I just received the following e-mail letter today from Mike Klimkos.
Klimkos is currently editor of the flyfishing magazine available free through certain tackle shops.
He recently retired from state government, and last oversaw the state Dirt & Gravel Road Maintenance Program, which is dedicated to helping local municipalities identify and correct sediment pollution (in many different ways) from the state's unpaved road system, most of which affect EV and HQ watersheds.
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:43 PM
Subject: Let's Make it A Movement
Please read these articles before reading the rest of this e-mail and if you want to make a difference send this e-mail to all your friends as well.
http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/540830.html?nav=5011
http://www.lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/516910.html?nav=5009
After reading the articles in the Williamsport Sun Gazette and the Lock Haven Express I want to express my opinion on the matter. It is best summed up in the quote by Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch in the movie Network.
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
Why? Well to quote Dan Spadoni, Press Officer in DEP’s northcentral regional office
"We've seen this previously in other parts of our region," Spadoni said. "The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) does not indicate any potential ecological threat, but we can't know until we see our sample results.
"It was a fairly significant discharge of more than 100 gallons a minute," he continued. "It did make its way into Pine Creek."
How many times does a spill have to happen before enough is enough? How can we be sure the spill is benign?
What makes this spill even more egregious is that the well is located on State Forest land. Folks, that’s the land we all own.
Of course drilling is done but how much else has been spilled that is unknown and/or invisible to us and has the potential to destroy our water? Today it is Pine Creek. What’s next? Kettle Creek? First Fork of Sinnemahoning? Driftwood Branch? The Allegheny River? The Delaware River? Thousands of miles of small tributaries?
We need to demand that drillers and the magacompanies that own them be responsible and we need to do that now!
We need to demand better of DEP, the Governor and our legislators. Let’s get the DEP funding to have inspectors able to show up on site at any time on any day. After all regulations are only as good as the conscientiousness of the drill operator on the rig at 2:30 on a Sunday morning. Make them know they are being watched!
Let’s hold the Governor accountable. The state budget cannot and should not be balanced at the expense of our children and grandchildren having to pay for the environmental sins of our generation – the Baby Boomers.
Send an e-mail, a letter or visit in person the Governor, The Secretary of DEP and our legislators. Let them know that gas drilling can be done responsibly but only if WE demand it. Otherwise the drillers and our government will get away with whatever they can – and we allow them to.
Don’t buy into the fact that the gas industry will go away if more onerous regulations are put in place. Where are they going to go? And if they insist on leaving Pennsylvania let’s hold the door open for them so they don’t hurt themselves leaving. The gas will still be there when they realize they have to extract it in a manner that is environmentally and socially responsible. Don’t buy into the gas company propaganda that our lifestyle will deteriorate if they can’t drill. A clean environment and drinkable – swimmable – fishable water will benefit us all and generations to come.
Below are the websites for how to contact your government.
The state Senate is: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senators_alpha.cfm
The State House is: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/email_list.cfm?body=H
The Governor is:
http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/contact/2998/e-mail_the_governor%27s_office/465341
The Secretary of DEP, through his Director of Communications is:
nweaver@state.pa.us
General Phone: (717) 787-1323
If you got this e-mail and are not a resident of Pennsylvania contact Senator / Lieutenant Governor Scarnati at:
jscarnati@pasen.gov
Together we can make a difference. Contact your government officials and
To highly paraphrase Arlo Guthirie's Alice’s Restaurant
".....You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't listen to him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both faggots and they won't listen to either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant (or complaining about loose drilling practices and inspections) and walking out? They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day walking in (or sending an e-mail or a letter) singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may think it's a movement…."
So let’s make it a movement!
“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people. “
The Pennsylvania Constitution Section 27.
Natural Resources and the Public Estate
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Michael Klimkos
