Why West Virginia Needs A Moratorium on Permits for Marcellus Gas Wells

In accordance with West Virginia Code establishing the Department of Environmental Protection:

Chapter 22, Article 1-1 (a) The Legislature finds that: (1) Restoring and protecting the

environment is fundamental to the health and welfare of individual citizens, and our

government has a duty to provide and maintain a healthful environment for our citizens.

We, the undersigned, call for a moratorium on new permits for natural gas wells until the following minimum requirements are met:

1. No new permits should be issued until DEP inspections of drilling operations and gas wells become mandatory. The WV DEP must determine the number of active wells that an inspector can effectively oversee and limit the number of permits issued to the corresponding number of inspectors on staff.

2. No new permits should be granted until tracers are added to the hydraulic fracturing fluids so groundwater contamination from drilling operations can be identified.

3. No new permits should be issued until a closed-loop process is mandated for drilling and hydraulic fracturing. In order to protect the state’s surface and groundwater, no waste or flowback, solid or liquid, should be applied to or buried on the land.

4. No new permits should be granted until all hazardous materials are disposed of in hazardous waste facilities.

5. No new permits should be issued until Home Rule is honored. Local towns and counties must be allowed to control whether, where and when hydraulic fracturing is done in their communities, including control of the roads and hours where trucks hauling drilling equipment and supplies are allowed to operate.

6. No new permits should be issued until air pollution emissions are monitored and regulated and pollution controls are required on all gas facilities.

7. No new permits should be issued until West Virginia citizens are guaranteed a permanent replacement if their source of clean water becomes contaminated at any time within 1 mile of a natural gas drilling operation unless another source of pollution can be proven.

We know that the legislation adopted in December, 2011 was grossly inadequate, and does not provide the basic protections needed by West Virginia citizens. Yet permits for new wells continue to be issued, leaving landowners and local citizens helpless to stop the dangers in their neighborhood. Natural gas development can be done right, but today, it is being done wrong, and that needs to stop. Right Now!

Sept. 11, 2012

To:

Earl Ray Tomblin, Governor of West Virginia

Jeff Kessler, President, WV State Senate

Richard Thompson, Speaker, WV House of Delegates

The undersigned groups call upon you to enact a moratorium on the issuance of new permits for drilling of natural gas wells until minimum legal protections are instituted for local communities and all West Virginia citizens. We hope you will agree that our water and the very air we breathe deserve better protection than is now available. Too many permits have been issued without adequate safeguards, and the safety of our citizens must be the top priority of the State of West Virginia.

Sierra Club, West Virginia Chapter 

Christians for the Mountains

Coal River Mountain Watch

Doddridge County Watershed Association

Eight Rivers Council

Friends of the Cacapon River

Greenbrier River Water Association

Laurel Mountain Preservation Association

League of Women Voters of West Virginia

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition

Pocahontas County Commission

SaveTheWaterTable.org

Sleepy Creek Watershed Association

Warm Springs Watershed Association of Berkeley Springs

West Virginia Environmental Council

West Virginian For a Moratorium on Marcellus (WV4MoM)

West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

For Immediate Release: For More Information

Sept. 11, 2012 James Kotcon, Chair

Energy Committee

West Virginia Sierra Club

304-293-8822 (office)

304-594-3322 (home)

Environmental Groups Call For Marcellus Drilling Moratorium

Eleven environmental groups from across West Virginia met today in Charleston to call for a moratorium on permits for natural gas drilling in West Virginia.

The statement proposed seven conditions that should be met before new permits are issued, including mandatory well inspections, ground water protections, air pollution monitoring and control, and recognition of the rights of counties and local communities.to protect their citizens.

The statement said that legislation adopted in December 2011 “was grossly inadequate, and does not provide the basic protections needed by West Virginia citizens. Yet permits for new wells continue to be issued, leaving landowners and local citizens helpless to stop the dangers in their neighborhood.”

"We can't let the gas industry wreck more West Virginians' homes and lives" said Jim Sconyers, Chair of the West Virginia Sierra Club and the lead sponsor of the statement. “Too many horror stories are occurring. Natural gas development can be done right, but today, it is being done wrong, and that needs to stop. Right Now!”

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WV Sierra Club Sept. 11, 2012

“Fracking is science without conscience, short sighted, bloated on greed, its executors revealing the essence of cognitive dissonance,” said Dr. Cyla Allison, of Pocahontas County and President of Eight Rivers Council. “Fracking steals irreplaceable water and substitutes poison.”

Examples of problems from around the region included toxic dust problems in Doddridge County, air pollution that sickened nearby residents, explosions at gas well sites, pressurized gases in well water, and the unwillingness of state regulatory agencies to enforce rules or respond to complaints.

“The Friends of the Cacapon River support the protection of the water,
land and air across the state of West Virginia,” said Linda Kjeldgaard of Friends of the Cacapon River, in Great Cacapon WV. “Without adequate regulation we feel that the most precious natural resources are at risk of being lost to future generations. Proper regulation of the natural gas industry is the duty of our State.”

Signatories included Sierra Club, WV Highlands Conservancy, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Environmental Council, Friends of the Cacapon River, Christians for the Mountains, Eight Rivers Council, Greenbrier River Water Association, SaveTheWaterTable.org, Coal River Mountain Watch and West Virginians For A Moratorium On Marcellus (WV4MoM).

The statement was delivered to Governor Tomblin and key legislators who were at the Capitol for interim meetings.

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Presentations at the Wellness and Water Conference, Morgantown, Sept. 8, 2012

Part 3 - Presentation by Greene County, Pennsylvania resident Pam Judy describing the health effects her family has experienced from a compressor station that was built 780 feet from their new home.
http://youtu.be/-qVGWAZXi7s (7:14)

Part 4 - Presentation by Christina Woods of Doddridge County, West Virginia who describes problems with dust from drilling traffic on the road near their home which were compounded when flowback being was applied to the road for dust control.
http://youtu.be/vjDBCyf8Ypo (5:18)

Part 5 - Presentation by Linda Headley of Fayette County, Pennsylvania who describes how being surrounded by Marcellus Shale drilling sites has adversely affected her family' health and wellbeing.
http://youtu.be/JPIauYgBNYo (3:16)

Watch the whole presentation here:  http://marcellus-wv.com/more-impacts/health