Secretary Krancer’s Response to Water Testing Questions Offers No Answers and is Politically Charged

Harrisburg, PA – Members of environmental and citizen groups sent several thousand emails to Governor Tom Corbett and Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer seeking information regarding how the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigates cases of water contamination from fracking.  Late last week DEP Secretary Krancer began responding to these emails without providing any new information that was specifically requested.

Pennsylvania residents have been asking for protocols for testing contaminants in residential water wells; the scientific basis for determining which parameters to test for (and not); how decisions are made in the field and at DEP offices in response to homeowners’ concerns; and the number of cases in which only partial testing results have been provided to homeowners. As spring approaches, Pennsylvania residents still don’t have answers to these questions that were first raised last fall and posed again over the winter.  The questions are in a letter to Secretary Krancer posted at http://www.earthworksaction.org/files/publications/DEPWaterTestMeetingLetter_FINAL_1-25-13_%281%29.pdf.

“It is stunning that families impacted by fracking operations are no closer now to learning what is in their water, according to DEP’s own lab tests, than they were last November,” said Iris Marie Bloom, Executive Director of Protecting Our Waters. “Secretary Krancer must do his job to protect the families of Pennsylvania and answer all responsible inquiries about water testing protocol immediately.”

“People need answers to the pressing questions that continue to be ignored by Secretary Krancer about the veracity of water tests of residents’ wells that may have been polluted by gas development. Mr. Krancer’s deep silence on the details begs the question ‘What is the state doing to protect Pennsylvanians’ drinking water from fracking pollution?’”, said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

Unfortunately, Secretary Krancer’s recent response offered no direct answers to the important questions and concerns outlined in the email. “It is simply not enough for Secretary Krancer to repeatedly assert that the DEP makes decisions based on science or that staff are sufficiently trained, while refusing to answer specific questions or provide supporting information,” said Nadia Steinzor, Eastern Program Coordinator, Earthworks. “Events on the ground have grown urgent and many households continue to potentially be exposed to toxic substances.”

Instead, Secretary Krancer chose to make general statements and tried to paint the coalition of environmental and citizens groups as the obstructionists to obtaining the answers by asserted that they are the ones who refuse to meet with the DEP. “This is simply not true,” said Steve Hvozdovich Marcellus Shale Policy Associate, Clean Water Action. “The only thing we refuse to do is allow Secretary Krancer to exclude organizations and individuals from the table which he is trying to do, simply because he doesn’t like their message. If we allow it to occur here, who will be the next group or individual he blackballs because of similar circumstances.”

“For months, our organizations and the hundreds of thousands of residents we represent have been waiting for answers from Secretary Krancer to pressing questions about residential water quality testing and reporting,” said Erika Staaf of PennEnvironment. “We’re looking for a substantive dialogue on this matter, and yet all we’re getting in response are vague assurances that DEP staff are doing their jobs.”

“The run-around our coalition has been getting and the patent disingenuousness we are experiencing from Secretary Krancer is eerily but unsurprisingly congruent with the lack of transparency at issue in the water testing results and protocols,” said Julie Edgar, Organizer, Lehigh Valley Gas Truth. “Pennsylvanians are left with a situation as murky as a glass of shalefield frackwater.”

Secretary Krancer’s reply email also included politically charged statements about topics irrelevant to the inquiries on policies and procedures in the original email.  He used this medium to re-raise his personal feud with Rep. Jesse White and attack him for his vote on Act 13, a message he consistently carried throughout all of his replies regardless of whether the recipient was a constituent of Rep. White’s or not.

The people of Pennsylvania have been waiting patiently for answers and deserve better than the response they got. “As a public official, Secretary Krancer should respond to the concerns of residents across the Commonwealth with care and seriousness,” said Karen Feridun, Founder, Berks Gas Truth.  “DEP needs to provide details on how it does its work and plans to address problems related to water quality and health going forward.” The only glimmer of hope that this may occur is a statement from Secretary Krancer’s email where he states that “DEP does plan on responding in writing to some written inquiries posed by the groups.” But until the day actually comes where Secretary Krancer directly addresses ALL not just some of their inquiries, the residents of Pennsylvania will continue to feel let down and strung along and will work to apply additional pressure to get their answers.

Contacts:

Thomas Au, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, 717-234-7445

Iris Marie Bloom, Protecting Our Waters, 215-840-6489

Tracy Carluccio, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, 215-692-2329

Karen Feridun, Berks Gas Truth, 610-678-7726

Steve Hvozdovich, Clean Water Action, 412-765-3053 x 210

Erika Staaf, PennEnvironment, 412-521-0943

Nadia Steinzor, Earthworks, 202-887-1872 x 109

Environmental and Citizens Groups take DEP Water Testing Concerns to House Democratic Policy Committee

Washington, PA –State Representative Jesse White is hosting a House Democratic Policy Committee Hearing in Washington County today to examine the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PA DEP) policies and procedures related to air and water quality testing on landowners’ and leaseholders’ properties in Pennsylvania.

