JULY 1 2010    WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT    URGENT    BUS TRIP SUPPORT GAS DRILLING NOW

Dear Members,

The Bus for the DRBC meeting in Trenton NJ on WED> July 14th 2010 will leave at 9:00 am from the middle school parking lot.  That is the high parking lot up behind the Honesdale High School and Middle School up on Terrace Street.  The NWPOA will cover the cost of the trip if you can not afford a $15.00 donation. We would like you to go and we don’t want the “cost” to keep you away! Please try to send a representative from your family if you can’t make it yourself.   

Call Michele at 570 253 1700 to get your name on the list.  

 In the past we have not encouraged you to attend these DRBC meetings but this time we think it is important for you to go. The DRBC will be considering the Stone Water withdrawal permit for Stone energy gas exploration.  And the  anti group DCS have filed a legal & procedural action about NEWFIELDS Exploratory Well Projects in Wayne County.  Those are our Test Wells!  We must speak up and encourage DRBC to get meaningful prudent regulations in place instead of all these stall tactics which get us no where.

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From DRBC WEBSITE: 

The section of the meeting consisting of the General Counsel’s report will include consideration by the Commission of two requests for hearing filed with the Commission in May 2010 – one by Damascus Citizens for Sustainability concerning the applicability of the Commission’s section 3.8 project review procedure to certain exploratory natural gas well projects sponsored by Newfield-Appalachia PA, LLC; and the other, jointly by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Nockamixon Township concerning the applicability of the Section 3.8 review procedure to the Cabot #2 natural gas well project sponsored by Arbor Operating, LLC in Nockamixon Township. The Commissioners also will consider draft water withdrawal Docket No. D-2009-013-1 for the Stone Energy Corporation, on which a hearing was conducted on February 24, 2010 and for which the written comment period opened on February 8, 2010 and closed on April 12, 2010. No additional testimony on the latter project will be accepted. An opportunity for public dialogue will be provided at the end of the meeting. View draft water withdrawal Docket No. D-2009-013-1* ( please note that this is the February 9, 2010 draft which was prepared for the purposes of the public hearing and written comment period; it may be modified in response to comments received prior to Commission action).

 As you can see we have hired Greenberg Traurig an international environmental Law firm to represent the Landowners interests in this matter with the DRBC.  While we have not really kicked off a legal fund fundraiser event we have to provide GT law firm with $10,000 retainer fee. Any of you that wish to donate to the Legal Fund account feel free to send a free will donation to: 

 NWPOA Box 157 Damascus PA 18415 

All checks will go directly into a separate and dedicated checking account for legal fees. 

Please keep sending in your letters and emails. It is really helping!  If you are a veteran please write a special letter to:

Brigadier General Peter A DeLuca

Army Corp of Engineers

North Atlantic Division

Fort Hamilton Military Community

302 General Lee Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11252

  Army Corp of Engineers - General Peter Deluca – Joyce Irvin works in his office. 

           Her email is: joyce.c.irvin@usace.army.mil

There are 5 commissioners 2 are on our side and if we can get one more we have majority of the DRBC  commissioner votes.  I copied some of your letters below for others to read. 

For some reason the NPS and the US Fish and Wildlife Departments have decided to weigh in on drilling activity in the DRB. They are of course opposed and would like a cumulative impact study done. (See their letter attached to this email)  I am not sure it is legal or makes sense to do one study about just one activity when you attempt to do a cumulative impact study.  I think you would have to look at all of the impacts from all sources not just gas activity. 

Newfield has basically said if it can’t proceed under clear regulatory frame work it will re evaluate and might have to move its working capital else where.  They are fighting and so is HESS and so is the NWPOA.  

Good Luck to us all!  Marian 

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 The (Scranton) Times-Tribune

July 1, 2010

Wayne landowners hire lawyer

to fight gas drilling moratorium

By Steve McConnell

Staff Writer

A massive landowners' alliance in Wayne County is considering filing a lawsuit against an environmental regulatory agency that recently placed a blanket moratorium on natural gas drilling in the Delaware River watershed in part because of the potential loss of $220 million in payments to leaseholders.

The alliance hired international law firm Greenberg Traurig to begin preparing litigation against the Delaware River Basin Commission, said alliance spokesman Peter Wynne. The hiring came after a moratorium by the commission was broadened in June to include both exploratory and production natural gas wells located within the watershed.

Gas drilling companies informed leaseholders this week they would push back effective dates of agreements, which also give companies the ability to suspend annual payments to land owners.

"The money at risk here ... is in the neighborhood of a quarter billion dollars," Mr. Wynne said Wednesday. "There are people that are hanging on by their teeth and looking forward to that January (lease) payment."

Commission officials could not be reached for comment regarding the possibility of litigation. Mr. Wynne said the $220 million figure, estimated by the alliance based on per acre payments due under the eight-year structured lease, does not include potential royalties that could be derived through natural gas production.

New York City-based Hess Corp. and Houston-based Newfield Exploration Company jointly acquired approximately 100,000 acres in northern Wayne County last year and hoped to begin capitalizing on it this year by drilling a slew of exploratory wells in search of viable natural gas more than a mile beneath the county's surface.

Six exploratory wells evaded the June 14 deadline enacted by the federal-state represented commission which has jurisdiction over water resources nearly all of Wayne County. The companies had received approval for the six wells from the state Department of Environmental Protection prior to that date.

Both environmental regulatory agencies have jurisdiction over natural gas drilling in the state's portion of the 13,539-square-mile watershed.

However, the river basin commission placed a blanket moratorium on natural gas drilling within the watershed area until it develops its own regulations pertaining to the industry - a process that could take at least 6 months to a year.

Unlike other areas experiencing extensive Marcellus Shale development throughout the state, Wayne County does not have a single producing well.

Meanwhile, company officials informed the nearly 1,300 property owners in the alliance this week they will extend the eight-year term of the exploratory and development lease due to the commission halting its natural gas development strategy in Wayne County.

The companies also can suspend its $400 per acre payment due to landowners next year, and future annual payments as well, according to a clause in the lease agreement that can be exercised if a regulatory agency interferes with natural gas development.

Newfield spokesman Keith Schmidt said landowners will receive next year's payment, but the letter sent to landowners does not state that four annual payments following that, during the development phase of the lease, will be issued.

"Our primary goal is to develop a long-term business ... in Wayne County," Mr. Schmidt said. "The payments will be made on the scheduled time frames."

Newfield will also drill five of the six exploratory wells permitted in Wayne County as it awaits the development of natural gas regulations by the commission and the lifting of moratorium it imposed, he added.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer

June 30, 2010

Ban on drilling in Pennsylvania

puts leases in jeopardy

By Andrew Maykuth

Inquirer Staff Writer

Two natural gas drilling companies have suspended most of their leases to develop Marcellus Shale wells in northeastern Pennsylvania after the Delaware River Basin Commission's decision to ban drilling in the river's watershed. Newfield Exploration Co. and Hess Corp., which are joint-venture partners, declared a force majeure - a situation beyond their control - because of the DRBC's June 14 decision to halt all drilling until it has adopted comprehensive regulations governing Marcellus Shale activity.

