The Privatization of the World's Fresh Water Supply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx65EeLk4Ro&feature=youtu.be
They call it - "Blue Gold."
Water is the new oil. Once a human right, it's now a valuable commodity, and corporations and super-rich oil dynasties are believed to be buying up water rights, controlling nations and populations. Jesse looks into the possibility of these activities finding their way to American shores and uncovers what may be a plot to literally steal the Great Lakes.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
New York Fracking Reportedly Held As Andrew Cuomo, RFK Jr. Talk Health Impacts
*My Comment: Does anyone know where I can find the
Pennsylvania Health Impact Study? Oh, never mind there isn't one. (sarcasm) Our
'governor' took the industry money and sold PA down the well bore while the
local political stooges rolled over like submissive lap dogs. (not sarcasm) -JT
New York Fracking Reportedly Held As Andrew Cuomo, RFK Jr.
Talk Health Impacts
AP
| By By MICHAEL GORMLEY Posted: 03/02/2013
12:07 pm EST | Updated: 03/02/2013 8:34 pm
EST
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) —
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came as close as he ever has to approving fracking
last month, laying out a limited drilling plan for as many as 40 gas wells
before changing course to await the findings of a new study after discussions
with environmentalist and former brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy Jr., several
people familiar with his thinking told The Associated Press.
The turning point, which could delay a decision for up to a year or longer,
came in a series of phone calls with Kennedy. The two discussed a new health
study on the hydraulic fracturing drilling method that could be thorough enough
to trump all others in a debate that has split New York for five years.
"I think the issue suddenly got simple for
him," Kennedy told the AP, then went on to paraphrase Cuomo in their
discussions: "'If it's causing health problems, I really don't want it in New
York state. And if it's not causing health problems, we should figure out a
way we can do it.'"
Kennedy and two other
people close to Cuomo, who spoke to the AP only on condition of anonymity
because Cuomo is carefully guarding his discussions on the issue, confirmed the
outlines of the plan the governor was considering to allow 10 to 40 test wells
in economically depressed southern New York towns that want drilling and the
jobs it promises. The plan would allow the wells to operate under intense
monitoring by the state to see if fracking should continue or expand.
They all said it was
the closest Cuomo has come in his two years in office to making a decision on
whether to green-light drilling.
The state has had a moratorium on the process since 2008 while other states
in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation, such as Pennsylvania, have seen local
economies boom as drilling rigs have sprouted up.
Cuomo issued a brief statement Saturday through a spokesman saying that the
state departments of environmental conservation and health are "in the process
of making a determination with respect to the safety and health impacts of
fracking.
"After, and only after, they conclude their work will the state's position
be determined — it's that simple and it hasn't and doesn't change with any
conversations," Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said.
The governor continues to refuse to talk about his internal process and
wouldn't comment directly for this story. He has been repeating the phrase he's
used for two years, that "science, not politics" will rule.
Kennedy, brother of
Cuomo's ex-wife, Kerry, described a governor who is intensely involved in the
emotion-charged issue, which Cuomo privately likened to taking on the National
Rifle Association over gun control laws. Kennedy said Cuomo reached out
personally to many others as well in his evaluation.
Kennedy believes Cuomo held off in large part because of the
prospect of a new $1 million study by the Geisinger Health System of
Pennsylvania, billed by property owners seeking safe fracking and
environmentalists as a "large-scale, scientifically rigorous assessment" of
drilling in Pennsylvania.
The study will look at detailed health histories of hundreds of thousands
of patients who live near wells and other facilities that are producing natural
gas from the same Marcellus Shale formation that New York would tap.
Unlike most studies funded by advocates or opponents of hydrofracking, this
study would be funded by the Sunbury, Pa.-based Degenstein Foundation, which is
not seen as having an ideological bent.
"I think it will be pivotal," Kennedy said. Preliminary results are
expected within the year, but there is no specific timetable and final results
could be years off. Kennedy is opposed to fracking unless it can be proven to be
safe for the environment and public. He said he's unsure what the Geisinger
report will conclude.
The research and education arm of the Independent Petroleum Association of
America cried foul at the private conversations of the powerful public
figures.
"This is pretty
outrageous, above and beyond the four-year charade that's already occurred,"
said Steve Everley of Energy in Depth. "The governor has insisted publicly that
his review of hydraulic fracturing will be based on science, and yet he's
actually making decisions about New York's future based on backroom
conversations with a Kennedy.
"Maybe if Governor Cuomo had been as interested in speaking with other
regulators as he was in speaking with his former brother-in-law, he would have
recognized that shale development can be and is being done safely, and folks
struggling to find work upstate might actually have jobs," Everley said.
Dan Fitzsimmons, leader of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, a
pro-drilling group, said opposition to hydrofracking is based on politics, not
science.
"Delay, delay delay, that's been the name of the game with these folks, and
the sad thing about Cuomo is that he's allowing it," Fitzsimmons said. "How long
are you going to throw away taxpayer dollars over politics?"
But Adrian Kuzminski, a fracking opponent with the group Sustainable
Otsego, said he fears that the test wells Cuomo has been considering would be "a
stalking horse" for more drilling.
"After a couple of years they're going to say 'Oh, we don't see any
problems,'" Kuzminski said. "There's no need for test wells in New York state.
The information is just out there."