“One way or another, DEP is going to have to disclose what is now being hidden–including full well water test results, quality control data, and the procedures and policies that drive their process of determining if drilling has polluted a resident’s well. This hearing is shining a spotlight on these issues in an attempt to open up DEP’s closed door policies regarding how water pollution from gas is investigated, analyzed and reported. We applaud and support Rep. White’s efforts on behalf of the public’s health and safety,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

A coalition of environmental organizations has been working over the past months to obtain answers from DEP regarding questions and concerns they and the public have about this issue. In November, the coalition sent a letter to Governor Tom Corbett and Secretary Michael Krancer criticizing the PA DEP’s water testing and notification policies as outdated, lacking transparency, and inadequate to protect residents and drinking water from pollution caused by gas drilling. The coalition called for immediate reform of PA DEP’s procedures and for all DEP water test data to be reported to households where testing has occurred but where only a fraction of the test results were reported.

Following Secretary Krancer’s reply to the letter, a meeting to discuss these issues was scheduled for January 24^th between representatives of the signatory organizations and the PA DEP’s Oil and Gas Division and Bureau of Laboratories. However, PA DEP abruptly cancelled the meeting they initiated prompting the coalition to send another letter to Secretary Krancer, expressing their dissatisfaction with PA DEP’s decision and requesting a response to a submitted list of pressing questions which the public needs answers to. It is still not clear whether DEP will respond to the submitted questions or reschedule the meeting with all the signatory organizations.

“The information obtained so far raises grave concerns about whether DEP is doing its job in protecting homeowners.  How can a homeowner make a judgment whether his water is safe to drink If only partial lab test results are being provided?” said Thomas Au, Conservation Chair for Pennsylvania Sierra Club.

Several representatives from the coalition will be appearing before the committee to testify about their recent interaction with DEP, discuss findings from research they have done around water testing and to share their questions and concerns regarding DEP’s water testing and reporting policies and related issues relevant to the protection of health and the environment.

“I look forward to recounting our coalition’s situation to the committee because I believe it speaks to a broader problem of how DEP under this administration interacts with residents and addresses inquires toward their policies and procedures,” said Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Shale Policy Associate, Clean Water Action.

“Our state is already punctured with so many cases of water, air, land, animal, and human health pollution and suffering – and citizens continually come to organizations like ours for help because DEP has, they feel, completely abandoned them and ignored their problems,” said Melissa Troutman, Outreach Coordinator, Mountain Watershed Association. “After two years of investigating public files at DEP, I look forward to sharing my appalling findings with the committee about shale gas drilling violations that have been overlooked, un-remediated, and un-fined and how current policies and procedures allow for this, in the state that gets 80% of its drinking water from forested watersheds.”

“I commend the House Democratic Policy Committee for holding a hearing on a subject of great importance to many Pennsylvania residents; nothing is more important to those living on the frontlines of Marcellus Shale development than health and safety,” said Nadia Steinzor, Eastern Program Coordinator for Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project. “There are concrete steps that DEP can take to ensure reliable water and air testing, transparency, and industry accountability—the public deserves nothing less.”

It was recently revealed that DEP Secretary Michael Krancer declined an invitation to attend the Policy Committee hearing, noting that DEP’s attention is not focused on wasting time on “political theater” and that he is willing to attend legislative hearings and other meetings if they are “productive and professional.”

“Secretary Krancer has expressed his peculiar sensitivity to meeting with environmental organizations and legislators in a manner that is unbefitting of a public servant. Using loaded language like “intemperate” and “political theater” to make assumptions about those working in the public interest is hardly “productive and professional”; serving the public with transparency is,” says Karen Feridun, founder of Berks Gas Truth.

The coalition of organizations continue pursuing new avenues to address this issue in order to ensure the public has access to all information they need related to their health and safety. The opportunity to appear before the House Democratic Policy Committee is a good first step in that pursuit.

“We must take the knowledge gained today and apply it to action,” said Erika Staaf of PennEnvironment. “This can’t be the end of the line for this critical issue. Rather, it must be the first step toward making real, measurable policy change that creates more transparency and better oversight to provide clean drinking water, air and a safe environment for Pennsylvania residents.”

“Water is life. We pay our state environmental regulators to protect life, which includes protecting water as a bottom line responsibility,” said Iris Marie Bloom, Director, Protecting Our Waters “To withhold information about contaminants in drinking water, and about water testing procedures, is an absolute violation of DEP’s mission. We need a sea change at PA DEP.”

Contacts:

Nadia Steinzor, Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project, 202-887-1872, ext. 109

Tracy Carluccio, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, 215-692-2329

Steve Hvozdovich, Clean Water Action, 412-445-9675

Melissa Troutman, Mountain Watershed Association, 724-455-4200

Erika Staaf, PennEnvironment, 412-491-4801

Iris Marie Bloom, Protecting Our Waters, 215-840-6489

Karen Feridun, Berks Gas Truth, 610-678-7726

 PA DEP Keeps Homeowners in the Dark on Water Testing Policy, Abruptly Cancels Meetingwith Environmental Groups

PA DEP’s failure to explain their water testing policies and use of suite codes continues to leave concerned public demanding answers

Harrisburg, PA – Mystery, questions and concern continue to surround Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PADEP) water testing and reporting policies related to suspected impacts from Marcellus Shale natural gas operations. These issues were originally revealed in the Kiskadden vs. PADEP deposition of Taru Upadhyay, technical director of DEP’s Bureau of Laboratories—and described widely in subsequent news stories regarding the use of suite codes, which result in only partial test results being sent to homeowners.