In a letter sent to leaseholders this week, Newfield said it was indefinitely suspending the leases until the DRBC completed its review. The commission has been developing a response to gas drilling for about two years.

"Everything is in suspended animation," said Marian Schweighofer, executive director of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, a coalition of 1,800 landowners that leased 140,000 acres to Newfield and Hess. Most of those leases are in Wayne County.

Newfield and Hess told the landowners they would make good on a planned January payment totaling about $50 million. But payments scheduled through 2015 are now in doubt.

In May, the DRBC, a multistate agency that governs water use in the environmentally sensitive watershed, suspended new permits for all production wells, but allowed operators to continue to apply for exploratory wells while the regulatory review was under way.

Exploratory wells are designed to capture core samples of the deep shale formation so geologists can study the rock and determine whether it is worth developing. The leaseholders say that exploratory wells require little water, and that the DRBC has no business banning them because they don't pose a threat to the river.

But environmental activists, fearful that the exploratory wells could be converted into production wells, pushed the DRBC to extend the ban to all wells.

That put the property owners in a difficult position. The Northern Wayne Alliance has an unusual lease arrangement that provides its members with graduated payments over several years, rather than a lump payment up front. The drilling companies pay the landowners the bulk of their money only after they are able to complete exploratory wells.

Schweighofer said more than $200 million in payments is thrown into doubt because of the continued ban - as are any royalties the landowners would receive from production.

"All of that is now in jeopardy," she said.

Last week, the alliance said it would ask the DRBC to hold a hearing to reconsider the ban on exploratory wells.

Katherine O'Hara, a DRBC spokeswoman, said the agency had not yet received a formal hearing request and had no comment on the companies' decision to suspend the leases.

Wayne Independent

June 30, 2010

Fuming over gas

By Kevin Zwick

Honesdale, Pa. — Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance members might not see the lucrative checks they were expecting after two gas companies suspended contracts because of recent changes in DRBC jurisdiction.

Hess Corporation and Newfield Appalachia have put NWPOA leases on hold indefinitely, citing the “force majeure” clause of the contracts. A “force majeure” clause excuses performance in the event that an insuperable force, such as war or a natural disaster, makes the performance of a task impracticable or impossible.

 Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance (NWPOA) spokesman Peter Wynne said the companies utilized the clause because the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) placed exploratory drilling under its jurisdiction, which halted drilling in the region.

 “We are in a DRBC regulatory state of disaster...and that has brought everything to a screeching halt,” Marian Schweighofer stated in an e-mail sent to NWPOA members. “The Delaware River Basin Commission has severely overstepped its bounds.”

Up to $230 million in bonus payments to NWPOA members is now up in the air, Wynne said.

In January 2011, $40-50 million was scheduled to be paid out to all the lessor members of the NWPOA. In January 2012, another $40-50 million payment was scheduled. In 2013, an estimated $140 million was scheduled for payment.

“The companies are now not obligated to pay,” Wynne said.

“The lease clock that keeps track of the timetable is stopped,” Schweighofer stated.

A letter sent to NWPOA members from Newfield Appalachia says “despite the DRBC’s postponing consideration of applications for the necessary permits, Newfield and Hess will make timely payment of all monetary bonus amounts owed to you pursuant to the lease.”

Wynne said these payments are the intentions of Hess and Newfield, but that all depends on what the DRBC decides.

“They’re hedging their bets,” Wynne said.

“It is imperative that we stop the clock on our primary term leases and prevent their expiration before our assessment work can be properly carried out,” Newfield chief operating officer Gary Packer stated in an op-ed.

The NWPOA has requested a hearing with the DRBC to discuss the recent regulations.

The NWPOA is also preparing litigation against the DRBC and has contacted the law offices of Greenberg & Traurig, of Philadelphia, to represent them as a property group.

“They’re pushing our backs against the wall,” Wynne said. “We would prefer not to go to litigation because it is costly, but the NWPOA is prepared if they continue to act as they have.”

The DRBC has not yet received a request for a hearing from the NWPOA, a DRBC spokeswoman said.

Newfield Appalachia Co. recently started drilling its first Marcellus Shale geological test well in Wayne County on private property in Manchester Township, about 20 miles north of Honesdale along Route 191.

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OP_ED By Newfield

"It’s important that state and federal officials, the local community and the DRBC recognize that a successful natural gas development can only succeed where a clear regulatory framework exists and perceived benefits outweigh business risks and regulatory uncertainty. It’s imperative that the DRBC develop a regulatory framework in an expeditious manner.

"Our company’s budget this year is $1.6 billion and we make capital investment choices daily based on our understanding of an area’s geologic potential and our perception of future returns. We have a diverse portfolio of domestic projects and our dollars are directed to the best opportunities."

If that isn't a veiled threat, I don't know what to call it. It's not even very "veiled."

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A couple of thoughts

The DRBC is the poster child for bureaucracy at it's worst, and our federal government wants to give us more!
The federal government is so overweight and overreaching that it can't move and act properly.  Like a wood tick
about to pop!

As a fisherman with property on the West Branch of the Delaware I have been exposed to the DRBC's over reach
for years as they play god with the release of water from the reservoirs in the area.  I've been to the DRBC meetings,
I've seen the puppet show.
NYC drives the bus here with the other states acting/voting in unison as lemmings.

The only thing that I can think of that may be a plus here is that the DRBC  member states are deeply in arears of paying their dues
and the commission may have suffered funding cuts as well.  So they may not have a lot of money.
I don't know if that is true anymore but it is worth a look.
Is Hess going to file suit as well?  Where are the lobbyists that they support?
We need their help to lean on the DRBC.  With that they may just fall over.

Natural gas exploration WILL happen here.  There is no way it can't.
But we are entitled to a response from them that is timely.

We also have to remember that these clowns WORK FOR US!  NOT the other way around

There are other NWPOA members that have "Down in the Trenches" experience with dealing with the DRBC
I will ask them to contact you if they have other thoughts for action.

I will be at the meeting on the 14th.
See you there,

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          July 2, 2010

Dear     ,

As a veteran, and taxpaying landowner, I object to the Delaware River Basin Commissions (DRBC) action denying exploratory drilling permits in Wayne County, PA.

The Commission appears to have dragged its feet for over two years with little to show for the expense. The Commissions statements reflect a bias toward the noisy crowd that publishes false information, and basks in the publicity they receive. In addition, the DRBC ignores the stringent environmental provisions and the requirements to use best management practices detailed in the Northern Wayne Property Owners Association Lease and by PA Department of Environmental Protection regulations.

I urge you to support prompt resolution of the matter, and allow early responsible exploratory drilling in Wayne County.


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HI MARIAN,

I HAVE SENT LETTERS TO CAROL COLLIER, HON SANDRA MAJOR AND MIKE PEIFER AND I WILL BE SENDING ADDITIONAL LETTERS TO OTHER GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES IN PA, NJ, AND NY. (ALSO THE OTHERS NAMES YOU SENT.)

I THINK IT IS TIME THAT WE THE NWPOA BE JOINED IN OUR CAUSE BY OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE GAS COMPANIES.

I WOULD BE WILLING TO GIVE A PORTION OF MY NEXT LEASE PAYMENT TO PAY FOR LEGAL COUNCIL AS NEEDED.  (I HAVE SENT A CHECK TONIGHT TO THE NWPOA AS REQUESTED).

