Marcellus Shale Royalty Owners Recovery Proposed Class Action

First – The organization is not pro or con on any issues.  We do not pick sides – we provide fact based information for citizens and landowners.  This came across the desk as part of an education program and we ware providing a post.   If you are a royalty owner in PA I would suggest you read.  The following is not our work.

“Have you been paid all of the royalties you are owed by Chesapeake, Anadarko, Statoil, Mitsui, Chief and other gas companies that hold working interests in your oil and gas lease? Have you been subjected to deductions for post-production costs, such as gathering, transportation or compression, which are either not allowed under the terms of your lease or are arbitrary, excessive, or unreasonable in amount? Are your royalties being calculated based on appropriate gas prices? How have the transactions in which Chesapeake sold its interests in its midstream gathering entity, Access Midstream, for nearly $5 Billion, affected your royalties? What can you do to ensure that your rights and interests are protected and enforced?

Three Pennsylvania law firms — the Law Office of Taunya Knolles Rosenbloom, based in Athens, Bradford County, Griffin, Dawsey, DePaola & Jones, P.C., based in Towanda, Bradford County,  and Indik & McNamara, P.C., based in Philadelphia  —  are pleased to announce that they have joined forces to act as co-counsel in representing Pennsylvania landowners in bringing direct, individual claims, on a group basis, seeking to recover the royalties they are owed under the terms of their oil & gas leases, as well as compensation from the entities responsible for causing them financial harm.

NOTICE OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT IN DEMCHAK PARTNERS CLASS ACTION AND OF DECEMBER 17, 2015 DEADLINE TO OPT-OUT OF PROPOSED CLASS SETTLEMENT

​If you receive royalties in connection with a lease in which Chesapeake holds, or previously held, an interest,  and the lease contains a Market Enhancement Clause, you should be aware that the Court entered an Order on October 2, 2015 certifying a Settlement Class and preliminarily approving the proposed Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners class action case, and establishing December 17, 2015 as the deadline to exclude yourself from the Class Settlement. For more information, see our FAQ page titled How Does the Proposed Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners Class Action Affect Me?

The Bradford County Commissioners have just announced that they will be holding a public forum about the proposed class settlement in the Demchak Partners case on December 2, 2015 at 7 p.m., at theTowanda High School auditorium. We have been invited to make a presentation at the forum, and will be there to field questions and provide information.”

Get More Information at http://www.marcellusroyaltyaction.com

New Tools and Courses

Know Your H20 Phone App and Database Search
Citizen Scientists – The Online Water Quality Index Calculator is Available.
Training Courses on Natural Gas Development and Environmental Concerns
Stream Restoration, Wetlands, and Water Resources Management 

Actions:

1. If you have any testing done as part of this action, please consider releasing this data to the Citizen Groundwater and Surface Water Database.  Fill out the attached form and mail the data to the following address:
   Mr. Brian Oram, PG
   Keystone Clean Water Team
   15 Hillcrest Drive
   Dallas, PA 18612
   Please note- if you have baseline testing done already you may have some information on the level of surfactants in the water if you had a MBAS test done.
2. Informational Screening Testing – Get your water screened for water contamination including isopropanol – Informational Screening Water Kit (Not Certified) Covers about 200 parameters, plus a review of any predrilling data – Only $ 275.00.  Email
3. Drinking Water Guide for Pennsylvania.

PADEP pipeline task force gives 184 recommendations

Note Our Work – Email blast  from PIOGA

A state task force on natural gas pipelines is making 184 recommendations touching on everything from location of pipelines to emergency response plans, all designed to promote “responsible” pipeline development in Pennsylvania. The 335-page document, crafted by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force, has been posted online for public review.

“It is important to remember that the report is not meant to be the final word,” said DEP Secretary John Quigley, who chaired the task force. “When we present our report to the governor in February 2016, I anticipate that the next step will be to determine the feasibility and implementation strategies for each recommendation.”

The 48-member task force was created in May by Governor Tom Wolf to develop policies, guidelines and tools to assist in pipeline development, operation and maintenance.

Recommendations in the draft were assembled by delegates from sectors affected by pipeline development, Quigley noted, including agriculture, communities, environmentalists, cultural resource advocates, industry officials, government agencies and emergency responders.

That lengthy list of recommendations starts with “educate landowners on pipeline development issues.” Other recommendations:

• Implement full-time environmental inspections during pipeline construction.
• Monitor water quality during construction.
• Establish planning coordination between county agencies and pipeline developers.
• Require pipeline abandonment plans.
• Standardize emergency response plans and provide 911 addresses for pipeline-related facilities.
• Do not locate pipelines parallel to waterways within their 100-year floodways.
• Conduct early outreach with affected communities.
• Minimize impact on local roads.
• Create various statewide bodies and processes, including an all-region DEP pipeline review committee, a statewide pipeline information center for the public, and a DEP design manual for pipeline construction.

A 30-day public comment period on the draft report will run through December 14. [Read more]

Please note – there is no assumed responsibility associated with Pipeline Construction for Private Well Impacts – therefore it is important to document baseline conditions for your existing water sources and water wells.  Primary items of concern are aesthetic water quality issues, future methane and other gas releases, spills, local disturbances, discolored water, and related contaminants. The Know Your H20? App for Baseline Testing in PA should help.