Shortly after the conversations with Kennedy in early February, Cuomo's
health commissioner, Dr. Nirav Shah, mentioned the Geisinger study among three
health reviews still pending and which could enter into Cuomo's decision. Shah,
a nationally respected public health figure, was an associate investigator at
the Geisinger Center for Health Research before going to work for Cuomo.
Sandra Steingraber, a
biologist and founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking, said Saturday, "As Health Commissioner Shah said, the right
time to study fracking is before fracking begins. We expect that Governor Cuomo
will listen to scientists and medical experts and let evidence dictate whether
or not to lift our state's moratorium, and we further expect that he will wait
for national studies and a real New York-specific study."
Cuomo, a popular Democrat who supporters say may run for president in 2016,
is getting criticism from both sides over his delayed decision and calls for
more studies. Landowners and industry say they're missing out on an economic
boom while environmentalists say the administration should have ordered a full
health study and has been too opaque about the regulatory process.
Some pundits have
questioned whether Cuomo was "becoming Hamlet on the Shale," echoing a reference
to criticism of his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who spent politically
damaging months as "Hamlet on the Hudson" publicly debating whether to run for
president. It's a characterization Kennedy rejects.
Many federal and state regulators say hydraulic fracturing, which injects a
mix of water and chemicals thousands of feet underground to crack open shale and
release natural gas, is safe when done properly and thousands of sites have few
complaints of pollution. But environmental groups and some doctors say
regulations still aren't stringent enough and the practice can pollute ground
water. The Marcellus Shale lies under parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and
West Virginia.
"What's interesting is Andrew is trying to
figure this out," Kennedy said. "It's interesting to see this ... that usually
doesn't happen. (Most governors) take a poll, or they take industry money and
just do it ... but I think this is the harder
route."
The Next Wall Street Crisis is the Fracking Bubble
The Next Wall Street Crisis is the Fracking Bubble
Two long-awaited reports were published today at ShaleBubble.org by the Post Carbon Institute (PCI) and the Energy Policy Forum (EPF).
Together, the reports conclude that the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") boom could lead to a "bubble burst" akin to the housing bubble burst of 2008.
While most media attention towards fracking has focused on the threats to drinking water and health in communities throughout North America and the world, there is an even larger threat looming. The fracking industry has the ability to tank the global economy.
Playing the role of Cassandra of Greek Lore, the reports conclude that "the so-called shale revolution is nothing more than a bubble, driven by record levels of drilling, speculative lease & flip practices on the part of shale energy companies, fee-driven promotion by the same investment banks that fomented the housing bubble ..." as their summary details. "Geological and economic constraints not to mention the very serious environmental and health impacts of drilling mean that shale gas and shale oil (tight oil) are far from the solution to our energy woes."
PCI's report is titled "Drill Baby, Drill," authored by PCI Fellow and former oil and gas industry geoscientist J. Dave Hughes, while EPF's report is titled "Shale Gas and Wall Street," authored by EPF director and former Wall Street financial analyst Deborah Rogers.
In President Barack Obama's 2012 State of the Union address, he repeated the fracking industry's favorite mantra: there are "100 years" of natural gas sitting beneath us.
"We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years, and my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy," he stated.
Hughes concludes that the "100 years" trope serves as a disinformation smokescreen and at current production rates, there are at best 25 years under the surface.
Industry proponents rely on a figure known as "technically recoverable reserves" when they promote the potential of shale basins. The figure that actually matters though, is production rates, or what the wells actually pull out of the reserves when fracked.
In the case of U.S. shale gas, the booked reserves are operating on what Hughes coins a "drilling treadmill," suffering from the law of "diminishing returns."
Hughes analyzed the industry's production data for 65,000 wells from 31 shale basins nationwide utilizing the DI Desktop/HPDI database, widely used both by the industry and the U.S. government.
He sums up the quagmire he discovered in doing so, writing:
"Wells experience severe rates of depletion ... This steep rate of depletion requires a frenetic pace of drilling ... to offset declines. Roughly 7,200 new shale gas wells need to be drilled each year at a cost of over $42 billion simply to maintain current levels of production. And as the most productive well locations are drilled first, it’s likely that drilling rates and costs will only increase as time goes on."
The reality, he explains, is that five shale gas basins currently produce 80% of the U.S. shale gas bounty and those five are all in steep production rate decline.
And shale oil? More of the same.
Over 80% of the oil produced and marketed comes from two basins: Texas' Eagle Ford Shale and North Dakota's Bakken Shale, both of which are visible from outer space satellites.
" ... Taken together shale gas and tight oil require about 8,600 wells per year at a cost of over $48 billion to offset declines," Hughes writes. "Tight oil production is projected to ... peak in 2017 at 2.3 million barrels per day [and be tapped by about 2025] ... In short, tight oil production from these plays will be a bubble of about ten years’ duration."
At current production rates, Hughes concludes, there is 5 billion barrels of shale oil located underneath the Bakken and Eagle Ford, which equates to a measly 10 months' worth of oil at current runaway climate change-causing U.S. oil consumption rates.
PCI accompanied Hughes' report with 43 charts and graphs and a digital U.S. map with the production data of all 65,000 fracking wells in the lower 48.
Roughly 17 months ago, activists from around the country set up encampments outside of big banks and financial institutions, coining themselves Occupy Wall Street. As Rogers' report demonstrates, they had the right target in mind.
Rogers opens the report on a defiant note.
