Road damage in Greene County

I was driving with a friend on route 221 through Greene County on Sunday to go bicycling on the Greene River trail near Rices Landing, and we found ourselves behind a brine water / residual waste truck -- presumably full of frack waste -- between Dunn Station and Ruff Creek.

Three problems:

1. The truck had no license plate!  The side of the truck said Curry Supply.

2. The truck often took up most of the road, creating a hazard for oncoming traffic.

3. There was severe road damage on route 221, perhaps from these wide, heavy frack trucks.  When I biked this road about two years ago, the edges of this road were not crumbling like this.  Damaged roads can cause a) crashes for bicyclists or motorcyclists, b) damage to car tires and suspensions, and c) additional safety problems as cars & trucks swerve to avoid holes in the road.

See photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/pheckbert/FrackingGreeneCounty#

I'd like to visit Greene County again to go bicycling on its (formerly) nice roads but these safety issues make me think twice.  The gas industry should pay for their share of this road damage, since this appears to be so far beyond normal road wear.

 

-Paul

Pittsburgh

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Permalink Reply by Herbert G. Flavell on June 12, 2011 at 8:09am
Whew am I glad Kerry is gone. That was loaded with errors. I wonder where she got them. Last I read there is enough natural gas in the Marcellus to last the US over 100 years. Then they can drill another 2,000 feet deeper in most of the wells after they run dry and drill into the Utica shale. For another 100 years or so of gas. By then we will have found a few other fields of gas. We found out that she likes wind turbines. You know those 130 foot tall towers with the big propellers That have killed thousands of birds, bats and is killing the Golden Eagles in California. Kerry just proved that no mater what we use others will not like it and put up a stink. Japan and Russia found out about atomic power. Solar can only make electric during the day and has to store it in batteries for use. And requires acres of fields for solar panels. The batteries  then require tremendous pits that are dug for lead and the creation of battery acid neither of which is easy to get rid of. Coal burns dirty and is almost gone. Oil well we all know what that did to the gulf and how a few countries that control the flow of oil turn off the tap to prevent prices from going down. That leaves hydro electric. Who has $4 to 6 billion dollars to dam a river, then pay the cost of electric created by that few billion $ dam. Someone would complain about all of those systems for creating electric and heat.
0jw0dsu4txfuvPermalink Reply by 0jw0dsu4txfuv on June 12, 2011 at 8:59am

Kerry,

We don't mine natural gas it is produced. You claim to have a degree in geology.

Personally i think you are BS.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on June 12, 2011 at 11:47am

Kerry

When people like you put your money where your mouth is and QUIT using ANYTHING related to the Oil and Gas you seem to despise so much, I'll start listening to you. Until then, quit whining about it. I will spend my time learning how we can safely make use of the resources God gave us and make sure those who produce them do so in a manner that is safe for all of us. If I can make a profit doing so, then good for me.

How much land do you have in the Marcellus/Utica shale play? That will tell me volumes about where you are coming from.

Ignoring the resources that are available to us NOW is just stupidity. Making wise use of them is what we are supposed to do. When your alternative energy sources can stand on their own economically without subsidies, they will become mainstream. Until then, you will have to take money from others (through subsidies) to make them viable.

 

Permalink Reply by Mike Knapp on June 13, 2011 at 4:30am

Is there anything more ironic than someone posting completely inaccurate statistics while lecturing others about using "accurate" statistics and insinuating that folks who are pro-gas must be ignorant fools?

Permalink Reply by Kathleen Elsie Gibbs on June 13, 2011 at 5:15am
This is a pet peeve of mine. Taking numbers out of thin air. It might work on young children but it should not fool adults.
0jw0dsu4txfuvPermalink Reply by 0jw0dsu4txfuv on June 13, 2011 at 5:37am

In all honesty the numbers on recoverable gas is an educated guess!

Permalink Reply by Kathleen Elsie Gibbs on June 13, 2011 at 8:49am

My opinion is that educated guesses and stated statistics are two very different thing.

An educated guess is based on other situations and the person making them is willing to say so. I can support the person making such a judgement. I might not support his conclusion.

Someone that takes a number out of the air and states it as a firm fact is IMHO suspicious. My classes in stats at university let me know that stats can be forced to say what the person wants it to say. It is not a scientific proof. Many times (politics, PC support etc) I can't support the premise that led to the conclusion.

Permalink Reply by jb379 on June 14, 2011 at 9:36am

How 'bout that road damage?  Hopefully all of the wrongs get righted and everyone lives happily ever after.  The end.

