High Times on Poorhouse Run

Examining the future of a relic. Revisiting a not-so-distant area from my childhood in words and pictures, one that stands to weather changes that may affect us all.

As an infant, my parents brought me home to an apartment above a garage behind my grandfather’s house, on Pleasant Drive in Center Township, Beaver County.  Before my brother was born the following year, our family moved to a house in the Plan 12 section of Aliquippa. 

A good portion of my childhood was spent in the company of relatives who lived on Pleasant Drive - I remember lots of grassy areas and woods, illegal fireworks on July 4th, and my grandfather's large garden. Target practice with a BB gun from my uncle's patio. A neighbor was a long-haul trucker and radio hobbyist, who helped fuel a passion for things wireless that lasts to this day. 

Topographic map of Poorhouse Run.
Horsehead plant and former Poorhouse site are in upper left.
Credit: USGS GNIS / Google Maps 



Poorhouse Run.

Pleasant Drive hasn’t always been known by that name. Until around 1945,  it was known as Poorhouse Run Road. As the road moves north from Center into Potter Township, it follows the general path of Poorhouse Run, a small stream that moves into underground piping at the road’s intersection with Frankfort Road, also known as Pa. Route 18.

Beaver County Home and Hospital (1853-1959), Potter Twp.
Photo circa 1921. Credit: J.A. Cole / Poorhousestory.com

Beaver County Home and Hospital (1853-1959), Potter Twp.
Rear of building - Credit:   JoAnn Bishop

Poorhouse Run empties into the Ohio River just downstream from the former Beaver County Home and Hospital, AKA "The Poor House". Originally constructed in 1853, with additions in 1876 and 1940, the facility was replaced in 1959 by the Beaver County Geriatric Center in Brighton Township, known today as Friendship Ridge.

Beaver County Home and Hospital (1853-1959), Potter Twp.
Main entryway - Credit:  JoAnn Bishop

Horsehead Zinc Smelting Plant, seen from the west.
Former poor house buildings are at the lower left corner.
I-376 Vanport Bridge is in the background.
Credit:  Horsehead Corporation  

The Poor House buildings still stand today on land owned by Horsehead Corporation, which operates one of the country's largest zinc smelting facilities there. This facility begins a concentration of industrial sites along the south shore of the Ohio River, to the West Virginia border. 



These facilities include a Nova Chemicals plant, formerly known as the Kobuta plant, which manufactured butadeine, a component of synthetic rubber, during World War II. 


One of my mother's earlier childhood memories is the smell that came over the hill from that plant. The plant was recently sold, but is expected to continue operations.


Bruce Mansfield Power Plant, Shippingport,
with church in foreground.

Further downstream are the FirstEnergy Bruce Mansfield power plant and Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station, built near the site of the country's first commercial reactor for power production, at Shippingport. 

Beaver Valley Power Station, seen from the north on the Shippingport Bridge.
 The small domed structures house the facility's two nuclear reactors.

                                  




                                      
These facilities may seem removed from the greater Sewickley area, but in reality are rather proximal. The Horsehead plant is just down the hill - and usually upwind - from the Beaver Valley Mall. The 10-mile emergency evacuation zone around the nuclear plant extends to just short of Leetsdale. Depending upon the type of hazard involved, this complex of industrial sites is truly just down the road, as the crow flies...

An ethane cracker facility.
Credit:   Borouge Illustration / Beaver County Times

This area has seen its fortunes wax and wane with changes in demand for the various products produced there, including energy. Those fortunes are now showing significant potential for improvement with the recent announcement that Shell has chosen the Horsehead site for the development of an ethane cracker plant. 


This facility, if constructed, will cost in the area of $ 1 Billion to build, and stands to infuse the area with thousands of jobs, and the associated residential and commercial development that accompanies such activity.


The potential positive impact on the local economy is being touted to the levels one would expect with such an announcement. Interest in real estate in the immediate area is expected to increase - speculative optimism may also fuel development and efforts at entrepreneurial activity as the process moves along. Municipalities and school districts may already be developing visions of new infrastructure and larger operations dancing in their heads.

Should the Shell project and all associated with it actually come to fruition, there stands to be significant change in both the landscape and nature of life and living in the small towns and open spaces that coexist with the industrial necessities of modern living.

Two such towns caught my eye while exploring this area. One is Hookstown, a small borough along Route 168, completely surrounded by Greene Township and home to  all things rural, in particular the annual fair.

Another is Georgetown, a seemingly isolated riverside community accessible by only two roads, both originating in Hookstown. The town has a robust history as a riverboat stop, but seems extremely quiet for a modern day small town. 

Hookstown.