“Where gas development goes, problems follow. Yet the DEP seems more interested in protecting its own information than protecting the environment,” says Nadia Steinzor, Eastern Program Coordinator, Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project. “DEP should stop playing hide and seek and start giving the public better water and air tests, complete results, and honest answers.”

“We’ve worked with and supplied clean water to desperate and impacted people begging DEP for more and better information about their water. By not giving these people full information, PA DEP is violating communities’ right to know, behaving with shocking arrogance, and endangering public health,” said Iris Marie Bloom, Director, Protecting Our Waters.

In November, 25 organizations sent a letter to Governor Tom Corbett and Secretary Michael Krancer criticizing the PA DEP’s water testing and notification policies as outdated, lacking transparency, and inadequate to protect residents and drinking water from pollution caused by gas drilling. The groups called for immediate action to be taken to reform PA DEP’s procedures and to disclose all data collected through DEP water tests but only partially reported to households where the testing occurred.

Following Secretary Krancer’s reply to the letter, a meeting to discuss these issues was scheduled for January 24^th between representatives of the signatory organizations and the PA DEP’s Oil and Gas Division and Bureau of Laboratories. However, DEP abruptly cancelled the meeting. “Our organizations were optimistic about the opportunity to finally get answers that we and the public are seeking regarding this important public health issue,” said Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Shale Policy Associate, Clean Water Action. “We are extremely disappointed with the cancellation, particularly because the meeting was arranged at their suggestion.”

“Residents who are in the dark about their well water quality need answers and as advocates, we are determined to find out what’s really going on. DEP’s offer to meet seemed to represent a willingness to begin to address these issues, now that is called into question,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

“It has been two and a half months since we sent our letter to the governor and it appears that we are no closer to getting answers to our questions,” said Karen Feridun, Founder, Berks Gas Truth. “Pennsylvania has over 1,000,000 private water wells, more than any state except Michigan. How long do the millions of Pennsylvanians in the drilling region who rely on those wells have to wait for transparency from Secretary Krancer’s DEP?”

In light of PA DEP’s actions, the signatories scheduled to participate in the meeting sent a letter (see attachment) to Secretary Krancer, expressing dissatisfaction with PA DEP’s decision and outlining a list of pressing questions to which the public needs answers. Some the questions we hoped to have addressed during our meeting with PA DEP include:

• Why are landowners not routinely provided with the quality control/quality assurance measures used by DEP laboratories to process samples and a full report of the raw data and findings from DEP samples?
• When are the various Suite Codes applied (i.e., 942, 944, and 946, as well as any others related to oil and gas development)? Does DEP have an established protocol for which code to apply? How many were there where only partial results were shared with the homeowner?
• What is the DEP protocol for re-sampling and/or using third-party test data (such as gas operator sampling results) in investigations prompted by a request for determination of contamination of a private water supply by oil and gas activities?
• To what degree does DEP use emerging knowledge about contaminants associated with oil and gas operations to determine its testing parameters? For example, DEP’s list of “Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing Process in Pennsylvania Prepared by the Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Oil and Gas Management” includes dozens of contaminants.
• What criteria in the test results would lead DEP to determine that water contamination was caused by natural gas drilling? Why would DEP state in letters to homeowners that “The sample results of samples taken by the Department did not show any evidence that your water was affected by oil and gas drilling activities,” even if results indicate elevated levels of such substances such as chloride, barium, strontium, methane, ethane, and propane?

“There is a rig 1000 ft from my house that is readying to drill 4 horizontal wells. I used a TDS meter this morning to get a baseline normal reading because I am anxious about my drinking water,” said Rebecca Roter, Coordinator, Cross County Citizens Clean Air Coalition. “I ask that Secretary Krancer exercise humanity by providing transparency in water testing protocol and reporting of data in cases of suspected drinking water contamination from shale extraction activities. I ask that he continue dialogue with us in good faith about PA DEP’s water testing and reporting procedures for drinking water in PA’s gasfields.”

“Drinking water to support life is vital, not optional, and the sanctity thereof is being violated liberally,” said Julie Ann Edgar, Organizer, Lehigh Valley Gas Truth. “All concerned organizations fully expect to see a significant increase in transparency and responsive cooperation on the part of PA DEP. PA DEP and Secretary Krancer’s job includes stewardship of the commons in perpetuity, not “getting gas done” by withholding vital information from the public.”

“We believe access to clean drinking water should be a right, not a privilege, and we need answers from the DEP about why their water testing and reporting appears to be missing critical data for homeowners,” said Erika Staaf, clean water advocate with PennEnvironment. “We hope the DEP will change its mind meet with our organizations so we can find answers to these important questions for our members and residents across Pennsylvania.”

“Our organizations have a long history of interacting with PA DEP and PA DEP Secretaries from both Republican and Democratic administrations and we remain ready to meet immediately on this pressing issue,” said Melissa Troutman, Outreach Coordinator, Mountain Watershed Association.  DEP representatives originally expressed their intention to the group to reschedule the meeting but after 10 days no new dates have been offered.  The representatives of the signatories of the letter are open and eager to meet. The organizations also intend to follow up with members of the General Assembly and the Auditor General who have been investigating the problems with DEP water testing policies.

