Chesapeake Malfeasance CREATES EMERGENCY as 1,000's of GALLONS of Chemically Contaminated Fracking Fluids Ruin Farm Land, POISON LOCAL CREEKS! HAPPENING NOW

 

Chesapeake Energy, who sure seems to have a LOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS seems to have a major catastrophic emergency on its hands in Bradford County, PA.  The company who insists that FRACKING has never damaged ground water can NEVER AGAIN SAY THOSE WORDS, nor can the industry.

A Fracking Well GONE WILD over night has literally poured TENS OF THOUSANDS of gallons of highly dangerous, poisonous fracking fluids onto the farm land in this once picturesque area, the volume of the chemicals so large that it has FLOODED INTO THE NEARBY CREEKS AND STREAMS, with the damage to Ground Water sure to be immense.  The deadly chemical mix is so lethal to both animals and humans that nearby residents HAVE BEEN EVACUATED.

A Chesapeake Energy spokesperson said, "thousands of gallons of fluid leaked over farm land and into a creek from a natural gas well in Bradford County."  The timing could not be worse, as President Obama just yesterday had said, "If we are going to do this, it has to be done in a way that does not POISON PEOPLE."  TOO LATE!

First responders, and other qualified personnel in a all hands on deck NATIONAL EMERGENCY are desperately trying to contain the spill of these deadly chemicals as the FRACKING FLUIDS continue to flow unabated from the WELL PAD.

The blowout occurred on the Morse family farm in LeRoy Township outside Canton, a farming community who probably jumped at the money when the landman showed up, lease in hand with his slick sales pitch...that easy money for Randy Morse who ran cattle on his land is NOT SO EASY NOW, as he and his family will NEVER AGAIN be able to drink from the brook on his land that Chesapeake Energy has forever poisoned.

Chesapeake Energy official Brian Grove trying to put lipstick on a pig said "A piece of equipment on the well failed.  Now a major response is underway to stop the leak of frack fluid and get control of the well. We've been able to limit the flow. We're still doing additional work to regain full control,"   NOTICE HERE FOLKS, that the well is STILL GUSHING dangerous deadly chemical laden toxic FRACKING FLUIDS into the environment, threatening both SAFE DRINKING WATER AND HUMAN HEALTH!

Mr. Grove went on to say, "There is no telling yet how much of that extremely salty water mixed with chemicals and sand has impacted the nearby Towanda Creek, but no gas has escaped into the air."  Can't you almost hear him saying under his breath, "Yet".

Neighbor Ted Tomlinson said "The biggest thing is the footprint on the environment. Well obviously this is a big footprint."   Thanks to one neighbors GREED, a entire community is NOW SUFFERING, PAYING THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR (un)Natural Gas FRACKING...for those not liking the tone of this article, too bad.  We have tried to WARN YOU, and now people like TEd Tomlinson are worried that their SAFE CLEAN DRINKING WATER that is just a few football fields away from this poorly managed and installed Chesapeake Energy Drilling Well has FOREVER BEEN RUINED.  It is noted here, that the IMMEDIATE HEALTH RISK IS SO SEVERE that Ted Tomlinson was forced to evacuate he and his family from their home

NEW VIDEO

 

What hydrofracking really means to us: Citizens Beware

 So, the Landman is knocking on doors and promising FIST FULLS OF DOLLARS to any one that shows and interest.  He hits the large acreage holders first, knowing a few of them will make it easier for him to use duress too get the small land holders to cave in and sign...but what does fracking coming to your community really mean?  Below is a list I found that I have borrowed and embellished a bit as more truths come out about the horror of Fracking use in the Natural Gas Industry...before you sign that lease, before you take the proverbial 35 pieces of Judas silver ask yourselves, "Is this what I want for my community, for my children and their children."  Any one with soul, with heart, with conscience will make the right decision and send the Landman packing.

• Industrialization of our quiet rural communities, even destruction of suburban neighborhoods.

• Contaminated water wells, springs and streams leaving us poisoned drinking water.

• Loud obnoxious diesel engines running 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, with lights on.

• Significant and constant air pollution from evaporation of flowback ponds filled with TOXIC chemicals.

• Further contamination of our air from the escaping gas, which is “normal”...BUT UNSAFE and NOXIOUS.

• Contamination of livestock, pets, and wild animals, including, of course, deer...you'll love the dead bloated carcass laying in your yard, and a Natural Gas employee telling, "It's not us, deal with it."

• Massive depreciation of property values, leaving them all but unsalable...who wants a home that has NO ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER?

• Imported Migrant workers from Texas and Louisiana, not local workers as the Natural Gas companies lie and say, "Sorry, your local workers do not have the right skill sets for this work.

