WEB UPDATE: Citizens want to know ‘what is fracking?'

Gas lease drilling arrives in Pike County Shohola — Energy companies are signing leases with Pike County property owners as the rush for natural gas in the shale layer beneath the county promises a local source: but at what cost to our health, our environment and the long term economic impact on this county where America’s conservation movement began over 100 years ago? Video clips documenting the process of fracking and the impact on communities that have been “fracked” will be shown at the Walker Lake Read Clubhouse, 100 Walker Lake Road, Shohola, on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. A town hall question and answer forum will follow. “We will not permit any drilling to take place that presents any threat to the city’s drinking-water supply” promised the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner, Pete Grannis, at a recent hearing. Who is looking after our drinking water here in Pike County? Penn State Dept of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger announced a water advisory and investigation into the source of contaminants in the Monongahela River in the southwestern part of the state on Oct. 23. High levels of Total Dissolved Solids were first reported on Oct. 10. Hanger said that 40 percent of the problem appears to be due in part to high volumes of water from deep gas well drilling that have been released by sewage treatment facilities along the river. The Endocrine Disruption Exchange(endocrinedisruption.com) analysis of products pumped deep into the ground during the fracking process to produce natural gas in Colorado revealed 278 toxic chemicals, 93 percent of which have adverse health effects. The highest exposure risks are to eyes, skin, and sensory organs, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract and liver; and brain and nervous system. According to the New York Times, “one farmer called it a ’modern-day gold rush.’.. the price of their good fortune cannot be the contamination of water supplies for everyone else.” “What is Fracking?” is presented by a group of concerned Shohola Twp. citizens to explore the health and environmental repercussions of gas drilling in their community.