ACTION ALERT

Tell Forest Service to withdraw Tract 13 Federal Oil and Gas Lease!

Deadline: May 14, 2008

The Forest Service is proposing to lease 101 acres of federally-owned mineral rights to Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) for drilling at least six oil and gas wells in the Salmon Creek area of the Allegheny National Forest. The Forest Service dubbed Salmon Creek as one of the “most threatened landscapes” in the Allegheny just a couple years ago due to the high amount of oil and gas drilling that has already occurred in this area. Now, the Forest Service wants to increase those impacts by leasing the federal minerals it owns.

The Forest Service originally proposed this lease last year but cancelled the project after the Allegheny Defense Project pointed out that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by relying on outdated environmental analyses to approve the lease. Unfortunately, instead of scrapping the lease altogether, the Forest Service found a loophole called the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Forest Service is now proposing to categorically exclude the leasing of these federal minerals pursuant to the Energy Policy Act. This means there will be no analysis of the environmental impacts of the drilling and no opportunity for public comment pursuant to NEPA.

The Forest Service is bending over backwards to lease these minerals to PGE. Please contact the Forest Service and tell them to cancel this ill-conceived proposal once and for all.

Leanne Marten, Forest Supervisor
Allegheny National Forest
222 Liberty Street
Warren, PA 16365
comments-eastern-allegheny@fs.fed.us

***SAMPLE LETTER***

Supervisor Marten,

Please cancel the Tract 13 federal oil and gas lease. The Forest Service originally proposed this lease last year but cancelled the project after the Allegheny Defense Project pointed out that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by relying on outdated environmental analyses to approve the lease. Unfortunately, instead of scrapping the lease altogether, the Forest Service found a loophole called the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Forest Service is now proposing to categorically exclude the leasing of these federal minerals pursuant to the Energy Policy Act. This means that there will be no analysis of the environmental impacts of the drilling and no opportunity for public comment pursuant to NEPA.

It is shocking the Forest Service would go to such efforts to appease an oil company that has already drilled hundreds of oil and gas wells in the Salmon Creek watershed. In fact, PGE has drilled so many wells in this watershed that the Forest Service designated it one of the “most threatened landscapes” in the Allegheny National Forest. Now, instead of reversing the damage that has been done, the Forest Service proposes to increase the impacts to the Salmon Creek watershed. This is a reckless course of action for the Forest Service to take in light of the recent forest plan appeal decision.

On February 15, 2008 the Forest Service Chief issued its decision on approximately 80 appeals to the 2007 revised forest plan. In the decision, the Chief issued instructions declaring the Forest Service has the “responsibility to ensure surface resources are protected.” The Chief also stated the Allegheny Forest Service failed to consider cumulative effects of oil and gas drilling on local and regional air quality. Proposing to lease federal minerals before the Allegheny Forest Service addresses the Chief’s concerns - particularly how the agency plans to address the cumulative effects of private and federal oil and gas drilling on local and regional air quality - is in direct conflict with the forest plan appeal decision.

Additionally, the categorical exclusion the Forest Service proposes to use is inapplicable because the Forest Service is not operating under a fully authorized forest plan. As stated above, the Forest Service Chief found that the Allegheny Forest Service failed to consider the cumulative effects of oil and gas drilling in the revised forest plan. This includes private and federal oil and gas drilling. Thus, until the Forest Service addresses the Chief’s concerns regarding the cumulative effects of oil and gas drilling on local and regional air quality, it is precluded from using the Energy Policy Act to categorically exclude federal oil and gas leasing.

Sincerely,

__________________________

April 29, 2008

Contact: Ryan Talbott (814) 221-1408

Forest Service responds to Allegheny Defense Project Appeal
Agency withdraws South Branch Kinzua Creek Logging Project decision
for failure to comply with new Allegheny Forest Plan

The U.S. Forest Service has withdrawn its decision to approve over 1,700 acres of logging in the South Branch Kinzua Creek watershed in the Allegheny National Forest a few miles north of Kane. The Allegheny Defense Project filed an administrative appeal of the Forest Service’s timber sale approval on March 24, 2008. According to ADP, the timber sale was not in compliance with the Forest Service Chief’s decision regarding the recently revised forest management plan for the Allegheny.

