This is Pennsylvania General Energy's (PGE) oil and gas drilling operations in the Salmon Creek area of the Allegheny National Forest.
In less than 10 years, this area of the Allegheny National Forest has been extensively fragmented from road construction for PGE's oil and gas developments.
In 2000, PGE sold many of its oil, gas, and mineral leases in nearby Elk and McKean Counties to American Refining Group. That is approximately the same time when PGE began increasing oil and gas drilling operations in the once remote Salmon Creek watershed.
Now, this is what the Salmon Creek watershed looks like.
Surface mining for rocks to build more roads.
Over 9,000 oil and gas wells are operating in the Allegheny National Forest...
...over 2,000 wells have been drilled in just the past three years...
...the Forest Service is currently predicting that 1,800 new wells will be drilled in 2007 alone.
A drilling rig drilling a new well.
U.S. Representative John Peterson claims that drilling in the Allegheny National Forest is critical for reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil...
...according to the Forest Service, however, a mere 6.5 million barrels of oil are extracted from the Allegheny annually...
...the United States consumes about 21 million barrels of oil every day. So the amount of oil extracted from the Allegheny in an entire year amounts to what the United States consumes every few hours...
...similarly, about 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas is extracted annually in the Allegheny while U.S. natural gas consumption averages about 22.4 trillion cubic feet annually. Quite simply, the high level of surface impacts relative to the small amount of oil and gas being extracted is tragic to say the least.
Brine pit in a new well site.
On February 27, 2006 DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty testified before the PA House Appropriations Committee...
...in her testimony, Secretary McGinty stated, "Oil and gas drilling activity is at record levels due to high natural gas and crude oil prices...
...the energy industry responded to these market demands by re-visiting Pennsylvania’s oil and gas fields...
DEP staff responded in kind — working intensely to marshal a record number of permits without delay...
...DEP issued a record 6,046 oil and gas drilling permits last year, a 32.4 percent increase over the previous record of 4,567 permits in 2004...
...our Northwest Regional Office alone set an all-time high of 333 drilling application in November 2005, the largest number of applications ever received by the department in any one-month period since the Oil and Gas Act of 1984…
…these environmental achievements help to stimulate the economy and create jobs." (http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=489121)
It is troubling that the DEP Secretary appears all too eager to bend to the will of the oil and gas industry...
...the DEP's job is to protect Pennsylvania's environment...
...when you see surface mining such as this...
...which is occurring all across the Allegheny National Forest as a result of increased oil and gas drilling...
...do you consider it an "environmental achievement" as Secretary McGinty does?
...this is an environmental tragedy that is being repeated not only in the Allegheny National Forest, but much of western and northern Pennsylvania.
On June 12, 2006, the EPA amended the National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permit regulations for stormwater discharges associated with oil and gas drilling...
...the changes exempt oil and gas operators from the NPDES permit requirements at the federal level...
...however, states are free to implement regulations that are more strict than the federal regulations. So the DEP is now planning to issue a general permit for erosion and sediment control in association with oil and gas construction activities...
...unfortunately, the EPA set a very low bar which makes it easy for the states to implement stricter regulations without really being that strict...
...DEP's proposed permit will be triggered only when oil and gas operators disturb 5 acres or more in their construction activities...
...the problem with this is that oil and gas operators will more than likely claim they never reach the 5-acre threshold to trigger the general permit...
...the DEP must require permits for ALL earth disturbance associated with oil and gas construction activities...
...not just if the operators disturb 5 or more acres...
...the DEP must also require oil and gas operators to apply for individual permits for oil and gas construction activities in High-Quality waters and Exceptional Value waters...
...individual permits require more analysis and opportunities for public comment.
The DEP's proposed general permit will have little to no effect on the rate of drilling in the Allegheny National Forest...
...the proposed general permit is nothing more than a meager attempt to appear to more tightly regulate oil and gas operators...
...the only way to more tightly regulate oil and gas operators is to require permits for ALL earth disturbance activities...
of course, that might interfere with Secretary McGinty's desire to "marshal a record number of permits without delay."
Pennsylvania needs a DEP Secretary who puts the interests of the environment ahead of the interests of the oil and gas industry...
Remember, Secretary McGinty calls the oil and gas drilling that is currently expanding all across northern and western Pennsylvania an "environmental achievement."
Salmon Creek valley near its confluence with The Branch. Just a few years ago, this is what most of the Salmon Creek watershed looked like.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites and roads fragmenting forest in watershed
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - Rock pit, roads, fragmenting forest
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites, roads, rock pit fragmenting forest on ridges above Salmon Creek.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites, roads, tank farms, rock pits fragmenting forest on ridges above Salmon Creek.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - August 11, 2007 - Same site as previous slide (downhill view). Note massive expansion since May - only 3 months.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - May 10, 2007 (looking uphill)
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - Major OGM development - Rock pit, roads, tank farms, brine pits, drilling pollutants pit, retention pond fragmenting forest
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - fragmenting forest in watershed.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites, roads, rock pit fragmenting forest in watershed.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites, roads, rock pit, tank farms fragmenting forest in watershed.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites, roads, tank farms, rock pits fragmenting forest on ridge above Salmon Creek.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites and roads fragmenting forest in watershed above Salmon Creek
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites, roads, rock pits fragmenting forest on ridges above Salmon Creek.
Allegheny National Forest / Salmon Creek - OGM development - well sites and roads fragmenting forest in watershed on both sides of Salmon Creek valley