Contacts:

Nadia Steinzor, Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project, 202-887-1872, ext. 109

Tracy Carluccio, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, 215-692-2329

Steve Hvozdovich, Clean Water Action, 412-765-3053 x 210

Julie Edgar, Lehigh Valley Gas Truth, 484-557-4182

Iris Marie Bloom, Protecting Our Waters, 215-840-6489

Melissa Troutman, Mountain Watershed Association, 724-455-4200

Rebecca Roter, Cross County Citizens Clean Air Coalition, 267-733-5211

Erika Staaf, PennEnvironment, 412-491-4801

Photo by Mark Schmerling

The passage of Act 13 by the Pennsylvania state legislature on February 14th, 2012 made a few improvements to state regulation of fracking in Pennsylvania, but created several huge loopholes that  that directly impact the environment and have the potential to cause a great deal of damage to public health.

One of the most offensive provisions of Act 13 is the language that strips municipalities of the zoning power to determine where gas wells, pipelines and waste pits can be constructed. This would mean that drillers could construct fracking wells in residential zones where local officials would have never allowed them.

Thankfully, a number of municipalities challenged this provision of Act 13 in Commonwealth Court and the court found that the zoning rights provision was unconstitutional. The case has since moved to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and is currently under review and awaiting a decision.

Many of the elected officials who voted for Act 13 will tell you that the law strengthened environmental regulations on fracking in Pennsylvania. The Act did in fact increase  the minimum setbacks for drilling near public and private water sources from 500 to 1000 feet and 200 to 500 feet. However, the increases are nowhere close to sufficient for protecting drinking water. A study conducted by Stephen G. Osborn and colleagues at Duke University concluded that a minimum 3,000 foot buffer is needed to protect drinking water supplies. The new regulations that are part of Act 13 are increases, but are still not strong enough to ensure drinking water safety.

Another concern about the passage of Act 13 is that it was passed without an adequate increase in funding for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP is the state government agency that is supposed to regulate and oversee drilling activities in Pennsylvania. Act 13 was passsed without ensuring adequate revenue for the agency that is supposed to protect the public from the hazards of fracking.

The Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water is currently working on a number of different approaches to combating the lack of protections established by Act 13. We will keep you updated as there are new developments.

This past Tuesday in the Senate and Wednesday in the House, the Pennsylvania legislature voted in favor of HB1950, a compromise gas development bill that was hammered out behind closed doors under the heavy hand of Governor Tom Corbett. Under the guise of providing “impact fees” to municipalities where gas operations occur, the legislature effectively supported a takeover of municipalities by the State and the gas industry by gutting established and effective local planning and zoning rights.

Through provisions contained in the bill, municipalities will no longer be able to play a central, critical role in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of residents and determining which uses of land are most beneficial.

The bill requires that all types of oil and gas operations (except for natural gas processing plants)—unlike any other commercial or industrial business—be allowed in all zoning districts, even in residential neighborhoods and near schools, parks, hospitals, and sensitive natural and cultural resource protection areas. As a result, people could be forced to live only 300 feet away from a gas well, open frack waste pit, or pipeline, despite growing evidence that such development causes pollution, damages health, and lowers property values.

The bill also mandates a one-size-fits-all ordinance that supersedes all existing ordinances and prevents municipalities from adopting any zoning provisions that are stricter than the weak, mandated standards.

“The PA Legislature has let the gas industry take over, despite the terrible consequences that drilling is having in communities across the Commonwealth. This so-called impact fee bill brings no net fiscal gain to Pennsylvania residents; it robs us of the ability to protect what is most locally valuable—our health, safety, and resources—and gives gas operators the right to run all over our communities. This is unjust and exposes the true allegiances of the Bill’s supporters—self-interested gas developers and their backers,” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.

“Today, many legislators and Governor Corbett told Pennsylvania residents that protecting their health and rights matters far less to them than the gas industry’s demands,” said Nadia Steinzor, Marcellus Regional Organizer for Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project. “They and other supporters of this bill turned a blind eye on the widespread damage caused by drilling and a deaf ear to calls from citizens for change, while doing the bidding of companies that want to drill anywhere, anytime.”

“If legislators were looking to pass a proposal that will allow more gas drilling near people’s homes, and the parks, playgrounds and schools where our children play and spend their days, then ‘Mission Accomplished,’” said Erika Staaf of PennEnvironment. “Sadly, this is just one more case of powerful interests dominating the political process, and the lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle to do anything about it.”

“A poorly-regulated gas industry will be able to drill in residential neighborhoods, bringing thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals, thousands of tractor trailers, round the clock noisy, polluting drilling, all as little as a football field away from homes, day care centers, and playgrounds,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter. “The legislators who voted in favor of HB 1950 have abandoned any pretense that they are acting in the public interest. We will make sure the public knows who sided with the drillers and who sided with citizens when they go to the polls for this year’s elections.”

“This bill represents a huge step backwards in protection for Pennsylvania towns and the environment,” said Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action. “The state override of local zoning ordinances will greatly increase the threats to communities from all aspects of gas extraction. Never before has one industry been given full rights to do as they please, without recognizing the needs of other businesses, residents, and our environment. 2012 is an election year, and we will be devoting our energy to ensuring that the voters of Pennsylvania are aware of which legislators voted to give away our control over an industry that has contaminated our air, land, and water.”

