Wetzel County Voted for Earl Ray Tomblin

That is a possible conclusion. Not having a TV, I don't know how much drilling pro and con was emphasized in the various campaign ads. Was there a significant difference between these two candidates on the policy of Marcellus drilling? I don't know. To me, the 27% turnout indicates that voters did not see any iimportant difference between Maloney and Tomblin. Neither candidate had more than 50% of the Pocahontas vote (47.79 vs 41.66). The 101 votes (7.84%) votes for Bob Henry Baber suggest that almost 10% of voters voted against fracking and mountaintop removal - issues that neither of the major candidates appeared to oppose.

Following the same logic, 90% of the voters support drilling and mountian top removal!
Abundant and afffordable energy will go a long way to making this nation strong again.

Baloney. It is not about "affordable energy" or "making the nation strong again" it is about money and now its about selling this gas overseas to who knows.......
Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. — An energy company is seeking federal approval to allow exports of liquefied natural gas from the booming Appalachian drilling industry, saying that the nation's natural gas supply is outpacing demand.

Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Resources Inc. announced last week that it has applied to the Department of Energy to allow 1 billion cubic feet per day to be exported through a terminal it owns in Maryland. The application, filed Sept. 1, seeks permission for the exports of liquefied natural gas to any country with which the United States does not prohibit trade, the company said.

The terminal, Dominion Cove Point on the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby, Md., is well-situated to export gas from the prolific Marcellus Shale and the promising Utica Shale formations, Dominion's chairman and CEO, Thomas Farrell II, said in a statement.

"It is in our nation's best interests to develop our natural resources responsibly and reliably," Farrell said. "In the process, we will be able to improve the nation's balance of trade."

In addition to owning power plants, Dominion is a major operator of natural gas pipelines and storage facilities. It would not actually own or directly export the liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Its customers would be responsible for supplying the gas to the terminal and then shipping and selling it, Dominion said.

Dominion spokesman Daniel Donovan told the News-Register of Wheeling, W.Va., (http://bit.ly/q3gCG0 ) that the company is seeking approval for the shipments because the nation's natural gas supply is surging while domestic demand is lacking.

"But the main reason is the increased supply. Not only from Marcellus Shale, but several shale plays in other parts of the country. Our supply study only includes a small amount of Utica Shale, but increasing supplies from other shales," he told the newspaper.

The Marcellus Shale formation is considered the nation's largest-known natural gas reservoir and lies more than a mile underground, primarily beneath Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Ohio. Pennsylvania is the center of activity, with more than 3,000 wells drilled in the past three years and thousands more planned in the coming years.

Environmental groups have expressed concern that the process of extracting the gas from deep underground could contaminate the water supply. That process, called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, forces water mixed with sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into the wells at high pressure, shattering the underground shale and releasing trapped gas. Gas companies say the procedure has been used safely for decades.

Geologists believe the Marcellus Shale formation contains enough recoverable natural gas to supply the East Coast for decades. The Utica Shale, which is below the Marcellus Shale, has not been explored or studied to the same extent, but many in the industry say it could also be a prolific source of natural gas.

Donovan said many of the new jobs necessary for the project would be in the Marcellus Shale region of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

LNG is natural gas that has been supercooled to -260 degrees to turn it into a liquid and reduce it in volume by 600 times, Dominion said.

To export LNG, Dominion said it would have to add liquefaction facilities to the existing Dominion Cove Point terminal. Construction could potentially begin in 2014 and service could begin by the end of 2016, it said.

When the nation balances trade deficits, it will make the national economy stronger. The cost of that energy used in the US will be much less than it will cost other countries. Any manufacturing requires massive amounts of energy, low cost materials will encourage productivity. If Gasoline and Diesel were about $2.00 you would see a major turn around.
You can disagree but that little "baloney" comment is not appreciated, but I can sling with the best of them, I see why Poca is not progressing, while you are in the steak line, the rest of the community is served in that "baloney" line.
One thing we do agree on, it is about money, just like when I go out to work, just like when the Co. gives your check, or when you and I bill a client, we expect to be paid.
When pension funds invest in Dominion they also hope to profit.

And I consider farms and pure water as national security concerns too. And I do not consider the real concerns about water and other impacts from drilling as "bogus".

And another hornets nest is disturbed---- the Greenbrier River- the source of water for some downriver communities.Is not the town of Durbin still the main polluter ,its million dollar subsidized sewer notwithstanding?It is on the list to get several million more which will still not protect the river because one hoggish entrepreneur is allowed to have dozens of tanks instead of being made to hook onto the sewer. His system is at the edge of the GreenBrier, contaminating it (with denial) everyday.The river may have to be used as the source of water for northern Pokey if the aquifers are damaged by drilling.I agree that the continuing and present problems should be solved along with the potential one.

Raw Sewage?

Where is the health department in all of this - surely they must know about this.

Oh my, that is not good! Over here on the Elk we have plotted every septic system and regularly monitor the Elk for trouble - which perhaps only breeds false confidence as we are beginning to find out as more discoveries are made that perhaps what we were told about individual systems are not in fact as represented.

Maybe this is something we could talk about and get guidance on how the county would like to proceed. I just have a hard time believing that in this environment, with this few households, this can be happening.

Of course we just got our water leaks stopped in BFD so I'm not pointing fingers, and I heard the other day that it has practically cured the infiltration flow to the lagoon. Of course, if the pipe integrity was assured, that wouldn't have effected it.

I remain a believer that we can improve our county, even if has to be one small step at a time.

Answer to David Litsey: Jacob Meck is allowed to spray sewage pumped from local systems onto Bill Heavener's farm. The sanitation officer is aware of this. He says that the sewage is fine as long as the ph level has been mitigated. How do you do that with a one tank system? On the other hand, Meck put in three tanks beside Deer Creek and the sanitarian didn't even know about it. He has warning signage up so that noone can get close enough to see if the sewage is straightpiping to Deer Creek. He says that the DEP is the one who approved the tanks. But he didn't even know they were there? I have pics of the tanks and the place.

Norman
The approved method of treatment of pump sewage before land applying is to add enough Hydrated lime to the load to bring it to a pH of 12 and let it set for 3 hrs before applying. Theoretically it kills the pathogens. Now the problem is, that is rarely done, because a liquid that caustic is highly corrosive to metal tanks.
Plus anyone land applying creates a liability for themselves and the landowner.