PA Forest Fragmentation from Marcellus Shale, Wind Turbines & Transmission Lines

1. Impacts on PA’s Environment from Marcellus Shale Drilling, Industrial Scale Wind Turbines, & New Transmission Corridors

2. Greater than 60% of Pennsylvania is currently forested

3. Landscape Blocks Color-coded by Percent of Natural Cover Collaborative Assessment by The Nature Conservancy and Western PA Conservancy “ Natural Cover” includes deciduous forest, coniferous forest, mixed forest, scrub-shrub, woody wetland, & emergent wetland types as defined by National Land Cover Dataset 2001. Landscape Blocks Counties Bird Conservation Regions Percent Natural Cover

4.
Dissect previously large patches into smaller ones
New edge habitat
Changes in microclimate
Tend to exist long term
Increased soil erosion
Increased human activity
Increased pollution
Invasive plant species introduction
Barriers to species dispersal
Possible long term changes in plant and animal communities
Edge Effect from Roads >100 ft 100 foot

5. Increased Nest Predation and Parasitism Veery Wood Thrush Veery nest with two white-speckled cowbird eggs Raccoons, skunks, opossums, blue jays, crows, cowbirds

6. Scarlet Tanager feeding baby cowbird hatched in its nest

7. Pennsylvania has a global and continental responsibility for breeding populations of three interior-forest bird species Wood Thrush 9% of world’s population nesting in Pennsylvania Worm-eating Warbler 10% of world’s population nesting in PA Scarlet Tanager Greater than 17% of world’s population nests in PA forests

8. Breeding Neotropical Species Sensitive to Fragmentation and Edge Effect Canada Warbler Hooded Warbler Cerulean Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Acadian Flycatcher

9. Blue-headed Vireo Black-throated Blue Warbler More Sensitive Species Blackburnian Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Hermit Thrush

10. Vernal Ponds/Pools Marbled Salamander Spotted Salamander Jefferson Salamander

11. Mountain Chorus Frog Spotted Turtle

12. Barriers to Dispersal Spotted Salamander

13. Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction

15. Fortuna Energy Site, Tioga State Forest

16. Drilling Site A Drilling Site B

17. Drilling Site A Drilling pads are almost all less than 5 acres. PA exempts gas and oil well operations smaller than 5 acres from the sediment & erosion regulations of the Clean Water Act.

18. Drilling Site

19. Reservoirs 15 million gallons 8 million gallons

20. 15 million gallon reservoir

21. Compressor Station Pipeline Connector

22. Compressor Station

23. Pipelines

24. Truck-mounted pumps and temporary storage tanks needed to fracture-treat the Marcellus Shale

25. A network of roads is necessary for the steady flow of construction vehicles, and water trucks for each drill site, further fragmenting the landscape and potentially impacting local streams with increased runoff and sedimentation.

27. 2008 2009 2010 Marcellus shale drilling permits issued by PA DEP 476 1,948 5,200+ Expected 2,252 as of 4/30/10

28. www.marcellus-shale.us / “ This Marcellus Shale gas drilling website is dedicated to providing photos, facts, opinions, stories and news about the Marcellus Shale gas play that you won't see other places. You'll find extensive photos of gas drilling sites, pipeline construction, well sites and compressor stations. News and opinion about hydraulic fracturing.”

29. Local Effects on Timber Resource
Loss of timber revenue
Damage to standing trees
Soil compaction and root damage
Reduced forest productivity

30. Spread of Invasive Species Multiflora Rose Autumn Olive Japanese Stiltgrass

31. Disturbance of Sensitive Habitats

32. Increase in Noise and Light Pollution

33. Dimock

34. WBNG-TV: Binghamton, New York Nov. 20, 2009 Dimock Neighbors Sue Cabot Oil & Gas A natural gas drilling company has struck a lawsuit in Pennsylvania. A group of homeowners in Dimock Township have filed legal action against Cabot Oil and Gas. Residents have described an ordeal that began shortly after Cabot started drilling near their homes, saying the water that came out of their faucets suddenly became cloudy and discolored, and smelled and tasted foul. A resident’s well exploded on New Year’s Day 2009, prompting a state investigation that found Cabot had allowed combustible gas to escape into the region’s groundwater supplies. "I can't drink my water, my girls have had health issues, rashes and before they discovered the gas in the water. I just want to be able to drink my water and water my dogs and my garden and everything and not have to worry about it," said Victoria Hubert of Dimock.