Driving around, the town felt reminiscent of the mythical town of Spectre in Daniel Wallace's novel (and Tim Burton's film) Big Fish. This was despite both the lack of shoes flung over any overhanging utility lines, and the red pickup truck that followed me from 2 blocks away until I left town the way I came in. 

I'm wondering, as I'm sure many of the residents of these areas are, how the development, construction, staffing, and operation of a major new industrial facility will affect their quality of life. 

Along with these living examples of local history, I'm also concerned about the artifacts of the past that appear destined for the wrecking ball - especially the site of the former Poor House. 

Georgetown.

I recently spoke with Ali Alavi, Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Horsehead Corporation, about the future of the Poor House site as it relates to making it available for those who wish to document the site's interior for historical purposes, similar to what was done at the former Dixmont State Hospital in Kilbuck Township, south of Sewickley.

Mr. Alavi stated that it was "too early in the process" to make a statement about what, if any access would be granted to historical societies or other groups prior to any planned demolition. He also stated that it was his impression that Beaver County and/or Potter Township had adequate photo documentation. 


Mr. Alavi added that the 1940 addition to the complex was used as corporate offices for a time, but have since been moved, and the entire facility fenced off, because the buildings are "unsafe" and in "severe disrepair". 

This past week I spoke with Mark Berton, Managing Editor at IN Community Magazines and author of the Arcadia Publishing book on Dixmont. He stated that he was unfamiliar with any effort to photograph the interior of the Beaver County site. 


Hopefully,  those involved in both historic preservation and the re-purposing of the Poor House site can find common ground on a way to properly document the building for perpetuity.  Parts of the structure are as old as Sewickley Borough itself. 

I have lived in an area of the western U.S. where the economic fortunes of an entire region have twice been shaken by the boom-and-bust volatility that is often the hallmark of large energy projects.

As much as the proposed ethane cracker facility brings the promise of improved economic conditions, the potential also exists for changes to the area that are not exclusively positive.

I encourage due diligence and a healthy skepticism on the part of our elected officials, and also encourage citizens to become active, involved, and elect leaders who espouse the above qualities in abundance. This includes a healthy respect for the past, and of the dangers of repeating previous mistakes. 

It's also incumbent upon us as citizens to recognize both the importance of places like the Poor House and whatever it is demolished to make way for, to remember not only our way of life (past and present), but the potential for disruption should we forget.

Thanks to the Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation, and their Director, Brenda Applegate, for their assistance and referrals for locating information and photos. 

Have a good week ahead.

Fuzzy Fuel Marketing Math

I've been struggling with how to begin a post about fuel prices; it's kind of like writing about death and taxes. We all know that gasoline prices are high, and that a lot of it has to do with imported oil, production challenges, and speculation. I struggled with how to explore the issue from a more local perspective, where it makes sense to the consumer that has to deal with it every day.


When I lived in Colorado, I often passed by two competing convenience stores that were on opposite corners of the same busy intersection. While they sold the same brand name of gasoline, the price for regular would often differ as much as 12, and as high as 24, cents per gallon on any given day. No one would provide a straight answer as to why, and the local media bristled at the suggestion that they weren't doing enough to find out. 


Perhaps it's not really surprising that these price disparities exist at different stores, but what about a chain of outlets that are all owned by the same company?


In the photos below, I've documented prices at several different GetGo outlets - these are owned in part by Giant Eagle, whose parent is the Kroger Company in Cincinnati. They also own the King Soopers and City Market grocery chains in Colorado. On this particular day, a 10 cent price swing existed between the Moon, Leetsdale, and Ohio Township stores. 

University Boulevard, Moon Township - March 22, 6:47 PM

Ohio River Boulevard, Leetsdale - March 22, 7:13 PM

Ben Avon Heights Road, Ohio Township - March 23, 3:13 PM

I can also personally attest to a consistent, 4-to-6 cent price difference between the GetGo outlets in Wilkinsburg and Edgewood (Regent Square), and the store in Squirrel Hill, at Forward and Murray Avenues. These stores are all within 2 miles of each other - why should gas cost more on one side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel than the other?


GetGo's website has links to convenient apps and pages for mobile devices, to show what the price of gas is for outlets that are close to your location, or where you live or work. This app will only show one store at a time, however - comparison requires a lot of back and forth. 


GetGo is a popular location for gas because of their Foodperks and Fuelperks promotions, which tie discounts on gas to grocery purchases, and vice versa. I've found, however, that I can often get better deals on groceries at other stores, and in the wake of the high cost of fuel I've been cognizant of better prices at other places, such as warehouse clubs, where the price difference exceeds the occasional Fuelperks discount. If you had a 10-cent Fuelperks discount on March 22, however, it would have gone a lot further in Ohio Township than it would have in Moon.