New Tools and Courses

Know Your H20 Phone App and Database Search
Citizen Scientists – The Online Water Quality Index Calculator is Available.
Training Courses on Natural Gas Development and Environmental Concerns
Stream Restoration, Wetlands, and Water Resources Management 

Actions:

1. If you have any testing done as part of this action, please consider releasing this data to the Citizen Groundwater and Surface Water Database.  Fill out the attached form and mail the data to the following address:
   Mr. Brian Oram, PG
   Keystone Clean Water Team
   15 Hillcrest Drive
   Dallas, PA 18612
   Please note- if you have baseline testing done already you may have some information on the level of surfactants in the water if you had a MBAS test done.
2. Informational Screening Testing – Get your water screened for water contamination including isopropanol – Informational Screening Water Kit (Not Certified) Covers about 200 parameters, plus a review of any predrilling data – Only $ 275.00.  Email
3. Drinking Water Guide for Pennsylvania.

 

Susquehanna River Basin Commission Study Finds No Impacts on Streams from Marcellus Shale Drilling

SRBC Study Finds No Impacts on Streams from Marcellus Shale Drilling

From 2010 to 2013 the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) monitored 58 sampling stations in small headwater streams in the Susquehanna River Basin to investigate potential impacts from gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale.  The study recorded pH, temperature, conductivity, inorganic chemistry, TOC, gross alpha and beta radiation, and macroinvertebrates.  The SRBC report, released earlier this year, concluded no discernible relationship between water quality and well pad density.  Please click HERE to download an electronic copy of the report.

New Tools and Courses

Know Your H20Keystone Clean Water Team
Citizen Scientists – The Online Water Quality Index Calculator is Available.
Training Courses on Natural Gas Development and Environmental Concerns
Stream Restoration, Wetlands, and Water Resources Management 

Actions:

1. If you have any testing done as part of this action, please consider releasing this data to the Citizen Groundwater and Surface Water Database.  Fill out the attached form and mail the data to the following address:
   Mr. Brian Oram, PG
   Keystone Clean Water Team
   15 Hillcrest Drive
   Dallas, PA 18612
   Please note- if you have baseline testing done already you may have some information on the level of surfactants in the water if you had a MBAS test done.
2. Informational Screening Testing – Get your water screened for water contamination including isopropanol – Informational Screening Water Kit (Not Certified) Covers about 200 parameters, plus a review of any predrilling data – Only $ 275.00.  Email
3. Drinking Water Guide for Pennsylvania.

Flint Authority Falsely Reports Water Quality Testing for Lead in Drinking Water

“FLINT, MI – As concerns about Flint’s water quality were mounting earlier this year, the city disregarded federal rules requiring it to seek out homes with lead plumbing for testing, potentially leading the city and state to underestimate for months the extent of toxic lead leaching into Flint’s tap water.

City water officials filed certified documents with state regulators that claimed the city only tested tap water from homes where residents were at the highest risk of lead poisoning, but records obtained by The Flint Journal-MLive show those claims were false and may have delayed efforts to fix the public health emergency.

Water samples sent to state labs for testing in the first six months of this year were all marked as having come from homes with lead service lines, but actually almost always came from homes at less risk of lead leaching – houses with underground plumbing made of copper, galvanized steel or materials that could not be identified, according to the city’s own documents given to The Journal through the Freedom of Information Act.

In response to questioning, Flint Utilities Administrator Mike Glasgow said the city was struggling to collect the number of samples that were required following the city’s switch to the Flint River as its water source in April 2014.”

To read more on this story – go to http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/11/documents_show_city_filed_fals.html

Learn More about Your Drinking Water

1. Get the Know Your H20? Phone App (Free) – http://www.knowyourh20.us
2. Learn more about Corrosive Water and Affordable Water Testing – http://www.water-research.ne

 

The Pennsylvania Association Environmental Professional needs “You” to serve as a member of the Board of Directors

The PAEP needs “You” to serve as a member of the Board of Directors

Have you decided that it is time for you to make a formal commitment to being an Environmental Professional? Would you like to make major contributions to help meet the needs of both public and private sector projects? Would you like to take on a leadership role in the states most active Professional Association for Environmental Professionals? If so, it’s time for you to join the PAEP Board of Directors.

PAEP is a voluntary association headed by a Board of Directors. The Board is composed of

9 elected members from the environmental field. All serve a three year term of office without compensation. In September of each year the process of electing 3 Board Members begins. Board Members are expected to attend: monthly conference calls, local Section Events and the Annual Meeting/Conference.

The Board establishes policy for the PAEP and the Managing Director assists the Board in implementing all of the programs and practices of the Association. The Managing Director, as well as the Conference Coordinator are responsible to the Board.

The Board also meets in January for an Annual Planning Retreat where the Association Officers are elected and installed. As a voluntary association, there is no reimbursement for meeting, travel expenses or the other costs associated with being on the Board of Directors.

Between Board meetings, the Board of Directors is represented by the four Association Officers. The Association Officers meet at the discretion of the PAEP President, as necessary.

This is a transition year for the Board of Directors and in the fall we will be electing 7 Board Members to various terms of office: 3 three-year terms, 3 two-year terms and 1 one-year term. So if you are interested in becoming a member of the PAEP Board this is a great opportunity for you.

If you would like to become a Member of the Board (or retain your current position on the Board) please complete the attached PAEP Board Self Nomination Form 2015 and return it to our Elections Committee by 6:00 PM on Friday October 16, 2015. Forms completed after that date and time may be considered, at the discretion of the Elections Committee. Please Email Form to us at info@paep.org. Make that commitment today!

In addition to the Board of Directors, we are always looking for help to plan and run Section Events or for help on committees, such as our Conference and Scholarship Committees. Please let us know how else you would like to participate in the Association.