The Forest Service approved the South Branch Kinzua Creek timber sale on February 7, 2008. The following week, the Forest Service Chief in Washington rescinded portions of the forest plan that the Allegheny Forest Service relied on to approve the timber sale. The Forest Service Chief’s decision on the forest plan stated that the Allegheny Forest Service failed to consider the cumulative effects of oil and gas development on local and regional air quality. The Forest Service Chief instructed the Allegheny Forest Service to revisit its analysis on this point and give the public further opportunity to comment on standards and guidelines for regulating private oil and gas drilling operations, which have dramatically increased in Pennsylvania’s only national forest in recent years.

“The South Branch Kinzua Creek timber sale was prepared and published under the direction of the revised forest plan and it suffers from the same deficiencies that the Chief’s Office found with that plan regarding the cumulative effects of oil and gas development,” said Ryan Talbott, Forest Watch Coordinator for the Allegheny Defense Project. “The Allegheny Forest Service completely ignored the cumulative effects of oil and gas drilling in conjunction with its clearcut logging proposals.”

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission designates South Branch Kinzua Creek as a wilderness trout stream. According to the Fish and Boat Commission, wilderness trout stream management “is based upon the provision of a wild trout fishing experience in a remote, natural and unspoiled environment where man’s disruptive activities are minimized.” The ADP claims that the Forest Service timber sale violated the spirit and intent of the wilderness trout stream designation.

“The Forest Service must protect the surface and water resources of the Allegheny National Forest for future generations,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP board president. “Proposing a massive timber sale in one of the Allegheny’s only wilderness trout stream watersheds without considering the cumulative impacts of expanding oil and gas drilling in the area violated the Chief’s forest plan decision and federal law. It is time the Forest Service returns to its original of managing national forests as watersheds, not tree farms for the timber industry.”

##

April 24, 2008

Contact: Ryan Talbott (814) 221-1408
Bill Belitskus (814) 778-5173

Forest Service violates Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law
DEP threatens legal action if federal agency does not come into compliance; Violations indication of systemic problems regarding management of recreation and tourism

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) filed a “Notice of Violation” against the U.S. Forest Service on October 26, 2007 for the federal agency’s failure to obtain sewer system permits for at least three facilities in the Allegheny National Forest. According to the DEP, failure to obtain the required sewage permits for these facilities constitutes daily violations of Section 207 of the Clean Streams Law and constitutes unlawful conduct under Section 611 of the Clean Streams Law. The DEP also found that municipal sewage planning approval was also lacking at two other recreational areas.

“These are serious violations that threaten water quality in the Allegheny National Forest,” said Ryan Talbott, forest watch coordinator for the Allegheny Defense Project. “The Forest Service wants us to trust it when it comes to logging and oil and gas drilling. If the Forest Service cannot even comply with Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams regulations requiring proper sewage disposal, though, how can it be trusted to protect the Allegheny National Forest’s surface resources from industrial logging and oil and gas drilling?”

The facilities identified by the DEP as lacking sewer system permits include the Twin Lakes Recreation Area in Elk County, Bradford Ranger Station in McKean County, and Kinzua Beach Recreation Area in Warren County. Two other sites in Warren County, the Kiasutha and Dewdrop Recreation Areas, also lack municipal sewage planning approval according to the DEP.

The DEP required the Forest Service to outline what corrective actions it would take to come into compliance with the Clean Streams Law within ten days of the notice of violation. On December 7, 2007 the DEP, after reviewing the Forest Service’s plans to come into compliance, issued a “Technical Deficiency Letter” regarding the Forest Service’s plans for the Bradford Ranger Station. The DEP said the Forest Service application for stormwater construction permits associated with the construction of a new administrative building for the Forest Service had “significant deficiencies,” including failing to properly identify wetlands that would be impacted by construction activities surrounding North Fork Chappel Fork, a state wild trout stream. The DEP also stated that if the Forest Service proposed discharges to Exceptional Value wetlands, it failed to perform an adequate anti-degradation analysis pursuant to state law.