THE MORATORIUM ON EXPLORATION BY THE DRBC SHOULD BE THE LAST STRAW IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO DELAY THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL GAS IN  OUR AREA.

PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR GOOD WORK ON BEHALF OF THE NWPOA AND THE PEOPLE OF WAYNE COUNTY.

RESPECTFULLY,
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Marion,

ere is the email I sent to Sandra Major and will be sending our other reperesntatives.

t is time for our commonwealth to pull out of the DRBC.  

After two years, their application and approval process is incomplete, indicating that DRBC is not up to the task at hand of reviewing and approving applications from companies interested in drilling for natural gas in NEPA.  Their recent letter to Newfield Appalachia LLC, demanding undeterminedamounts of money to review their recent application is a further indication that DRBC is not serious about finding ways to help satisfy America's need for clean fuel while protecting the environment.

The Marcellus Shale presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to free our nation from its dependence on foreign oil.  It also promises to bring money and jobs into Pennsylvania.  We can not allow this unelected body to blunder about and delay exploitation of this vast resource.

I urge you to introduce a bill in Harrisburg to free Pennsylvania from the tyranny of the DRBC.

Good Morning, Marian,

I love a GOOD FIGHT!  We will be sending a donation for the legal battle .I am wondering what time and where is the meeting on the 14th in Trenton. We live about 40 minutes North of there and will go direclly to the meeting from here in NJ .Also, I will be getting info on golf course management; they are the largest polluters out there.........so you are right. Why aren't they regulated as strictly (or at all) by DRBC?????????

Dear Carol Collier,

     The DRBC Moratorium on gas drilling in the basin is unfounded and creates great harm to leased landowners, businesses, schools, workers, farmers, and all of our community.  We have sent many prior letters that show:

the excellent track record of the industry and the strong ability of the PA DEP to monitor the industry

the improved health of the citizens in areas where gas drilling is prolific like Ft. Worth, TX, as documented by the National Institute of Health

proof of the many false statements used by the anti-drilling community to stop drilling

that we are the true environmentalists who have a track record of being long-time stewards of 100s of thousands of acres of water replenishing open spaces and forests

the need for gas drilling in our area to save the open spaces and forest lands from development – a much higher polluter than any other option. 

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF OUR LETTERS?  If you had then you would have enough information to know a moratorium is unfounded and unnecessary.  The DRBC long-range plan calls for a new Nuclear Power plant in the basin to address energy needs and reduce the mercury pollution in the river from coal fire power plants.  You have condemned every fish in the NYC reservoirs and the length of the river as unfit to eat due to the high mercury content in their tissues from the region’s coal-fired power plants.  Natural gas development will be the solution to this problem.  Do you really think a nuclear power plant will fly when the anti drilling groups have a history of fighting power lines and wind mills?  It takes 250 windmills to equal the energy generated by 1 natural gas well.  They don’t have any solutions to the problems but WE DO!   

Your recent moratorium decision regarding exploratory test wells within the Delaware River Basin is:

totally unfounded and not consistent with your mission statement and directive

based on bad data

does not address the pollution problems of the Delaware River – which is your mission to correct whenever possible

is punishing us as landowners for being good stewards of the land

is risking the economic revitalization of our area and jobs for us and our children

is risking that all of the open space in our area will fall to development as farmers and landowners are taxed out of their properties

Because of our stewardship, the quality of the water in the upper Delaware is as good as it is today and we have concluded through several years of research shared by thousands of members that Natural Gas drilling will continue that stewardship of open space and forests for decades to come. It will prevent the permanent polluting problems of housing developments.  The alternative that we have seen occur over the past decades is the continued fast-paced development of eastern PA which results in:

high pollution levels from run-off of household and industrial chemicals

more salt run-off from more roads and pavement

and loss of open fields and forests, our natural water filtration systems. 

Your records give tons and tons of documentation on the negative impact of housing developments on the Delaware River.  100s of millions of gallons of treated municipal waste is dumped into the Delaware and its tributaries with much of this having spot monitoring and with problems taking years to correct.  Water withdrawal is intense from the Delaware with 100s of millions of gallons leaving the basin in plastic bottles and aqueducts to New York City.  You’ve lived with this problem for years.  Now a solution has fallen in your lap and you do not support it.  WHAT IS YOUR MISSION ANYWAY?   

      For over two years, DRBC has had ample time to put gas drilling permitting regulations in place.  SRBC was able to implement their regulations within a timely fashion with a permitting system fully implemented in 2008.  Not only are we being punished but we are also being discriminated against.  Allegations with no scientific backing have been made by those opposed to drilling in our area. We have proven time and time again their falsehoods!  It is very upsetting to those of us who live here to see the power of their negativity knowing that false accusations are being made. It is time for us as landowners to stand up for our rights and be heard, for we own the bulk of the land and over 90% of the community supports drilling. Please move forward with permitting, stop the delays and discrimination, and base your decisions on science, not politics or emotional misinformation.

Thank you,

Hello Marion: I know this drill ban issue is very complicated, but why doesn't Hess go to Federal Court and get injunction against stopping the "defacto" test well drilling ban? At least we can find out if gas is under our properties. This is similar to Obama executive order for drilling ban. As you know that ban was over turned very fast. Also, which politician is responsible for appointing people to the DRBC? Lets go after them at election time! Thanks,

Dear Congressman Carney,

Your constituents in Wayne County Pennsylvania are in dire need of your help. 

The NYC/NJ run Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has imposed a moratorium on natural gas drilling in the Delaware River watershed.  This moratorium will run indefinitely until the DRBC decides to create appropriate regulations. The DRBC has had over 2 years to formulate regulations and has failed to do so. This action allows an out-of-state governing body to confiscate our property rights and discriminate against Pennsylvania citizens residing and working in the Delaware Water shed area, which comprises thousands of acres.

Just a few miles away, residents in the Susquehanna watershed are collecting royalties and enjoying a booming economy because Pennsylvania run Susquehanna River Basin Commission is sensitive to the needs of the citizens of Pennsylvania, and has installed regulations for gas well drilling in a timely fashion.

During this serious recession our country is enduring, rural Wayne County is suffering more than most.  We are in a serious depression and are in danger of losing our land, homes, and way of life. This moratorium action by the DRBC is denying our residents the chance at economic recovery. We are being denied our right to free enterprise without unreasonable government intervention. Natural gas extraction is important to our local, state, and national security.

Carol R. Collier:

Your recent executive announcement that there will be no more Natural Gas drilling permits allowed, and no more drilling, not even of the Test wells until DRBC finishes its rules process adversely affects not only myself but our entire county.

A far better approach would be for the DRBC to lift the moratorium on test wells now and move forward with developing your guidelines and a basic regulatory structure and to enhance that structure with a continuous monitoring program and language empowering regulators to respond quickly to changing needs and circumstances as real-time data comes in. This approach would avoid needless delay and would not exacerbate the unwarranted fears that are driving the gas-drilling debate already. Your actions are doing just that by adding encouragement and fuel to the anti-drillers' frenzy who see nothing but their agendas and goals and refuse to even join in a dialog that will benefit the community as a whole and the environment here in Wayne County. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission(SRBC) has had a working structure for some time now with no adverse impact to their river or environment.  How is it that they could develop and implement their regulations so quickly while the DRBC seems to be floundering with no obvious progress?  Susquehanna is enjoying a thriving, growing economy while we here are going broke.

