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citations & links for statements in the county shopper ads
of September 16 & October 14, 2011
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"The
industry came into town
and met with the bankers and they met with some
educators at Colorado Mountain
College and county commissioners and a few folks
like that and they started telling these stories
about this economic boom that was coming and
everybody was going to be happy and it was going
to be a little paradise and we were going to be
awash in money - we were going to be rolling
wheelbarrows of money into the front of the
bank.
"What they didn't tell them was that sooner
or later wheelbarrows full of money were going
to be rolling out the back door of the bank
because people were going to be losing their
property values, their health was going to be
affected, our infrastructure costs were going to
skyrocket and there would be no tax money to pay
for those things.
"And they didn't tell that to the bankers.
"This is what the bankers found out two or three
years or four years into the process."
- see
Duke Cox, right sidebar
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Property Values Decline |
Bradford County PA, 2/24/11: PA DEP
officials encouraged Jared and Heather
McKikens to evacuate their home. Their home
and property value has plummeted 85%, from
$250,000 to a value now appraised at
$35,000. Mr. McKikens said "When your house
does not have fresh water it's pretty much
worthless."
Protecting Our Waters
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Denton Texas Record and Chronicle,
9/18/10: Drilling Can Dig into Land
Values: "One year to the day after a
company set up its drilling rigs on their
land in eastern Wise County, Texas, Tim and
Christine Ruggiero confirmed the depth of
their loss. Originally on the 2010 tax
rolls for $257,330, their home and 10-acre
horse property are now worth $75,240." "The
Wise County Central Appraisal District
Appraisal Review Board agreed that the
drilling company's use of the Ruggieros'
land warranted the extraordinary reduction."
Denton Record &
Chronicle
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VP Residential Mortgage Lending, Tompkins
County Trust Company, 3/24/11 "Gas/oil
leases are generally NOT accepted by lenders
such as Wells, First Place Bank, Provident
Funding, GMAC, FNCB, Fidelity, FHA, First
Liberty or Bank of America."
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Pike County PA Courier, 6/3/10: New
mortgages unavailable for properties with
gas drilling leases "How do you
get a buyer to consider a purchase when they
know the property might not be bankable?"
asks Jennifer Canfield, a real estate broker
in the Upper Delaware Valley."
Pike County Courier
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Mortgage Troubles on Leased Properties,
April 2010 "I am a realtor and can tell
you with absolute certainty that if there
are any “ongoing environmental conditions”
on your property – even ones that simply
require monitoring to be sure no change has
occurred – the lender will reject your
applications. These loans cannot comply with
Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines and
therefore cannot be sold in the secondary
market. In simple English, if they are
drilling anywhere near your property you are
never going to be able to sell your house to
anyone other than an all cash buyer. How is
that going to affect you? In your wallet!"
see
full discussion at
lizjbucar.wordpress.com
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"Economic Benefit" is a Myth |
William R. Freudenburg and Lisa J. Wilson:
“Mining the Data: Analyzing the Economic
Implications of Mining for Nonmetropolitan
Regions”, Sociological Inquiry, Vol
72, Fall 2002, 549-75.
“There appears to
be no scientific basis for accepting the
widespread ‘obvious’ assumption that mining
will lead to economic improvement” (page
549).
“The areas
of the United States having the highest
levels of long-term poverty, outside of
those having a history of racial
inequalities, tend to be found in the
very places that were once the site of
thriving extractive industries—most
notably in Appalachia” (page 552).
See
report at
TCGASMAP (pdf)
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Headwaters Economics “Fossil Fuel Extraction
as a County Economic Development Strategy:
Are Energy-focusing Counties Benefiting?”
September 2008 (Revised 7/11/09).
“Counties that
have focused on energy development are
underperforming economically compared to
peer counties that have little or no energy
development.” (page 2)
“EF
(Energy-focused) counties over the long term
are characterized by:
• Less economic diversity and resilience
• Lower levels of education in the workforce
• A greater gap between high and low income
households
• A growing wage disparity between
energy-related workers and all other workers
• Less ability to attract investment and
retirement dollars” (page 4)
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Thomas Michael Power (University of Montana)
- “The Local Economic Impacts of Natural Gas
Development In Valle Vidal, New Mexico”,
January 2005.