On December 21, 2007 the Forest Service responded to the DEP stating that the Kinzua Beach Recreation Area “has not been in operation since November 2006” and that it did “not have any plans to reopen this sewage facility as it requires significant repairs or modifications.” The Forest Service letter admits that there are still outstanding violations regarding the Bradford Ranger Station and Twin Lakes Recreation Area. Meanwhile, the letter states that “numerous phone calls and letters between DEP and the Forest Service appear to have resolved this issue” for the Dewdrop and Kiasutha Recreation Areas.

“There is something fundamentally flawed at the Forest Service,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP’s board president. “While the Forest Service is trying to increase logging and facilitate oil and gas drilling instead of regulating operators, it is failing to comply with state water quality standards. If the repeating pattern of lies and misinformation by the Forest Service designed to keep the public in the dark about how badly the Allegheny is being mismanaged are not corrected, it is clear that it will never fulfill its mandate to protect the National Forest for future generations.”

The disclosure of these violations comes on the heels of the Forest Service’s “Recreation Facilities Analysis” in February when the agency solicited public input for prioritizing which recreation sites to keep open and which to close. According to the ADP, the Forest Service was less than forthcoming regarding its permit violations and infrastructure problems.

“The Forest Service never told the public that it did not have sewage permits for these facilities or that it did not intend to reopen the sewage treatment plant at Kinzua Beach,” said Megan Rulli, ADP’s outreach coordinator. “The Forest Service has ignored basic maintenance of these facilities to the point that it will take significant resources to repair them. Now, the agency is looking to close facilities because of maintenance costs. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy that seems designed to keep tourists away from the Allegheny.”

ADP points to the recent PLACES tourism study conducted in Warren County to support that view. The study cited that several community leaders in Warren County and representatives of the Allegheny National Forest expressed concern that increased tourism in the Allegheny “might be in conflict” with logging and oil and gas drilling. ADP claims this is an indication of systemic problems within the Forest Service regarding its management of recreation and tourism.

“It is appalling that Forest Service representatives expressed concern that tourism could impact the oil, gas and timber industries,” said Cathy Pedler, an ADP board member. “The Forest Service has a duty to manage the Allegheny for recreation and tourism, not just logging and drilling. It seems, however, that it is determined to drive tourists away so that the oil, gas and timber industries can continue degrading Pennsylvania’s only national forest.”

##

ACTION ALERT
Tell Forest Service restoration needed; not more logging and drilling

DEADLINE: April 28, 2008

The Forest Service is proposing to log over 1,000 acres near a section of the Allegheny River populated by the critically endangered northern riffleshell mussel. This mussel survives in less than 5 percent of its former range. Dams and reservoirs have flooded most of the northern riffleshell’s habitat and intensive logging and oil and gas drilling pose serious additional threats. Erosion caused by logging and road construction for oil and gas drilling adds silt to streams and rivers which can clog the mussel’s feeding siphons and even smother it.

Oil and gas drilling has already taken a heavy toll over the past several years in this area. Nearly 1,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in this area and some portions of the project area have an oil or gas well every seven acres. This has resulted in average road densities exceeding 9 miles of road per square mile of land in some drainages. The Forest Service even admits that many of these oil and gas roads “are contributing large volumes of sediment to the streams.”

Frankly, it is reckless for the Forest Service to propose more intense logging within watersheds that have already been so heavily impacted by previous logging and drilling. What this area needs is immediate restoration to protect and restore water quality in an effort to recover the northern riffleshell mussel as well as the clubshell mussel which is located downstream of the project area. Please contact the Forest Service and tell them to withdraw this senseless proposal and instead develop a comprehensive watershed restoration plan for this area.

Anthony Scardina
Bradford District Ranger
29 Forest Service Drive
Bradford, PA 16701
comments-eastern-allegheny-bradford@fs.fed.us

***SAMPLE LETTER***

Ranger Scardina,

The Mead’s Mill project demonstrates everything that is wrong with the current management of the Allegheny National Forest. The Forest Service must reconsider the purpose and need for this proposal. Three years ago, the Forest Service identified this area as one of the “most threatened landscapes” in the Allegheny. There is certainly no purpose and need to add to the impacts that already exist in this area from rampant oil and gas drilling, logging, and ATV trails. The only thing the Forest Service should be concerned with is restoring this area of the Allegheny to protect its surface resources, improve water quality and protect habitat for the federally endangered northern riffleshell and clubshell mussels.

