Rivertown Coalition Summer 2013

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The Importance of Loyalsock to Pennsylvania

From the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)

Fact Sheet:

The Loyalsock State Forest is 114,494 acres offorest that straddles 3 counties (Bradford, Lycomingand Sullivan). It has nearly 200 miles of marked and

unmarked hiking trails to include the Old LoggersPath which traverses the valleys of Rock Run andPleasant Stream and other sights on its 27 mile trail. ~Because of a lawsuit in the 1980s by Clarence Mooreasserting that he owned the subsurface rights toapproximately 25,000 acres of the Loyalsock inLycoming County, which includes much of the OldLoggers Path and the two streams, there is contentionabout surface and subsurface rights. ~In 1989 theCommonwealth Court found that the Clarence Moorerights to enter upon the surface expired on about

18,000 acres leaving 7,000 acres still at risk. Thesetracks are scattered throughout the 25, 000 acres.~There is legal disagreement about the degree ofcontrol offered by the 1989 decision, including overthe potential impact of the State Supreme Courts 2009decision in Belden and Blake vs DCNR. Making thingsworse, the Clarence Moore subsurface ownership

estate has been divided between Anadarko PetroleumCorp. (owning 50%) and the DCNR believes theother 50% is under a lease agreement withSouthwestern Energy Corp.

In cases of subsurface ownership of state forests theDCNR historically has Surface Use Agreements(SUA) between the department and the company to

access of their holdings. Because of the particularecological, recreational, economic and legalcomplexities of this land track, the DCNR has beennegotiating a Surface Development ManagementAgreement (SDMA) which is different from a SUAand different from a permitting process. As of the Jun3 hearing nothing had been signed.You can access more information on this at www.dcnr.state.pa.uthen choose Gas Drilling on State Forests under the Quick

Links.

However, what has the environmental

community upset is that this process has been movingforward without public hearings or public input.Hikers were finding survey stakes and unusualequipment in the forest and began to ask questions.Because of public pressure the DCNR held a hearingon June 3, at 4pm at Lycoming College. Unless youare in an environmental group that forwards alerts, yoMay not have known it was going to happen.

RivertownCoalitionfor Clean Air and Clean Water

Summer 2013 Volume 2 Issue

LoyalsockUnderAttack!

Thismapshowsthe4compressorstations(reddiamonds),multiplewellpads(whitedots)andpipelines(redlines)thatareproposedtogointotheLoyalsockStateForest.

Youcanviewthisathttp://www.fractracker.org/2013/05/clarencemoore/


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Rivertown Coalition [email protected] Vol 2 Issue 3

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There were about 500 people attending and the 2 hourscheduled comment time (5 min per person) needed tobe extended over an hour. There were people stillstanding in line to comment when the school needed toclose at 7pm. All of the comments were about the

value and need for these uniquePUBLIC lands to bepreserved. None supported drilling. There was a mapavailable from Frac Tracker Alliance showing theproposed 4 compressor stations, at least 9 well pads and3 pipelines all lacing the entire track of land. Add toyour mental image the 750 truck trips for water to andfro for each fracking event at each well pad and thenlisten to the compressor stations that have causedcracks in peoples homes who live near to them and youcan begin to imagine the change from the pristine

silence of the forest with running streams to acommercial zone. The Old Loggers Path has aworld wide reputation as a wonderful hike. Howwill this affect the tourist industry connectedwith this area?

There is no NEED for this extraction except

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. profits. It will notbenefit the people of Pennsylvania, and becauseit is to be exported will likely contribute to a risein local gas prices. So whats the rush to destroyour natural icon? You can share your commentswith the DCNR (address above), your electedrepresentatives (addresses on the cover page) andAnadarko (R.A. Walker is the Chairman,President and CEO of [email protected] 1-800-800-1101)!

Anadarko Petroelum Company is a publicly traded stock in the gas and oil industry. The headquarters is in the Anadarko Tower, The Woodlands,TX. 77380 Their revenue in 2011 was $13.967 billion dollars and as of December 2011 had 4800 employees. Anadarkos operations in the UnitedStates include oil and natural-gas exploration and production onshore in the Lower 48 states, onshore Alaska, and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. TheCompanys operations in the United States accounted for 87% of total sales volumes during 2011 and 90% of total proved reserves at year-end 2011.It was one of the companies working with BP and involved in the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They settled with BP to pay $4

billion dollars in those damages. (Wikipedia)

Gasland IIOn Wednesday June 19

thover 900 people gathered at the Williamsport Community Arts Center to view Gasland

II and to join the Q&A with the film maker Josh Fox. As in Gasland, there are scenes of the problems that arisebecause of water contamination and air pollution. There are real people telling their real stories of lives changedas dreams are shattered by neighbors drills, illnesses that make it necessary to move from long held family landsand the problems to haul in fresh water because their groundwater is no longer useable.