•Increased crimes again a person initiated by people with too much money in their pockets and time on their hands.

• Tremendous increase in heavy truck traffic day and night ruining roads, causing accidents, and DUMPING TOXINS when they can get away with it.

• Fish kills in now polluted lakes, ponds, rivers and streams...sure that is what you want your children to see when you go for a spring walk down to the pond of stream.

• Increase in taxes to pay for what these gas companies cost us...IE, radioactively contaminated Sewage Treatment plants that will require remediation AT LOCAL CITIZENS EXPENSE. 

• The rancid, headache causing smell of diesel exhaust in the air, 24/7, and lets not forget THE NOISE.

• Devastation of tourism trade, destruction of local agriculture.

• Health problems, including cancers, childhood leukemia and birth defects  from the toxic Natural GAs drilling pollution and the stress that comes from living in an industrial wasteland devoid of all beauty and normalcy of life.

• A net loss of jobs, and over time a destruction of your local community tax base.

Mike Knapp, YOU ARE The Company You Keep

Seems that Mike Knapp (who seems to be nothing more than a Landman willing to say, do anything to get a landowners signature on a a lease at all costs) is raising a Holy War, A Jihad against Josh Fox whose movie "Gasland" has taken the nation by storm, and is helping to WAKE UP average citizens to the harm and peril that (un)Natural Gas represents.  

Seems that Josh's father was cited for burning of a trailer on his property in Pennsylvania...there is a citation for this.  Josh Fox does not own the property, which means any issues surrounding this are not his.  More importantly though, Mr. Mike Knapp wants to ignore some important material facts surrounding this issue, primary among them:

A)  Josh nor his father knew the trailer HAD BEEN TORCHED.

B)  When the Fox family learned of this arson, they IMMEDIATELY contacted the State Police, and there is currently an investigation going on.

C)  The Pa State Police have clearly stated that the Fox family (father and son) are not responsible, have pretty well said the fire was DELIBERATELY SET (arson).

A December fire that destroyed a Fox family mobile home cited for junk violations was set by someone other than Fox or his family, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The fire, across the Delaware River in Wayne County, Pa., was discovered by Fox last week. He had just returned to the Milanville property from a promotional tour for his film, which has riled pro-drillers, who blast it for what they say are inaccuracies.

"There's nothing to suggest either he or his family had anything to do with it," said Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall Russ Andress, who said the trailer burned while Fox was on the road. The fire is still under investigation, he said.

Mike Knapp President of Knapp Acquisitions & Production LLC Kittanning, PA apparently does not want to let FACTS get in the way of a good smear campaign as he employs the normal scorched earth attacks that the Energy Industry has used for years when grassroots activists are having success in bringing attention to indsutry practices that are unsafe, that threaten our environment and our health. This (un)Natural Gas Landman from the get go lets everyone know just how unsavory and despicable he truly is...notice that his Knapp Acquisitions company which bears his name is a LLC (Limited Liability Company, which means he has set himself up personally to be free of legal responsibility should ANYTHING GO WRONG...IE, say false promises, or verbal promises made to fraudulently get someone to sign a lease that end up in some kind of litigation...you can sue HIS COMPANY, but not him, and trust me, be willing to bet here that Mike Knapp drains the profits out of this enterprise almost as fast as they come in.  Which brings us to the company he keeps...if you do a cursory internet search, you will find out that HIS CLIENTS have been cited for some very SERIOUS VIOLATIONS, his clients are CHARGED with violations that have done some SERIOUS HARM to the environment already.

Violations listed for the drilling companies Mike Knapp PROUDLY represents, MDS Energy and First Class Energy :

For 2010 -MDS ENERGY had 6 violations and 3 Fines

4/6/2010- MDS ENERGY LTD in Armstrong County- VIOLATION #584594
Code 78.56FRBRD Failure to maintain 2' freeboard in an impoundment

4/07/2010 Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty Fine: $ 26,000.00

5/14/2010- MDS ENERGY in Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #587171
VIOLATION Code 102.4 Failure to minimize accelerated erosion, implement E&S plan, maintain E&S controls. Failure to stabilize site until total site restoration under OGA Sec 206(c)(d)

Violations noted:
1- Failure to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation.
2- Inadequate E&S plan.
3- Discharge of Industrial Waste to the Waters of the Commonwealth.
Culverts not properly stabilized which resulted in sediment entering culverts and eventually entering nearby stream.

Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty FINED $5,000.00 Aug.31, 2010...this one fine is FIVE TIMES the amount the Fox family could be ordered to pay IF THEY WERE FOUND GUILTY OF ANYTHING, which they HAVE NOT BEEN.