"The recent natural gas market glut was largely effected through overproduction of natural gas in order to meet financial analyst’s production targets," she wrote. "Further, leases were bundled and flipped on unproved shale fields in much the same way as mortgage-backed securities had been bundled and sold on questionable underlying mortgage assets prior to the economic downturn of 2007."
In its early days operating in the U.S., the industry cloaked itself as a "mom-and-pop" shop start-up venture.
Rogers unpacked the reality behind this rhetorical ploy, writing that Wall Street firms are "intricately married to [shale gas and oil corporations] ... With the help of Wall Street analysts acting as primary proponents for shale gas and oil, the markets were frothed into a frenzy."
In other words, there are two spheres of economics unfolding: day-to-day in-field shale oil and gas production economics ... and Wall Street high finance economics. It's the insane economics of Wall Street investors fueling the economic decisions of those working in the field, in what Rogers describes as a "financial co-dependency."
Are we witnessing another "Inside Job" of the sort Charles Ferguson portrayed in his Academy Award-winning documentary film?
In his 1951 classic play, "Requiem for a Nun," William Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
These are the words of a sage, particularly given the past century of "The Great American Bubble Machine," as Rolling Stone investigative journalist Matt Taibbi has documented of Wall Street's behavior financing multiple economic spheres that have led to near-system-wide collapse.
At the very least then, if it all "hits the fan," we can't say we weren't forewarned.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
DEP owes complete disclosure to citizens
DEP owes complete disclosure to citizens
Editorials
DEP owes complete disclosure to citizens
Wednesday, February 20,2013
The folks at the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection don’t like state Rep. Jesse White. We get it. White has
been a frequent critic of the agency, particularly as it pertains to the DEP’s
regulation, or lack thereof, of the Marcellus Shale gas-drilling
industry.
But the agency came off as spiteful,
childish and unresponsive to the public it is paid to serve when it refused to
send a representative to Tuesday’s House Democratic Policy Committee hearing
in Washington, for no other reason than the fact that White was the organizer of
the session.
Had a DEP representative been at the
hearing, he or she would have heard from folks who blame the fouling of their
drinking water and various physical maladies on fracking that is taking place
near their homes. Is gas drilling really the cause of these problems? Perhaps
the DEP could have provided some answers, or at least agreed to investigate
further.
One issue that has no doubt rubbed DEP
officials the wrong way is White’s legislative efforts to force the agency to
release all of its water-testing results to affected homeowners, rather than
just those DEP deems pertinent and worthwhile.
Asked about that Tuesday in an interview
with the Observer-Reporter, the DEP’s Katy Gresh said, “It would be
irresponsible for DEP to provide homeowners with raw data that has not been
quality-assured and quality-controlled. Raw data is, quite simply, unreliable
and not valid in the eyes of any laboratory, public or private.”
We
think it would be better to let the homeowner, or a laboratory that homeowner
might hire, make the decision on what is reliable and what is not. And what
about these terms “quality-assured” and “quality-controlled”? Do they mean
“edited” and, pardon the expression, “watered down”? The public has a right to
wonder.
The refusal to give up any and all test results raises questions, valid or not, about for whom the DEP is really working. Also, the fact that Gov. Tom Corbett raked in nearly $1.3 million in campaign contributions from the gas industry in his run for the governor’s office in 2010 suggests to some that he’s not especially interested in stringently regulating the Marcellus drillers.
The refusal to give up any and all test results raises questions, valid or not, about for whom the DEP is really working. Also, the fact that Gov. Tom Corbett raked in nearly $1.3 million in campaign contributions from the gas industry in his run for the governor’s office in 2010 suggests to some that he’s not especially interested in stringently regulating the Marcellus drillers.
The complaints aired at Tuesday’s hearing
might well have been isolated incidents, but they were concerning,
nonetheless.
The panel
heard from neighbors Kimberly Staub and Chris Lauff, who have worries about
future health problems after drilling occurred near their homes on Fort Cherry
Road in Mt. Pleasant Township. Lauff brought with him a jar of muddy water
produced by his well. He said the drilling company admitted it fouled his water
supply, and he is now on a public water line, but that doesn’t resolve his
concerns about health issues down the road. Complete DEP air and water testing
on his property, with complete disclosure of the results, could either confirm
his fears or perhaps give him some peace of mind.
Staub got in touch with DEP last fall after
noticing an odor from a nearby drilling impoundment. She has made repeated
follow-up calls to DEP regarding tests of the air quality on her farm but has
yet to receive any evaluation from the agency. That’s simply
unacceptable.
Also testifying before the committee was
Judy Armstrong Stiles, who said her family had to move from their home in
Bradford County because of health problems they blame on drinking water they
believe was contaminated by a gas-drilling operation a few miles away.
“I just want to know where were those
agencies that were supposed to protect us?” she asked.
We have editorialized often about the
benefits brought to our area by the gas industry, especially the economic boost
it provides. But we also believe that the safety of our environment and citizens
must be paramount. That’s where the DEP comes in, or should come in.
As committee member Rep. Kevin Boyle of
Philadelphia County said Tuesday, “I apologize for DEP. As Pennsylvania
citizens, you deserve better.”
Friday, February 15, 2013
My thoughts on the Yoko Ono and Group Gas Tour
Yoko Ono and Group Gas Tour -- 1-17-13
Please let me first
say that I applaud and support all efforts to educate and raise awareness about
the horrors of gas drilling. As you know, my heart goes out to the Mannings, as
it does to every human being that has been, and continues to be sacrificed and
abused by this industry everywhere.