“Mineral exploration, development, and
extraction have not been sources of economic
stability or growth for over a quarter of a
century. Instead they have contributed to a
downward cycle of boom and bust... Natural
gas development does not provide substantial
jobs and income for local residents, even
when it is carried out on a massive scale.”
(page 23)
Power: EconomicImpact (pdf)
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Susan Christopherson, Ph.D.
(Cornell University) Albany Times Union,
“Hydrofracking a Boom-Bust Endeavor”, August 14, 2011
"Evidence
from already developed shale plays indicates
that shale gas drilling relies mostly on
out-of-state workers. Local employment is
concentrated in trucking, construction and
retail jobs -- many of which are part-time,
short-term, or low-pay...Shale
gas jobs make only a modest contribution to
PA economy. We can expect similar results in
NY."
Times Union
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Town Budgets Strained |
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Marcellus Shale Activity Costs Mounting for Taxpayers “The cost of drilling is high - and
is getting higher for the taxpayers of Clinton County. According to a report released
Thursday, the government's expense accompanying the drilling company surge in
this region is doubling each year with no end in sight.”
Data from Clinton Co., Pa government
2007 - $7,270
2008 - $73,884
2009 - $153,582
2010 - $334,000
Lockhaven.com
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Marcellus Shale: What Local Officials Need to Know -
Penn State University:
“Due to Pennsylvania’s local tax structure, the revenue
impacts of Marcellus shale on Pennsylvania local governments and taxpayers will
likely be relativelysmall compared to the cost and service impacts.”
Page 14
Full report (pdf)
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Mayor
Keith Lambert, Rifle, Colorado,
quoted in the film, Rural Impact!:
“Our revenues are now
here, but our needs are up here.”
Increased sales tax revenues could not begin
to keep pace with huge increases in
infrastructure needs.
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Susan Christopherson, Ph.D.
(Cornell University) Albany Times Union, “Hydrofracking a Boom-Bust Endeavor,"
August 14, 2011
"Many of the costs of shale gas extraction
fall on county and local government,
including localities where drilling makes no
appreciable contribution to the economy
through job creation or tax revenues."
Times Union
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"Call DOH
[Department of Highways] -
Wetzel
County Action Group
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NY State Dept of
Transportation says “Transportation Impacts Are Ominous”
Bill for local road repair to be $121 to
$222 milliion say NY DOT. “No mechanism for local governments to absorb these
costs without major impacts to other programs."
Full report at
Press Connects: DOT Report
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NYSDOT Transportation
Impacts Paper
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"Thanks,
CHK [Chesapeake Energy] + DOH [Department of
Highways]" -
Wetzel County Action
Group
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Ad valorem tax doesn't touch road
repair costs - town supervisor in
central NY writing to other supervisors
"Norse Energy delayed for nearly 18
months the implementation of a simple
$10,000 road bond agreement that evolved
into a $30,000 discussion with some
strong resistance on their part, long
enough for our town to experience road
impacts that exceeded $300,000 in repair
costs.
"Over 3 years, we have had nearly
$550,000 in road impacts and subsequent
repairs. When you consider our local
road repair budget for materials and
fuel is around $64,000... The
local gas property taxes paid out under
the current complicated, convoluted and
inadequate state system do not touch
this. Taxes paid to [our township] this
year on an estimated $5 million in
wholesale gas sales from 2008 is about
$16,000 or about .3 percent of estimated
revenues,
since
the companies are not required to
disclose their actual revenues"
- from
February 12, 2010 e-mail |
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count
the
costs
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Agriculture & Drilling Don't Mix |
PA Cows Exposed to Flowback Water Produced
High Number of Stillborn or Dying Calves
After Carol & Don Johnson's cows were exposed
to flowback water that leaked off a drilling pad, they were quarantined by the
PA Department of Agriculture. Of the eleven calves born this spring of
those cows, eight were born dead or were so weak that they died shortly
afterwards.
State Impact PA: Quarantined Cows Gave Birth to Dead
Calves
Protecting Our Waters: Dead Calves and Silences
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Wholesale food purchasers plan to avoid food from
fracked regions. Retail stores and restaurants act to protect the health
and demands of their customers Park Slope Food Coop's open
letter including the following statement:
"If
hydrofracking is allowed to go forward our shoppers are certain to be asking us
if the fruits, vegetables, dairy products, eggs and meats from New York State
are produced in areas where hydrofracking is taking place. It will not take many
inquiries for us to start researching alternatives to NYS products."