The additional information in this film includes the response and non-response of the government depending ontimes in the election cycle, orders from above and general secrecy in the hearing process for discussing policydecisions that affect the electorate. The message continues to show that fracking is fracturing more than shale.

If you would like to see this film for yourself it will be on HBO on July 8, at 9pm againon July 14 and other times check your schedulesthere is full information at

www.hbo.com/documentaries/gasland-part-ii/index.htmlPhoto by Wendy Lynne Lee


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Rivertown coalition [email protected] Vol2 Issue 3

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I Went to the Woods I was reminded of Ralph Waldo Emersons famous treatise in

which he went to the woods to enjoy the solitude when I

joined members of the Riverfront Coalition on two recent

forays into the Loyalsock area. The trips differed greatly

however.The first trip involved a hike in the Loyalsock State Forest

guided by Barb Jamoska of Shale Justice and RDA. I was

joined by Carol Parowski, President of the Riverfront, and Peg

Lauver, a Union County farmer and Riverfront member . The

hike reminded me of my youth in which I roamed in the

forests with my friends. We hiked along Loyalsock Creek,

traversing rocks and climbing over tree trunks. The creekgently gurgled as it flowed over rocks. At one point, I sat on a

log and closed my eyes. The hike had relaxed me and my feet

welcomed the opportunity to sit and not think about anything.

What a treat! I returned home feeling like I was reentering my

world refreshed and ready to take a long nap after a hotshower didnt someone say the best things in life are free?

The second foray involved a field trip to view various vestiges

of natural gas fracking in the Loyalsock area. Many of the

compressor stations and holding ponds were barely visible to

the casual traveler. But Peg Lauver, our guide, pointed out

various well pads and holding tanks tucked away back on rural

roads that winded through the forest. I could not help butobserve how close many of the well sites and holding tanks

were located within a stones throw of streams. I was

reminded of how many of these streams, if uncharted andregistered with the state, merited little more protection than

drainage ditches in urban areas. I wondered why the area was

eerily free of actual drilling. Then I got my answer by looking

at the large tracts of forest that had been cut down pipelines

are being developed leaving

ribbon-like open areas similar

to electric power lines cut

through forests in Snyder

County near my home. The

pipelines will allow drilling to

start anew and probably growvery significantly.

On the trip home I could not help but wonder: we are just

starting the Marcellus Shale fracking so what were seeing is

just a foretaste of what is to come. As I was planning a trip to

a developing country at the time, the thought occurred to me

how different is central Pennsylvania from a developing

country for its citizens when you consider that the natural gas

may be exported, leaving the social and environmental costs to

be borne while the economic benefits accrue to those living

elsewhere?

Alternative energy sources continue to grow around the

United States. The same is true locally. Dennis

Brubaker and his partner, Gerald Stauffer purchased afarm near Beavertown, PA in 2007, now an established

swine operation. At that time, the farm produced 14

thousand gallons of manure annually (including rain

water). They immediately set a plan to begin reducing

the manure load. While neighboring farmers used some

of the manure on their fields as fertilizer, the partners

began a plan to cut the total manure load by changing

the type of waterers in the barns, creating diversions and

employing best management practices. Waste was cu

by half in two years

Next, in 2008, the partners tackled how to use the

remaining manure and make it of value. Utility cost in

2008 was the greatest business expense on the farm

The issue was how to turn two problems, manure and

utility cost into an asset. They came upon a plan to

capture gas from the manure and convert it to energy and

proceeded to put the mechanics in place. In brief

manure is contained in a concrete tank that has a cover.

the manure is heated which causes gas to escape. The

gas is captured in the cover, piped to a utility building

where it is converted to electricity. PPL buys the

electricity and the operation buys back electricity for

their use. The remaining manure is used for fertilizer

The process removes 3,400 tons of carbon out of the air

annually and saves 12 to 15 thousand gallons of propane

annually and supplies electricity to approximately 120

to 130 homes per year. A side benefit is that the process

dissipates odor from the manure.

More recently, following permitting procedures and

obtaining a methane digester, Mr. Brubaker and Mr

Stauffer are currently working to develop electricity

from pre and post non-contaminated (no aluminum or

plastic, etc) food waste. They have begun collecting trap

grease and are working w. Hometown Disposal to

collect food waste. They are looking to collect waste

from commercial and institutional sites. IN time, they

are hopeful that waste can be collected from homes but a

system to do so is not yet in place.