Opponents of gas drilling have argued that drilling should be delayed until
a cumulative environmental impact study can be completed. The problem with such a study is the lack of accurate data that will keep regulators from reaching conclusions based on anything more than speculation. There has been very little drilling in our region, and Pennsylvania has unique geology, as John Hanger, acting secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, recently remarked.  That is why we need the data from the exploratory wells to nail down a base line from which to proceed.


It would appear that your order while claiming to be concerned about the River is in reality a cave-in to those anti drillers who are screaming that they want to save the open spaces here in Wayne county & along the Delaware.  My family has been doing just that for years & years, paying taxes, mortgages out of our own pocket and working the farm so that the anti's & everyone else can enjoy our beautiful area for free.  But have they contributed a dime out of their pockets to help me keep my property that we love so dearly?   NO, absolutely NO !!!!!!!!  Well the time has come that we poor farmers can no longer afford to do this so that others can reap the benefits. We are about to go under. I need upgraded equipment and building improvements in order to continue my efforts NOW.    Without the infusion of the N. Gas money I have no choice but to sell to a developer who wants to sub-divide my hundreds of acres into hundreds of building lots(there goes your open space and with it the destruction of the environment that helps protects our river).

I belong to an Alliance of landowners that feels strongly that we want to preserve and protect our area as well as see the responsible extraction of the N. Gas that our country needs.  To that end it took us almost 2 years to negotiate a Lease with a Gas Company.  We wanted to be sure that the future efforts would protect the environment, the land and the landowner not the gas company.  And that is what we have with our lease.  We have an ethical, responsible company that will go out of its way to do just that.  This did NOT come cheap. We accepted financial terms that are far less than we could have received from other not-so-responsible companies.  And with your moratorium we will lose even that.  We paid a team of energy & environmental lawyers nearly $1 million dollars again out of our pockets to negotiate our landowner friendly lease..  We value our area too much to let any fly-by-night drilling company come in & do what they want. 

Again, please reconsider and lift your moratorium on the test wells, complete your set of rules now and lets move forward as a united community.
~ I am neither pro-drilling nor anti-drilling. I am pro- RESPONSIBLE drilling. As a country we need an intermediate energy source to cover our energy needs as we reduce our dependence on oil and coal and before solar/wind/etc. are further developed to meet our needs economically and on larger scale - but NOT at the sacrifice of our water and environment. Natural gas would seem to be such an alternative energy source (cleaner burning, smaller carbon footprint, less environmental problems, such as acid rain and mercury pollution, with its use.

I have followed the DRBC’s involvement with the development of natural gas in northeast Pennsylvania, and would like to raise the following questions regarding your methods, proposals and current moratorium on drilling:

                1.   Are you getting the entire picture of what people want? Is what they want based on fact or fiction? – I would suggest that you consider using accepted polling techniques which will give you a truer pulse of the area as compared with just using numbers of calls, Emails, etc. which are not RANDOMLY selected and thus have no value in judging what the majority of people do or do not want. I would also suggest that part of the determination include finding out on what basis the individual judgements are made (eg factual data/articles, heresay, someone else’s opinion, NIMBY, etc.). Only then can you assess the validity of the peoples’ desires/opinions relative to the bigger picture and how they impact on your responsibility of overseeing the Delaware River Basin.

                2.   Who is providing the data that will be used to set the gas extraction process permit specifications relative to water quality and usage or are they determined arbitrarily? – In my past experience in industry, setting specifications usually includes trial experiments, which serve as tests before going to full production. From what I have read, although there are many similarities among gas producing areas, each area (eg Marcellus Shale) may have important differences relative to other areas (geology, hydrogeology, etc.) that can affect the extraction process. It would seem to me that some tests in northeast Pennsylvania under carefully controlled conditions would be of value in supplying data for the permitting process. To minimize possible adverse environmental effects, I would suggest using the most advanced technology/methodology for these tests as well as future production in the environmentally sensitive northeast Pennsylvania area.

                I hope you will consider the questions above and will expeditiously move to set up a permitting process for natural gas extraction in northeast Pennsylvania. We’re the ones actually affected the most by your moratorium, not the ones who SPECULATE they might be.

                Sincerely

Members, [ FROM NWPOA ]

 We have a huge problem!

 It is DRBC. The Delaware River Basin Commission has severely over stepped its bounds. It is inventing its own authority to control our property rights. If we allow them to take this authority from us they will just keep extending their authority. You know the old saying ‘you give an inch and they take a mile’ well we allowed the DRBC to take a mile and they have taken 10!  Its time to push them back into their place which is regulating the water withdrawals and monitoring the quality of the water in the basin. To the DRBC this is an academic exercise in a way to slow or stop all drilling but they are messing with peoples lives, their futures and their money. Those people are US!

DELAYING THE TEST WELLS ABSOLUTELY DELAYS EVERYONES CHANCE AT GETTING MONEY FROM FUTURE ROYALTY!

It also makes it impossible for HESS and Newfield to operate here.

You will be getting a letter in the mail that will inform you that HESS and Newfield have put us in a state of force majeure. Force Majeure is like being in suspended animation. The lease clock that keeps track of the time table is stopped! 

Force Majeure events are disasterous things like an act of war, or a hurricane, events that totally stop normal business from occurring. But they can also be when regulations are such that no work or permits can be obtained. So we are in a DRBC regulatory state of disaster so to speak and that has brought everything to a screeching halt. This has damaged us as landowners.

We will be notifying DRBC that they have hurt us by their recent decisions. That is what their rules say we must do. We must do request the hearing within 30 days in this case by July 14th 2010 in order to retain our rights with them.  The most ironic thing is their rules don’t say how long we will have to wait for the hearing to happen. In fact it is possible that they will never grant us the hearing at all!  We want the hearing to be up here in Wayne County to boot. 

At the same time we are preparing to enter into legal action against DRBC. We have legal council to represent all of us as a property owner group.  We want an agency that is going to create fair rules to safeguard us and our community and will use our legal council to litigate if it cannot be resolved in another manner.

In 2008 both SRBC and DRBC started their Rule making process. DRBC was one week behind SRBC. But before the end of 2008 SRBC had rules in place and was functioning. 2 years later and DRBC still does not have rules in place. They have forced us into action as an aggrieved party with their total Moratorium which includes the few test wells too. Real people are being hurt as contracts are being canceled too.

1)  We will go to the next DRBC Meeting to let them know that we are not willing to accept this latest action. That meeting will be July 14th 2010. We are arranging a bus. Call Michele at 570 253 1700 if you would like to attend this Meeting. Below a link for the times and a DRBC agenda:

http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/commeet.htm

2)  In addition to coming to the Trenton NJ DRBC meeting we need you to help by telling your neighbors no matter who they are leased with what is going on. We all need to join with one another to assure that we are fairly treated. It does not matter who they are leased with they are affected by this. Direct people to www.nwpoa.info Website to learn more

3)  Call your law makers and let them know you are frustrated and upset by recent DRBC actions meant to create road blocks that do not make effective regulations

4)  Write letters and send emails to the DRBC Commissioners!  If you live in NY, NJ and Del we especially need you to pick up the phone and call your DRBC reps in those states. The PA rep seems pretty favorable toward gas extraction.

