The Heat Is On In The Allegheny

More Hellbender News

July 2, 2010

By Staff

The heat is on in the Allegheny. As citizens begin to take action to protect their homes and drinking water, industry representatives are getting more aggressive. Several recent incidents in the Allegheny National Forest including a verbal assault by an oil field worker in Kinzua Heights, and theft of legal monitoring equipment on private property suggest that citizen action is riling the oil and gas industry.

An oil field worker in Kinzua Heights, Allegheny National Forest expressed anger (HEAR AUDIO) about Allegheny Defense Project (ADP)’s Forest Watch work. During the week of June 14, Bill Belitskus, ADP's board president, and a photojournalist revisited the Kinzua Heights site in the Allegheny National Forest that was one of the focus areas of ADP’s May 22nd Forest Watch Training. During Forest Watch monitoring ADP documented the oil and gas drilling site of Freedom Oil Ventures, LLC and submitted a report and photos to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and PA Fish and Boat Commission (PAFBC). See Kinzua Heights: Freedom Isn’t Free. Citizens Bear Costs of Violations by Freedom Oil Ventures, LLC.

During the week of June 21, 2010 the Hendryx family, who lives directly adjacent to a planned East Resources (Royal Dutch Shell) Marcellus Shale gas well, found that a ladder on their property was stolen and a fence with no trespassing signs, which faced the Hendryx property, was torn down. The Hendryx family used the ladder to observe and film the excavation of a PENNDOT landfill adjacent to the Hendryx property. East Resources is planning to drill a Marcellus Shale gas well on the landfill. East Resources erected the fence and posted the no trespassing signs facing the Hendryx property. The proposed Marcellus Shale gas well site is located on the PENNDOT landfill at the intersection of FR150/Mead Run Road and U.S. Route 219. East Resources plans to drill the well within 1000 feet of the Hendryx family's water well. The Hendryx family has appealed the DEP permit for the Marcellus Shale gas well to the Environmental Hearing Board, and has filed a report of the stolen ladder with the PA State Police.

Please join our Forest Watch efforts. Next Forest Watch Training July 24. Document and report industry violations in the Allegheny National Forest by sending reports and photos to:

John Hanger, Director
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Headquarters
Rachel Carson State Office Building
400 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
ra-epaskdep@state.pa.us
jhanger@state.pa.us

Shawn Garvin
Environmental Protection Agency Region 3
1650 Arch Street (3CEOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
eyesondrilling@epa.gov
garvin.shawn@epa.gov
R3_RA@epa.gov

Robert Nestor
PA Fish And Boat Commission
Northwest Region Office
11528 State Highway 98
Meadville, PA 16335
rnestor@state.pa.us

Leanne M. Marten
USDA, Allegheny National Forest
4 Farm Colony Drive
Warren, PA  16365
lmarten@fs.fed.us

Anthony V. Scardina, Bradford Ranger District
USDA, Allegheny National Forest
29 Forest Service Drive
Bradford, PA 16701
ascardina@fs.fed.us

Robert T. Fallon, Marienville Ranger District
USDA, Allegheny National Forest
131 Smokey Lane
Marienville, PA 16239
rfallon@fs.fed.us

Kent Connaughton, Regional Forester
USDA – Forest Service
Eastern Region – R9
626 East Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
kconnaughton@fs.fed.us