Resources (updated 5/22/2012)
Please contact us to suggest additions or updates.
What's new? (since 3/26/2012)
- The Harmed, the Sickened, the Dead and the Disappeared: A document prepared by Jenny Lisak for the Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air. Check here for the most recent version, as - tragically - the list continues to grow.
- Countries with a ban or moratorium: This document was published by Fracking Hell (UK) and is copied here for your convenience, as of May 22, 2012. Please check the original source for possible updates.
- A Plain Language Guide to Act 13: Here is a summary of the report prepared by PennFuture. Check here to obtain the full document from PennFuture.
Our featured (SW Pennsylvania) resources
Downloadable Documents
We're happy to have you download and print any of the resources in this section. Please hand them out widely!
- Fracking Brochure (Prints on 8 1/2"x14" paper)
- Marcellus 101 Presentation, by Marcellus Protest and The Shadbush Environmental Justice Collective. A complete 'slide show' on the process and the problems of 'unconventional natural gas'.
This resource is large enough that we need to distribute it in two pieces:
- Fracking Myths flyer
- Toxic Tommy Coloring Book, featuring Toxic Tommy, the Public Relations Dinosaur
Other resources (for reference or online viewing)
- Our Statement of Values
- Shalefields Grassroots Reporter (newspaper)
- Hydrofracturing 101: Shadbush Environmental Justice Collective powerpoint resource
- What's the Big Deal about Shale Gas Drilling?
- The Permitting Process, Filing a Complaint, and Tracking Permits (Mountain Watershed Association)
- The Fracking Wheel by Shadbush EJC
- Health effects of Fracking Chemicals
- Drilling for Money (Shadbush report on shale gas investment)
Selected On-Line Resource Collections
- 'Chip' Northrup's white papers . Companion piece to the slideshows.
- Fractracker.org Tracks Marcellus drilling impacts. Lots of data!
- Marcellus-Shale.us Western PA photos & info
- Un-Natural Gas
- EarthWorks
- Pennsylvania From Below
- Organizations Working on Marcellus Shale Issues. A list compiled by the FracTracker team. (Note that this page has its own extensive list of 'Resources' also.)
- Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy A good source for 'expert' testimony, its members include several of the 'big names' from Cornell University.
- A useful list of resources maintained by Eric Belcastro.
Resources by Topic
Some of these documents represent the industry position and are provided for general information only.
Guides for Citizens and Neighborhoods
Protecting Pennsylvania Communities from the Shale Gas Rush: A Handbook for Local Residents and Officials. Prepared by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, December, 2011. An outstanding document, which includes background on the "shale gas rush" and practical guidance on pending Pennsylvania legislation (SB1100/HB1950) which would severly limit municipal land use authority to manage industrial activity.
Recommended - 3-part video: Marcellus Shale Gas Play, Information for an Informed Citizenry presented by Dr. Tony Ingraffea of Cornell at Vestal, NY Public Library, March 31, 2010. Dr. Ingraffea is an expert in rock fracture mechanics, describes the entire process, and cautions against immediate and intense shale gas development. Total time to view is an hour. Must see!
Who's That Drilling in My Neighborhood?! (part 1) - Preface
Who's That Drilling in My Neighborhood?! - A Guide to Public Information (part 2) - Overview of the process plus online resources.
Who's That Drilling in My Neighborhood?! - A Guide to Public Information (part 3) - Find out who's drilling near you -- and their violations.
Detailed Well Reports. A philosophically 'neutral' resource for landowners and citizens, based largely on government data sources. Some information is free; some is for sale. Prices appear reasonable for individual use; but re-hosting and 'data-mining' is forbidden by their Terms of Use.
Citizen's Guide to Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania - Summary of the issues with agency web links prepared by the National Sea Grant Law Center and Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
How to File Complaints or Emergencies: The Permitting Process, Filing a Complaint, and Tracking Permits and How to File a Complaint or Emergency
PA DEP: Marcellus Oil & Gas
PA DEP Bureau of Oil and Gas, Marcellus including well permits, production statistics, fact sheets, incident reports. Reports include a 1991 NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) Survey.
PA DEP: Marcellus Reporting Where the wells are, how much they produce, etc.