In 2001, the Pennsylvania DEP designated Morrison Run and portions of the Dutchman Run basin, both of which are within the project area, as Exceptional Value streams. Since that time, however, oil and gas drilling has increased over 1,000 percent in the Allegheny and this area has been severely impacted. The Forest Service and DEP have completely failed to protect the surface and water resources in this area of the Allegheny National Forest.

The Mead’s Mill project area is mired with oil and gas wells and roads. There are nearly 200 miles of roads for oil and gas drilling in the project area resulting in numerous areas having average road densities of 9 mi/sq. mi. According to the EA, several areas “are now crisscrossed with numerous poorly designed and poorly maintained non-system roads…which are hydrologically connected to streams at numerous locations [and] are contributing large volumes of sediment to the streams.”

This raises serious concern regarding the federally endangered northern riffleshell and clubshell mussels which live downstream of these drainages in the Allegheny River. The northern riffleshell mussel has been documented within the project area and is extremely sensitive to increased sedimentation caused by logging and road construction. With the high levels of oil and gas development within the project area, the Forest Service has no business proposing over 1,000 acres of logging that will undoubtedly increase erosion and sedimentation of streams that feed into the Allegheny River where the northern riffleshell and clubshell mussel is located.

The Forest Service should withdraw this proposal and instead focus on fulfilling its mandatory “responsibility to ensure surface resources are protected.” The Forest Service cannot waste its time planning unnecessary timber sales when oil and gas drilling continues to impact the Allegheny at record levels. The only thing the Forest Service should be concerned with in this area is developing a comprehensive watershed restoration plan in order to protect and restore water quality and habitat for the northern riffleshell and clubshell mussels.

Sincerely,

___________________________

The Allegheny Defense Project is joining Allegheny Outdoor Adventures for a hike and picnic at the Rimrock Overlook on Sunday, April 27.

PAPCO, an oil and gas company based in Warren, has proposed drilling oil and gas wells near the Rimrock Overlook. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the wells would be within sight of the Rimrock Overlook and the road leading out to it.

Allowing oil and gas drilling near Rimrock or the public access road leading to the overlook would be a crushing blow to tourism in the Allegheny National Forest. Instead of seeing unbroken forests lining both sides of the quiet public access road to the overlook, tourists would see dirt roads crisscrossing the landscape with oil and gas wells replacing the trees.

To see what the Rimrock Overlook areas looks like now, you can view this slideshow documenting why it is important to protect this crown jewel of the Allegheny National Forest:

We will meet at Rimrock at 11 am. Please dress appropriately.

John Stoneman of Allegheny Outdoor Adventures may take some folks into nearby caves. If you plan to do that, wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. You will also want to bring a flashlight, good boots, and a helmet. There will also be opportunities for rappelling so bring your ropes and harnesses if you like to rappel. You can email John if you have any questions: stony99@verizon.net.

John will also be demonstrating his “hydrogen booster” that turns water into hydrogen and oxygen gas to be burned in a car motor.

Also, be sure to pack a lunch, snacks, water, and a camera. The views at Rimrock are breathtaking year round.

For directions, please call (814) 221-1408.

Hope to see you there!

April 9, 2008

Contact: Ryan Talbott (814) 221-1408

Forest Service evades environmental laws to lease federal minerals
Proposal would allow PGE to drill wells in threatened Salmon Creek

Last year, the Forest Service proposed leasing a 101-acre tract of the Allegheny National Forest to Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) to drill six oil and gas wells in the Salmon Creek area of Forest County. That proposal hit a roadblock when the Allegheny Defense Project (ADP) submitted comments to the Forest Service claiming the proposal violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since the agency relied on an outdated 1981 environmental assessment to approve the lease. As a result, the Forest Service scrapped its original proposal earlier this year. But the proposal is still moving forward.

That is because the Forest Service is now proposing to lease the federal minerals to PGE pursuant to Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Unlike NEPA, which requires the Forest Service to conduct detailed environmental assessments that include opportunities for public comment, the Energy Policy Act allows the Forest Service to exempt certain activities from NEPA. One of those activities is leasing federally-owned minerals to oil and gas companies.