That being said,
with the widespread release and distribution of documentaries like Gasland,
Split Estate, Triple Divide, the commercial release of Promised Land, and the
hundreds of videos on Youtube and on social networks, it's hard to imagine that
most people are not aware of the damage, devastation, and lives that have been
ruined.
What I do not
understand is why more is not being done to help these people. Instead, the
focus now seems to be on saving NY by allowing the affected families to be used
as the "poster children" for what can go wrong. It's important that their
heartbreaking stories are heard, but what I think is more important is that
something be done to actually help them.
Artists Against
Fracking has the financial power, and the celebrity clout to do that, at least
to some measurable degree, but it seems narrowly focused on delivering these
stories to Gov. Cuomo with the hope of saving NY. It seems that many
Pennsylvanians who are living in the 'sacrifice zones' have given up on PA
themselves and are also directing their energy to save NY. That's something I do
not, and will never understand. Don't we all live downstream?
Dimock and
Susquehanna County have been called "ground zero" for the fracking nightmare.
That is largely because of Gasland. I get that, that's okay, and it's not a bad
thing. But it's just as important for people to realize that there are people in
other parts of NEPA, Central PA, SWPA, and in 34 states in the US that have
been, and continue to be affected equally as much.
As pointed out in
this video , PA is only 25% into this industrialization. That means that there
is still 75% that has not, and in my mind, that is worth saving just as much as
NY is and deserves the same amount of commitment.
I don't see NYer's
flocking to Harrisburg, or standing with us in our fight to protect our land,
our environment, and our way of life. Yet I see many Pennsylvanians standing
with NYer's in Albany. The same Pennsylvanians who don't show up in Harrisburg
to try to protect PA. It's as if some Pennsylvanians have already written off
this state, and by doing that, they've written off the people in PA as well.
That boggles my mind.
I have to say this,
and maybe you're aware of this, or maybe you're not, but a lot of the people on
the "List of the Harmed", and who have been the subjects of youtube videos, and
organization presentations have candidly admitted they're beginning to feel
somewhat used by some of the 501c3 grassroots organizations to boost their fund
raising and by some independent film makers.
Cuomo, like Corbett,
is going to do what is in their interest politically and financially. All the
horror stories in the world are not going to inspire them to have a change of
heart. If we haven't figured it out yet, they simply could not care less about
the people living in harms way, or the environment. They care about what flows
their way from the bottomless deep pockets of their industry handlers.
If we are going to
save anyone, or any place from this industry, it's going to take huge numbers of
people, crossing county lines, state lines, and cultural lines to take to the
street in non-violent civil disobedience, slowing the industry down and
costing them money. That will get the attention of the main stream media,
and political powers that be. It would do more to raise public awareness and
inspire others to stand up than all the 'celebrity tours' that get mentioned as
a footnote on the local TV news, followed by the obligatory mentioning of the
'positive economic benefits, local jobs, and "clean burning" energy
independence'
I have traveled to
Dimock, Clearfield, Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Bradford County, Tioga County,
Lycoming County, Luzerne County, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, NY, Ohio, Maryland,
and DC to support the efforts of others and stand with those who have been
abused, even when there were no cameras turned on. I have met with, and spoken
to the French, the Australians, the British, the Irish, the Canadians, and the
Germans. My motivation for doing any of that was not only to educate, but to
gain support for the people in need.
Now, I'm
wondering... at what point are we going to rise up and do something to help
ourselves? If Artists Against Fracking really wants to help the people in PA,
then maybe they should consider doing something real and immediate
like a concert tour in the areas across PA that have been affected to raise
money for those people to get water, medical attention, paes, or to provide
shelter for those who really need to leave their homes now.
Something along the
lines of Farm Aid. That would get massive media attention, inspire public
outcry, and might actually humiliate our elected officials into doing something
proactive to slow down, or perhaps even stop the wholesale destruction of rural
America long enough to hurt the industry financially and make it economically
impractical for them
With all due
respect, this celebrity tour of Gasland-Susquehanna, although I'm sure it was
done with the best intentions, does nothing for the people in PA. It may help
the people in NY, but I doubt it.
The reality is, New York has not started to drill yet for economic reasons.
1- The supply greatly outweighs the demand
2 - The pipeline infrastructure is not fully in place to move the gas to market
3 - There aren't sufficient storage facilities to store the gas
4 - The price is too low -for all the above reasons- it doesn't justify more drilling
In the meantime, Gov Cuomo is posturing to the environmental groups. He will cave, and claim 'he tried'.
Once all things are in place and the industry creates an increased demand, it's game over for NY. The oil and gas industry does not recognize state lines. They see only shale plays, and if they weren't completely sure that in time they will 'get it all', they won't do it.
The best way to save NY is to stop this industry in PA, OH, and W.VA. The industrial powers that be are not going to 'go around' NY.
As for the news coverage, it got
mentioned, and was immediately 'balanced' by the industry's tired talking points
about the "positive economic benifits, local jobs, clean energy, and energy
independence". This dangerous and destructive practice of HVSW hydraulic
fracturing has to be stopped nationwide, not just in NY. It is just as important
to save what is left of Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Colorado because to the people who
live there, that's all they have.
It seemed that AAF
came to PA only to learn on how they might save NY, without offering [at least
not publicly] what they intend to do to try and help the people in PA. I'm a bit
offended by that, and so are a lot of others.