Of course, these practices and observations are dependent upon one's individual circumstances and preferences. For me, brand loyalty is often overrated.


Giant Eagle media relations staff did not return calls this week seeking comment about their gas pricing. A few weeks ago, I spoke with a representative of Roberts Communications, a PR firm under contract to Giant Eagle, who stated that the company would not discuss either their marketing practices or market areas for gasoline.

A sample screenshot from a 
gasbuddy.com mobile app - Credit: thedroidguy.com

As it seems to be happening in so many areas of our lives, the Internet is facilitating the ability of the consumer to make more informed choices. Fortunately, there appears to be an independent resource for this type of information in the form of Gasbuddy.com, which enables consumer members to report gas prices so that many can potentially benefit. 



This information is available for the Pittsburgh area at Pittsburghgasprices.com. Their mobile app will provide available price information for your geographic location. There are some drawbacks, though - no one is posting price information for the stations in Ambridge. Might just have to do that. 


A representative of the site was also willing to shed a little bit of light about the nature of gasoline pricing on a  more local basis. According to Gasbuddy's Gregg Laskoski, the following factors influence what we pay at the local pumps:


Taxes - There's a map online that shows the disparity between states. New York - whew. When driving cross country on I-70, I always know to fill up in Missouri. 


Sales Volume - Another factor, along with how much gasoline sales make up the actual profit a store makes from selling "convenience" items at "convenience" (read exorbitant) prices. 


Wholesaler - Gas stations buy their gas from a wholesale dealer - when the station takes delivery of a fresh load of gas, and how much they paid the wholesaler for it, will obviously affect the price. GetGo is owned in part by Guttmann Oil of Belle Vernon, Pa. - how does the use of a sole source wholesaler affect the price in different geographic areas? How should it?


Local Market Trends - Often as inscrutable as the wind, but sometimes predictable. In general, the closer you get to an airport, the higher the gas prices get. Is that in response to higher business costs, businessmen returning rental cars, or a perceived sense that those who need gas in this area can afford to pay more or will not care as much if they do? Then again, how does this explain that gas prices across the county line in Ambridge are comparable with airport-area stations, and nearly a dime more than just down the road in Leetsdale?


Applicable Law - Some states have laws that prevent retail outlets from selling items below cost to attract customers to buy other things from them - the so-called loss leader strategy. Pennsylvania is one such state - the Pa. Unfair Sales Act was pointed to by many retailers in response to the GetGo Fuelperks discounts, and warehouse clubs such as Sam's and Costco may be exempt because they restrict sales to their members only.


The Gasbuddy folks also keep a close watch on past trends and potential future developments that could affect gas prices across a region, or across the US and Canada. One such potential development is the threatened closure of a Philadelphia gasoline refinery that could negatively impact supplies, and therefore prices, across the northeast U.S., including the Pittsburgh region. 


It was reported today that there could be as many as 4 interested parties in purchasing this refinery, which could definitely help keep prices at their current unreasonable level, or keep their unreasonableness from multiplying more unreasonably than already anticipated.


Does it make sense to drive across the county for cheap gas? I don't think so. For my car,  a 10-cent per gallon savings is $1.50 - does that justify driving an extra 20 miles, or burning nearly a gallon of gas, to get that savings?


Most of us remain too involved in the day-to-day business of living to get too deep into the subtleties and complications that surround the oil business, or any other attempt to profit from the procurement and marketing of fossil fuels. All we can hope to do is make sure that we can find what we need at the most reasonable price we can, without going to unreasonable lengths. 


Perhaps it's not too much to ask of our "neighborhood" gas retailers to show some consistency in how they price their product, or at least be more up front and honest about what factors impact the prices they set. 


But before you set your sights on that clerk behind the counter, think twice - the answers, and those who can provide them, are somewhere else entirely.


Have a great month ahead.

Drilling in Leetsdale - Outside The Box

First things first - Remembering the victims of the crash of USAir Flight 427, 17 years ago yesterday. Aside from a photo in today's Beaver County Times, the local media seemed focused on other things.

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is certainly getting its share of attention, but other local tragedies, regardless of their comparative size, are nonetheless significant to those who were touched in some way by these events.

Congratulations to Leetsdale Borough Council for moving quickly to establish some type of regulatory framework for gas drilling within the borough, by passing an ordinance last night that does these things.

However, the immediate potential threat to the borough and its citizens doesn't come from drilling within the borough, but the likelihood of drilling elsewhere.

Leetsdale residents receive their water service from the Edgeworth Water Authority, who gets their water from the Ambridge Water Authority. Ambridge Water's main reservoir is located in Raccoon and Independence Townships in southwest Beaver County. This reservoir property is surrounded by properties where the landowners have signed drilling leases.