“If there was any doubt the Forest Service is beholden to the oil and gas industry in the Allegheny, this decision removes that doubt,” said Ryan Talbott, forest watch coordinator for the ADP. “The Forest Service knew that if it continued with the original lease proposal, it would have to complete an updated environmental analysis. Instead of doing the right thing and conducting an updated analysis, the Forest Service found a way to avoid the analysis altogether through the Energy Policy Act.”

Congress passed the Energy Policy Act in 2005 and this is the first time the Forest Service has utilized the legislation in the Allegheny for leasing federal minerals. According to the ADP, it could be an omen of things to come on the 10,275 acres of the Allegheny where the Forest Service owns mineral rights that are available for leasing.

“The Forest Service often complains that it has little authority to restrict oil and gas development on the Allegheny since it does not own most of the mineral rights,” said Megan Rulli, outreach coordinator for the ADP. “Now, the Forest Service has demonstrated that even if it owns the mineral rights, not only will it give the green light to more oil and gas drilling, it is going to do so without the benefit of analysis and public comment pursuant to one of our nation’s most important environmental laws. The Forest Service has clearly forgotten its motto of ‘caring for the land and serving people.’”



“The Forest Service seriously misconstrues its primary legal obligation and mission to conserve and protect forest resources for future generations,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP’s board president. “Instead, the Forest Service clearly views its primary mission as facilitating any and all extraction by the timber and oil and gas industry – everything else is secondary. There is nothing in the National Forest Management Act that supports such an approach.”

According to ADP, the Forest Service’s actions strike at something deeper than just this proposal.

“This proposal is just another example of the misguided energy policies of the Bush administration,” said Cathy Pedler, an ADP board member. “Instead of investing in real energy solutions that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the Bush administration just gives away our public land to oil companies. What’s worse is that not only is the Bush administration giving away our public land to oil companies, they simultaneously reduced the public’s ability to even have a say in the process. It should outrage every American.”

April 1, 2008

Contact: Ryan Talbott: (814) 221-1408

DCNR surrenders to oil and gas industry demands
Pennsylvania’s State Forest lands to have increased oil and gas drilling against public will

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has lifted a ban on shallow oil and gas drilling in Pennsylvania’s state forests. The DCNR is also considering leasing state forest land for deep gas well drilling. The decision comes as oil and gas drilling is at record levels across the state producing public outcry from communities impacted by the drilling. The Allegheny Defense Project criticized the decision saying the state is buckling to political pressure from the oil and gas industry rather than protecting the quality of the state forests for all Pennsylvanians.

“Governor Rendell promised to bring increased recreation and tourism to the Pennsylvania Wilds region but instead the governor is giving us oil and gas wells,” said Ryan Talbott, forest watch coordinator for the Allegheny Defense Project. “Tourists are attracted to our state forests’ scenic beauty. Any recreation and tourism potential that exists in these areas will be lost once oil and gas companies move in.”

Approximately 1,300 oil and gas wells are located on 2.1 million acres of state forests in Pennsylvania. These wells were drilled prior to the ban that has been in place since 2003 when public outcry forced the DCNR to put the moratorium in place. This is in stark contrast to the 10,000 oil and gas wells that have been drilled in the 513,000-acre Allegheny National Forest where recreation and tourism has already been documented to be decreasing as oil and gas drilling increases.

“The DCNR is opening a Pandora’s box by lifting the ban at a time when the oil and gas industry is demanding more access to our public lands,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP’s board president. “We need to be protecting these remote forest areas for the clean water they provide to our state’s municipal water infrastructure. Our state forests are not a cash register for oil and gas special interests to liquidate our wildlife habitat and cripple our recreation and tourism industry.”

ADP points to Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) figures on oil and gas production in Pennsylvania to demonstrate that state forests should be protected rather than opened to more drilling.

“In 2006, all of the state’s oil and gas wells produced a tiny fraction of what this country consumes every day,” said Megan Rulli, outreach coordinator for the ADP. “The idea that Pennsylvania can drill its way to energy independence is foolish. The only thing DCNR is doing is lining the pockets of oil company executives at the expense of our state forests. Pennsylvanian’s should be outraged.”

ACTION ALERT

Tell Forest Service to Protect Rimrock Scenic Overlook!

