GDAC Press Conference Homeland Security Law Suit Settlement @GADCLuzerneCounty

Uploaded January 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/01/environmental_group_settles_la.html
An environmental activist group that claims it was unfairly slandered as being a terrorist organization has settled a federal lawsuit against Pennsylvania's former director of Homeland Security.

Yet the attorney for the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition said Thursday that the group will still keep trying to press a defamation complaint against a York-based intelligence gathering agency that it claims prompted the alleged slander to be spread through state-issued security bulletins.

Paul A. Rossi, the lawyer for the Luzerne County-based coalition, said he could not comment on the terms of the settlement the resulted in this week's dismissal of a U.S. Middle District Court lawsuit the group filed five years ago against former Homeland Security Director James Powers.

However, Rossi said the coalition was at liberty to release a letter issued last month by Glenn M. Cannon, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, that states there are no grounds to consider the coalition as a terrorist group.

"It clears the coalition completely, which was our aim from the outset," Rossi said The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf

$GDAC Press Conference Homeland Security Law Suit Settlement http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/01/environmental_group_settles_la.html An environmental activist group that claims it was unfairly slandered as being a terrorist organization has settled a federal lawsuit against Pennsylvanias former director of Homeland Security. Yet the attorney for the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition said Thursday that the group will still keep trying to press a defamation complaint against a York-based intelligence gathering agency that it claims prompted the alleged slander to be spread through state-issued security bulletins. Paul A. Rossi, the lawyer for the Luzerne County-based coalition, said he could not comment on the terms of the settlement the resulted in this weeks dismissal of a U.S. Middle District Court lawsuit the group filed five years ago against former Homeland Security Director James Powers. However, Rossi said the coalition was at liberty to release a letter issued last month by Glenn M. Cannon, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, that states there are no grounds to consider the coalition as a terrorist group. It clears the coalition completely, which was our aim from the outset, Rossi said The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $Pipeline Issues in NE Pennsylvania by Scott Cannon Atlantic Sunrise PennEast Diamond East Pipelines are proposed for Luzerne County The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $WBRE DEP interview 8 23 16 The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $Riverdale Fracking Blockade Aqua America June 1 2012 http://www.saveriverdale.com/ Hands Across Riverdale: On June 1st, an Evicted Community Chooses to Stay Put On June 1st, in Riverdale Mobile Home Park in Jersey Shore PA, a corporation called Aqua PVR LLC, a subsidiary of Aqua America, plans to write a story that is now commonplace in this country. They plan to evict a well-developed, caring community and begin construction on an industrial water withdrawal site. They plan to pursue profit over people and the environment. Their plan fits into an established narrative except for one flaw: the community is fighting back, and on May 31st and June 1st, they are asking for help. This is a community that takes care of its members. Neighbors watch each others kids when parents get stuck at work, people walk the quiet roads to check in on one another, and residents know each others stories, families, and aspirations. On the beautiful banks of the Susquehanna, these families have built their homes together, and now are being forced out. These are working families that cannot necessarily pack up their lives and move them somewhere else. Aqua America, after initially offering less money and a shorter deadline, is offering residents $2500 if they move out by June 1st. The cost of moving a trailer is $6,000-$12,000, and rent in the area has risen because of an influx of natural gas industry workers. While some have been able to find new places to live, for many there is no option but to stay. In February, residents found out that their home had been sold out from underneath them by reading a newspaper article detailing the permitting of their community as a water withdrawal site. Since then, they have been organizing to fight for their homes, appealing not just to Aqua, but to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which oversees the water withdrawal permitting process. Lawyers acting on their behalf have attempted negotiation with Aqua many times, and residents have organized rallies, vigils and interfaith services to seek help for their community. It is all now coming to a head on June 1st. The community demands that Aqua America sit down with the residents and their representation to negotiate a fair deal that permits the residents to remain living at Riverdale Mobile Home Park with just compensation and the right to return for all residents who have already left in fear. The community demands that representatives