“The legislators who voted for HB 1950 made a short-sighted decision that puts the health and safety of Pennsylvania’s communities at risk,” said Josh McNeil, Executive Director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. “They voted against the interests of their constituents and should expect those constituents to return the favor in the November election.”

Click here for PA House Roll Call Votes

Click here for PA Senate Roll Call Votes

(Harrisburg) – On Tuesday, January 17, as legislators returned to Harrisburg for the first session day of 2012, hundreds of Pennsylvania residents and local officials called on state leaders to oppose the omnibus gas drilling bills, HB 1950 and SB 1100, which cleared the State House and Senate in late 2011.

As the bills head to conference committee deliberations, Tuesday’s event drew attention to major provisions in both bills that tie the hands of local elected officials on zoning decisions related to shale gas operations such as wells, pipelines, compressor stations, and chemical and waste storage.

“This was a terrible idea in 2011 and remains a terrible idea in 2012,” said Steve Hvozdovich of Clean Water Action. “Our legislators must take this opportunity and make a New Year’s resolution to protect our health, water, air, and communities by opposing any legislation that attempts to weaken or allow state takeover of municipal rights.”

The groups assert that the bills’ state preemption of local decision-making and zoning is a fatal flaw that will negatively affect Pennsylvania residents’ health, environment and quality of life, and the bills’ impact fees and limited environmental provisions are too limited to make up for the local zoning tradeoff.

“This bill is the antithesis of local control and represents a serious threat to democratic decision making by Pennsylvania communities,” said Maria Payan, Director of Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group. “Will we be allowed to use local zoning laws to protect the public health, safety and public welfare, or will our state enact a law to accommodate the oil and gas industry and their high-paid lobbyists?”

Pennsylvania municipalities currently have the legal right to decide where and how gas development occurs. Both the Municipalities Planning Code and the State Constitution vest municipalities with the authority and responsibility to address local environmental and public resources. State Supreme Court rulings have also made it clear that the state Oil and Gas Act allows municipalities the right to use zoning codes to restrict the location of gas wells.

“The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania is appalled that elected officials are considering HB1950 and SB 1100,” said Roberta Winters, Vice President Issues and Action of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. “These bills eliminate the treasured value of ‘local control’ by pre-empting the right of municipalities to protect the health, well-being, and property of local citizens while collecting too little revenue to repair the impact of industrial level fracking on their communities. This does not reflect good government and blatantly disregards the hearts and minds of the citizens of Pennsylvania.”

The group pointed out that both bills would allow gas operations – including well pads and drill rigs – as close as 500 feet and wastewater and chemical impoundments as close as 300 feet to homes, schools, and health facilities, potentially diminishing the well-being and property values of nearby residents. Under this legislation, in many cases other types of businesses – from hair salons to light construction – could face greater restrictions on locating in a residential area that gas operations.

“The Pennsylvania General Assembly must kill HB 1950 and SB 1100. Neither versions of the Marcellus legislation provide sufficient environmental protection or funding, while both would usurp existing local government authority to protect their communities,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. “We call on every member of the House and Senate who voted in support of these bills to change his or her position. The electorate will know if their legislators voted to protect public health and the environment, or if they voted to do what out-of-state drillers want.”

On November 16, 2011 the below letter was sent to both Senator Casey and Senator Toomey.

On behalf of our thousands of members across Pennsylvania, the undersigned organizations urge you to oppose the Barrasso/Heller amendment to H.R. 2354, which would permanently bar the Army Corps of Engineers from restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections to water bodies throughout the Commonwealth and the rest of the country.  This amendment undermines the protections that Pennsylvanians expect to ensure clean water for drinking, swimming and fishing. The amendment would endanger our water resources and put the interests of polluters over those of the public.

We urge you to oppose this amendment and preserve the Corps’ ability to take administrative action, within the limits that have been established by the courts, to clarify the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction.

Since the Supreme Court decisions in SWANCC and Rapanos and ensuing EPA Guidance documents issued in 2003 and 2008, water bodies which Congress intended to protect when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 have been put at risk. Congress enacted the Clean Water Act “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”

This amendment threatens water resources, including over 20 million acres of wetlands and 59% of our nation’s stream miles. The headwater streams that are put at risk by the Barrasso/Heller amendment are incredibly important to the health of Pennsylvania’s watersheds and deserve full protection under the Clean Water Act.  8 million Pennsylvanians get their drinking water from public water systems that are put in danger by this amendment.  58% of the stream miles that provide water to public water systems in our state are intermittent, ephemeral or headwater streams.

Please do not support this amendment and encourage your colleagues to follow your lead. The Clean Water Act was written to protect all the waters of the United States, whether they go through dry spells, low flows or only spring to life from time to time.