How to find Compressor Station permit applications in Pennsylvania
Accidents
Frac Accidents Map, prepared by EarthJustice:
View Fraccidents Map in a larger map
Health & Safety
How the Texas Gas Boom Affects Health and Safety prepared by Texas OGAP (.pdf)
Water
A Guide to Private Water Systems in Pennsylvania, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. See page 32 for gas wells' potential effects on water wells.
Groundwater Protection and Marcellus Shale, by Bryan Swistock. Water quantity and quality issues posed by Marcellus hydraulic fracturing.
Water management plan for southwestern Pennsylvania. From PA DEP, March 2010. Source and amount of water each gas company can take for drilling through 2014.
A guide to understanding your well water test results from Wilkes University
Air Pollution
Air Impacts Associated With Natural Gas Drilling and Cost-Effective Solutions for Allegheny County, by Joe Osborne, GASP. Includes air pollution controls recommended by EPA that save the industry lost revenue.
Minimizing the Air Impacts of Marcellus Shale Activity in Allegheny County, by Joe Osborne, GASP. Lists pollutants and sources. The Marcellus Shale play is perfectly situated to worsen existing ozone and fine particulate nonattainment in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S.
Barnett Shale air pollution case studies including a video showing emissions at drilling, compressor and condensate tank sites.
Citizen Investigation shows toxic air pollution from natural gas development: Gassed! report from Global Community Monitor
Exemptions
News Media Brief: Federal Environmental Exemptions for the Oil and Gas Industry, November 2010.
Jobs
Jobs and Community Benefits: white paper.
News Media Brief: Asking Tough Questions of the Oil and Gas Industry. How many jobs... really?
Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment by the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center. They state “…the energy companies and contractors that perform this type of drilling are mostly national or international in size, and subsequently utilize contractors and personnel from around the country and from other parts of the world to perform this work.”
Comparing the Jobs Reports: Keystone Research Center vs. Marcellus Shale Coalition
Lobbying and Politics
Marcellus Protest Strategic Messaging Toolkit. The product of the Strategic Messaging Working Group (released Jan., 2012).
News Media Brief: The Bridge Fuel Fallacy Is natural gas really a "bridge fuel" to a renewable future?
Common Cause report on lobbying activities of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.
Who Are the Shale Gas Investors?
Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets. A report on nearly $750 million spent by the natural gas industry to persuade Federal authorities to ignore the dangers of fracking.
Property
How Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling Will DEPRESS Your Property Values by Steve Coffman, Dundee, NY. NYRAD.
Technical
Hydrofracking and Good Science by Steve Coffman (Dundee, NY). A review of 10 professional publications, contrasting "good science" with "industry science". An excellent reference work, with sources, published here courtesy of the author.
Video: Marcellus shale dangers a presentation by Ron Bishop / Professor, SUNY Oneonta. (Presentation starts about 1 minute into video.)
Update on the Regional Assessment of Gas Potential in the Devonian Marcellus and Ordovician Utica Shales in New York, a 2007 study of New York shale plays showing the industry perspective of why they choose to drill where.
Department of Energy Hydraulic Fracturing White Paper, a very technical examination of hydraulic fracking from an industry perspective.
Summary of the water impacts of gas drilling in Colorado. (This is a download.)
Legal
Oil and Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania, The Legal Aspects, a presentation by Salzmann Hughes, P.C. giving a basic overview of the oil and gas act and preemption issues.
Fractured: The Road to the New EPA “Fracking” Study, the legal history and environmental incidents that led the EPA to begin a new study of frac'ing in the year 2010. On the Marten Law website.
Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County and an Outline of Second Class County Charter Law.
Local Land Use Regulation of Extractive Industries: Evolving Judicial and Regulatory Approaches, an early law article on the subject (pre-Marcellus).
Video
'Chip' Northrup slide shows A collection of slides with soundtrack, primarily focused on New York state, from a former industry insider. Good overview of the political and economic 'scam' angle to hydrofracking.
Fracking Hollenbeck Gas Site (video) Recommended by the Sierra Club, this 5-minute video shows a fracking operation in Susquehanna County.
Video of Municipal Officials Meeting (34 mins).
