Under a deeply misleading headline, “Dairy farms suffer in US shale gas fracking boom,” Istanbul, Turkey-based freelance journalist Dimiter Kenarov – working with the Calkins Media group, which owns several Pennsylvania newspapers as well as the profoundly biased Shale Reporter blog – makes several observations about how the safe development of job-creating American natural gas is impacting family farmers in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
It’s no surprise, however, given that Istanbul is some 5,100 miles away from Bradford County, that many claims put forth in this article are unsupported by the facts. While Mr. Kenarov does, in fact, underscore some of the overwhelmingly clear economic benefits associated with responsible natural gas development, the headline, introduction and many claims advanced in this story, are wildly misleading.
CLAIMS:
- The dash for unconventional gas may have brought financial benefits to some, but for struggling dairy farmers in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the arrival of drilling wells could be the final nail in the coffin. (The Ecologist, 1/28/13)
- Carol French, a long-time dairy farmer, experienced the adverse consequences of shale-gas drilling first hand. … “The gas industry had negatively impacted our health, our water, our business, our society.” (The Ecologist, 1/28/13)
- Anecdotal evidence suggests that some farmers use the proceeds from gas exploration to upgrade their operations, but the general trend has been in the opposite direction. (The Ecologist, 1/28/13)
FACTS:
- Since 2008, when drilling for shale gas began in the county, revenues from sales tax have jumped up 61 percent, while unemployment has hovered at around six percent, lower than the national average. So far, local landowners have received $160 million in leases, which have boosted spending, as well as the county’s tax base. “The shale gas industry has had a very positive economic impact on the region” says Anthony Ventello, the executive director of Progress Authority, the local chamber of commerce, pointing out that the gas industry continues to bring in new investments. A new 800 MW gas-fired power plant, worth between 600 and 800 million dollars, has been already planned, while other, smaller gas-related projects are soon to follow. (The Ecologist, 1/28/13)
- The choice was clear for Howard Keir, a neighbor of Carol French. After leasing the mineral rights of his property to Chesapeake Energy, he immediately sold off his dairy herd. He believes shale-gas extraction is generally safe and today has three wells on his property, out of which he soon expects to receive royalties. “With the price of milk going mostly down, farmers were going out of business anyway, so you can’t blame it all on the industry,” he says. Anthony Ventello, of the chamber of commerce, agrees. (The Ecologist, 1/28/13)
- “Billions in gas drilling royalties transform lives”: Private landowners are reaping billions of dollars in royalties each year from the boom in natural gas drilling, transforming lives and livelihoods. … For some landowners, the unexpected royalties have made a big difference. “We used to have to put stuff on credit cards. It was basically living from paycheck to paycheck,” said Shawn Georgetti, who runs a family dairy farm in Avella, about 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. … Before Range Resources drilled a well on the family property in 2012, Georgetti said, he was stuck using 30-year-old equipment, with no way to upgrade without going seriously into debt. “You don’t have that problem anymore. It’s a lot more fun to farm,” Georgetti said, since he has been able to buy newer equipment that’s bigger, faster and more fuel-efficient. The drilling hasn’t caused any problems for the farm, he said. (Associated Press, 1/27/13)
In this Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 photo, Shawn Georgetti climbs out of his John Deere tractor on his 167-acre family dairy farm in Avella, Pa. With royalties from a Range Resources gas well on his property, Georgetti has been able to buy newer farm equipment that’s bigger, faster, and more fuel-efficient. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
- “Experts: Some fracking critics use bad science”: Critics of fracking also repeat claims of extreme air pollution threats, even as evidence mounts that the natural gas boom is in some ways contributing to cleaner air. Marcellus air pollution “will cause a massive public health crisis,” claims a section of the Marcellus Shale Protest website. Yet data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that the shale gas boom is helping to turn many large power plants away from coal, which emits far more pollution. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passed new rules to force drillers to limit releases of methane from wells and pumping stations. Some environmental groups now say that natural gas is having a positive effect on air quality. Earlier this year, the group PennFuture said gas is a much cleaner burning fuel, and it called gas-fired power plants “orders of magnitude cleaner” than coal plants. … One expert said there’s an actual psychological process at work that sometimes blinds people to science, on the fracking debate and many others. “You can literally put facts in front of people, and they will just ignore them,” said Mark Lubell, the director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior at the University of California, Davis. (Associated Press, 7/22/12)
- “Oil, gas cash boosts farming”: The oil and gas boom in western Pennsylvania has provided a much-needed infusion of capital to farmers in that area, members of the Tuscarawas County Farm Bureau learned during a trip to the Keystone State on Tuesday. “It’s had mostly a good impact,” said Steve Quillin, local Farm Bureau president. “Just driving around, we saw farmers making improvements and updates to their properties.” Money from oil and gas leases has allowed agriculture to expand, added Jerry Lahmers, chairman of the policy development committee for the organization. The influx of cash has prompted some older farmers to retire, but their farms have been absorbed by others or have been rented. The boom does pose some difficulties for those involved in agriculture. “There are always problems when that much dirt is being moved, but the companies have been good neighbors,” Lahmers said. “The farmers didn’t see it as a big issue.” He added, “As a general rule, everybody was positive about the process.” (Times Reporter, 6/2/12)
- NY Farm Bureau: “We support drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale”: Oil and Gas leasing issues are becoming increasingly prominent in New York State, given our wealth of natural resources. Farmers and landowners have a vested interest in protecting air, water and soil quality on their land and seek to protect their rights with regard to these resources. We support drilling for natural gas in New York State. … We support drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale, Utica Shale and other future productive shale layers in New York State. (Priority Issues for 2013)