Sincerely,

Myron Arnowitt
Chair
Campaign for Clean Water
Pittsburgh

Bob Adams
Director of Stewardship
Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association
Ambler

Barbara Arrindell
Director
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
Milanville

Thomas Au
Conservation Chair
Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
Harrisburg

Deana Weaver & Brad Pealer
Co-Founders
Carroll Citizens for Sensible Growth
Dillsburg

Mike T. Burk
President
Conemaugh Valley Conservancy
Hollsopple

Tracy Carluccio
Deputy Director
Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Bristol

Sarah Caspar
Frac Action Coalition
Downingtown

Susan Curry
Treasurer
Alliance for a Sustainable Future
Ambler

William Derhammer
President
Lehigh River Cold Water Alliance
Emmaus

Ms. Aimee Douglas CPA
Treasurer
Springtown Water Authority
Springtown

W. Scott Douglas
President
Cooks Creek Watershed Association
Springtown

Scott Fiegel
Ecological Associates
Oley

Gil Freedman
President
Conodoguinet Creek Watershed Association
Mechanicsburg

Michael Helfrich
Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper
Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna
York

Ellie Hyde
Chair
South Branch Tunkhannock Watershed Coalition
LaPlume

Carol Kafer
President
Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association
Montoursville

Jan Keim
Co-Chair
Little Lehigh Watershed Coalition
Emmaus

Stan Kotala
Conservation Chair
Juniata Valley Audubon
Hollidaysburg

Marion M. Kyde, PhD
President
Delaware River Greenway Partnership
Erwinna

Barry Lewis
Executive Director
GreenTreks Network
Philadelphia

Chuck Marshall
Director
Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation
Paoli

Richard Martin
Coordinator
Pennsyvlania Forest Coalition
Boiling Springs

Anne Murphy
Executive Director
Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds Association
Media

Maria Payan
Chair
Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group
Delta

Gerald R. Potocnak
President
Arrowhead Chapter, Trout Unlimited
Sarver

Ted Robinson
Staff Attorney
Citizen Power
Pittsburgh

Brady Russell
Eastern Pennsylvania Director
Clean Water Action
Philadelphia

Donna Smith-Remick
President
Friends of Poquessing Watershed
Philadelphia

Jim Vogt
President
Aquashicola Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy
Kresgeville

Derrick Winegardner
Chair
Friends of the Little Aughwick Creek
Fort Littleton

Peter Wray
Conservation Chair
Sierra Club, Allegheny Group
Pittsburgh

See the press coverage below:

“Municipal Officials Oppose Loss of Local Drilling Rules”
By Laura Legere
TheTimes-Tribune.com

In a conference call Monday, signatories to the General Assembly letter and environmental groups said the pre-emption clauses in the bills amount to a “power grab” by the state.

“The proposed legislation is, in effect, stating that the development of natural gas is so paramount that industry should have the option to pursue it anywhere at any time,” Earthworks Marcellus region representative Nadia Steinzor said, “even if it’s at the expense of the other uses of the land and priorities such as quality of life and public health and what communities want.”

“Local Officials Oppose Marcellus Shale Legislation”
By Don Hopey
Pittsburgh-Post Gazette

The bills would eliminate or severely restrict the ability of local governments to enact zoning ordinances applicable to Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations and establish a standard “model” ordinance that all townships would have to follow.

The Marcellus Shale drilling industry has supported the state legislation that would supersede local zoning ordinances, and it has challenged some existing local ordinances in court.

Download the letter here

(Harrisburg) – Municipal officials from a dozen different counties across Pennsylvania jointly wrote to the PA General Assembly today calling for a rejection of legislative proposals to reduce or eliminate municipal governments’ rights to enact local zoning ordinances concerning Marcellus Shale gas drilling.

Altogether, 46 local officials signed the letter.  These officials were from the following counties:  Allegheny, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Delaware, Elk, Luzerne, Montgomery, Northampton, Washington, Westmoreland, and York.  In addition, Cecil Township in Washington County, and Upper Burrell Township in Westmoreland passed resolutions opposing these attacks on their ability to enact local zoning ordinances.

Deron Gabriel, a South Fayette Township Commissioner who signed the letter, stated, “South Fayette like many communities has taken steps to protect itself from the dangers of drilling. Measures by Range Resources & Harrisburg to strip us of these rights is a power grab and infringement upon our ability to determine what is best for the families of South Fayette.”  Range Resources is currently taking legal action against both South Fayette and Cecil for enactment of their local zoning ordinances.

Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action stated, “There has been a real outpouring of local support over this issue.  We want to be clear about this – there is no patchwork of local regulation in the state.  Our state government has already set standards and rules for gas drilling.  What municipal governments are doing is what they have always done – using zoning to ensure that particular activities are appropriate for their communities.  These officials are clear that they want our state legislators to reject any reduction in their rights to enact zoning ordinances.”

Dozens of municipal governments in Pennsylvania have enacted new local ordinances regarding Marcellus Shale gas drilling or are in the process of doing so.  Local governments have used their zoning to keep drilling out of residential neighborhoods, to ensure proper buffer zones around schools, and to allow local officials a chance to review development plans prior to approval.

“The courts have upheld the right of municipalities to adopt ordinances to protect their communities from the natural gas industry’s activities.  We oppose the out of state gas drillers who want to impose a “one size fits all” state-level regulation that would overturn the existing municipal authority. We believe that local governments know the local conditions better than some desk-bound bureaucrat in Harrisburg,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter.  ”The gas industry’s state preemption approach would be like telling local governments that they can’t establish speed limits on winding township roads, because the statewide speed limit is 55 mph,” Schmidt continued.