35.
PA DEP Takes Aggressive Action Against Cabot Oil & Gas over Dimock Township Methane Contamination April 15, 2010
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is not happy with what it says is lack of progress on the part of Cabot Oil & Gas in the remediation of methane contamination of water supplies in Dimock Township, PA.
The DEP blames Cabot for the methane contamination. Cabot claims they really aren’t at fault and are being unfairly blamed for a naturally occurring phenomenon (migrating natural gas).
Today’s consent order from the DEP stipulates that Cabot must:
Plug three wells believed to be the source of the migrating methane gas, within 40 days.
Install permanent water treatment systems in the affected 14 homes.
Pay $30,000 per month in fines, starting in May, until all obligations are met.
In addition:
The DEP is immediately suspending reviews of any pending Cabot permits to drill elsewhere in the entire state.
Cabot is barred from drilling any new gas wells in Dimock Township for at least one year.

36. DEP Orders Cabot Oil & Gas to Remove Hibbard Well Pad Reserve Pit in Susquehanna County Company Ignored DEP’s Prior Written, Verbal Requests April 30, 2010 “ DEP strongly advised Cabot to close and remove the reserve pit in an April 8 notice of violation letter and reiterated to Cabot’s senior management the same message a few short days ago,” said Yowell. “However, Cabot has not remedied the situation and its inaction demonstrates an arrogant disregard for Pennsylvania’s oil and gas regulations and proper protection of our environment.” The department’s Oil and Gas Program staff responded to a report of black water in a ditch near the Hibbard well pad on March 22. The black water had impacted a private unused drinking water well, two springs and a wetland. The water, soil and sediment sample results from DEP and Cabot’s contractor in the area, along with visible tears and holes in the reserve pit’s liner and local geology, led DEP to conclude that the black water is a mixture of groundwater and liquid waste from the reserve pit.

37. Excerpts: “ . . . more than 1,000 other cases of contamination have been documented by courts and state and local governments in Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In one case, a house exploded after hydraulic fracturing created underground passageways and methane seeped into the residential water supply. In other cases, the contamination occurred not from actual drilling below ground, but on the surface, where accidental spills and leaky tanks, trucks and waste pits allowed benzene and other chemicals to leach into streams, springs and water wells” “ Of the 300-odd compounds that private researchers and the Bureau of Land Management suspect are being used, 65 are listed as hazardous by the federal government. Many of the rest are unstudied and unregulated, leaving a gaping hole in the nation's scientific understanding of how widespread drilling might affect water resources.” Buried Secrets: Is Natural Gas Drilling Endangering U.S. Water Supplies? by Abrahm Lustgarten November 13, 2008 www.propublica.org

38. PA House approves compromise drill moratorium BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF) May 4, 2010 HARRISBURG - A compromise proposal to impose a three-year moratorium on additional leasing of state forest land for natural gas drilling won House approval Monday. New York toughens rules, virtually bans gas drilling in Skaneateles Lake watershed By John Stith/The Post-Standard Syracuse, NY -- State environmental officials on Friday made it virtually impossible to drill for natural gas in the Skaneateles Lake and Catskills watersheds. Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis said that applications to drill in the watersheds, which supply drinking water to nearly 9 million people in the Syracuse and New York City areas, would be considered on a site-by-site basis, separately from any regulations governing hydrofracking elsewhere in the state. The Skaneateles Lake and Catskill watersheds provide water to the two cities, the only two places in the state allowed to use unfiltered water as a water source without expensive treatment.

39.
New Pa DEP Drilling Regulations proposed February 2010
Bolsters well construction specifications
Hold drillers responsible for restoring or replacing water sources contaminated by drilling operations to the standards set forth by the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act.
Require drillers to promptly inform PADEP if wells are over-pressurized, if casings are defective or if gas has migrated into drinking water sources.
Mandate quarterly checks on the integrity of existing wells in operation to ensure that there is no evidence of gas escaping from wells and to determine whether there is evidence of progressive corrosion or other signs of deterioration.
Operators will be required to submit annual reports to PADEP identifying compliance status associated with these inspections.

40. Waymart Wind Energy Center , Wayne County Meyersdale Wind Energy Center, Somerset County Industrial Scale Wind Development

41. View of turbine base clearing during construction

42. Construction of roads to move turbine parts up to ridges

43. Example of Impacts to headwaters during construction On Shaffer Mountain (PA-designated Exceptional Value Stream)

44. Pennsylvania

45. Location of Allegheny Ridge industrial scale wind project on the Allegheny Front IBA

46. Locations of the 84 turbines at the Allegheny Ridge Wind Project

47. Focus area of next slide

48. Phase One Allegheny Ridge Wind Project = turbine locations *

49. Phase One Allegheny Ridge Wind Project Focus Area of next slide = turbine locations *

50. Before roads and turbines are installed in the Portage, PA area (part of Phase 1) (SR – 160)

51. After roads and turbines are installed showing fragmentation (SR – 160) (SR – 160) Note: New turbine roads are nearly twice the width of SR-160