from the Obama administration and governors Corbett (PA), OMalley (MD), and Cuomo (NY) recall Aqua Americas water withdrawal permit that they approved in March at the next Susquehanna River Basin Commission meeting in Harrisburg on June 7th. Aqua America has not made it clear whether or not it plans to pursue eviction proceedings against residents that choose to stay. Regardless of legal means, turning peoples homes into an industrial site is a de-facto eviction, but some residents are still set on staying. On May 31st, this community invites you to join them in a final vigil and funeral service for the homes that they built together, and to stay the night to bear witness and support the residents on June 1st. Help change the story: put your hands across Riverdale. Riverdale Mobile Home Park is located at: 7 Riverdale Ln, Jersey Shore PA 17740 The Vigil begins at 6 pm. If you plan to stay the night please plan accordingly and bring your own gear. Other things you can do to support Riverdale Mobile Home Park: Sign the Petition and Send this email to Aqua America CEO Nick DeBenedictis: http://citizenspeak.org/campaign/saynotofracking/aqua-america-no-evictions-fracking On June 1st, at 8 am, or any day thereafter that construction continues go to Aqua Americas Headquarters at 762 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA. to demand that construction stop. Attend the next Susquehanna River Basin Commission Meeting on June 7th in Harrisburg to demand that the permit be revoked. Donate funds to the community and their campaign to save their homes: https://www.wepay.com/donations/160391 The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $WNEP Coverage of the SRBC Meeting Civil Disobedience But a different source of potential water pollution troubled most of the nearly 100 packing the East Mountain Inns largest banquet hall for the meeting. Opponents of hydraulic fracturing, the controversial process used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, urged SRBC not to approve 26 applications for water withdrawal permits within the Susquehanna River Basin on its agenda, most of which were submitted by gas drillers. SRBC regulates water withdrawals within the basin through permitting. The commissioners approved 24 of those applications, denying one drillers application and deferring another from an individual, and in doing so prompted angry shouts of this proceeding is a joke, and youre not taking our water. The meeting closed with about protestors chanting an apparently prepared statement read from cards and nearly chasing commission members from the room. Members of the Susquehanna River community, this is a crisis, they chanted. The Susquehanna River is being sacrificed. Natural gas drilling is poisoning our water. We know this. We will stop this. We have no choice. We will protect our water. We are here to help, and everyone must help. Our future depends on it. We honor the river; we honor our lives. The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $Mike Miz at the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition Fundraiser Mike Miz at the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition Fundraiser February 19, 2012 The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $Hydraulic Fracking comes to Luzerne County http://www.gdacoalition.org Our mission is to protect our communities and environment from exploitative gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region. Towards this end we are working to inform our community that people have a fundamental right to decide what happens in their townships; that local ordinances that protect the rights of human and natural communities cannot be superseded by the state; that We the People, possess the right and legitimate authority to decide what types of activities we choose to allow in our communities and how to regulate them; and that this right to self-govern is inalienable and what American democracy is all about. Hydraulic Fracking Fracturing across the street from Ricketts Glen State Park. The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $The Problem with Fracking - Scientists, Citizens on Rules to Reduce Oil & Gas Air Pollution Press conference at Dallas City Hall where scientists, impacted citizens and a faith leader will speak to the importance of EPAs proposed rules to limit methane and associated air pollution from oil and gas development. From our friends at Earthworks The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $Black Water - Marcellus Shale Reality Tour Part 11 - Fracking http://www.gdacoalition.org A video by Scott Cannon Photographs courtesy of Trevor Collins http://www.trevorcollens.com This is the story of Max Chilson. His water turned black a year and a half ago, the same day a nearby gas well started drilling about 1,200 feet from his home. He hasnt had clean well water to drink ever since. Chief Oil and Gas, who owns 2 wells on both sides of his property, wanted him to sign an agreement that would provide him a bigger UV water filtration system, $300 worth of filters, and denies any present or future responsibilities for Maxs water turning black. The DEP told Max that the black water didnt happen because of gas drilling activies, nor did they give him any explanation of why it happened. The DEP has come under fire recently for providing test results that didnt disclose all of the contaminants found in