“People and the environment are paying the price for irresponsible drilling and lax regulation, and the gas industry is using political pressure, financial influence, and intimidation to keep it that way,” said Nadia Steinzor of Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project. “Municipalities have an established right under Pennsylvania law to practice zoning and do what it takes to protect their communities.”

The State House is expected to take up HB 1950 today that would make local ordinances concerning gas drilling illegal.  The State Senate is expected to soon take up SB 1100 which is likely to greatly restrict municipal zoning ordinances concerning gas drilling.  Precise language on this issue is still being negotiated between the Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats.

#          #          #

November 14, 2011

Dear members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly:

As elected officials representing constituents across the Commonwealth, we are writing with concerns regarding Marcellus Shale natural gas development. Municipalities all across Pennsylvania are working to enact or have enacted measures designed to protect the environment and health, safety, and welfare of their communities and residents.

Recently, proposals have been made through lawsuits and legislative proposals to eliminate, weaken, or standardize a municipality’s ability to protect its residents. We oppose such measures for several key reasons.

As you are surely aware, Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code vests municipalities with the authority and responsibility to address matters influencing local environmental protection and preservation, while the State Constitution obliges municipalities to be stewards of public resources. Such considerations are paramount at a time when industrial-scale gas development is expanding across Pennsylvania, and with it impacts on water and air quality, land, and communities. In addition, Pennsylvania Supreme Court rulings have made it clear that the state Oil and Gas Act gives municipalities the right to use our zoning code to restrict the location of gas wells—similar to how we sometimes restrict other types of economic activity through zoning.

Further, the imposition of a “one size fits all” ordinance would undermine a central purpose of local ordinances: to address the particular needs and concerns of municipalities, which vary greatly with regard to natural resources, population location and density, commercial sectors, and other aspects.

We also believe that local decision making is part of a democratic society. We have been elected and appointed to fully represent the interests of our constituents. This includes the right of municipalities to determine what is best for their communities and residents.

Local governments must be able to ensure protections through ordinances that reflect specific concerns. Therefore we oppose any legislation and reject all attempts to take away municipal zoning rights, to weaken or standardize a municipality’s ability to protect itself, or to punish communities that choose to exercise their rights. We request that you stand with us in this cause and work to preserve the powers vested in municipalities to determine what is necessary to protect the best interests of their community and residents.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Sincerely,

Deron Gabriel

Commissioner, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Natalia Rudiak

Councilwoman, City of Pittsburgh, District 4 (Allegheny Co.)

David Buchewicz

Supervisor, South Park Township (Allegheny Co.)

Douglas Shields

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 5 (Allegheny Co.)

John Maggio

Councilman, Dormont Borough (Allegheny Co.)

Bill Peduto

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 8 (Allegheny Co.)

Robert I. Roberts

Councilman, City of St. Marys (Elk Co.)

Michael Badges-Canning

Councilman, Cherry Valley Borough (Butler Co.)

Rick Stuchal

Supervisor, Mercer Township (Butler Co.)

Jeff Know

Supervisor, Mercer Township (Butler Co.)

Walter Walowen

Supervisor, Mercer Township (Butler Co.)

Patricia Caruso

Commissioner, Scott Township (Allegheny Co.)

Jason Bell

Planning Commissioner, Evans City (Butler Co.)

Walter C. Sackinsky

Supervisor, South Park Township (Allegheny Co.)

Brian Coppola

Supervisor, Robinson Township (Washington Co.)

Karen Feridun

Planning Commissioner, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Nancy Janyszeski
Supervisor, Nockamixon Township (Bucks Co.)

Lisa-Ladd Kidder

Planning Commissioner, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Julie Edgar

Planning Commissioner, Topton Borough (Berks Co.)

Melissa Lewicki
Councilwoman, Swarthmore Borough (Delaware Co.)

Ross G. Walker, III

Supervisor, Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland Co.)
Peter F. Dombroski

Supervisor, Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland Co.)
Thomas C. Baker

Supervisor, Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland Co.)

Donald Hoffman

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

John Coolbaugh

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

Benjamin Gadomski

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

James Dowse

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

Richard Overman

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

Elisabeth Knapp

Councilwoman, Swarthmore Borough (Delaware Co.)

Patrick Dowd

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 7 (Allegheny Co.)

Derek Mace

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Malcolm Eidle

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

James Schlegel

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Edwin Seyler

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Kevin Snyder

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Leon Weber

Planning Commissioner, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Richard Brown

Supervisor, Lower Providence Township (Montgomery Co.)

Lisa Malosh

Supervisor-Elect, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Todd Miller

Supervisor-Elect, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Joe Horowitz

Supervisor-Elect, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Bruce Kraus

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 3 (Allegheny Co.)

Harold Berkoben

Councilman, Whitehall Borough (Allegheny Co.)

Diane Hollenbach

Township Manager, Maidencreek Township(Berks Co.)

Nancy Kauffman

Councilwoman, Birdsboro Borough (Berks Co.)

Sal Panto, Jr.

Mayor, City of Easton (Northampton Co.)

Sue Fox

Supervisor, Shrewsbury Township (York Co.)