The Beaver County Marcellus Shale Action Committee is circulating a petition to Gov. Corbett and State Sen. Elder Vogel, whose district includes the reservoir. The petition requests that drilling and/or water extraction for fracking be banned anywhere in the area of the reservoir and the Service Creek watershed.

The petition is available here.

Leetsdale residents, and other Ambridge Water customers who are concerned about the safety and integrity of their municipal water supply, may want to consider learning more about this effort, and communicate with their own State Senator, John Pippy, about the issue.

Remembering those who paid the ultimate price trying to save others - not only at the 9/11 event sites, but everywhere, every day.

Have a good weekend.

The Notes in My Back Pocket

Lately I've been collecting little snippets of news items and personal things that I find interesting or noteworthy. I write this stuff down on paper and tuck it into one of my back pockets, where they sit until I get the chance to sit down and write. While somewhat archaic in the age of smartphones, it's a system that seems to work, and gives me a sense of tactile nostalgia for things at a slower, more simple pace.

I pulled several pieces of paper out of my back pocket today. The items I wrote down all deserve some mention in a timely fashion, so without any more of a lead-up, here's some stuff that matters, at least to me:

Persistence, Humility, Vulnerability

The sermon at our church on August 7 has been on my mind ever since. Our pastor introduced us to Chapter 18 of Luke's Gospel. The virtues listed above are among the key points of this chapter, as illustrated through several parables.

I just found an excellent template and outline for a group bible study that encompasses, and has helped me make more sense of, what Luke 18 says about human behavior in contrast to the teachings of Christ. This particular chapter has some serious lessons about this. For example:

William Barclay states "(i) No man who is proud can pray; (ii) No man who despises his fellow men can pray; (iii) True prayer comes from setting our lives beside the life of God."

If you're so inclined, grab your Bible and follow along with the Lost Pine outline. Enjoy a little journey inward, maybe.


Memories of Growing Up in Sewickley

The link above is for a Facebook group started by Sewickley native William Gittins, who now resides in Jackson, Miss. I went to high school with a couple of his brothers. Since its start a few weeks ago, it has amassed over 1200 members and creates a tremendous online time warp if you spend too long reading the myriad recollections of many who called the Sewickley area home for some part of their lives.

Sewickley Patch picked up on the phenomenon earlier this week, and spoke with Mr. Gittins for a story they ran about the group. It's still going strong, and will hopefully also serve as a means to educate current residents about what it was like to grow up here.

A memory that popped into my head while writing this was the existence of at least 3 hardware stores (Hegner's, Sewickley Hardware, Sickeler's) in downtown Sewickley. There's something ironic to that, considering that I work for a big-box home improvement place now.

If you grew up here, and haven't checked this out yet, you should. Make sure you don't have to be anywhere for a couple of hours first, though. It's a true testament to the power (good or bad) of social media.


London Calling

The title of one of my favorite records from the early 80's, if not of all time. The Clash continued the activist tone of their previous two albums, but the album is also more polished and tempered somewhat to make their music and message more accessible. Perhaps this why my son likes this record and the band as well.

During the recent riots that tore into several London neighborhoods, songs from this record were going through my head, particularly The Guns of Brixton:

You can crush us, you can bruise us, but you'll have to answer to...

While on the surface the recent unrest in England may be similar to the anger and angst expressed by the punk movement of the 70's and 80's, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to some of the destruction. Young people burning down their own neighborhoods for sport, or because they are bored, disaffected, or the product of a dysfunctional society. London's burning with boredom now..

All kinds of little theories pop up in my head when I read about this, and then are quickly dismissed as nonsense. One theory sticks around, though - is there a correlation between lack of self-respect and and initiative and what we saw in London? Is that all part of the equation? Do we not see this as much in the US because we have these qualities in comparative abundance, or because we are better controlled?


BART!

Speaking of control, there has always been much discussion of the influence of wireless communications and social networks on the ability to rapidly mobilize people into action. From the Arab Spring to the G-20 protests right here in Pittsburgh, Twitter and other systems have been used to get people moving and taking direct action, whether for good or ill.

A recent action by San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has raised the hackles of activists and regulators alike. Seems that as a part of preparations for protests over the shooting of a homeless man by BART police, BART administration shut down access to wireless networks through its subway tunnels.

Access to communication systems is important to life in these modern times, whether it be as part of an international commerce engine, or just a way for families to keep in touch. Arbitrarily shutting down these systems as a means of quelling dissent, or the lawful expression of ideas in a manner uncomfortable to some, is a 21st century affront to the First Amendment, and needs to be dealt with as such.

BART was wrong. This reminds me of a retail cashier rule, expressed as an acronym, with some Luke 18 and Simpson-esque connotations:

LISA - Look InSide Always.


