Gasline.

[osprey]

Thought i'd go ahead and see if my concept would work , if we use the availability of this web-site to have an on going conversation with each other about the drilling operations that are going on here. We already have this site , we have folks , like Festus , and others who have provided tip lines. We can use this site to inform each other , from a grass roots level , on local operations and potential problems , and those of us who are willing can "kick" it on up the ladder by calling or reporting to the proper agencies , with this site we have a real time ability to keep up with the issue , let's not take this one for granted , let's try anyhow. The first post for me on here will be to suggest to anyone who has not seen this operation up-close and personal to travel rt 31 in Somerset , County in the vicinity of Roxbury , at the crossroads of rt 30 and rt 160 you can travel east or west and see several operations in various stages of the process , check em out if you wanna see what this is all about. I'm sure those in the other parts of the state can post examples to observe also , along with directions so more folks can see this with thier own eyes , lets make this an ongoing exchange and see if we can accomplish something? Thoughts?

 

[grhe]

Hope this link works. If not, maybe someone else can post it. It's a good article and I'm glad to see somebody gets it in PA government. Too bad we've stripped the conservation people of their say so.

http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/10-04-15/head3-dcnr.html

Note the dcnr link at the end regarding drilling.

 

[grhe]

I just read that the DEP has suspended Cabot Oil & Gas statewide from getting new drilling permits, fined them and ordered them to provide new water supplies for all the contamination problems with water wells that have occurred in Dimock, Susquehanna County. DEP press release is on it's website.

 

[osprey]

Sad to say what happened with Cabot Oil and Dimock is already over and done with , what i'm talking about is a little more pro-active , using the realtime exchange of information and then reporting to the proper agencies , hopefully "before" an incident occurs or as quickly as we can. The money these companies are offering for leases is so much that i don't see rural , struggling folks turning much of it down. The leases are signed and the permits given but we can at least maybe prevent some things by just being vigilant , exchange information and report when necessary , also our presence if noticed will let these companies know there are knowledgable folks watching them.

 

[osprey]

Just a suggestion , how about everyone start by letting us know what you see going on in your neck of the woods , i'm talking about personal observations , conversations , conditions etc. If we'd each give a little report of what we see i think we'll be surprised at the area we cover and our ability to be on top of this , we may have no choice in certain aspects of this but we do have a choice in whether we just sit back and let bad things happen or stand up and stay alert and be as pro-active as we can , maybe prevent a disaster or 3.

 

[jayL]

No offense Osprey, but the board shouldn't be the first place someone goes with info about bad drilling practices.

Troutbert often points it out... posting something on the internet is not equivalent to reporting it. Make the call. If you post it and hope someone else will make the call, nobody's going to. We should talk about it here, but this should not be the "lifeline" for watching these drilling ops IMO. It's an adequate supplement, but not a substitute. The reason why YOU (the witness) must call is that if, say, I call the DEP and tell them "I read about such and such on the internet", they'll probably ignore me.

It's an interesting and valuable discussion to have, but there should be no substitute for the old fashioned "dropping the dime".

I don't think you're suggesting otherwise, but I just wanted to get that out there.

 

[osprey]

JayL............i'm not referring to "bad" drilling practices , i'm referring to drilling in general , if we don't keep each other informed on where the rigs are we can't be attentive when we are in the area , if we let each other know , in our respective areas , where the rigs are , then each of us that care can take a little look around. Also if "they" see us on here conversing about them it could have an effect. I know you think i'm a little bit "out there" at times and frankly you're right , but on this issue i'm as serious as a heart attack , you can beleive it or not but several days after posting on here that the site on rt 31 was marked very visably with signs and flagging the next trip i took past there the marking was toned down to just one small sign , the rig near Roxbury is right along rt. 31 you can't miss that one , anyone who cares to see. Oh and while i'm at it another one has come to my attention , from talking to folks about it , there is one activly drilling right accross from Windber Country Club , golf course , according to a young fellow flagging traffic , they will drill down like a mile and then turn and drill under the golf course. Jay , all i'm talking about is a steady exchange of info so that all who want to observe can know where to look , i'm not afraid to dime when the time comes , let's hope it doesn't.

 

[jayL]

Fair enough. I think that's a good idea.

 

[troutbert]

The first thing to do is write your legislators, i.e. the state senator and state representative in your district. Tell them what concerns you.

I told them they should pass a severance tax similar to what every other state levies, to pay for monitoring of the industry and to repair the inevitable damage. And I said they should go very slowly and carefully on Marcellus development on state forest and gamelands, to protect our forests and waters.

 

[bikerfish]

I told one of my legislators my concerns, he showed no concern whatsoever. I've sent dozens of emails and only recieved a handful of replies. lots of these guys are so excited about the so called "money and jobs" that will be "created". it's ok to let them know how we feel, but I like the idea of policing things ourselves, we just can't rely on the "proper" authorities to watch everything.
and it doesn't take much effort on our part, just keep our eyes open for anything that doesn't look right, and if we don't know who to call, post it here and someone will chime in with the proper people to contact. I think some type of follow up would be good as well, just to be sure the people that were contacted actually did something.
if the drilling companies realize that they are being watched by more folks, they may be more likely to do things right and not take shortcuts. about all we can hope for!

 

[osprey]

As far as who to call..............ol Festus posted a tip line for DER an 800 number on another thread i'll find it and post it on here , if any of you folks see anything "funny" post it on here and i'll call them.....no problem , and i will follow up on my calls so i can let you know what if anything was found or done about it , we can make a difference on this one if we are vigilant.

 

[troutbert]

bikerfish, Great job in contacting your legislators. I hope more people will do the same.

 

[pcray1231]

I think its sort of hidden on the board, so I'll point it out here. There's a thread in the gear section called pH meters, that has morphed into what may or may not be a pollution incident, pictures and all. Have a look see. If anyone has a better explanation than has been given, feel free, because as of yet its still largely unexplained.