OFFICIAL

CECIL TOWNSHIP

RESOLUTION NO. _____-2011

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CECIL TOWNSHIP,

WASHINGTON COUNTY, STATING OPPOSITION TO PENNSYLVANIA PROPOSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1950

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act regulates the development of oil and gas in the state of Pennsylvania;

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code (“MPC”) allows municipalities to enact, amend, and repeal zoning ordinances to provide for the orderly development of the economic needs of the municipality and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents;

WHEREAS, the current Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act does not preempt a municipality’s rights to provide for the zoning of oil and gas activities;

WHEREAS, Cecil Township, with Industry input, has crafted oil and gas related ordinances that serve to strike a balance between the health, safety and welfare of our Township residents with the ability to undertake gas operations within our Township borders;

WHEREAS, proposed Pennsylvania House Bill No. 1950 is an attempt by the Pennsylvania State Legislature to expressly supersede and preempt all local rules, regulations, codes, agreements, resolutions, ordinances and other local enactments that regulate oil and gas operations;

WHEREAS, proposed Pennsylvania House Bill No. 1950, which passed the Finance House Committee on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, serves to deprive municipalities of long-standing zoning powers in favor of statewide control of the location of oil and gas related activities in the Township;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in recognition of the fact that local municipal officials are in the best position to determine “where” drilling activities should occur in the Township held, “[W]hile effective oil and gas regulation in service of the [Oil and Gas] Act’s goals may require the knowledge and expertise of the appropriate state agency, the MPC’s authorization of local zoning laws is provided in recognition of the unique expertise of municipal governing bodies to designate where different uses should be permitted in a manner that accounts for the community’s development objectives, its character, and the ‘suitabilities and special nature of particular parts of the community’”;

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not performed any studies about the potential chronic and long-term health effects associated with living near drilling sites, frac ponds, compressor stations or processing plants;

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not performed any studies about the potential for industry activity to impact the value of homes, issues with securing mortgages, or potential future development of the Township, all of which may affect the health, safety and welfare of the public including the Township’s growth and tax base;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature stated its intended purpose is to create uniformity for the drilling industry;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature fails to account for differences in each municipality including topography, population, and reliance on well water as a primary water source;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature fails to take into consideration that “uniformity of rules” is not the equivalent of “uniformity of location,” “where” drilling activities take place, as each municipality has different industrial, commercial, and residential population centers, development and comprehensive plans that can and will be thwarted by the state denying municipalities long-standing zoning powers that allows the Township to foster the Community’s development objectives.

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature failed to look to the municipalities where drilling is occurring for input and has ignored the lessons learned from other states with prior shale drilling activities, such as Texas which allows for and has certain local municipal oversight of oil and gas drilling activities in their communities that have not been detrimental to the oil and gas industry’s ongoing operations.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors does hereby officially express its complete and unfettered opposition to Pennsylvania H.B. 1950 that serves to circumvent current Pennsylvania law and long-standing zoning powers set forth by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, that Cecil Township joins in a letter of opposition to Pennsylvania House Bill 1950 as part of the Marcellus Municipal Cooperative made up of eighteen (18) local municipalities.

SECTION 1. Effective Date. This policy shall become effective immediately.

DULY RESOLVED THIS 8th_DAY OF _November_, 2011, by the Board of Supervisors of Cecil Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania in lawful session duly assembled.

ATTEST: TOWNSHIP OF CECIL

_________________________ By: ____________________________

Donald A. Gennuso, Michael T. Debbis

Township Manager Chairman, Board of Supervisors

TOWNSHIP OF UPPER BURRELL

WESTMORELAND COUNTY

PENNSYLVANIA

RESOLUTION NO. 5 OF 2011

Opposition to State Intervention with Local Zoning Regulations

A RESOLUTION of the Township of Upper Burrell, County of Westmoreland, the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in opposition to State Intervention with Local Zoning Regulation.

Whereas, Upper Burrell Township recognizes that the regulation of oil and gas wells is the primary responsibility of the regulatory agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and

Whereas, Upper Burrell Township maintains its Zoning Power as set forth in 53P.S 10101 et.

Seq., as amended, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and through the Upper Burrell

Township Zoning Ordinance; and

Whereas, the Township of Upper Burrell enacted a Zoning Ordinance on August 3, 2011, as amended; and

Whereas, similar efforts to strengthen local protections have been enacted or are being initiated across Pennsylvania; and

Whereas, HB 1950 (Session of 2011) and SB 1100 (Session of 2011 would, if adopted, would take away powers specifically given to municipalities to regulate zoning on a local level and force municipalities to adopt a standardized zoning authority as determined by the Commonwealth ; and

Resolved, that the Township of Upper Burrell, County of Westmoreland, opposes any measure, initiative, or plan that mandates the elimination of determining the right to use our zoning code as defined by the local municipalities and be forced to adopt a statewide regulation; and be it further

Resolved, that the General Assembly be urged to oppose HB 1950 and any similar kind of legislation that has been, or may be introduced in the future to weaken or standardize a municipality’s ability to regulate local zoning and instead should preserve the existing powers given to municipalities through the Municipalities Planning Code.

RESOLVED and Adopted this __7th____ day of _ November___, 2011, at a duly assembled public meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Upper Burrell Township.

ATTEST

Amy Rockwell, Manager/Secretary Ross G. Walker, III

UPPER BURRELL TOWNSHIP

Thomas C. Baker

Peter F. Dombroski, Jr