'Gasland' Comes to Sewickley

A year ago last week, the acclaimed documentary 'Gasland' was shown in Grand Junction, Colorado. Josh Fox, the film's Director, was on hand for the screening to field comments and questions. I wrote about this at the time because I was living there, and also lamented the absence of a local media presence to publicize and report on the event. Granted, it's a much smaller media market over there.

Tonight at 6:30, the film gets a screening at the Sewickley Public Library, albeit without Mr. Fox in tow. The publicity has been fairly robust, at least online, and it's a good bet there will be an interested crowd at the library this evening.

Regardless on which side of the drilling debate you may fall, the film is worthwhile
because it helps to document the activities of the drilling industry would otherwise not see the light of day. I've seen enough of the effects to the environment, and on society and culture, to know that jobs and money are great but are not all sweetness and light. We have enough of an industrial past here to (hopefully) remind us of that.


Time to persist on some house projects. Have a great day.

File Under 'Cart Before the Horse'

The Post-Gazette reported Wednesday that State Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne Co.) got a bill through her Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness committee (an interesting combination there) that would require energy companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale to:

• Draft and file Emergency Operations Plans with local emergency response authorities
• Post this and other emergency information at drilling sites, so as to be easily referenced by personnel when needed
• Ascertain the Latitude/Longitude (GPS) coordinates of all drilling sites, and assure that wellsite personnel, responders, and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are aware of them.
  

This is an excellent idea, although I'm wondering out loud how such a set of requirements did not exist previously via existing rulemaking or legislation. It's not as if drilling, mining, or other heavy industrial activities in rural areas haven't occurred here before. Something that Sen. Baker's office put in their press release may explain this a little better than I can:

"It is extremely important for the gas industry to coordinate emergency response plans with first responders and state and local officials," Baker said. "This issue is too important to leave up to voluntary compliance."

Is 'voluntary compliance' with rules and requirements that may change by municipality, the norm or the exception? Let's hope it's the latter, and that the full Senate, House, and Gov. Corbett will show the same enthusiasm for this bill. Something like this should have been in place before a single drill bit breached Pennsylvania soil in search of gas from the Marcellus Shale. It seems long overdue.

In a related matter, the Post-Gazette also committed much ink in this past Sunday's edition to the plight of rural Pennsylvanians without adequate mobile telephone service and broadband Internet connections.

The P-G's story focused on Sullivan County, where many components of public service delivery systems risk being overwhelmed with activity related to drilling, and things that 9-1-1 operators in many areas take for granted, such as GPS coordinates for calls received from mobile phones, are non-existent in the majority of circumstances.

The influx of personnel and capital from energy companies will likely help foment a more rapid deployment of these capabilities; the private sector seems more flexible and responsive to issues and opportunities than the public sector when it comes to these kinds of issues. That is the essence of capitalizing on what the Marcellus has to offer. However, without adequate safeguards and planning contingencies that Sen. Baker's legislation would likely help provide, what is the potential cost to the region's quality of life?

I should probably state here and now that I am not opposed to drilling - that is an unrealistic stance in a country, and a region, largely built on this type of activity. I am opposed to allowing it to proceed without a strong, responsive, efficient, and empowered system of checks, balances, and meaningful enforcement. These efforts too often seem to always be playing catch-up and politics with what is really going on in the field.

Speaking of what's going on in the field, Sewickley Patch reported yesterday that the drivers of at least two large trucks were cited recently for being overweight on municipal roadways. This may be just the beginning of a trend when there's frack water to be hauled to wellsites...

Let's hope that Senator Baker's bill is the first step in a better direction, and that those improvements in access to technology in rural areas that may be a consequence of energy development do not come at the price of the communities themselves.

Also, please remember those that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom while you're enjoying this Memorial Day weekend. I'll be working, but remembering as well, and not just about that.

Until next time...

Return To/From the 'Sacrifice Zone'

I recently moved back to the Sewickley area after a long stint in western Colorado. The 'Western Slope', as that region is known, is rich in many potential sources of energy. The local paper there dubbed the region "Energy Alley" in a series of articles last year.

Coal, Oil, Natural Gas, Uranium, and Oil Shale (not to mention lots of sunshine) exist in varying degrees of abundance across many areas of this region. Aiding those who would seek to profit from their extraction is the split estate concept - where surface landowners do not own the mineral rights underneath. One group of documentary filmmakers went so far as to dub the region a "National Sacrifice Zone", which usually refers to an area where the cost of cleanup, whether physical or economic, exceeds the perceived value of the area requiring such a restoration.