If any of you are X Military please reach out to the Army Corps rep:  General Peter Deluca – Joyce Irvin works in his office.  I don’t know her title.     

           Her email is: joyce.c.irvin@usace.army.mil there is more contact info  below at the end of this email.

Non Military people can call on him too.

 5)  We are setting up a voluntary Legal Defense Fund dedicated to fighting this fight. If you wish to make a donation to the legal defense fund please mail it to NWPOA Box 157 Damascus PA 18415.

There is more to this saga but for tonight this is a good beginning! You have much to digest.

 Good Luck to us all! Marian

 PA STATE CONTACTS

                       EMAIL                                                           Postal Mailings

Contact Information:

John Hines

Pa Dept of Environmental Protection

Rachel Carson Building

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8555

Alexander Pete Grannis

NY State Dept of Env. Conservation

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233-1010

Dr. Katherine Bunting-Howarth

Water Resources

89 Kings Highway

Dover, DE 19901

Bob Martin, Commissioner

PO Box 402

Trenton, NJ 08625

Brigadier General Peter A DeLuca

Army Corp of Engineers

North Atlantic Division

Fort Hamilton Military Community

302 General Lee Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11252

Carol Collier

DRBC Executive Director

PO Box 7360

West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360

Email Address’s:

NY Rep - Pete Grannis – petegrannis@gw.dec.state.ny.us

DE Rep - Dr Katherine Bunting-Howarth  DRBC Chair katherine.howarth@state.de.us

NJ Rep - Commissioner Bob Martin – commissioner@dep.state.nj.us

PA Rep - John Hines - johines@state.pa.us

Army Corp of Engineers - General Peter Deluca – Joyce Irvin works in his office.  I don’t know her title.     

           Her email is: joyce.c.irvin@usace.army.mil

DRBC Executive Director - Carol Collier - carol.collier@drbc.state.nj.us

JUlY 1 2010

AS LEASES

Join neighbors for a day trip to Trenton, NJ. on Wednesday, July 14th to attend a meeting of the NYC and NJ run Delaware River Basin Commission.  A bus will be chartered for about $15/person. The purpose is to voice opposition to the moratorium imposed by the DRBC on drilling for natural gas in the Delaware River Watershed and the legal actions against HESS/NEWFIELD test wells.

This action allows an out-of-state governing body to confiscate your property rights and discriminate against citizens in the Delaware Water Shed.  (Just a few miles away, residents in the Susquehanna watershed are collecting royalties and enjoying a booming economy.)  Those who have signed leases need to understand that there is a “Force Majeure” clause in every contract.  It prolongs the term of a gas lease indefinitely if energy companies are denied the ability to extract gas by any government entity, such as the DRBC.  HESS lease holders are in danger of losing the balance of bonus payments.  All property owners, business owners, workers, and concerned citizens are encouraged to participate, whether or not you have signed a gas lease. We are in a serious economic depression that affects rural Wayne County more than most. This action by the DRBC is denying our residents a healthy thriving economy.  Call Carol Woodmansee at 570-798-2977 or Michele Stahl 570-253-1700 for information and to sign-up for this important event.  

Members (written from the NWPOA, Northern Wayne Property Owner's Alliance)

We have a huge problem!

It is DRBC. The Delaware River Basin Commission has severely over stepped its bounds. It is inventing its own authority to control our property rights. If we allow them to take this authority from us they will just keep extending their authority. You know the old saying ‘you give an inch and they take a mile’ well we allowed the DRBC to take a mile and they have taken 10!  Its time to push them back into their place which is regulating the water withdrawals and monitoring the quality of the water in the basin. To the DRBC this is an academic exercise in a way to slow or stop all drilling but they are messing with peoples lives, their futures and their money. Those people are US!

DELAYING THE TEST WELLS ABSOLUTELY DELAYS EVERYONES CHANCE AT GETTING MONEY FROM FUTURE ROYALTY!

It also makes it impossible for HESS and Newfield to operate here.

You will be getting a letter in the mail that will inform you that HESS and Newfield have put us in a state of force majeure. Force Majeure is like being in suspended animation. The lease clock that keeps track of the time table is stopped! 

Force Majeure events are disasterous things like an act of war, or a hurricane, events that totally stop normal business from occurring. But they can also be when regulations are such that no work or permits can be obtained. So we are in a DRBC regulatory state of disaster so to speak and that has brought everything to a screeching halt. This has damaged us as landowners.

We will be notifying DRBC that they have hurt us by their recent decisions. That is what their rules say we must do. We must do request the hearing within 30 days in this case by July 14th 2010 in order to retain our rights with them.  The most ironic thing is their rules don’t say how long we will have to wait for the hearing to happen. In fact it is possible that they will never grant us the hearing at all!  We want the hearing to be up here in Wayne County to boot. 

At the same time we are preparing to enter into legal action against DRBC. We have legal council to represent all of us as a property owner group.  We want an agency that is going to create fair rules to safeguard us and our community and will use our legal council to litigate if it cannot be resolved in another manner.

In 2008 both SRBC and DRBC started their Rule making process. DRBC was one week behind SRBC. But before the end of 2008 SRBC had rules in place and was functioning. 2 years later and DRBC still does not have rules in place. They have forced us into action as an aggrieved party with their total Moratorium which includes the few test wells too. Real people are being hurt as contracts are being canceled too.

1)  We will go to the next DRBC Meeting to let them know that we are not willing to accept this latest action. That meeting will be July 14th 2010. We are arranging a bus. Call Michele at 570 253 1700 if you would like to attend this Meeting. Below a link for the times and a DRBC agenda:

http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/commeet.htm

2)  In addition to coming to the Trenton NJ DRBC meeting we need you to help by telling your neighbors no matter who they are leased with what is going on. We all need to join with one another to assure that we are fairly treated. It does not matter who they are leased with they are affected by this. Direct people to www.nwpoa.info Website to learn more

3)  Call your law makers and let them know you are frustrated and upset by recent DRBC actions meant to create road blocks that do not make effective regulations

4)  Write letters and send emails to the DRBC Commissioners!  If you live in NY, NJ and Del we especially need you to pick up the phone and call your DRBC reps in those states. The PA rep seems pretty favorable toward gas extraction.

If any of you are X Military please reach out to the Army Corps rep:  General Peter Deluca – Joyce Irvin works in his office.  I don’t know her title.     

           Her email is: joyce.c.irvin@usace.army.mil there is more contact info  below at the end of this email.

Non Military people can call on him too.

5)  We are setting up a voluntary Legal Defense Fund dedicated to fighting this fight. If you wish to make a donation to the legal defense fund please mail it to NWPOA Box 157 Damascus PA 18415.

There is more to this saga but for tonight this is a good beginning! You have much to digest.

