Area Group Conducts Forum on Fracking and Pipeline Issues in North Central WV

Report on Energy Education Forum at WVU Jackson’s Mill Assembly Hall

By John W. Cobb, Retired from Marketing & Public Relations, November 12, 2014

A group of citizens in northcentral West Virginia organized a Public Meeting at Jackson’s Mill concerning the effects of coming energy exploitation in the area. It was held Tuesday, November 11, with a crowd of about 230, not counting the presenters and helpers.

The topics included truck traffic, water use and contamination, waste removal from the drilling site and what happens to it, tree removal, burning and site preparation, water buffaloes and supply when water is contaminated or lost by drilling. Loss of peace and quiet, being cut off from work and necessary support by closed roads, light and noise and odors were also discussed. The final presentations by Julie Archer of the Surface Owners Rights Organization and Diane Pitcock of the Host Farms program explained the function of these organizations and how to get information from them and become members.

All the information came from people who have been directly affected by shale drilling, primarily in Wetzel and Doddridge Counties.  The sole support came from donations from the organizing committee. Michael Barrack who resides in Harrison County presided. The helpers were Diana Gooding of Gilmer, April Keating of Upshur, as well as Myra Bonhage-Hale, Barbara Volk, Tom Berlin, Tom Bond and John Cobb of Lewis County.

The presentations made extensive use of pictures taken in the counties represented, actually hundreds of them. Pipelines, flaring, stream degradation, broken roads, wrecked trucks (a common occurrence) were seen in them. The size of the drill pads and the access roads and the fracking ponds, and the closeness to houses of these constructions could be seen from aerial photographs.

Around the walls were tables with pictures and information, each explained by someone familiar with the topic for the table. Handouts with information of various topics were present on tables near the entrance.

There were industry people in attendance, too. “Corky” DeMarco, Director of the WV Oil & Natural Gas Association (WVONGA) brought along a Charleston lawyer and another observer, and there was a CNX photographer who videotaped everything. The committee hopes these industry people were able to see fracking a little more as those who live in the midst of it do.

Several in the audience were already aware of the problems connected with extreme energy extraction which they will be living in the midst of in a few years. Far more were unacquainted with what is in store for the northcentral West Virginia counties.

There was an (unfortunate) shortage of elected officials, who need to be thinking about what they should be doing to protect the larger number of their electorate who will be directly suffering once the onslaught of the increased Marcellus drilling and two large interstate pipelines move in and across northcentral and eastern West Virginia.

Sadly, one elected official who was contacted afterward replied, “They told us when the bill came out that this was the best we could expect to get for our constituents. So I voted for it.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Forum held on impact of fracking in region — Oil and gas boom’s effects on air, water and roads discussed

From the Article by Jeremiah Shelor, Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram, November 12, 2014

Forum organizer April Keating said she wanted residents to have an opportunity to learn about issues related to the oil and gas industry. “This meeting is an attempt to give the public the other side of the story,” Keating said. “We have all heard of the economic benefits of gas drilling, but there are long-term consequences to what we are doing.”

Bill Hughes, head of Wetzel County’s Solid Waste Authority, gave an overview on a number of potential problems that oil and gas development can create for residents. Hughes said Wetzel County, where he resides, has seen a lot of oil and gas activity for a number of years, offering a good idea of some of the potential challenges it can create. “I’m just surrounded by lots and lots of wells. Most of the issues that could show up — Wetzel has probably seen them,” Hughes said.

Hughes discussed issues related to industrial traffic on rural roads, air emissions and radiation from drilling waste, among other potential effects of oil and gas development. “I don’t think we can simplify that natural gas is bad and coal is good, or coal is bad and natural gas is good. We all consume energy,” Hughes said. “The balance is the issue — to try to have the right regulations in place to protect air and water and land.” The long-term impacts of oil and gas development should be of particular concern for the state, he said. “There are six or seven drillers in Wetzel County,” Hughes said. “My grandchildren all live there, and we need to look at this in terms of the next 40 or 50 years. What do we want to leave for our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren?”

Jody Mohr, a Doddridge County resident and a member of the Doddridge County Watershed Association, also spoke. Mohr — showing a number of pictures of West Virginia residences relying on portable water tanks for extended periods of time due to issues that have developed with their wells — discussed the significant water consumption of hydraulic fracturing. She also gave specific accounts of water quality issues that had resulted from drilling and development.

Mohr said the oil and gas development in her county has created uncertainty and has had a noticeable effect on her quality of life, saying it has negatively affected her “sense of home.” “And I mean that sense of home that we all have. That enjoyment, that peace,” Mohr said.

Julie Archer of the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization also spoke about potential issues that property owners should keep in mind when negotiating deals with oil and gas companies. Archer said these issues continue to be of importance, particularly with two major interstate pipelines potentially crossing through the area.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Tagged as: air pollution, drilling, fracking, land disturbances, marcellus shale, natural gas, noise, O & G industry, public health issues, regulations, road damages, toxic chemicals, trucks, water pollution, WV Legislature