A trip to the Allegheny National Forest is never complete without visiting the Rimrock Scenic Overlook. Overlooking the Allegheny Reservoir, many know Rimrock as one of the most captivating attractions in the Allegheny National Forest. Rock outcrops tower 100 feet above the forest floor, providing tourists with a breathtaking view through all seasons.

All that could change over the next few months.

The Warren Times Observer reported on March 28, 2008 that at least one oil company has notified the Forest Service of their intent to drill oil and gas wells in the vicinity of the Rimrock Scenic Overlook. According to the Forest Service, “the preliminary proposal…is in close proximity to the overlook area and the [Rimrock access] road.”

The Forest Service must not allow oil and gas companies to destroy this crown jewel of the Allegheny National Forest. If Rimrock is allowed to be impacted by oil and gas drilling, it will be a crushing blow to tourism in the Allegheny National Forest. Please contact the Forest Service and tell them to protect Rimrock and other areas like it from the devastating impacts of oil and gas drilling.

Send comments to:

Leanne Marten, Forest Supervisor
Allegheny National Forest
P.O. Box 847
Warren, PA 16353
lmarten@fs.fed.us

***SAMPLE LETTER***

Supervisor Marten,

I am writing to request you do everything within your authority to protect the Rimrock Scenic Overlook and surrounding forest area from oil and gas drilling. As you know, oil and gas drilling is at record levels in the Allegheny National Forest due to high oil and natural gas prices. While the Forest Service may not own the mineral rights beneath much of the Allegheny, the Forest Service has ample authority to regulate private oil and gas drilling and must take action now to protect areas such as Rimrock.

According to the Forest Service Chief’s recent forest plan appeal decision, the Forest Service has a non-discretionary “responsibility to ensure surface resources are protected” from oil and gas drilling. This is consistent with the Forest Service’s mandate pursuant to the National Forest Management Act that “all management prescriptions shall - conserve soil and water resources and not allow significant or permanent impairment of the productivity of land.” (36 CFR § 219.27 (1982)) Allowing oil companies to drill oil and gas wells near Rimrock, a popular tourist destination overlooking the Allegheny Reservoir, would clearly violate the Forest Service’s mandate to “ensure surface resources are protected.”

Any proposal to drill for oil and gas in this or any other area of the Allegheny National Forest must be analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Forest Service approves the operating plans submitted by the oil companies and permits these companies to use stone from pits located on the national forest for their road and well pad construction. Therefore, the Forest Service’s approval and facilitation of oil and gas drilling is a major federal action that requires the agency to document the impacts of the drilling proposal in an EIS.

The Forest Service must file objections to any proposed wells near Rimrock with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act permits surface owners to file objections to the location of wells based on the proposed wells impacts to public forest lands such as the Allegheny National Forest. (58 P.S. § 601.202; 25 Pa. Code § 78.21) Objections filed by the Forest Service compel the DEP to more closely consider the impact of proposed wells before deciding whether or not to issue oil and gas drilling permits.

The Forest Plan states that the desired condition for areas such as Rimrock includes “high quality scenery associated with older forests.” That high quality scenery would most certainly be lost if oil and gas drilling is allowed in and around Rimrock. The Forest Service must take a firm stance against oil and gas drilling in the Rimrock Scenic Overlook area and surrounding forest. Oil and gas companies must not be allowed to destroy one of the most scenic and popular tourist destinations in the Allegheny National Forest for their bottom line.

Sincerely,

__________________________

March 26, 2008
Contact: Ryan Talbott (814) 221-1408

Conservation group appeals logging and drilling project
Allegheny Defense Project says Forest Service not protecting Wilderness Trout Stream

The Allegheny Defense Project appealed a U.S. Forest Service proposal that it says threatens one of the Allegheny National Forest’s only wilderness trout streams. According to ADP, the South Branch Kinzua Creek Project threatens the South Branch Kinzua Creek watershed because it would result in nearly 2,000 acres of logging. The conservation group also says the Forest Service plans to provide stone material to oil and gas companies at no cost for private oil and gas road construction.