Anyway, those are my
thoughts. I hope you take them in a constructive light.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
John Trallo Calls Out Corbett's Energy Czar Patrick Henderson in the Press
Here is, in it's entirety, and in chronological order, the rather heated exchange between myself and Gov. Corbett's Energy Executive (gas Czar) Patrick Henderson. Portions of this exchange has appeared in various newspapers in PA. PA/DEP Secretary Michael Krancer opted not to respond, or futher comment.
*Prior to being appointed PA's gas Czar, Patrick Henderson was State Senator Mary Jo White's administrative attack dog.
Really? Marcellus Shale bringing energy revolution to state Commentary Mike Krancer and Patrick Henderson
The Times-Leader
Marcellus Shale bringing energy revolution to state Commentary Mike Krancer and Patrick Henderson
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
http://www.timesleader.com/stories/Marcellus-Shale-bringing-energy-revolution-to-state-Commentary-Mike-Krancer-and-Patrick-Henderson,231234
RECENT REPORTS from Standard & Poor’s and ITG showing the amount of recoverable gas in the Marcellus Shale play might be
much greater than any previous government estimate are good news. Real American
energy security and a real force in American job growth are available to us
right now – if we continue to make the right decisions to obtain and use what we
have right here.
Both studies confirm that Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formationhttp://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# is the global superstar of natural gas formations. Marcellus Shale will help make Pennsylvania the energy capital of the nation and spark the rebirth of our petrochemical and manufacturing base. Production from Marcellus wells is exceeding expectations and some of the wells are among the most productive in the world. We already have 240,000 jobs related to our oil and natural gashttp://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# extraction activities. When it comes to production numbers, Standard and Poor’s own words confirm that this is a “mere drop in the bucket” of the Marcellus’ full potential.
These reports also say that the potential natural gas liquidshttp://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# recoverable from the Marcellus are proportionally higher than any other shale gas formation. This is terrific news for Pennsylvania, validating Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement that it is exploring the construction of an ethane cracker facility in Beaver County, a project that would account for 10,000 jobs in the construction phase alone.
Also reported is a dramatic and historic change in the direction of natural gas flows in America. Flows always have been from the West or Southwest United States to the East. Not anymore. Pennsylvania became a natural gas exporter in 2010 and is perfectly located to be the supplier to the tremendous growth markets of the northeastern United States.
This new energy revolution also is being seen in Philadelphia. Refineries that were just recently pronounced dead have new life – in no small part because of hydraulically fractured, domestic oil and natural gas. The result is thousands of jobs and cleaner air from the use of natural gas and lower sulfur domestic Bakken crude oil http://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# at the refineries
Pennsylvania oversees this development responsibly under its effective oversight and comprehensive set of laws and regulations. Through Act 13, Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature not only have enhanced environmental protection standards, but also put in place a per-well impact fee, with an initial distribution of $204 million to Pennsylvania municipalities and commonwealth agencies. From encouraging wastewater recycling to one of the most progressive hydraulic fracturing fluid disclosure laws in the nation, the state’s oil and gas program assures responsible, protective development of natural gas. Pennsylvania has more than doubled the number of oil and gas http://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# inspectors, who have conducted more than 20,000 inspections just this year.
Every Pennsylvanian is already benefiting from Marcellus Shale. We are only at the beginning of building Pennsylvania into the energy center of the world and the jobs center of the country.
Mike Krancer serves as secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and Patrick Henderson is energy executive in the Office of Gov. Tom Corbett.
---------
From: John Trallo
Comment:
I'm wondering if it is even possible for Corbett, Krancer, and Henderson to tell the whole truth anymore. Or maybe that's not part of their job discription in the Corbett administration.
Lie #1: "Production from Marcellus wells is exceeding expectations and some of the wells are among the most productive in the world."
Fact: Marcellus wells are droping-off at a rate of 67% every 105 days according to the US/DOE, requiring more frequent re-fracturing, more water consumption, more chemicals, more truck traffic, more compressor stations, more cost, and more chance of contamination. Oh, and less royalty payments to landowners since the operating costs come out of their share. *Some have even gotten a bill, or a statement against future royalties from tha gas companies because the operating costs were greater than their royalty!
Lie #2: "We already have 240,000 jobs related to our oil and natural gas extraction activities."
Fact: 220,000 of those "jobs" are in ancillary industries that already existed long before the gas industry came to PA. In reality, less than 10,000 workers are PA residents, and those jobs are high-risk, temporary, or transient at best.
Lie #3: "Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement that it is exploring the construction of an ethane cracker facility in Beaver County, a project that would account for 10,000 jobs in the construction phase alone."
Fact: Royal Dutch Shell is doing this on the dime of PA taxpayers in the form of a $6.7B 'grant'. In case you didn't know, that 'grant' money is tax dollars taken from education, health care, and environmental services. Those "10,000 jobs in the construction phase alone." once again, are temporary. This cracker plant is expected to provide less than 200 permanent jobs in PA.
Lie #4: "Through Act 13, Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature not only have enhanced environmental protection standards, but also put in place a per-well impact fee, with an initial distribution of $204 million to Pennsylvania municipalities and commonwealth agencies."