This moniker has been used to describe facilities and areas associated with the nuclear industry, particularly those involved in nuclear weapons development and testing, but also in the processing of uranium and the generation of civilian nuclear power. The test sites in Nevada, along with the area around a weapons plant in Hanford, WA are mentioned, but there are a great many towns and cities that have been touched by the nuclear industry; Grand Junction, CO and Canonsburg, PA have one thing in common (besides great candy stores); they've both had major cleanups of uranium mill tailings from within their boundaries.

Western Colorado is also where gas and oil drilling using hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" has been going on for several years, and where, as in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the Marcellus Shale region, community activism is on the rise in response to several accidents involving the use, transport, and disposal of fracking fluids.

Many of my posts over the last couple of years have dealt with energy, in particular the extraction of natural gas from areas in both states using the controversial fracking process. This has been of particular interest of late to Pennsylvanians, given the ramping up of drilling activity, revelations of additional potential threats to potable water supplies as a consequence of fracking, and significant changes in the state's regulatory posture by the new Republican governor, Tom Corbett.

Lots of questions are being asked, and new activity is always occurring while the debate rages on. Municipal governments seem hard-pressed to learn or remain current while landmen sniff around, and energy companies buy up or lease large swaths of acreage. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other partners seem to be doing a great job of cataloging some of what's been happening in the area through their PIPELINE website, which is provided in the sidebar here as a feed.

People seem to be reacting along fairly predictable lines with regard to what appears an inevitable march into the area by energy companies, drilling contractors, and the additional economic and environmental impacts that accompany them. Having seen the sacrifices made both here and elsewhere, I have the following observations...

As a public safety professional in Colorado, I participated in the design, procurement, and implementation of several projects designed to improve emergency response capabilities in the areas I served. Nearly all of these projects were either partially or completely funded by grant programs that received their funding from state-imposed severance taxes and impact fees. Only those counties that were impacted by energy development were eligible for the grant funding.

Gov. Corbett's steadfast refusal to consider a severance tax on the gas taken from Pennsylvania wells defies logic, especially in lean economic times. As a "newcomer", my reaction may be too simplistic, but why would the Governor prefer to balance the budget on the backs of school districts, and thereby schoolchildren? Probably has something to do with the Governor's opinion of teacher's unions, but that's for another post, along with the simultaneous push for educational vouchers.

State Rep. Jesse White (D-Cecil), writing in March on beavercountian.com, outlined the problem rather well:

"In some places, nearly one-third of the municipal budget is going to these issues, there is no way under the law for these taxpayer monies to be recouped, and the gas industry has yet to step in and take a proactive role...As a result, local taxpayers are being forced to pick up the tab, which is almost offensive considering the amount of money being made by the natural gas industry in our backyards. The message from local municipalities was clear: While local governments are not trying to kill the goose laying the golden egg that is Marcellus Shale, the taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for the nest."

Rep. White, along with several others in the legislature, have been lobbying for legislation to allow municipalities to levy impact fees, to help assure that the energy developers help to pay for the increased needs for infrastructure and government services brought about by their activities. Putting this in the hands of individual boroughs and townships seems to me a slippery slope, considering the sheer number of municipalities and the potential lack of consistency between them. Bell Acres got ahead of the curve this week with the adoption of an ordinance; what's next for their neighbors, and the rest of the area?

Should Gov. Corbett's reticence toward severance taxes prove insurmountable, perhaps all of those multiple little governments can learn something from some Pennsylvania landowners, and approach the issue cooperatively. That's something that industry, taxpayers, and citizens might all be able to agree on.

Most states where gas drilling has been going on for years have a solid means of generating revenue and enforcing regulations to protect workers and residents alike, even though it's comparatively more expensive to move gas from areas such as the west to where it is needed the most, like here in the east. That's what's driving the Marcellus boom - proximity to market.

The energy industry put a lot of money into Gov. Corbett's campaign. It's obvious that they want a sweetheart arrangement in the Marcellus Shale. Responsible citizens need to continue to stand up and tell the Governor that this is not acceptable. Vince Townley's editorial in the May 5 Sewickley Herald echoed similar sentiments.

I would also not place a great deal of credence in any noise made by the energy industry about shutting down or scaling back operations in response to efforts to levy taxes and/or fees in Pennsylvania. In other places it's chalked up to the cost of doing business; in as prime an area as the Marcellus Shale, where the supply is literally in the backyard of the demand, the same operating principle will likely apply.

Many of us, myself included, owe our existence and our well-being to many of our ancestors who toiled in mills, mines, factories, refineries, and other trappings of the Pittsburgh region's turbulent industrial past and subsequent reclamation. The working conditions, health effects, economic instabilities, and other byproducts of that history continue to manifest themselves in the present day, whether in heightened levels of infirmity among this area's significant older population, or clusters of cancer or other illnesses in populations that have settled in and around reclaimed industrial sites.

