply by Brian Oram, PG on April 24, 2010 at 4:30pm

Would love a tour- I will be teaching a field course this Fall at Wilkes University and would love to bring the kids t to the area.
Brian.oram@wilkes.edu

THanks
Brian

Permalink Reply by Peacegirl on April 28, 2010 at 3:54am

Brian- I might be able to put you in touch with someone who can help you plan a trip to Dimock. I am in touch with several people who live there. misscarol_47@yahoo.com

Peacegirl aka Carol

Permalink Reply by daniel cohen on May 7, 2010 at 1:21pm

Dear Shalers,
With special thanks to Angel, we all ought to be getting behind some of the recommendations that this senator is making.

Senator Casey asks federal agency to investigate drilling contamination
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
by Laura Legere
Scranton Times-Tribune
Senator Bob Casey is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate cases of water contamination related to natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania after a gas company operating in Susquehanna County failed to stop methane from leaking into residents' drinking water.
In a letter Monday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Mr. Casey said he wants greater EPA involvement in the state because contamination incidents, including methane migration in Dimock Twp., "raise the question of whether the necessary steps have been taken to protect Pennsylvania families and communities against the detrimental side effects of drilling."
The oil and gas industry is largely exempt from federal environmental oversight and is instead regulated by state agencies. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection regulates the industry.
But in a press conference Monday, Mr. Casey said several layers of government oversight may be necessary to ensure drilling is done safely. And he believes the federal environmental agency already has some power to regulate the industry in general - and to investigate the Dimock incident specifically - through the Superfund program and emergency powers outlined in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
He wants the EPA to determine its authority under those laws. If the agency finds that it does not have sufficient authority to protect against the hazards of drilling, it should ask Congress for more, he said.
"I have a concern that there isn't enough of a federal responsibility here," he said, "or even if there is the statutory authority, that the federal government hasn't done enough in terms of investigation or action in this area."
Last year, Mr. Casey introduced legislation, called the FRAC Act, that would require the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells to be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It would also require that drilling companies disclose the chemical composition of the fluids they mix with sand and water to break apart - or hydraulically fracture - the gas-bearing rock.
The gas industry maintains that hydraulic fracturing has never been the confirmed cause of drinking water contamination and argues that federal oversight would be an unnecessary burden.
Mr. Casey said Monday that it is possible for gas drilling to be done safely. "We don't have to choose between jobs and the environment, or choose between economic opportunity and protecting families' drinking water," he said.
Victoria Switzer, a Dimock resident whose drinking water has been contaminated with methane, said she and 13 neighbors have had to live with that choice because oversight of the industry was not stringent enough to protect them.
"We've lost our drinking water; there's lots of gas there. That's not a choice people should have to make," she said.

Permalink Reply by Kathy Conner on June 21, 2010 at 3:39pm

am watching HBO's "Gasland" as I am writing...

Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on June 26, 2010 at 6:30am

Don't blame the entire gas industry for Dimock. Blame Cabot. Cabot is the worst of the worst. I would never, ever lease to them. I'd be frightened just having Cabot people, if you can call them people, walking around my neighborhood. But you're tarring everyone with the same stick. Your stick is too wide.