Fact: Built in to Act 13 is the provision that the DEP must grant a waiver to set-backs established in Act 13, should an operator request it, rendering the set-backs meaningless. Also, they forgot to mention that the $204M to PA municipalities has a $500K cap on it, and does not amount to a drop in the bucket compared to the billions the state is losing annually by not having a, severance tax LIKE EVERY OTHER OIL AND GAS PRODUCING STATE DOES.
Lie #5: "Every Pennsylvanian is already benefiting from Marcellus Shale."
Fact: Except those who are living in the drilling areas and have to contend with contaminated water, reduction in air quality, noise and truck traffic 24/7, polarized communities, a drop in property values, disappearing farms, increase in violent crime, increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents, constant road construction, intrusion on private property by pipelines that wield the power of eminent domain, and then there are the spills, well-blow-outs, methane leaks, polluted creeks and streams, etc., etc., and everything else that goes along with the wholesale massive industrialization of rural PA. In Shale Country, PA, there is no longer a sense of community, trust in our state and local government, or sense of safety and security in our homes.
John Trallo
Sullivan County, PA
----------------------
From: Patrick Henderson phenderson@pa.gov
Mr. Trallo appears unconstrained by the same truth that he admonishes others, falsely, for skirting by offering false context, no context, or, when necessary, bald-faced lies to refute the below opinion piece.
For starters:
1) The Marcellus, by any measure, contains some of the largest unconventional shale wells in the world. The "drop off" of some wells simply indicates how significant the initial output is - it does not dispel the notion that the wells are world-class production wells. Frankly, if they are not significant producers, drilling interest will go elsewhere.
2) 240,000 Pennsylvanians are employed in core and ancillary oil and gas industries, at wages on average $16,000 to $30,000 more than the average industrial wage in Pennsylvania. This does not include thousands of "induced" jobs - the restaurants, hospitality, service and other sectors that are supported or sustained by oil and gas industrial activity. To state all these jobs were here pre-Marcellus - or to state that only 10,000 of these jobs are held by PA residents - is simply an out-and-out falsehood.
3) Royal Dutch Shell received no grant from the Commonwealth, much less a $6.7 billion grant from PA taxpayers at the expense of other state funding priorities. It is simply, 100% false. Period. Second, it is doubtful that the 10,000 construction workers, employed for 3-4 years constructing a petrochemical and ethylene cracker facility, would agree with Mr. Trallo's characterization. And finally, Mr. Trallo's estimates on full time jobs are entirely inaccurate - the on-site facility is expected to have several hundred jobs, and the ancillary and induced new jobs supported from the feedstock produced from such a facility are estimated to be nearly 15,000 or more full time jobs.
4) Mr. Trallo's characterization of setback waivers is inaccurate. A waiver is not granted if an operator simply requests it; it is only granted if it is demonstrated that doing so will not impact or harm the waters of the Commonwealth. Waiver provisions have been in place since 1984 and again are only granted provided there is no negative environmental impact. Moreover, by dwelling on one provision of Act 13 (and misrepresenting that to boot), Mr. Trallo fails to acknowledge other environmental enhancements: increased well bonding, increased setbacks, enhanced penalties, water management plan requirement, water reuse plan requirement, protections in floodways, secondary containment requirements for chemicals and other materials, etc. etc.
With respect to the impact fee, Mr. Trallo is again wrong. Municipal allocations are capped at the GREATER of $500,000 or 50% of their municipal budget, whichever is greater. If he wishes to criticize providing a municipality with up to 50% more revenue than they previously had, so be it. Most see those limitations as more than generous. Additionally, while Mr. Trallo notes PA does not have a "severance" tax - but it does have an impact fee - he fails to acknowledge that PA does have a corporate, personal, capitol stock and franchise, sales and use, liquid fuels and other taxes which added $420 million to the state's coffers last year.
--------------------------------
From: John Trallo
PS: Please explain how "Every Pennsylvanian is already benefiting from Marcellus Shale", since you did not address my comments on that issue. If you can't explain it, just offer your "opinion", or perhaps Mr. Krancer would like to offer his.
*Prior to being appointed PA's gas Czar, Patrick Henderson was State Senator Mary Jo White's administrative attack dog.
Really? Marcellus Shale bringing energy revolution to state Commentary Mike Krancer and Patrick Henderson
The Times-Leader
Marcellus Shale bringing energy revolution to state Commentary Mike Krancer and Patrick Henderson
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
http://www.timesleader.com/stories/Marcellus-Shale-bringing-energy-revolution-to-state-Commentary-Mike-Krancer-and-Patrick-Henderson,231234
RECENT REPORTS from Standard & Poor’s and ITG showing the amount of recoverable gas in the Marcellus Shale
Both studies confirm that Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formationhttp://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# is the global superstar of natural gas formations. Marcellus Shale will help make Pennsylvania the energy capital of the nation and spark the rebirth of our petrochemical and manufacturing base. Production from Marcellus wells is exceeding expectations and some of the wells are among the most productive in the world. We already have 240,000 jobs related to our oil and natural gashttp://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# extraction activities. When it comes to production numbers, Standard and Poor’s own words confirm that this is a “mere drop in the bucket” of the Marcellus’ full potential.
These reports also say that the potential natural gas liquidshttp://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# recoverable from the Marcellus are proportionally higher than any other shale gas formation. This is terrific news for Pennsylvania, validating Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement that it is exploring the construction of an ethane cracker facility in Beaver County, a project that would account for 10,000 jobs in the construction phase alone.