This region, this state, faces too many difficulties stemming from its fragile infrastructure - systems for moving vehicle traffic, delivering potable water, and safely treating and disposing of wastewater are aging, and are being retrofitted and improved constantly. The Marcellus Shale boom will impact all of these systems, from the water trucks that will traverse country roads to provide well sites with fracking fluid, to the treatment plants (and perhaps soon, disposal ponds) that the used fluid will travel to and through, to the downstream intakes where many towns draw their water supplies.

Many of my ancestors sacrificed themselves to the industries that sustained them - Quod me nutrit, me destruit - so that future generations might not have to. I've known two children from this area who have succumbed to cancer. Regardless of whether or not there is any connection to those lives lost and the environmental challenges facing the region where they were born and lived, for me that's two deaths too many.

These individual cases may constitute a quieter 'sacrifice' that does not match the physical devastation of an entire geographic area. Here and elsewhere, the devastation has been economic, and the restoration slow. Marcellus Shale gas development offers the possibility of revitalization of many areas, but without adequate government oversight, appropriate revenue generation and distribution, and a commitment to protecting the land and water, those who benefit will be few instead of many.

How much more will this region be asked to sacrifice now, without being able to reap some collective benefit, and without solid assurances that the process will be conducted in such a way that will protect future lives and land from potentially becoming part of another National Sacrifice Zone?

The Power of Teamwork

A multiple-choice question has been going through my head:

What were factors in the Steelers' loss to the Packers in the Super Bowl?

A. Me putting my Steeler jersey on backwards by accident (I did)
B. Pittsburgh native Christina Aguilera mangling the national anthem
C. Too many mistakes on both sides of the ball
D. Utter confusion during the last 4th quarter drive
E. All of the above.

The answer doesn't really matter. Perhaps the best answer is the simplest one - the best team that showed up was the one that won.

This may be a ham-handed segué to another story about teamwork in Pennsylvania, but it has implications for Coloradans as well, and it's worth the lead-up.

A story in Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette detailed the activities and effectiveness of groups of landowners who have been negotiating collectively with energy "landmen" seeking leases for drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation. Some key points and quotes:

• "We have to stick together. It's the strength-in-numbers strategy," the Loretto (Pa.) group's lead organizer, Lee Wyland, told his members at the beginning of the two-hour-long meeting. "If we don't, they will pick us apart one-by-one -- there's no doubt about it."

• These landowner groups "have become a major force in the industry, educating their members, usually resulting in higher payments and more environmental controls for landowners than they would have gotten as individuals".

• When interest in the Marcellus Shale started to ramp up a few years ago, many landowners confused by the offers they were receiving reached out to the cooperative extension service at Penn State for information and assistance. Numerous community meetings later, these self-described "farm families" have learned the power of effective organizing and negotiation.

• The story quotes the director of a royalty managers' trade group about efforts at organizing for the purpose of negotiating leases in other areas of the country:

"There is a cultural difference particular to Pennsylvania and New York," (Jerry Simmons) said. "In the Rocky Mountain west, in particular, everyone is kind of on their own, an individual attitude."

To be sure, there is lots of grassroots community organizing going on in Colorado and elsewhere. Groups such as Battlement Concerned Citizens and the Western Colorado Congress have worked hard to educate and advocate for more intensive study of drilling and fracking. This includes outright opposition to these activities without additional government scrutiny and regulatory oversight.

It's also true that there are significant differences in the circumstances. I don't think there are that many split estate situations in the Eastern U.S., and there's significantly less public lands.

Still, imagine a group of private landowners, let's say in Garfield County, collectively negotiating a drilling lease for all involved lands. Through cooperative pooling of resources and procurement of expertise, they are able to agree to a fair price. Included in the agreement are certain environmental clauses that whoever drills those leases must adhere to, on pain of withdrawal of permission and possible dissolution of the agreement for all drilling locations. A portion of the agreement proceeds would be set aside to assist with the necessary compliance monitoring processes.

How would something like this look politically? Would it dovetail with Governor Hickenlooper's stated desire for responsible energy development? How would such news be received by those on the GOP and/or Tea Party (are they interchangeable?) forefront, who disdain what they see as government running amuck where it should not?

This sounds like win-win to me:

• Our country needs the energy that sits beneath us, but it must be extracted with respect for the surface and those who live on and/or farm that earth.

• The energy companies and lease landmen are not going away; they see profits from the energy beneath the ground, and have the resources to expend on leases that will likely yield considerable earnings. They would prefer to pay a fair price to a large organized group, saving them time and expense from having to deal with individual landowners.
  

• Given the aforementioned profit potential when faced with an organized, informed group of landowners backed by an effective regulatory structure, respecting the environment becomes just the cost of doing business.