“South Branch Kinzua Creek is a special and unique watershed,” said Megan Rulli, outreach coordinator for the ADP. “It is one of the only Wilderness Trout Streams in the Allegheny National Forest and the watershed contains parts of two unroaded areas that provide critical habitat for wildlife. The Forest Service proposal, however, will significantly alter the South Branch Kinzua Creek watershed just so it can cut more trees and allow oil companies to construct more roads and drill more oil and gas wells.”

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission designates South Branch Kinzua Creek as a “wilderness trout stream.” According to the Fish and Boat Commission, wilderness trout stream management “is based upon the provision of a wild trout fishing experience in a remote, natural and unspoiled environment where man’s disruptive activities are minimized.” ADP points to the Fish and Boat Commission’s own comments regarding the Forest Service’s proposal to demonstrate that the project threatens a vital watershed.

“The Fish and Boat Commission told the Forest Service that its logging and road construction proposals would almost certainly reduce water quality in the South Branch Kinzua Creek watershed,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP’s board president. “As a resident within this watershed who has documented and reported oil and gas pollution to federal and state agencies, it’s upsetting to witness the Forest Service dismiss the Fish and Boat Commission’s concerns. The Forest Service must protect our wilderness trout streams, not degrade them with more roads, wells, clearcuts and herbicides.”

ADP says the Forest Service is also ignoring the cumulative effects of road construction for oil and gas wells because it stated that companies could use “excess” stone material for private oil and gas drilling operations.

“The Forest Service Chief recently admonished the Allegheny Forest Service for failing to protect surface resources from oil and gas drilling,” said Ryan Talbott, forest watch coordinator for the ADP. “Instead of changing its policies, however, the Forest Service is once again failing to protect surface resources by subsidizing oil companies’ use of stone material for their private drilling operations. The Allegheny National Forest is not a private stone source for oil and gas companies.”

##

February 25, 2008
Contact: Ryan Talbott (814) 221-1408

Forest Service wants to give public resources to oil and gas companies
Documents Prove Stone Pit Expansions for Oil and Gas Industry; Expansions conflict with forest plan appeal decision

A recent proposal by the Forest Service to expand eight stone pits on the Allegheny National Forest “for public and private road development” is almost exclusively for the oil and gas industry. So says the Allegheny Defense Project. The conservation group obtained documents from the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Warren and the forest plan revision process that it says proves the oil and gas industry is the primary beneficiary of the proposed stone pit expansions.

One document from October 2007 identifies all of the stone pits the Forest Service is now proposing to expand. The title of the document, “PGE Pit Data,” references the Warren-based oil company, Pennsylvania General Energy, which operates hundreds of oil and gas wells in the vicinity of the stone pits in the Salmon Creek area of Forest County. ADP claims the document’s title is proof that the Forest Service proposal is primarily for oil and gas drilling.

“The Forest Service proposed the expansion of these stone pits under the guise that it was for both public and private road development,” said Megan Rulli, outreach coordinator for the Allegheny Defense Project. “When you look at these documents, however, it becomes clear that the proposal is overwhelmingly for
private road development to facilitate oil and gas drilling.”

ADP claims the Forest Service’s stone pit expansion proposal is the result of intense criticism the agency received from oil and gas operators’ last summer when it banned the use of the stone pits for the construction of oil and gas roads pending further environmental analysis. For instance, in an affidavit from last July, PGE President and CEO Douglas Kuntz testified that the Forest Service’s refusal to allow PGE’s use of stone pits on the national forest “will involve greater expense to truck stone” from other locations.

In another document to the Forest Service, PGE claims that “stone from stone pits on the ANF used for purposes of road and well pad construction have been shared by the ANF and OGM operators for, at least, the past 27 years without cost to the OGM operators.” The document goes on to claim that due to the Forest Service banning the use of these stone pits and other policy changes, PGE would “be unable to develop its property and take advantage of historically high oil and gas prices.” (emphasis added)

“The recent decision on the forest plan directs the Forest Service in the Allegheny to ensure the protection of surface resources from the impacts of oil and gas drilling,” said Bill Belitskus, ADP’s board president. “In order to do that, the relationship that has existed for at least the past 27 years between the Forest Service and the oil and gas industry needs to end. Our public land is not a disposable resource for their private oil and gas operations.”

For more information on the history of the Stone Pit Expansion Project, check out ADP’s slideshow about the project.