Full text at
New York Connection
Salon: Fracking Food Supply |
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Print Restaurant, NYC,
statement from Chef Heather Carlucci "As a chef, I take strong
responsibility for the food I serve to the patrons of the restaurant. While
they are in our dining room, their health is in our hands. It is a terrible thought, but
we've thought long and hard about farms on fracked land and our stance on it.
As we can't judge someone for making that choice for their land and their
business especially during these difficult times for family farms, the
unregulated use of toxins in enormous amounts, as hydrofracturing does, leaves
us little choice but to look elsewhere to bring our business. At Print, we take
the support of all farms and the causes of farms and farmers very seriously.
It's been part of our business model since the concept was in its inception. That being said,
we feel that
fracked land is compromised land. Compromised farm land is compromising the
health of those around us, the health of our community, our children and
ourselves."
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One of 17 cows killed
by a spill from a Chesapeake/Schlumberger
fracking site
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Tourism & Gas Drilling Don't Mix |
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“Fracking threatens to do serious damage to the tourism sector”
“Degrading visitor
experience and creating industrial landscape far outlives profitability of gas
extraction.”
Andrew Rumbach (Cornell
University), “Natural Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Potential Impacts on
the Tourism Economy of the Southern Tier”
see report at
STC Planning (pdf)
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Drilling Puts Strain on Medical Services |
Staci Covey, President of Guthrie Healthcare
Troy Hospital, Bradford Co., PA
"Local Experiences Related to the Marcellus
Shale Industry," 5/10/11, reports increased
traffic and motor vehicle accidents and
other complications.
Quoted from just two slides:
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Access to and from the borough of Troy
and Troy Community Hospital delayed or
impossible at certain times of day
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Accidents have occurred related to
frustration, anger directed at migrant
workers, substance abuse, unfamiliarity
with roadways, road rage; could use more
State Police to assist with management
and enforcement. Victims are most often
local residents.
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Patient transport and response to
emergency calls are delayed and hampered
requiring adjustments to timing of
treatments and planning for increased
delays
- EMS
services are all volunteer and
volunteers are burning out; call volumes
for EMS services have significantly
increased
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Patient transport is uncomfortable due
to rough roads
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The delivery of home care services has
been greatly impacted related to traffic
volume but also the hauling of industry-
related equipment and materials
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Extended, non-productive travel times to
and from patient homes
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The roads are in severe disrepair and
very hard on staff vehicles
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Staff safety while traveling is a
serious concern
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Road repairs will further hamper travel,
increasing staff dissatisfaction,
increased gas use and vehicle wear, and
decrease productivity
Complete report (17-slide powerpoint)
Troy Community
Hospital Report
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this page is under constructon -
check back for more links
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the
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From the film, Rural
Impact! Duke Cox, November 10, 2007
"The secret to your
success is in this room, and it's the fact that some
70 or 80 people have been here all day listening to
information that's going to help you protect your
community and to continue to have a community that
you want to live in. The community that I have
recently moved away from has deteriorated to the
point where most of my old friends who lived in
Garfield Count no longer live in Garfield County.
"What happened in Garfield County is a situation
that I hope never happens again, in which a
community was unprepared for an industrial onslaught
by an industry that is the most powerful industry in
the world.
"Be aware of the hidden costs that will visit your
community. One of the things that happened in
Rifle: I was invited when the industry first started
moving into the Garfield County area, as a builder,
as a general contractor, a couple of my banker
friends asked me to come in and sit down on some
"discussions." ...The industry came into town and
met with the bankers and they met with some
educators at Colorado Mountain College and county
commissioners and a few folks like that and they
started telling these stories about this economic
boom that was coming and everybody was going to be
happy and it was going to be a little paradise and
we were going to be awash in money - we were going
to be rolling wheelbarrows of money into the front
of the bank.
"What they didn't tell them was that sooner or later
wheelbarrows full of money were going to be rolling
out the back door of the bank because people were
going to be losing their property values, their
health was going to be affected, our infrastructure
costs were going to skyrocket and there would be no
tax money to pay for those things.
"And they didn't tell that to the bankers.
"This is what the bankers found out two or three
years or four years into the process."
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