Good Luck to us all! Marian

PA STATE CONTACTS

                       EMAIL                                                           Postal Mailings

Contact Information:

John Hines

Pa Dept of Environmental Protection

Rachel Carson Building

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8555

Alexander Pete Grannis

NY State Dept of Env. Conservation

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233-1010

Dr. Katherine Bunting-Howarth

Water Resources

89 Kings Highway

Dover, DE 19901

Bob Martin, Commissioner

PO Box 402

Trenton, NJ 08625

Brigadier General Peter A DeLuca

Army Corp of Engineers

North Atlantic Division

Fort Hamilton Military Community

302 General Lee Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11252

Carol Collier

DRBC Executive Director

PO Box 7360

West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360

Email Address’s:

NY Rep - Pete Grannis – petegrannis@gw.dec.state.ny.us

DE Rep - Dr Katherine Bunting-Howarth  DRBC Chair katherine.howarth@state.de.us

NJ Rep - Commissioner Bob Martin – commissioner@dep.state.nj.us

PA Rep - John Hines - johines@state.pa.us

Army Corp of Engineers - General Peter Deluca – Joyce Irvin works in his office.  I don’t know her title.     

           Her email is: joyce.c.irvin@usace.army.mil

DRBC Executive Director - Carol Collier - carol.collier@drbc.state.nj.us

JUNE 26 2010

Need your help Pro-Gas Campaign is under way.

CLICK AND OPEN MY PDF LETTERS you will find letters to Carol Collier and the 5 voting DRBC
Delegates. Please print out the letters and mail to each one. I have
included their mail and email addresses. Send by email and regular mail.
Please loop these letters to everyone you know that is progas. The next
DRBC meeting is July 14. The letters need to get their before the 14th. It's
time for us to be heard.
>
If you want to do more let me know. We need all the help we can get.
>
> Thank you,
> Michele

JUNE 14 2010

NEWS RELEASE
>
> DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION
> P.O. Box 7360, 25 State Police Drive
> West Trenton, NJ 08628
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> CONTACT: Clarke Rupert, (609) 883-9500 x260
>
> DRBC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DETERMINATION EXTENDED TO INCLUDE NATURAL GAS
> EXPLORATORY WELLS
>
> WEST TRENTON, N.J. (June 14) - Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC)
> Executive Director Carol R. Collier today announced that she has
> supplemented her May 19, 2009 determination to include natural gas
> exploratory wells.
>
> "My 2009 determination that sponsors of natural gas extraction projects
> in shale formations must obtain commission approval before commencing
> such projects expressly did not cover wells intended solely for
> exploratory purposes," Collier said. "Today, I am extending the
> provisions of my 2009 determination to include exploratory wells,
> subject to reservations for exploratory well projects already approved
> by the states on or before June 14, 2010."

By this supplemental determination, all natural gas well project
> sponsors, including the sponsors of natural gas well projects intended
> solely for exploratory purposes, must first apply for and obtain
> commission approval before commencing any natural gas well project for
> the production from or exploration of shale formations within the
> drainage area of Special Protection Waters in the Delaware River Basin.
>
> "For the purpose of this determination, any natural gas well drilled in
> or through shale is assumed to be targeting a shale formation and is
> subject to this determination, unless the project sponsor proves
> otherwise," Collier added. All other aspects of the 2009 determination
> remain in effect.
>
> Today's action recognizes the risks to water resources, including ground
>
> and surface water that the land disturbance and drilling activities
> inherent in any shale gas well pose. "In light of the commission's May
> 5, 2010 decision to finalize natural gas regulations before considering
> project approvals, this supplemental determination removes any
> regulatory incentive for project sponsors to classify their wells as
> exploratory wells and install them without DRBC review before the
> commission's natural gas regulations are in place," Collier said. "It
> thus supports the commission's goal that exploratory wells do not serve
> as a source of degradation of the commission's Special Protection
> Waters."

"Where entities have invested in exploratory well projects in reliance
> on my May 2009 determination and information from DRBC staff, there are
> countervailing considerations that favor allowing these projects to move
>
> ahead," Collier stated in her supplemental determination. "I am informed
>
> that since May of 2009, Pennsylvania has issued a limited number of
> natural gas well drilling permits within the Delaware River Basin
> targeting shale formations, while New York State has not issued any
> natural gas well permits targeting shales in the basin since that date.
> In contrast to the thousands of wells projected to be installed in the
> basin over the next several years, the risk to basin waters posed by
> only the wells approved by Pennsylvania since May 2009 are comparatively
>
> small. Not only are these wells subject to state regulation as to their
> construction and operation, but they continue to require commission
> approval before they can be fractured or otherwise modified for natural
> gas production. In light of these existing safeguards and the
> investment-backed expectations of the sponsors of these projects, this
> supplemental determination does not prohibit any exploratory natural gas
>
> well project from proceeding if the applicant has obtained a state
> natural gas well permit for the project on or before June 14, 2010."
Most of the shale formations that may be subject to horizontal drilling
> and hydraulic fracturing techniques requiring large volumes of water in
> the basin are located within the drainage area to DRBC's designated
> Special Protection Waters (SPW). The commission's SPW program is
> designed to prevent degradation in streams and rivers considered to have
>
> exceptionally high scenic, recreational, ecological, and/or water supply
>
> values through stricter control of wastewater discharges, non-point
> pollution control, and reporting requirements. Coverage of the DRBC's
> SPW anti-degradation regulations includes the 197-mile non-tidal
> Delaware River from Hancock, N.Y. south to Trenton, N.J. and the land
> draining to this stretch.
>
> Any person adversely affected by this action may request a hearing by
> submitting a request in writing to the commission secretary within 30
> days of the date of this supplemental determination in accordance with
> the DRBC's Rules of Practice and Procedure.
>
> The DRBC was formed by compact in 1961 through legislation signed into
> law by President John F. Kennedy and the governors of the four basin
> states with land draining to the Delaware River (Delaware, New Jersey,
> New York, and Pennsylvania). The passage of this compact marked the
> first time in our nation's history that the federal government and a
> group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin
> planning, development, and regulatory agency.
Additional information, including the complete supplemental
> determination, can be found on the commission's web site at
> DELAWARE RIVER BASIN...MORE INFO