Also reported is a dramatic and historic change in the direction of natural gas flows in America. Flows always have been from the West or Southwest United States to the East. Not anymore. Pennsylvania became a natural gas exporter in 2010 and is perfectly located to be the supplier to the tremendous growth markets of the northeastern United States.
This new energy revolution also is being seen in Philadelphia. Refineries that were just recently pronounced dead have new life – in no small part because of hydraulically fractured, domestic oil and natural gas. The result is thousands of jobs and cleaner air from the use of natural gas and lower sulfur domestic Bakken crude oil http://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# at the refineries
Pennsylvania oversees this development responsibly under its effective oversight and comprehensive set of laws and regulations. Through Act 13, Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature not only have enhanced environmental protection standards, but also put in place a per-well impact fee, with an initial distribution of $204 million to Pennsylvania municipalities and commonwealth agencies. From encouraging wastewater recycling to one of the most progressive hydraulic fracturing fluid disclosure laws in the nation, the state’s oil and gas program assures responsible, protective development of natural gas. Pennsylvania has more than doubled the number of oil and gas http://us.mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/# inspectors, who have conducted more than 20,000 inspections just this year.
Every Pennsylvanian is already benefiting from Marcellus Shale. We are only at the beginning of building Pennsylvania into the energy center of the world and the jobs center of the country.
Mike Krancer serves as secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and Patrick Henderson is energy executive in the Office of Gov. Tom Corbett.
---------
From: John Trallo
Comment:
I'm wondering if it is even possible for Corbett, Krancer, and Henderson to tell the whole truth anymore. Or maybe that's not part of their job discription in the Corbett administration.
Lie #1: "Production from Marcellus wells is exceeding expectations and some of the wells are among the most productive in the world."
Fact: Marcellus wells are droping-off at a rate of 67% every 105 days according to the US/DOE, requiring more frequent re-fracturing, more water consumption, more chemicals, more truck traffic, more compressor stations, more cost, and more chance of contamination. Oh, and less royalty payments to landowners since the operating costs come out of their share. *Some have even gotten a bill, or a statement against future royalties from tha gas companies because the operating costs were greater than their royalty!
Lie #2: "We already have 240,000 jobs related to our oil and natural gas extraction activities."
Fact: 220,000 of those "jobs" are in ancillary industries that already existed long before the gas industry came to PA. In reality, less than 10,000 workers are PA residents, and those jobs are high-risk, temporary, or transient at best.
Lie #3: "Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement that it is exploring the construction of an ethane cracker facility in Beaver County, a project that would account for 10,000 jobs in the construction phase alone."
Fact: Royal Dutch Shell is doing this on the dime of PA taxpayers in the form of a $6.7B 'grant'. In case you didn't know, that 'grant' money is tax dollars taken from education, health care, and environmental services. Those "10,000 jobs in the construction phase alone." once again, are temporary. This cracker plant is expected to provide less than 200 permanent jobs in PA.
Lie #4: "Through Act 13, Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature not only have enhanced environmental protection standards, but also put in place a per-well impact fee, with an initial distribution of $204 million to Pennsylvania municipalities and commonwealth agencies."
Fact: Built in to Act 13 is the provision that the DEP must grant a waiver to set-backs established in Act 13, should an operator request it, rendering the set-backs meaningless. Also, they forgot to mention that the $204M to PA municipalities has a $500K cap on it, and does not amount to a drop in the bucket compared to the billions the state is losing annually by not having a, severance tax LIKE EVERY OTHER OIL AND GAS PRODUCING STATE DOES.
Lie #5: "Every Pennsylvanian is already benefiting from Marcellus Shale."
Fact: Except those who are living in the drilling areas and have to contend with contaminated water, reduction in air quality, noise and truck traffic 24/7, polarized communities, a drop in property values, disappearing farms, increase in violent crime, increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents, constant road construction, intrusion on private property by pipelines that wield the power of eminent domain, and then there are the spills, well-blow-outs, methane leaks, polluted creeks and streams, etc., etc., and everything else that goes along with the wholesale massive industrialization of rural PA. In Shale Country, PA, there is no longer a sense of community, trust in our state and local government, or sense of safety and security in our homes.
John Trallo
Sullivan County, PA
----------------------
From: Patrick Henderson phenderson@pa.gov
Mr. Trallo appears unconstrained by the same truth that he admonishes others, falsely, for skirting by offering false context, no context, or, when necessary, bald-faced lies to refute the below opinion piece.
For starters:
1) The Marcellus, by any measure, contains some of the largest unconventional shale wells in the world. The "drop off" of some wells simply indicates how significant the initial output is - it does not dispel the notion that the wells are world-class production wells. Frankly, if they are not significant producers, drilling interest will go elsewhere.
2) 240,000 Pennsylvanians are employed in core and ancillary oil and gas industries, at wages on average $16,000 to $30,000 more than the average industrial wage in Pennsylvania. This does not include thousands of "induced" jobs - the restaurants, hospitality, service and other sectors that are supported or sustained by oil and gas industrial activity. To state all these jobs were here pre-Marcellus - or to state that only 10,000 of these jobs are held by PA residents - is simply an out-and-out falsehood.
3) Royal Dutch Shell received no grant from the Commonwealth, much less a $6.7 billion grant from PA taxpayers at the expense of other state funding priorities. It is simply, 100% false. Period. Second, it is doubtful that the 10,000 construction workers, employed for 3-4 years constructing a petrochemical and ethylene cracker facility, would agree with Mr. Trallo's characterization. And finally, Mr. Trallo's estimates on full time jobs are entirely inaccurate - the on-site facility is expected to have several hundred jobs, and the ancillary and induced new jobs supported from the feedstock produced from such a facility are estimated to be nearly 15,000 or more full time jobs.