5/14/2010 -MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #587172
VIOLATION CODE 102.4 INADPLN Failure to minimize accelerated erosion, implement E&S plan, maintain E&S controls. Failure to stabilize site until total site restoration under OGA Sec


5/14/2010 -MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #587173
VIOLATION CODE- 401CSL Discharge of Pollution Material into waters of the Commonwealth. (As in FRACKING CHEMICAL COCKTAIL)

Violations noted:
1- Failure to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation.
2- Inadequate E&S plan.
3- Discharge of Industrial Waste to the Waters of the Commonwealth.

5/14/2010 -MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #587174
401CSL Stream discharge of IW, includes drill cuttings, oil, brine and/or silt.

Violations noted:
1- Failure to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation.
2- Inadequate E&S plan.
3- Discharge of Industrial Waste to the Waters of the Commonwealth.


5/14/2010 MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #587175
VIOLATION CODE 691.401WPD Failure to prevent sediment or other pollutant discharge into waters of the Commonwealth.

Violations noted:
1- Failure to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation.
2- Inadequate E&S plan.
3- Discharge of Industrial Waste to the Waters of the Commonwealth.
Steady flow of sediment laden water exiting the culvert and entering directly into the stream.


05/24/2010 MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #587943 VIOLATION CODE - 78.56FRBRD Failure to maintain 2' freeboard in an impoundment; freeboard limit exceeded in pit. Water level closer than 2' from top of pit.

5/24/2010 Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty Fine: $ 26,000.00

8/20/2010 MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #598511
VIOLATION CODE 78.60B Tophole water discharged improperly.
Discharge to stream Channel. Violation of 78.60(b)(5)



For 2009 MDS ENERGY VIOLATIONS:

6/3/09- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #564197
VIOLATION CODE-102.4 Failure to minimize accelerated erosion, implement E&S plan, maintain E&S controls. Failure to stabilize site until total site restoration under OGA Sec 206(c)(d)

6/3/09- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #564198
VIOLATION CODE 102.4INADPLN E&S Plan not adequate


6/3/09- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #564199
VIOLATION CODE 78.83GRNDWTR Improper casing to protect fresh groundwater
E&S and casing violations

12/30/09- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #579096
VIOLATION CODE 205A Drilling w/in 200 ft of building or water well w/o variance

12/30/09- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #579097
VIOLATION CODE 207B Failure to case and cement to prevent migrations into fresh groundwater

12/30/09- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #579098
VIOLATION CODE 210UNPLUG Failure to plug a well upon abandonment
No bldg. waiver, abandoned & Incorrect casg. & cement

VIOLATIONS for MDS ENERGY in 2008:

1/22/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #531304
VIOLATION CODE: 201F Failure to notify DEP, landowner, political subdivision, or coal owner 24 hrs prior to commencement of drilling


2/01/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #534649
VIOLATION CODE: 201F Failure to notify DEP, landowner, political subdivision, or coal owner 24 hrs prior to commencement of drilling

4/29/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Armstrong County VIOLATION ID #537870
VIOLATION CODE: 78.56FRBRD Failure to maintain 2' freeboard in an impoundment

9/11/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Clarion County VIOLATION ID #548244
VIOLATION CODE: 205B Drilling w/in 100 ft of surface water or wetland w/o variance

9/11/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Clarion County VIOLATION ID #548245
VIOLATION CODE: 102.4 Failure to minimize accelerated erosion, implement E&S plan, maintain E&S controls. Failure to stabilize site until total site restoration under OGA Sec 206(c)(d)

9/11/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Clarion County VIOLATION ID #548246
VIOLATION CODE: 102.4INADPLN E&S Plan not adequate

9/11/08- MDS ENERGY LTD Clarion County VIOLATION ID #548247
VIOLATION CODE: 78.56FRBRD Failure to maintain 2' freeboard in an impoundment


Source: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

You can also read the following about Knapp's deal making with respect to landowners and leases:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_697353.html 

Now we know the kind of people that Mike Knapp associates with, know that he is at best a hypocritical man who should spend some time worrying about the dung heap stinking up his own back yard, and less time attacking a man and a movie that SPEAKS TRUTH TO THE INDUSTRY that wants to rape our lands, poison our waters, and bring cancers to our doorsteps. 

PS...you can judge a SCUM by their action.  Want to know just how LOW people in the (un)Natural Gas industry can go...visit the website of Mr. Knapp and on the front page you find this:

March 16th, 2011,

Open Letter to Josh Fox, Pennsylvanian to Pennsylvanian

Anti-Drilling Propagandist Josh Fox, director of “Gasland” continues to defame our industry with alse accusations and distorted facts in an attempt to scuttle the responsible development of our natural gas resources here in Pennsylvania. Click HERE to read for yourself.