Marcellus Information--Must Reads

If you have not already done so, I would urge anyone interested in Marcellus drilling to visit these websites, which are most relevant since they deal solely with West Virginia:

1. West Virginia Surface Owners' Rights Organization (lots of legal information and resources): www.wvsoro.org

1. Wetzel County Action Group (these folks have experienced first hand many of the drawbacks of Marcellus shale drilling): www.wcag-wv.org

They have been in Wetzel three years in the Marcellus shale with hydro-fracturing and if the scope of what I saw is a measuring of what is coming....it is enormous; like the advance of the Roman army. These wells require massive support of equipment and materials to build and maintain and huge infrastructure after to store and move the gas in pipe lines. Large areas with four to five plus loud diesel condenser motors pumping gas along, separating it etc etc. sounding like an airport tarmac. Drilling takes years, start to "finish", and is dirty, loud, traffic filled, lights 24/7 constant with dust and gas fumes and bad water and complaints of illness and the state doing little or nothing to help or prevent. The pumping and diesel condenser areas will the there in place operation for ten or twenty years or more until every liter of gas is moved along and processed. If you want the County to be forever different and no longer be the unique safe quiet peaceful haven it is then embrace gas! If you have gas wells you'll probably get rich and the community will change and those too small to lease or who don't will suffer. We all will have to smell the fumes, be pounded with the noise, and feel the richter scale quake of INDUSTRIALIZATION of our county in the wake..

As do most attorneys and politicians.

Somebody asked me at the Farmer's Market if I had seen the Wetzel pics. I haven't! Were they what you expected? I am posting the agenda for Tueday. I want to find out how much you are paying me for my gas rights! I feel that if Walt Helmick gets paid for his coal that I ought to get paid for my gas. I'll settle for $750,000!! And that's a steal!

Your concern Mr. Alderman ought to be for the protection of our mutual culture and community and water rather than the repeated cry for money and private gain which seem to dominate your posts.