4) Mr. Trallo's characterization of setback waivers is inaccurate. A waiver is not granted if an operator simply requests it; it is only granted if it is demonstrated that doing so will not impact or harm the waters of the Commonwealth. Waiver provisions have been in place since 1984 and again are only granted provided there is no negative environmental impact. Moreover, by dwelling on one provision of Act 13 (and misrepresenting that to boot), Mr. Trallo fails to acknowledge other environmental enhancements: increased well bonding, increased setbacks, enhanced penalties, water management plan requirement, water reuse plan requirement, protections in floodways, secondary containment requirements for chemicals and other materials, etc. etc.
With respect to the impact fee, Mr. Trallo is again wrong. Municipal allocations are capped at the GREATER of $500,000 or 50% of their municipal budget, whichever is greater. If he wishes to criticize providing a municipality with up to 50% more revenue than they previously had, so be it. Most see those limitations as more than generous. Additionally, while Mr. Trallo notes PA does not have a "severance" tax - but it does have an impact fee - he fails to acknowledge that PA does have a corporate, personal, capitol stock and franchise, sales and use, liquid fuels and other taxes which added $420 million to the state's coffers last year.
--------------------------------
From: John Trallo
Mr. Henderson,
First
of all, I appreciate you responding.
Second,
I'm not "offering false context, no context, or, when necessary, bald-faced lies
to refute the below opinion piece."
To
make that point, the figures I got for the drop-off rate are from the US
Department of Energy, and the employment statistics are from the
Pennsylvania Statewide Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment, conducted by: Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center (MSETC)
a collaboration of Pennsylvania College of Technology [see
page 21] and the Penn State Extension. (both
documents are
attached)
For the Royal Dutch Shell cracker plant, I
quote from the Alpern Rosenthal Accounting Firm press release: "Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett bundled various tax breaks along
with the expansion of the Keystone Opportunity Zone program." For those who are
not educated on the KOZ program, this is a quote from the PA Dept. of
Community and Economic Development: Keystone
Opportunity Zones are such a breakthrough idea that Business Facilities magazine
calls them the number one economic development strategy in the nation. By
eliminating specific state and local taxes within specific underdeveloped
and underutilized areas, communities within Pennsylvania are experiencing
economic growth and investment.
Now, Mr. Henderson, you can call it 'tax
breaks', or 'tax incentives', whatever you choose to call it, it means that the
people of PA will be picking up the tab for the tax. Tax not paid, is negative
revenue. And the $6.7B cap was removed in the last minutes before Act 13 was
voted on. Also, if the waiver provisions have been in place, why did they have
to reiterated in Act 13, and what percentage of the DEP permits and
waivers have been denied?
As for the impact fee, aside from short
changing municipalities... compared to an severance tax, it lets the industry
off-the-hook for any negative impact to our infrastructure. Especially with a
ridiculous $6K p/mile road bond. According to PennDOT, the cost to resurface one
mile of road is approximately $1M. Last year, Williamsport was touted as the
"third fastest growing city in America thanks to Marcellus". This year, after
their receiving their impact fee distribution, the city is $2M in the red. Are
you sure we can afford that kind of "growth"?
Now, I know Gov. Corbett took the Norquist "no
tax" pledge, or as any reasonable person would see it, a pledge not to learn, or
alter the course regardless of changing circumstances. You're correct, PA does have a corporate,
personal, capitol stock and franchise, sales and use, liquid fuels and other
taxes which added $420 million to the state's coffers last year. Now, my
question to you is, how does that corporate tax work with most, if not all, of
these companies registered in Delaware? It should also be noted, that the PA
wage tax that is deducted from out-of-state workers is returned 100% when they
file in their home state, and most of the ones I know aren't paying any sales
tax on tools, work clothes, equipment, etc., since they are work related and
exempt from sales tax.
So, putting your game of political semantics aside, I stand by my
statements, and have provided documentation to support them. So, if you disagree
with the US/DOE, the MSETC, and PennDOT, please provide the documentation to
support your position. But then again, you don't have to, since you admitted the
article I refuted was nothing more than an "opinion piece". Last time I checked,
an "opinion" is not a fact.
Yes, I am sending my response, along with the supporting
documentation to the press.
John Trallo
Sullivan County, PA PS: Please explain how "Every Pennsylvanian is already benefiting from Marcellus Shale", since you did not address my comments on that issue. If you can't explain it, just offer your "opinion", or perhaps Mr. Krancer would like to offer his.
video: NEW CAMPBELL DEBATE ON HYDROFRACKING
Shaleshock media video:
Cornell's Dr. Robert Howarth, et al debates
http://williamahuston.blogspot.com/2012/12/howarth-etal-fracking-debate-at.html
NEW CAMPBELL DEBATE ON HYDROFRACKING
November 30, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Maxwell Auditorium, Syracuse University
Cornell's Dr. Robert Howarth, et al debates
http://williamahuston.blogspot.com/2012/12/howarth-etal-fracking-debate-at.html
NEW CAMPBELL DEBATE ON HYDROFRACKING
November 30, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Maxwell Auditorium, Syracuse University
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