JUNE 4 2010

Dear All!
>
> Lots of breaking News. As we suspected the Anti drilling groups have
> filed
> legal actions as an attempt to stop all drilling including the
> Hess/Newfield
> Test or Exploration wells in the Delaware River Basin. They are not just
> against HESS/Newfield but opposing any type of drilling by any one. They
> are
> also trying to use a local person Karl Keesler, who lives next door to
> the
> Teeple farm to make their case. Karl was offered third party water
> testing
> but refused to allow his water to be tested. That is his right to deny
> the
> technicians access to his water source. Because Karl was not leased and
> did
> not allow the water testing to be done the well site was moved from its
> original location. The Vertical well and road for an oriskany well has
> to
> be 300' from a property line I think. Teeple family approved the new
> location so the test well site and road was moved over. I have not
> spoken
> to Karl yet but I will try to call him later on to see what his side of
> the
> story is. Most of the land surrounding him has been leased.
>
> Of course the local anti groups are joining the River Keeper who also
> has
> started legal action.
> http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/resources/PressReleases/Press_Release
>
> PLEASE TRY TO COME TO NARROWSBURG NY TOMORROW!
>
> Tomorrow at 11 am in Narrowsburg NY on Main street at the Gazebo the
> Anti
> drillers will make a special announcement. I think they will announce
> that
> the Delaware River has been designated to the Americas Most Endangered
> Rivers list. They will probably state that the reason it is the "most
> Endangered River" is because of the threat of drilling which they say
> will
> destroy the water quality and quantity. They will be dramatic and
> emotional
> claiming that it is illegal to take away fresh water, air and health of
> 17
> million Americans who have a constitutional right to these things. They
> will
> paint a picture that beyond a shadow of a doubt we are the minority and
> that
> we are greedy people who care nothing for this area. They will say we
> will
> cause a disaster just like the Gulf of Mexico unless they who are of
> sound
> responsible mind stop us.
>
> They have called this press conference on the Banks of the Delaware
> River
> for the drama and the photo opportunity.
>
> The sad thing is we all realize that the Delaware River is under
> pressure
> from many sources. We all love this water shed and the River too. It is
> our
> home. We decry the fact that the River is endangered by the NYC
> reservoirs
> and their misguided policies on water release which is not only
> endangering
> the flora and fauna, but is also exacerbating flooding in the main stem
> and
> two branches. We think that the water NYC siphons from our watershed
> through
> leaking pipes is a wasteful crime. If we chose to, we could rally
> against
> the DRBC and its unwillingness to attempt to get better river management
> from NYC. Secondly, we feel the danger of urban sprawl in the basin as
> farmers and landowners in Pa have to sell off land to second home buyers
> from the NY urban area. Sprawl creates large areas where woods are cut
> out
> for permanent living areas with suburban lawns and all the fertilizers
> and
> pesticides that they bring. The farmers and landowners who cut timber
> and
> then let it return to forest are being replaced by homeowners who create
> urban islands that will never again produce food or fiber or timber for
> the
> people of America.
>
> Of course, the major factor in reversing these development trends is
> natural
> gas leases which provide funds to keep the wolf from the door and the
> urban
> refugees from our shore. Most of the small patches of land used for
> drilling
> will be allowed to return to woods, pastures, or meadows after
> completion.
> In addition, the wise stewardship of the land shown by NWPOA has created
> a
> situation where there will be only one gas company drilling in Wayne
> County
> which has already assured the NWPOA that "Best Management Practices"
> will
> be followed to assure that the drilling has no long term negative impact
> on
> the watershed -- especially as it relates to water quality. Whereas the
> royalty payments will continue to provide a source of revenues so that
> suburban sprawl will be held in check -- at least in those areas of the
> watershed where gas is being drilled. If the State of NY disallows
> drilling
> in the NYC watershed, development will continue with its concomitant
> degradation of the land and water. NY city controls the reservoirs and
> they
> put us at flood risk all the time endangering our lives, property and
> livelihoods!
>
> SO COME TO NARROWSBURG AT 11 am. Let the antidrillers know Love the
> River
> too. But that responsible drilling and effective regulations can help
> conserve the Delaware water Shed. I will be there and I would rather not
> be
> alone! Narrowsburg tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. at the Gazebo right by
> main street. Narrowburg NY is small so it will not be hard to find
>
> I am happy to report that our diligence has been rewarded. The DRBC has
> made
> a decision NOT to participate in the GASLAND movie fund raiser event!
> The
> concern was that flyers and advertising was happening stating that the
> DRBC
> was participating in the GASLAND MOVIE panel.
> http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/Documents/Gasland_is_Coming.pdf
>
> It was strange to us because DRBC should not be advocating one side or
> the
> other. They should be regulating and protecting the River resource and
> its
> watershed. Stranger still was the fact that they would work with the
> Gasland
> Movie antis who are using the Gasland film to raise money to file legal
> actions. Those legal actions were also directed toward the DRBC!!!!!!
>
> Thank You to those of you who helped do the outreach and contact calls!
> Please continue to call the DRBC commissioners and their alternates to
> let
> them know your feelings and help them realize how important responsible
> drilling is to you, your family and the stakeholders in the community.
> We
> are not very well organized compared to our opposition and we are not
> used
> to fighting battles in the political fore front. But we do have opinions
> and
> they do matter. So even if you don't feel that you speak with great
> eloquence that doesn't matter. Just swallow the knot in your throat and
> pick
> up the phone or type a little email. Copy it and paste it send it off to
> the
> others on the list! Some officials claim they have not been hearing from
> the
> pro responsible drilling stakeholders! I put the contact info below for
> you
> again. You can copy and paste any part of this email if you want too!
> Keep
> reaching out to them. SPEAK UP FOR YOURSELF>
>
> http://bit.ly/cTts2I
>
> Check out the above TV video link. This TV reporter claims to be quoting
> DRBC Officials and shows Carol Collier
> speaking as well.
>
> The reporter says:
>
> "Officials say they may move to close the loophole for exploratory
> wells"
>
> The Antis are planning a big announcement on June 2nd. I think they will
> join the RiverKeeper in litigation. Hence all of the fund raising and
> fear
> mongering.
>
>
> WE should all be asking that the DRBC not take action to stop the
> exploratory natural gas wells in the watershed. How can we learn whether
> we
> have gas or not if the basic science and exploration is stopped. The
> clearing of land, construction of the well pad, building of access
> roads,
> and related activity is comparable to what would take place with the
> construction of a house. The difference is that most of the land that
> is
> cleared for a well will be restored. The land used for houses, shopping
> malls, golf courses, driveways, and parking lots rarely, if ever, is
> returned to its original state. Loss of land due to residential and
> commercial development IS PERMANENT! The small scale, short term
> clearing
> of land could prevent the large scale and permanent disruption of the
> watershed in the form of housing developments with accompanying flooding
> and
> erosion due to increased runoff, which ultimately decreases the amount
> of
> water replenishing the aquifers.
>
> It is the open farmland that has provided 15 million people with clean
> water
> and sustained the irreplaceable ecosystems to date. The special waters
> of
> this region is proof of our track record. Let us, as good stewards of
> the
> land and keepers of the water in the past, continue in our vigilance.
> We
> are counting on you to protect the water supply by allowing the
> exploration
> for natural gas to proceed.
>
> Here are some contact points for you to use! Send comments or make calls
> to
> as many as you can.

You can also go to our website at www.nwpoa.info and follow the button
> on
> the left to submit a very basic statement to send to Carol Collier of
> the
> DRBC.
>
> So with all this homework and my call to action from you I will end for
> today with good luck to us all! Marian
>
>
> Carol Collier carol.collier@drbc.state.nj.us
>
> Robert Tudor Deputy Executive Director robert.tudor@drbc.state.nj.us
>
> Governor Edward G. Rendell's Office
> 225 Main Capitol Building
> Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120

     GREAT NEWS !!!

CONGRATS TO NWPOA.INFO WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF MARIAN Schweighofer they have been sucessful in obtaining a lease with Hess / Seneca for an unprecedented 20% royalty and a per acre minerial bonus for 68,000 acres.   This deal was signed in early August 2009.