 

JB

Permalink Reply by karen brown on June 14, 2011 at 11:44am
I have followed this discussion and many views and good points have been made, I salute all of you for your concerns. We all have our opinions and I respect that aand it is interesting to read all your views.  Our government has not handled matters well for some time now, not just budget matters but as a whole.  But we all still live in a great country, a beautiful country.  I live in the northern tier of Pa and have traveled and I love the mountains.  We live with a great mix of people who have different views, but lets not forget we are all Americans.  We have lost many lives in many wars which is tragic and my heart goes out to their loved ones.  All of us have made many mistakes in our lives.  We cannot turn back the clock but we have hopefully learned by them.  The gas industry, yes there will be accidents,  where there is human contact there will be mistakes, accidents etc.  I am quite sure nobody wants to have an accident or make a mistake to intentionally hurt someone else in drilling for gas or anyother job that may affect the general public.  But it will happen.  We all must work together, educate ourselves and be cautious.  Yes, my husband works in the gas industry, we own a large tract of land which is leased out and we are very concerned about our environment.  First, my husband came from a chemical plant, very dangerous work to him and the general public in a highly populated area.  One of the reasons he left that job was due to saftey.  He remarks that the precautions taken in the gas industry are very high.  Second, we have a gas lease, we hired a gas broker and he wrote a 14 page lease for us protecting us and our land the best to his knowledge, he had us review it and included our concerns, it is our land, we paid for it and we are responsible for it.  If our neighbor got a lot more money 6 months later good for him.  We live very modestly and conserve.  We must pull together on this one and work together.
Permalink Reply by karen brown on June 15, 2011 at 2:04am
Most of the people Jim that are negative on issues such as the gas industry moving in are a certain type of people.  People who do not like change, people who are solely negative, people who do not look into educating themselves on issues and looking at the pros and cons, people who don't try and find a balance, they need to educate themselves from different sources, environmental extremists.  I know personally a person who falls into the last bracket, and if you do ask them questions on how they live.  This person is anti gas, anti development does not work and married to money and lots of it.  Now this is their life.  You will laugh but it is all true.  Story:  They live in a new home with a 10 acre pond in the front yard and guess what their septic is very close to the pond???  They both have new cars but they kept their old one that leaks oil on their driveway, it leaks so bad that they have to check the oil everytime they drive it and their driveway slopes right down to their pond.  This pond feeds a large body of water that is public.  The vehicle smokes like a bug screen so know they are poluting water which is clean and the air.  Now lets get into power.  they complain that their light bill is too high so they walk around in the dark but they have 4 computers on standby all the time, 2 old TV sets are on all the time day and night, they have 30 year old washer and dryer which they do not hang out laundry and they wash 1 sheet at a time to ensure they get clean and they sleep seperately so they wash 2 beds weekly.  Now do the math.  it takes 5 loads of laundry to just wash 2 beds and that does not include their clothes  an old washer uses 40 gallons of water per load and think of all the detergents going into the ground.  They have tons of automatic outside lighting which comes on every night and goes off around 5 am.  They have small waterheaters under each sink for they do not want to wait for hot water.    They have a manicured lawn and landscaping which they firtilize often.  They drive all around for hours taking pictures of gas industry functions and travel out of state as well as to our capital in Pa attending antigas meetings.  Think of the fuel they are burning.  They just moved into their new house 9 year ago but do not want anymore homes built in their neighborhood which is rural.    They do not recycle or burn their burnables but send everything to a landfill.  They buy bottled water in plastic bottles instead of drinking from the tap which they have good water.    They do not believe in select timbering but complain that there is no forage on their property for the deer to eat.  The list goes on and on and this person is an environmental nut but does not look into their own back yard it is sad thAT THEY CANNOT SEE CLEARLY THE WHOLE PICTURE.  Their business reaps from the gas industry and they are not afraid to take the gas industrys money that they do not have trouble spending.    This is a sad story and I feel very sorry for these types of people and you can talk til you are blue in the face and you will not change their minds.  We all must have open minds in all aspects of life and at times we must temporiarly sacrifice a bit to prosper I have said my piece.
Permalink Reply by Tom Brian on June 15, 2011 at 3:51am

Karen

And don't we all know people like that , and there is no known cure, its like an addiction.  call yours confused tree huggers?

well written  

Tom 

Permalink Reply by Mike Knapp on June 15, 2011 at 6:54am

Great post Karen.  The hypocrisy of many of the "antis"  is overwhelming.  I attended a symposium in downtown Pittsburgh earlier this year and got to talking with some of the MarcellusProtest.org ladies.   Most of their points were false, and when questioned about anything that strayed from their rehearsed talking points they looked like deer in headlights.  But still, they were nice enough and very respectful.   The thing that got me though was after polishing off a rant on Marcellus drilling and how it pollutes the air, they all pulled some Marlboro's out of their purses and lit up a cigarette! 

 

I think I still have a scar on my lip from biting it so hard trying not to laugh/cry/jump up and down in utter disbelief/frustration.

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