52. Aerial Photo of Same Location

53. Interior Forest Impact based only on turbines in this image 40 turbines = impact of 970 + acres (does not include transmission lines) total project size to date is 84 turbines Acreage Impact Calculations: 58,300 linear feet of turbine roads (in photo) X 65’ wide road = 3,789,500 or 87 acres of roads About 2 + acres cleared per turbine pad X 40 turbines =~ 80 + acres for turbines alone Add associated roads and infrastructure: Most severe edge effect to interior forest is 100 yards into the forest on either side of roads = 35,000,000 square feet, or 803 more acres of forest impacted.

54. Less severe edge effect actually extends another 200 yards = 1,600 more acres of forest impacted (~2,400 acres total)

55. Fragmentation analysis on same site by The Nature Conservancy

57.
Bat and bird fatalities due to direct collisions and barotrauma
4,000 bats killed at this 44-turbine site during 2003
Several thousand more killed at Myersdale (Somerset Co. PA)
Mountaineer industrial Scale Wind Facility

58. Impacts on Birds & Bats from Industrial Scale Wind Facilities
Direct Effects (research needed on all of these)
Bat and bird strike mortality
Direct habitat loss/modification
Loss of interior forest habitat
Habitat fragmentation/edge effect
Increased nest parasitism/predation
Water quality impacts

59.
Secondary Effects (research needed on all of these)
Reduced nesting/breeding density
Loss of population vigor and overall density
Habitat and site abandonment, increased isolation between and within patches
Loss of refugia
Effects on behavior including stress, interruption, and modification
Disturbance, avoidance, displacement, habitat unsuitability
Attraction to modified habitats

60. Facts About Electrical Generation and Wind Power in PA
30% of all power currently produced in PA is exported out of state
Annually wind generated power is about 20 - 25% efficient in PA
Peak demand times for electric power occur in summer when wind power production is lowest in Pennsylvania
Wind-generated power can’t be stored and must go directly into the grid
Turbines pull power from the grid to get started
CO 2 is still being produced even when turbines are spinning (coal fired plants are scaled back but can’t be shut down)
Since wind power is unreliable it can’t supply base or peak load like conventional power plants – “spinning” turbine reserve is usually greater than wind turbine contribution

61. Problems in Pennsylvania and Other States
Wind power development is driven by state renewable energy portfolio, not economics or science
All current habitat protection guidelines are voluntary
Siting of projects is primarily directed by wind, not ecology
Industry data are proprietary and usually not shared
Cumulative impact assessments are ignored
Timing of pre and post construction bird surveys often out of sync with actual bird migration
Limited breeding bird surveys are conducted, including for threatened & endangered species
Endangered species presence at a site have been found to sometimes been removed from company reports to agencies

62. New Transmission Corridor Proposals
Under the Corridor designation, PJM and transmission companies have moved to advance power line approvals
Yellow = in five year plan
Blue = PJM board-approved
Green = state-approved

63. Construction of additional transmission lines 500 kV line 765 kV lines

64. Examples of habitat types/communities throughout Pennsylvania susceptible to habitat loss, fragmentation, and edge effect from energy development
Shale Barrens
Heath Barrens
Vernal Ponds
Rock Outcrops and Talus slopes
Early Succession/ Shrub-Scrub
Deciduous Forests
Mixed Deciduous Forests
Conifer Forests

65. Ridge Top Shale Barrens Whip-poor-will Golden-winged Warbler

66. Ridgetop Heath Barrens Barrens Buckmoth Moosic Mountain

67. Talus slopes and Rock Outcrops Rock Vole Allegheny Woodrat Rock Shrew

68. Mountain Earth Snake Green Salamander Eastern Fence Lizard Eastern Spotted Skunk Timber Rattlesnake

69. Pitch-pine Scrub Oak Barrens and Early Successional Habitats Prairie Warbler Appalachian Cottontail

70. Species of Conservation Concern Found in High Elevation or Upland Forests Northern Flying Squirrel Swainson’s Thrush

71. Rather than implementing an aggressive policy of energy conservation, politicians are supporting the exploitation of the resources of the mid-Atlantic Highlands for the needs of the eastern seaboard cities – with no regard for ecological or sociological consequences.

72. Photo courtesy of Jackson’s Journeys Wind Turbine and Habitat Slides courtesy of Kim Van Fleet, Important Bird Area Coordinator Audubon Pennsylvania [email_address] 717-213-6880 ext.11

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