JUNE 2009

Robinson Well Photos

Texas firm wants to entend existing natural gas pipeline

US  Gas Fields Go From Bust to Boom

By BEN CASSELMAN
CADDO PARISH, La. -- A massive natural-gas discovery here in northern Louisiana heralds a big shift in the nation's energy landscape. After an era of declining production, the U.S. is now swimming in natural gas.
Even conservative estimates suggest the Louisiana discovery -- known as the Haynesville Shale, for the dense rock formation that contains the gas -- could hold some 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That's the equivalent of 33 billion barrels of oil, or 18 years' worth of current U.S. oil production. Some industry executives think the field could be several times that size.
"There's no dry hole here," says Joan Dunlap, vice president of Petrohawk Energy Corp., standing beside a drilling rig near a former Shreveport amusement park.

Jared Moossy/Redux
Huge new fields also have been found in Texas, Arkansas and Pennsylvania. One industry-backed study estimates the U.S. has more than 2,200 trillion cubic feet of gas waiting to be pumped, enough to satisfy nearly 100 years of current U.S. natural-gas demand.
The discoveries have spurred energy experts and policy makers to start looking to natural gas in their pursuit of a wide range of goals: easing the impact of energy-price spikes, reducing dependence on foreign oil, lowering "greenhouse gas" emissions and speeding the transition to renewable fuels.
A climate-change bill being pushed by President Barack Obama could boost reliance on natural gas. The bill, which could emerge from the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May, is expected to set aggressive targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent man-made greenhouse gas.
Meeting such goals would require quickly moving away from coal-fired power plants, which account for substantial carbon emissions. President Obama wants the U.S. to rely more on renewable energy such as wind and solar power, but those technologies aren't ready to shoulder more than a fraction of the nation's energy burden. Advocates for natural gas argue that the fuel, which is cleaner than coal, would be a logical quick fix. In addition, billionaire energy investor T. Boone Pickens has been touting natural gas as an alternative to gasoline and diesel for cars and trucks.
"The availability of natural-gas generation enables us to be much more courageous in charting a transition to a low-carbon economy," says Jason Grumet, executive director of the National Commission on Energy Policy, who was a senior adviser to President Obama during the campaign.
Just three years ago, the conventional wisdom was that U.S. natural-gas production was facing permanent decline. U.S. policy makers were resigned to the idea that the country would have to rely more on foreign imports to supply the fuel that heats half of American homes, generates one-fifth of the nation's electricity, and is a key component in plastics, chemicals and fertilizer.

But new technologies and a drilling boom have helped production rise 11% in the past two years. Now there's a glut, which has driven prices down to a six-year low and prompted producers to temporarily cut back drilling and search for new demand.
The natural-gas discoveries come as oil has become harder to find and more expensive to produce. The U.S. is increasingly reliant on supplies imported from the Middle East and other politically unstable regions. In contrast, 98% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. is produced in North America.
Coal remains plentiful in the U.S., but is likely to face new restrictions. To produce the same amount of energy, burning gas emits about half as much carbon dioxide as burning coal.
Natural gas has never played more than a supporting role in the nation's energy supply. Crude oil, refined into gasoline or diesel, fuels nearly all U.S. cars or trucks. Coal is the dominant fuel for generating electricity.
Natural-gas production in the U.S. peaked in the early 1970s, then fell for a decade due to weak prices and declining gas fields in Texas, Louisiana and elsewhere. Production bounced back in the 1990s with the discovery of new fields in New Mexico and Wyoming, but by 2002, output was falling again -- this time, most experts thought, for good. Believing the U.S. would soon need to import liquefied natural gas from overseas, companies such as ConocoPhillips, El Paso Corp. and Cheniere Energy Inc. spent billions on terminals, pipelines and storage facilities.
The supply fears drove up prices, which spurred innovation. Oil-and-gas companies had known for decades that there was gas trapped in shale, a nonporous rock common in much of the U.S. but considered too dense to produce much gas.
In the 1980s, Texas oilman George Mitchell began trying to produce gas from a formation near Fort Worth, Texas, known as the Barnett Shale. He pumped millions of gallons of water at high pressure down the well, cracking open the rock and allowing gas to flow to the surface.
Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. bought Mr. Mitchell's company in 2002. It combined his methods with a technique for drilling straight down to gas-bearing rock, then turning horizontally to stay within the formation. Devon's first horizontal wells produced about three times as much gas as traditional vertical wells.
The development of the Barnett Shale almost single-handedly reversed the decline in U.S. natural-gas production. Last year, the Barnett produced four billion cubic feet of gas a day, making it the largest field in the U.S. Other companies such as Newfield Exploration Co., Southwestern Energy Co. and Range Resources Corp. found shale fields across the U.S.
One of the most aggressive companies was Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., which got into the Barnett a couple of years behind cross-town rival Devon, and was an early entrant into the second big U.S. field, the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas. In 2005, Chesapeake Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon sent teams of geologists across the country with a mission: Find the next Barnett. Less than two years later, they told him they had it, in Louisiana.

The Haynesville Shale is centered in northern Louisiana, one of the country's oldest oil- and gas-producing regions. Wildcatters had explored beneath the lush cow pastures and cotton fields as far back as the 1870s. Shreveport, the region's largest city, saw decades of booms and busts until the 1980s, when a glut of cheap oil from overseas all but killed the region's oil industry.
Oil companies knew about the Haynesville Shale, but it was considered a less viable prospect than the Barnett. The shale lies 10,000 or more feet below ground, where high pressure and 300-degree temperatures are enough to fry high-tech drilling equipment.
But in 2006, Chesapeake drilled an exploratory well and decided the results were promising enough to justify the higher cost of drilling in such harsh conditions. By late 2007, Mr. McClendon says, "we knew that we had a tiger by the tail."
In March 2008, as oil and gas prices were soaring, Chesapeake went public with its findings. The rush was on: Dozens of companies dispatched agents to the area to lease land for drilling, turning farmers and ranchers into millionaires overnight.
"There was excitement in the air," recalls Jeffrey Wellborn, a Shreveport resident who sits on the board of the local Sierra Club. "You thought everyone in the world had won the lottery."
The frenzy marked the peak of a nationwide drilling boom that was fueled by a combination of soaring energy prices and easy credit. It didn't last. Between July and October, oil and gas prices fell by more than 50%, and kept falling.
The weakening economy eroded demand for both oil and gas. Natural gas, unlike oil, suffered from a supply glut. U.S. gas production rose 7.2% last year, while oil production fell 1.9%. As a result, oil prices are up 12% since the start of 2009. Natural-gas prices have fallen 41% to their lowest since 2002.
Gas producers saw their profits evaporate and share prices slump. Liquefied-natural-gas imports plunged, leaving import terminals nearly idle. Worried about a glut, companies cut back sharply on drilling and formed a lobbying group to try to boost demand.
The growing supply created opportunities for policy makers and environmentalists, who saw natural gas as a possible solution to the nation's energy problems. Some groups suggested burning more gas and less coal for power generation. Others favor its use in vehicles.
Mr. Pickens has spent millions promoting an energy plan that aims to, among other things, convert thousands of big-rig trucks to run on natural gas. Mr. Pickens has large investments in natural gas and stands to benefit if his plan is adopted. In TV ads, Internet videos and speeches, he emphasizes a different goal: reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

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LWPOA.INFO Alliance Group Established 2007:

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30,000 members acres

Potential Total Acres in Southern Wayne County Pa 103,000 acres

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