We here in PA were horrified that our bought and paid for Politicians in Harrisburg last year opened up thousands of acres of PA PUBLIC LANDS to fracking. Even worse, PA Repuglycans, nixed any taxation on the gas exploration companies, taxes that were meant to cover cleanup and mitigation, in the event that it’s needed, which it already is. I was surprised to hear recently that Ed Rendell is doing the right thing and pushing for a tax on gas extraction. Hopefully he’ll earmark all of it to be set aside for the inevitable cleanups.
We here in PA and NY sit atop the Marcellus Shale, which is now being fracked for its natural gas deposits, and we all know how “clean” gas is to burn, and how much we need energy independence! That’s the PR spin, but the reality is a whole different story. It may be clean when you’re using it, but extraction is an entirely different story. And federal might is using eminent domain to force PA landowners into giving up land to fracking. From Reuters:
Sandra McDaniel, 63, said federal authorities forced her, though eminent domain laws, to lease about five acres (2hectares) of her 154 acres to Spectra to build a drilling pad on a wooded hilltop.
McDaniel watched from the perimeter of the installation as three pipes spewed metallic gray water into plastic-lined pits, one of which was partially covered in a gray crust. As a sulfurous smell wafted from the rig, two tanker trucks marked “residual waste” drove from the site.
“My land is gone,” she said. “The government took it away, and they have destroyed it.”
So far there have been wells and homes that have exploded from methane and other noxious fume buildup, polluted springs and wells, and other environmental horrors.
In typical oil and gas company doublespeak, the word is that the wells aren’t polluted, despite farm animals dying, children getting diarrhea, residents getting skin rashes and other issues from showering, and many other problems. But when the water is tested by conventional means, it’s “clean”. Maybe that’s why these companies are so anxious to keep their toxic fracking chemical mix a secret. If residents knew what to test for there would be grounds for legal action. Even worse, without knowing what chemicals to treat for, wastewater treatment is useless, which is letting this toxic stew into our groundwater.
There is some steam behind a nationwide grassroots anti fracking movement, but federal congresscritters are more beholden to big oil and gas companies than ever our local politicians were.
So before you sign a real estate contract on the dotted line, you better do your homework. Is there fracking in the area? This issue is NOT limited to PA and NY.