well water samples. Additionally, In a legal deposition, a DEP employee said the department failed to provide its water specialists with training to help them interpret the lab reports and identify contaminants that could signal Marcellus Shale-related impacts. The DEP says it fully stands behind its tests. The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $GDAC Gas Drilling in NE Pennsylvania You Be The Judge Mary Rodriquez and Scott Cannon from the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition in Luzerne County talk about the negative issues related to gas drilling and infrastructure in NE Pennsylvania. You Be The Judge is hosted by Attorney Todd OMalley of OMalley & Langan The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $FOX 56 Dallas school mercaptan release evacuates school, businesses mercaptan dallas pa school DALLAS TWP. By Mark Guydish — Students were temporarily moved to the Dallas High School auditorium and emergency personnel were brought in Thursday morning after the odor of natural gas was smelled, but it turned out to be only the odorant added to gas, and not gas itself, from a controlled release at a nearby gas facility. District and emergency responders said the gas company had not properly notified district and township officials. A little after 10 a.m. I got a phone call about a strong, pungent odor of gas at the high school coming in through the ventilators, Superintendent Frank Galicki said. The ventilators were shut down, the students moved to the auditorium and the fire department and township emergency management called. No gas was detected, but the district learned that the odorant, added to allow people to detect the otherwise odorless natural gas, had been released by Williams, the owner of the nearby Transco pipeline. Galicki and Township Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Alan Pugh said the company had apparently made some notifications but did not follow protocol. Galicki said someone had called him Wednesday Afternoon around 4 p.m. and he had immediately directed them to call township supervisors and EMA, who would in turn give the district directions on how to handle any issue. Those communications did not occur, Galicki said. Someone dropped the ball. Galicki said the release should not have occurred during school hours even if it was only the odorant. We are going to demand that there be no type of activity during school hours, Galicki said. They can release the gas and they can control everything but the wind, Pugh said. Obviously they did smell gas here, its a concern, and we had a few other businesses in the area, including a supermarket that temporarily evacuated. Pugh said such problems can be avoided Through timely notification and following protocol. Classes resumed, but many parents came to take their children home, Galicki said, a fact made obvious when his press briefing was interrupted by an announcement over the public address system calling a long list of students to the main entrance for early dismissal. A notice from Williams pipeline company dated Sept. 20 was posted to the townships website alerting those in the area venting might occur between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1. The township said gas venting is planned for the Perry Metering Station near Demunds Road. The Department of Environmental protection sent two inspectors and an emergency-response team member from its Bureau of Air Quality to investigate, said DEP Spokeswoman Colleen Connolly. Representatives from Williams were not immediately available. The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$ $SRBC Public Comments Part 1 At a meeting on December 15, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) was to consider several water withdrawal applications from gas operators, and vote on proposed regulations that speed up approvals of gas development projects and the transport of hazardous drilling wastewater. Jay Sweeney, who testified at the hearing, filed this report: There was about an hour or two of awesome testimony. All opposing the withdrawals. After a break they began reviewing the applications one by one. One was recommended to be denied and a couple reduced volumes of water withdrawal, but, when they continued to recommend applications the crowd got confrontational. There were questions, calling out, finally a mic check. It ended in shouts of Whose water? Our water. The chairwoman called for a motion to approve the applications. There was a motion, a second, a vote and the meeting was adjourned. Then a demonstration ensued! This is what happened (see video above). People care about the river, and they care about water. Today they spoke up. Background: The Susquehanna River Basin Commission coordinates the use of water resources among Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania—the three states across which the river flows for over 400 miles—and the federal government. The Commissions work is governed by a Compact adopted in 1970 by the U.S. Congress and legislatures of the three member states. In November, the SRBC received a letter signed by more than 40 organizations across the region urging the Commission to stop its rulemaking on gas drilling until it conducts necessary comprehensive environmental studies. The entire list of Pennsylvania water contaminations from fracking. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf$