Land Disturbance
Bulldozers will make an access road suitable for tractor trailors, a well pad of several acres hardened with 3 feet of gravel, and eventually a pipeline.
Is this disturbance appropriate on state slands (State Forests, Parks, Wildlife Areas)?
Drilling permits have been issued by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for Marcellus shale gas drilling in Chief Logan State Park in Logan County. The anticipated impacts of this industrial activity in a place reserved for recreation are numerous, including, but not limited to:
- Construction of roads, drill pads and pipelines will disrupt the scenic beauty and fragment habitat.
- The noise of construction, truck traffic, drilling and fracking will inhibit the peaceful enjoyment of the park and is likely to interfere with the breeding and foraging activity of wildlife within the park.
- Tourists will be deterred from visiting an area despoiled by industrial activity.
Here, Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Chair, Jim Sconyers,shares his concerns about the negative impacts of gas development upon our enjoyment of our parks and the loss of tourism-generated revenue. Jim Sconyers discusses the impacts of gas drilling in West Virginia state parks.