Right now, there are no perfect solutions to any of our

energy problems (or any others for that matter), but we

want to celebrate the people who look at those problems

and find ways to make a real improvement and then keep

looking for more and better ways to do things. As each

of us does that within our own homes and business...we

will move forward to a better environment and world.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE

IN SNYDER COUNTYCreative Efforts to Combine Problems

with Renewables


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Know your Government representatives- Save this page

US Senate

US Senate

US Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D)

http://casey.senate.gov

393 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510Toll Free 866-802-2833

22 S. Third Street Suite 6A

Harrisburg, PA 17101Toll Free: 717-231-5740

US Sen Patrick Pat Toomey (R)

http://toomey.senate.gov/

502 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510

(202) 224-4254

United States Federal Building

228 Walnut Street Suite 1104Harrisburg, PA 17101

(717) 782-3951

US House of Representatives

9th District Rep. William Bill

Schuster (R)

http://schuster.house.gov/

204 Cannon HOB

Washington, DC 20515

(202) 225-2431

100 Lincoln Way East, Suite B

Chambersburg, PA 17201

717-264-8308

10th

DistrictRep. Thomas Marino

(R)

http://marino.house.gov410 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515(202) 225-3731

106 Arch St.

Sunbury, PA 17801

570-988-7801

11th

District Rep. Lou Barletta (R)

http://barletta.house.gov/

510 Cannon HOB


Toll free: 855-241-51441112 Highway 315 BoulevardWilkes-Barre, PA 18702

(570) 235-1420

17th

District Rep. Matt Cartwright (D)

http://cartwright.house.gov/

1419 Longworth House Building


(202) 225-5546

226 Wyoming Ave

Scranton, PA 18503

(570) 341-1050

State Government

PA Senate 27th

District

John R. Gordner (R)

http://senatorgordner.com

351 Main CapitolHarrisburg, PA 17120

717-787-8928

603 W. Main Street

Bloomsburg, PA 17815

570-784-3464

PA Senate 23rd District

Gene Yaw (R)

http://senatorgeneyaw.com

457 Main Capital BuildingSenate PO Box 203023

Harrisburg, PA 17120-3023

717-787-3280

330 Pine Street Suite 204

Williamsport, PA17701

570-322-6457

1800-443-5772

PA House 82nd

District

Juniata County, Mifflin County (part),

Snyder County(part)

C. Adam Harris (R)

http://repadamharris.com

51B East Wing

PO Box 202082

Harrisburg, PA 17120-2082717-783-7830

Beaver Springs Senior Citizen Center5 Elm Street

Beaver Springs, PA 17812

570-658-7395

PA House 108th

District

Northumberland County (part),

Snyder County (part)

Lynda Schlegel Culver (R)

http://www.lyndaculver.com

412 Irvis Office BuildingPO Box 202108

Harrisburg, PA 17120-2108Seat 179

(717) 787-3485

106 Arch Street

Sunbury, PA 17801

(570) 286-5885

PA House 83rd

District

Lycoming County (part)(Williamsport, Armstrong, Hepburn,

Loyalsock, Lycoming, Old Lycoming,Susquehanna, Duboistown and South

Williamsport)

Rick Mirabito (D)

http://www.pahouse.com/mirabito/con

tact/asp

115A East WingPO Box 202083


717-772-1314

800 West 4th Street #02Williamsport PA 17751

570-321-1270

PA House 84th District

Lycoming County (part)

Garth Everett(R)

http://www.repeverett.com/contact/aspx430 Irvis Office Building

PO Box 202084


717-787-5271Penn Hills Plaza, Halls Station

21 Kristi Road Suite 1

Muncy, PA 17736

570-546-2084

PA House 85th DistrictSnyder County(part), Union CountyFred Keller (R)

http://www.repfredkeller.com

428 Irvis Office Building

PO Box 202085Harrisburg, PA 17120-2085

Seat 84

(717) 787-3443

343 Chestnut Street, Suite 1

PO Box 163

Mifflinburg, PA 17844

(570) 966-0052

PA House 46th District

(Parts)Washington, Beaver, Allegheny

Jesse White (D)

http://[email protected] Irvis Office Building

PA Box 202046


(717) 783-6437

3555 Millers Run Road

PO Box 285

Cecil, PA 15321

(724) 746-8677

Federal Government: to find your district go to http:/www.govtrack.us/congress/members

State Government: to find your state district go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator enter your addres


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If you would like to continue receiving the printed copy, and/or to help us expand our educational outreach,Please help by making a donation.

Send your check to Rivertown Coalition, PO Box 205, Selinsgrove, PA 17870

If you would like to have notifications of hearings and meetings on environmental issues, send your name and

request to [email protected]. We will put you on ouremail alert list.

The Rivertown Coalition is on Facebookand has regular posting ofTuesday Thoughts and Friday Factsonenvironmental issues and other valuable information. Friend us on Facebook

The Rivertown Coalition for Clean Air and Clean Water is a member ofShale Justice: A Coalition of

Organizations United for the Environment. One of the reasons for joining the coalition is to share resources.You will find extensive environmental information consolidated at this site http://shalejustice.org.

A BIG THANK YOU to Scott Tanner of Ink Spot Printing in Selinsgrove for continued help and support ofThe Rivertown Coalition.

Rivertown Coalition

For Clean Air and Clean Water

P.O. Box 205

Selinsgrove, PA 17870

[email protected]

Rivertown Coalition Summer 2013

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