To: The Editor, GantDaily.com
I just read your article on the Marcellus Shale drilling effort here in Clearfield County. Everybody is all excited about how much money this is going to bring into the area, but nobody seems to be looking at the potential problems. There seems to be a frantic effort to drill everywhere and as fast as possible with little or no thought of the consequences.
We have seen the environmental devastation that unregulated coal mining brought with it and this could be similarly devastating. Board members Terry Malloy and Lynda McCracken seem to be thinking ahead but it sounds like their concerns were just ‘blown-off’.
There has already been a bad spill from two Marcellus wells in the Headwaters of Alex Branch, a major tributary to Trout Run (probably the best native brook trout stream in Clearfield County). This spill was first detected by members of the Sykesville camp when the spring which provides their drinking water became contaminated. Tests by the DEP found that the once pure water now contained significant amounts of strontium and barium and massive amounts of salt as well as other contaminants. All indicate Marcellus well contamination. A Marcellus well was just drilled a few thousand feet above Sykesville Camp on the Punxsutawney Hunting Camp property. This cannot be a coincidence.
And this is just the beginning. Marcellus wells are likely to be sprouting up like mushrooms all over our State Game Lands and State Forests in the very near future. We had better be careful. Hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation are a major part of the heritage of Clearfield County. This area is now referred to as “The Wilds” and as a great place to visit. And it is, but it won’t be for much longer unless we proceed with care. Drilling can be done, but it must be done carefully and with a lot of forethought. So far neither has been much in evidence.
Ken Undercoffer
Clearfield
Past President, PA Council of Trout Unlimited