• The community at large benefits from the infusion of lease proceeds and employment into the engine of the local and regional economy. The organized groups find that their collective political and economic strength allows them to advocate and become a partner for positive change in the communities where they reside.
  

• Government intervention is balanced with respect for both private property and human rights, with effective strategies in place to avoid repeating the tragic historical lessons of communism and feudalism, not to mention socialism or the environmental scars of unbridled capitalism.
  

A Utopian pipe dream? Perhaps. I look at it this way - anything that educates and mobilizes the people to help them achieve a greater quality of life together than separately cannot be a bad thing. Greed and other misunderstandings will always be there - but the message will continue to be firmly reinforced in our collective psyche that we are better off together than we are apart.

Our current political climate and economic systems, reinforced by commercial media, seem designed with the express purpose of dividing us into segments of a society, too addled with individual concerns and mistrust to work together. The promise of the Internet and social media to mobilize for change - particularly in places like Egypt - must be balanced with a strong desire to work together and avoid the paradoxical, destructive, collective narcissism that comes along with the world of the electronic screen.

Teamwork - strength in numbers - collectivism - any label you place on what's happening in Pennsylvania and New York with respect to drilling can translate to the potential for improving the American condition. I think this is one big reason that the competitive nature of humanity, combined with the freedoms that Americans have been blessed with and have a responsibility to uphold, is one of the greatest forces for positive change that history has ever seen.

Have a good week ahead.

Drilling in the Local News

This past week, KREX-TV put together a multi-part series of investigative reports to mark the beginning of the November ratings sweeps period.

They chose a timely and provocative topic; pipelines associated with gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing that had been installed poorly in at least two locations by contractors working for Antero Resources. The primary focus of the stories was on a section of pipe constructed through one Silt-area rancher's property.

KREX reporter John Dzenitis appeared to do some serious legwork in attempting to flesh out the claims made by rancher Bob Regulski against Kahuna Services, which performed contracted pipeline work for Antero through his property. Mr. Dzenitis briefly outlined the legal dispute between him self and Antero that resulted in Garfield County ordering a stop to the work being done there. He also interviewed engineers in Glenwood Springs, and a noted environmental scientist based in Paonia. He contacted officials with Garfield County (dubbed "Gasfield County" as a tag line for the story), the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and even managed to snag an interview with an attorney for Antero.

The picture that Mr. Dzenitis was able to paint was one of shoddy workmanship, environmental damage already occurring from leaking pipes less than 2 years old, and government officials shrugging their shoulders, pointing fingers elsewhere, and taking action only when prodded to do so through media attention or legal action. It wasn't a pretty picture, especially when the reports pointed out that Kahuna has laid over 80 miles of pipeline in western Garfield County, and at least one engineer was very concerned as to the quality of the work based on what was done on Mr. Regalski's property, and the integrity of the other pipeline work as a result.

The Garfield County Commissioners will hold a special meeting in Rifle on Tuesday to address issues specific to drilling activity in the Silt area, and especially on Silt Mesa. Hopefully KREX will be there as a follow-up to their series.

I've embedded all three segments below, with links to their respective online pages. I've emailed Mr. Dzenitis and News Director Keira Bresnahan to suggest that the quality of this report deserves a dedicated page on their website, with all three segments included and perhaps some added value that only the Internet can currently provide, such as links to electronic versions of the numerous documents that the reports featured as part of the investigation. Hopefully, the station will consider making this a topic of ongoing focus, and not just an avenue to a ratings bump during sweeps.

KREX also appeared to score another first with these reports; they are the first daily media outlet in the Grand Valley to report anything about this. The Free Press reprinted a report from their sister paper, the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. Their reporter, John Colson, has done the lion's share of the reporting on this so far.

The Daily Sentinel made a little bit of headway toward this end in today's paper, reprinting a story from today's New York Times that illustrates the differences in attitudes toward drilling activities in two separate locations, one in Louisiana and the other in rural Pennsylvania.

The effort undertaken by the staff at KREX is hopefully the beginning of increased media attention toward the impact of drilling, especially hydraulic fracturing, on the quality of life in Garfield County. Focusing on effective regulation and enforcement now, before drilling in other areas starts to proliferate, is something that our local media can do to help meet their obligations to all citizens of these areas.

The underlying question for me continues to be how much intrusion can be tolerated into the health, safety, and intangible beauty that is Colorado to secure local economies and our nation's energy future. The more I look at it from the perspective of two different areas in our country, the more disappointing the future looks.

Hopefully, the message from the Hickenlooper administration, as well as the COGCC and local governments, will be simple, direct, and have some teeth behind it - Do it right and safe the first time, or don't bother doing it at all.

Have a good week ahead.

KREX Series, Part 1

Part 2

Part 3