Leasing of our state forest lands for Marcellus Shale drilling has reached its limit. First, some facts: of the 2,100,000 acres in Pennsylvania’s state forest system, 71% are above the Marcellus Shale deposits containing natural gas. Of that 71%, 47%, or 700,000 acres, are currently under lease. The state does not own the mineral rights under all of that 700,000 acres; the mineral rights under 290,000 acres are privately owned. These statistics are from the DCNR Bureau of Forestry Marcellus website.

Map of new gas well pads in
the Clear Run watershed of
Tioga State Forest.
Map courtesy of DCNR

Of special interest at the Bureau’s website is the section “Impacts of Leasing Additional State Forest Land”. To examine “whether a moratorium is needed”, the wild areas of the state’s forest lands in north-central Pennsylvania are mapped, and the intrusion of Marcellus shale drilling is illustrated. The Bureau’s conclusion is that “This analysis shows that no additional leasing involving surface disturbance can occur without significantly altering the ecological integrity and wild character of our state forest system.” Even more strongly … “There are zero State Forest Land acres suitable for gas leasing involving surface disturbance.”

A bill calling for a five-year moratorium on any further leasing of state forest lands (HB2235) was passed by the state House by margin of 157 to 33 on May 4. The bill now languishes in the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee chaired by Sen. Mary Jo White.

ACTION: Please contact Sen. Mary Jo White at mwhite at pasen dot gov and urge her to move HB2235 out of committee, AND send a copy to your State Senator.

A bill to apply more protective stormwater standards to publicly funded development was unanimously voted out of committee by City Council on July 21. This significant step towards further “greening” of Pittsburgh will hopefully set a high standard for other municipalities. Following guidelines for new Federal buildings, it will prevent 1.5 inches of rainfall from leaving the property of a new development, and it will require the use of the most innovative stormwater management tools.

The 9-0 vote came after weeks of hearings and legislation amendment. At the July 21 meeting final statements in support of the legislation were made by the Clean Water Action, GASP, Pittsburgh United, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, Sierra Club, UFCW, and Women for a Healthy Environment.

Tom Hoffman opens June 1 Clean Water press conference with Council members Rudiak, Peduto, and Shields.

This is the second part of the Economic Development Reform campaign organized by Pittsburgh United, a coalition of community, environmental, and faith-based groups. The first part established prevailing wages for publicly-funded development. The next part will be a Clean Air bill for diesel emissions on building sites.

The EPA call for public guidance on the planned study of the impact of hydraulic fracturing on water quality resulted in the largest public environmental hearing ever in Western Pennsylvania. As 1,200 people filled the Southpointe venue on July 22, the event gained national attention. An earlier EPA hearing in Ft. Worth had 600 attendees, and in Denver there were about 350.

At the Southpointe hearing more than a hundred people testified, with testimony running at about 10:1 for people deeply concerned about the impact of fracking on their water supply. This was not only an expression of strong for the EPA study, but it hopefully demonstrated to legislators the deep concern that the public has about Marcellus Shale drilling. (more…)

Curb-side sign in Ithaca, NY.
Photo: P. Wray

The increasing alarm over Marcellus Shale drilling has created attempts to place moratoriums on new drilling until the impacts of such drilling are thoroughly understood and necessary regulations are in place. The following is a summary of the moratoriums on future drilling that have been proposed in Pennsylvania and New York. Prospects of moving the bills of the various  committees is dim, unless public outcry overcomes the push for state revenues, etc. (more…)

The Homer City power plant in Indiana County is one of the dirtiest coal-fired plants in the country. It is No. 34 on the list of “America’s Biggest Polluters – Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007”. With emission of more than 13 million tons of CO2 in 2007, the Homer City plant is ranked second in Pennsylvania, after Bruce Mansfield plant in Beaver County. In the prevailing path of a lot of that CO2, New York state has had enough. On July 20, New York officials served notice to sue the current plant owners, a subsidiary of Edison International, and previous owners. The word is that Pennsylvania will join the suit, but there is no word yet from the state DEP.
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Readers of this Website are probably well aware of the relationship between engagement in election campaigns and passage of good environmental legislation. The Sierra Club takes this relationship seriously, and occasionally endorses candidates in races ranging from City Council to US President.

The recent US Supreme Court decision favoring involvement of corporations in campaign financing is causing real concern among organizations like the Sierra Club; the fear is that the influence of money will far outstrip our ability to effectively help a campaign with volunteer support. But even before corporations take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling, the flow of money to incumbents, be they good guys or bad, is a major factor that often diminishes  our ability to have a significant effect.

Below is a brief illustration of the fund-raising advantages that local incumbent members of Congress have over their challengers. The data is from the Federal Election Commission’s 2010 Second Quarter report. (more…)

KDKA photo of existing
Little Blue Run coal-ash pond.

Communities in the Pittsburgh area are suffering from the effects of toxic coal ash generated from the numerous coal-fired power plants that circle Pittsburgh in the ‘Ring of Fire’. Usually the ash is stored in ponds, and the dams of those ponds can fail as in Tennessee. The good news is that EPA is proposing a new rule that would create enforceable federal safeguards, and help to protect us from this hazardous pollution.

Tell the EPA to hold a hearing on the proposed rules in Pittsburgh so that   the communities in SW Pennsylvania that are affected by toxic coal ash have a chance to be heard.

Please write to: Mr. Alexander Livnat, US EPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Mail Code 5304P, Washington DC 20460.

Coal ash is the residue that remains after coal is burned. It contains arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury, sulfur and other heavy metals, many of which can leach into our water cause cancer. As dangerous and dirty as coal ash is, it is not classified as hazardous waste. Thus, at present the federal regulations treat it no more strictly than household garbage.

Former Allegheny County Council Member-at-Large David Fawcett has drawn our attention to the possible preservation of Allegheny River bridge piers for a future biking/hiking trail bridge. Letters supporting this idea should go to County Executive Onorato (see below).

Railroad bridge in the back, old turnpike bridge in the middle, new bridge in front
Photo courtesy of MPD01605
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Photo courtesy of Mountain Justice

Chances are that your electricity is generated by coal that is mined off the tops of Appalachian mountains. To stop the blasting of mountain tops, and dumping the “fill materials” into the surrounding valleys, Congress is considering THE APPALACHIA RESTORATION ACT, S. 696.

Sen. Arlen Specter is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and he has a crucial role to play in passage of S. 696. Please write a personal letter to Senator Specter and ask him to co-sponsor S.696. The mailing address is: 425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1450 , Regional Enterprise Tower, Pittsburgh , PA 15219. More information about mountain top removal and S. 696, is available HERE.

Photo: Allegheny
Defense Project

From Christopher Seymour – Chairperson, Huplits Wildlife Grants Committee, Allegheny Group

Each year a gift from the Huplits Trust is distributed by the Allegheny Group, Sierra Club, to award worthy grant applicants promising to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat in Pennsylvania. This year the Huplits Wildlife Grants Committee awarded four grants totaling $50,000. The four grants will help to:

• Protect Pennsylvania’s forest lands, including those under threat from Marcellus Shale drilling.
• Promote wilderness protection on the Allegheny National Forest.
• Add land to Rockroth State Forest in Centre County.
• Protect endangered species in Pennsylvania, with a focus on bat species.

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Photo: Pennsylvania DCNR

The following is based in part on notes from the Pennsylvania Chapter’s Director Jeff Schmidt. (more…)