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Marcellus Rush: Fractured State, Fractured Lives,
Fractured Environment
Article One, section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution indicates that: “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public and natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come.” In light of this article and section, would you connect the rolling hills of Western PA with words like fracking pits, drilling rigs, contaminated water, compression stations, benzene, toluene, and disenfranchised citizens?
I am a Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia and an active member of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN). I never would have dreamed that the first day of Autumn 2010 would find me in a situation that witnessed to profound violations of the rights of our brothers and sisters in Washington and Greene counties. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Morgantown, West Virginia, we met with individuals and groups whose experience of hydraulic fracturing over the past few years was both disheartening and clearly a violation of human and other rights. These individuals and groups begged us to inform others that their air and water were contaminated, any hope for healthy living jeopardized, and any legacy left for their children and grandchildren might be devastating.
We are reminded once again that our world and our state is fractrured; there are gross inequalities, massive injustices, and a serious lack of accountability from our government and oil and gas companies. Throughout the region, one 
could not miss the evidence of hydraulic fracturing. Often the sight of a big rig was partially hidden from view by thick forests. The panoramic beauty of the hillsides, fields, and valleys of Autumn was fractured with long gravel, dusty roads; oil rigs; ugly “green tanks”; and the installation of massive pipelines. We traveled through back country, and in neighborhood after neighborhood, the pain and anguish of citizens was palpable. In one very rural area of Cross Creek, residents were split in their view of the oil well that owned the top of the hill. Some residents were kept to secrecy when their water supply became contaminated and they accepted “water buffaloes” from the gas company promising not to file a law suit. Others watched their pets become ill and instinctively refuse to drink the water. I noticed that the evening air was very heavy and foul smelling at times and I became aware of the frightening hiss of “off gassing” from a compression station. Residents told us that they cannot take showers or drink the water because of the chemicals that have contaminated it. From a physician report, one resident received verification that her blood sample contained methane and other chemicals. Because several of these families are experiencing the effects of hydraulic fracturing, concerned citizens from Pittsburgh are bringing water supplies to them.
In driving through the rural community of Hickory, I couldn’t help but notice the changing landscape, one still dominated by farmlands and woods, but dotted with evidence of Marcellus Shale exploitation. We drove through backwoods and a gravel road to meet with the owner of a farm that now has two active wells and a very contaminated pond and stream. The large pond supplying millions of gallons of water for fracking was a gas company’s dream. This farmer leased his farm in 2002, not realizing what the implications might be, and has since had to move out of his house due to lack of potable water and foul smelling air. He wanted us to know that “not only did the gas company destroy my property but they tried to get me to exchange it for another farm 11 miles away that they had already contaminated.” He told stories of farm bureau workers gathering leases, bundling properties and selling them to the gas companies. He reminded us that his story is a textbook case of what not to do in relation to the gas industry. We also learned that a regional school in this community will have fracking wells in close proximity to the school. When I asked where the School Board was, the answer was “they are bought out.” I asked about the PTO and the answer was similar. Many of the families had already leased their land to the gas companies.
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The beauty that once existed in western Pennsylvania . . . |
We concluded our Washington County area tour with a visit to a very rich landowner who built a family dream mansion on top of a hill. Not realizing he didn’t own the mineral rights, he is now the devastated resident of a mansion surrounded by four gas wells on his property. He told us that one million gallons of fracking fluid was spilled on the side of the hill and all the water in the area is now contaminated. Since he is in the
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. . . now is littered with signs of hydraulic fracturing. Much like this waste-water pit only steps away from where children play. |
The final stage of our tour took us to Waynesburg by way of many country towns and amazingly beautiful rolling hills and valleys being tainted by the installation of major gas pipelines. In the small town of Carmichael, PA, we actually stood by a fracking pit right next door to a residential trailer park. The drilling was complete but the pit remained while children played within a few hundred yards. In Waynesburg we met with several residents of the outlying community. Each one had a story to tell very similar to earlier accounts. Some were very angry that their elected officials didn’t defend their constituencies: but allowed the gas industry to dictate the rules. They fear that the DEP is rubber-stamping permits and that regulatory agencies are unprepared to address many problems including forced pooling. They shared photos of contaminated streams, fracking pits, a truck driver dumping fracking fluid, and pictures of an oil well on a known archeological site.Needless to say, our journey into the Marcellus Shale country of two counties has us asking many questions and challenging us to use our voices to speak for those whose rights have been violated in over 30 counties. Since there is no moratorium on drilling, we hope it’s not too late to educate residents on their rights and the risks that go along with exposure to toxic chemicals. We cannot continue to pump carcinogens into the bedrock of our state, fill our air with heat-trapping gases and expect that we’re heading for a carbon free footprint. Why isn’t the Precautionary Principle being invoked?
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- Nora M. Nash, OSF
For more information and to take action steps use the following resources:
http://www.pennfuture.org/campaigns_detail.aspx?CampaignID=46
http://www.pennenvironment.org/clean-water/keep-our-water-safe
http://www.iehn.org.home.php
