Natural Gas Forum For Landowners
Because Community Is Everything

Drilling Down To The Facts
Over the past year we have been sometimes labled as not being concerned enough about the environmental impact of natural gas drilling. We have also been labled by some as being greedy landowners who want to suck the blood out of the drilling companies and get rich at their expense... Extracting unreasonable demands for using our land for natural gas exploration.

So in a very real sense, as Andy Rooney once said, I am going to make someone angry and it may as well be those I disagree with.

Fear Mongering and Mis-Representation
Our goal is to drill down to facts and truth. We have no other agenda. What we want is to become wise stewards of resources. Many of us have been handed down that responsibility from as far back as our great-grandparents. If the facts prove out that drilling for natural gas is going to prove to be a high risk environmental endeavor, then we as landowners need to make those hard decisions. But on this website, be aware that mis-information will be exposed as well and if that angers you.... oh well.

I received an email a while back from an organization that attempted to portray the rape of the land by a drilling operation at the Matushek well in Clinton Twp, Wayne County PA. When I went to their website, I viewed photos of their "Before and After" in a specific area. Ironically, there are no wells drilled in that area, and the shots were intentionally set up to create fear of an eventuality that is simply a complete fabrication to instill fear in readers.

The Fact
Here is what that well site actually looked like, during drilling operations around June of 2008. Typically the actual drilling operations run 24/7 for about 3 or 4 weeks, and then the rig is removed and the land restored to it's original contours.

In this image you can clearly see the retaining pond where water returning from the well is contained. (Which, for the record, we are pushing to have changed to require a "closed loop system").

Below is the same site in late fall 2008

Comparing Apples To Oranges
Perhaps you have been presented with pictures of oily, black smoke billowing from wells when flaring is taking place. (Flaring is when the fresh well is burned off for a few days to allow the gas to clear up). If you were told that these were shallow methane wells in the west, it could be true, but if you were presented with the idea that this is what a typical Marcellus well is like, you were flat out lied to. The pictures below were recently taken of two separate Marcellus well flare-offs in South Western PA.

We have hundreds of natural gas well drilling pictures and I can only say take a look at them and judge for youself whether you are being told the truth, or being fed a line of B.S.
View pictures of drilling operations

Nimbys and Bananas Nimbys are those who want "nothing in my back yard", Bananas are those who have decided that it is unacceptable to "build anything in anyone's back yard". Both sets of groups will do just about anything to prevent the little piece of "heaven" they own, or are near, to have anything they deem to be unacceptable to their asthetics.

As a landowner, I will address some of the issues claimed by these self serving control freaks describing the "real impact of gas drilling".

Depletion of water tables - Frankly, I am amazed that this is even mentioned. It wasn't that long ago that the very same people from the same urban area were attempting to push through legislation to drill deep water wells in this same area, to supplement the water flow in the rivers during low flow periods to keep the salt water from reaching THEIR areas. Where was the concern for water table depletion then?

Water Pollution - Before all the new urbanites and environmental freaks began building second homes and vacation communities I could drink the water from just about any stream in our area. Your camps got legislation through to allow them to dump their septic holding ponds into our streams during high water times. Not only can't we drink the water, we don't even want to swim in it anymore.

Neighborhood Depreciation - Nothing more depreciating to a country boy than a 500 acre development of ticky tacky homes on half acre lots, that once used to be a working farm. Frankly, I'd rather see a bunch of gas rigs for a month or two.... They will go away.... The developments rape the land forever.

Noise Pollution - No worse than your 4 wheelers and snow mobiles that the growing population in my area loves to run past my home on a deserted road, sometimes till 2 or 3 in the morning.... But I think that is considered recreation.

Light Pollution - Give me a break. With the expanding population of second home owners, who are afraid of the dark, the summer night sky is ablaze with your lighted camps and communities. When the second home owners and camps go back to the city, we get our night sky back.

Increased Crime - No one used to lock their doors around where I live.... That is until the "city folk" discovered our area. The crime rate has jumped exponentially with the infusion of population from urban areas. We have taken the crime issue to heart and here in PA, most native homes are still legally allowed to be protected by Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson, who are at the ready at all times.

Negative Impact on Wildlife due to drilling chemicals - Ever take a look on the side of the road at the number of road kills from all of the cars travelling back and forth to the city on weekends? That's pretty negative to me. The chemicals are a potential unrealized hazard. Your cars are a reality. By the way... All of your environmentally correct erosion and sedimentation controls now create the perfect drain off after a rain. Streams that used to run all summer long from the lingering water in low spots now drain off quite efficiently... and the native brook trout that lived there for generations all disappeared due to a lack of continually running water.

Loss of Green Space - Think about what you are even saying. The large family farms that provide the "green space" are being lost simply because farmers don't earn the incomes you city dwellers earn. Since you have paid inflated prices for what you bought, the tax rates have continually inflated. Their incomes haven't. They can't afford to give you your "green space" and without a supporting income, will end up selling the farms to developers. Now, how green is that?

Almost all of the issues attributed by the nimbys and bananas are guaranteed to occur by preventing landowners from making their own decision about the use of their land. I am amazed that so many people are biting on this bait. Has the world gone insane?

There Is Some Truth Buried In There - Although I have not minced my opinion on the BS, there is some truth that needs to be very diligently considered.

• Hydrofracing - Not so much about the amount of water being used, but how frac water is being disposed of or recycled.
• Holding Ponds - We have experienced 2 - 100yr floods and a 500 year flood in our recent past. I do not believe that open holding ponds for frac fluids are an acceptable option.
• Hydrofracing Chemicals - This is a big issue, and some of these items are not nice to living things. (See an DEP MSDS)
• Emergency Response Training - Whether pipeline, or industrial mishap, this issue has to be addressed, if drilling is to commence.

In Conclusion
There are many entities involved in this natural gas leasing issue. Some have agendas that may be shortsighted, unrealistic, or opportunistic at the expense of not only landowners, but the citizens of our nation. It is our responsibility to process the information and then act as a unified community of landowners to maintain the wise stewardship of the land we have been given responsibility for. Somewhere in between the fear tactics, mis-representations, lies, and self serving agenda the truth can be found.

Our quest is to find what is true, and help provide the resources for better decisions to be made.