Paula S.: Butler County PA

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Exposure: Natural Gas processing plant on route to work 

Air Contamination: H2S - Hydrogen Sulfide 

Human Health Impact • Headaches • Nosebleeds • Dizziness • Vomiting • Vertigo 

I don’t know if it is the Sjogrens Syndrome or just hypersensitivity that renders me the proverbial “canary in a coal mine.” My immune system took a hit on December 8, 2011... two or three seconds of exposure from inside an enclosed car has taken months of recovery. I’m angry. I was doing so well, with energy like I hadn’t had in years, and it was taken away in less than five seconds. 

On Thursday, December 8, 2011, as I made my way home from Zelienople traversing the countryside as I did on a daily basis, I was assaulted by a nasty smell. A few seconds of inhalation elapsed before I realized what was happening and jumped to turn off the heater. A few seconds of a noxious odor akin to rotten eggs wafted its way into my car. My husband would later tell me that it might have been H2S – Hydrogen Sulfide. I had just passed by a gas processing plant that had sprung up along Route 528 near the Upper Harmony extension. Two seconds of inhalation of something instantly caused a tingling sensation on my scalp, quickly followed by an intense all over headache and numbness to the back of my head. I was concerned that I may not make it home since I was near the halfway point. I kept driving while keeping tabs on what I was feeling. I just wanted to be as far away from that smell as possible. 

When I experience numbness to the back of my head it means that my adrenals are under stress. When I got home I took supplements to boost adrenal support. I also took Rescue Remedy because I felt that I had been assaulted. The tingling, numbness, and headache slowly subsided over a period of days. Lack of energy was left in its wake. I took a multitude of naps because I had no energy. I also experienced extreme irritability and edginess. My nerves were totally shot. My calm demeanor had become volatile.

I read later that all of the symptoms I had experienced were indeed signs of H2S exposure, right down to the irritability and volatility. I purchased a respirator.

I have opted to travel a different way to work. My route may change again as I try to avoid more drilling sites. If I keep rerouting myself, soon it will take me an hour to get to work instead of 25 minutes. I’m not crazy about adding the extra miles to the car, not to mention the money spent on gasoline. It’s sort of perverse that I need to burn more fuel to avoid what makes me sick. If the pace of growth continues there may be no way for me to avoid exposure. I wonder if I can drive with a respirator? Will the police pull me over for wearing a mask?

This past week I went to my doctor. I talked to her about my ordeal. She tested me for presence of toxins. I tested positive for chemical exposure. She put me on a supplement to help rid my body of the toxins and also increased my adrenal support. Overall, my system has taken a hit. In the meantime, I try to work my way back to where I was and avoid exposure. 

After monthly visits to my doctor my system is getting better. I am not sure when I will need to use the respirator.

I hear that a processing plant is going in a couple of miles due west of my home. I wonder if I will be able to stay here. But where do I go? My family is here. My job is here. 

- Paula S.

John Slesinger: Cambria County PA 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014 

Water Contamination: TDS - 3,590 ppm 

Industry Dishonesty/Disregard: Apparent withholding of information that jeopardized public health 

Oversight Failure: Neglecting to act on information about failed well casing. 

Loss of Property Value 

A coal company owns property adjacent to mine and leased this property for drilling. I was unaware that a gas well was going to be drilled 2,700 feet from my house. Shortly after the well was drilled, our water well became contaminated. This occurred in December 2009, and I have been hauling my own water ever since. I have never been supplied with a drop of drinking water since the drillers, T&F Exploration, contaminated my well. I live in a rural area that was beautiful and once had safe, perfectly good water. This is no longer the case. 

The contaminants in my water pointed to gas well contaminants. Of course the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the driller denied this. Acceptable levels of TDS, total dissolved solids, for drinking water are 500 ppm; the total dissolved solids found in my water, after testing, were 3,590 ppm. I am currently involved in a lawsuit, which is still in the “discovery” phase. It can still take a year or more to go to court. 

A gas well expert with over 25 years’ experience, hired by my attorney, met with me and reviewed all the drilling records and water samples. He found the answer in the drilling records. Drilling logs show that when cementing the casing in 2009, 15 barrels of cement (about 5,600 pounds), plus water and drilling fluids, disappeared into what is called a “thief zone,” or a fracture, which obviously led to my drinking water fracture. This happened in December 2009 and again in October 2010 when the well was abandoned and cemented shut. The documented loss of cement and the amount of chemicals in my water match. The expert hired by my attorney says that the DEP and the driller had these documents the whole time, while they both denied that any proof existed. Documents will show this proof which is described as undeniable. The DEP signed off on a cement casing job that they knew had been done incorrectly. The DEP lied and the drilling company treated me as though I did not exist.

At one point, I requested permission to enter the property when the drilling was in process. I watched as black, foamy fracking fluid filled a plastic lined pit to overflowing. Some of this fluid was captured and trucked away; the rest was just buried right on the property, plastic pit and all. I called and reported this. The drilling company was cited for “improper capsulation of waste.” I am not sure that any fine was issued. I was also promised that core samples would be taken to assess contamination, but never heard a word from the DEP again.

I have been fighting this for 777 days. I want to move, but I am stuck in limbo right now. Who will buy a house with no potable water? There are disclosures on seller agreements now regarding leased property. It must be disclosed whether or not there is a lease on your property or neighboring properties. This will certainly affect the willingness of a lender to grant mortgage approval.

I feel violated and helpless. These people have control of my life. 

Finally, this past week a lawsuit was filed in Cambria County Court against the driller, T&F Exploration. I can now share the details of what my attorney’s group found, and I thank all of them. Even if the court does not find in my favor, I now know the truth. 

- John Slesinger 

Laura Amos: Encana CO 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Exposure: Four wells less than 1,000 feet from home 

Water Contamination: • Methane • 2-BE 

Human Health Impact: Tumor in adrenal gland 

Industry Dishonest/Disregard: Bully tactics; Lied about using 2-BE in fracking 

Laura Amos, Larry Amos, and their daughter, Lauren, live south of Silt in the heart of Encana, Colorado’s industrial wasteland. 

They were among the first in their area to have natural gas drilling on their property. They were also among the unfortunate who did not own the mineral rights under their property. 

Encana sent a kind, older gentleman who sat at their kitchen table and told them more or less, “I feel for you, but you own the surface. We own the minerals, and we’re coming in to drill. Here’s the Surface Use Agreement. You can sign it, but you don’t have to. If you sign it, you get a check for $3,000. If you don’t sign, you get no financial reimbursement for any damages that may occur.” 

In May 2001, while fracturing four wells on their neighbors’ property (less than 1,000 feet* from their house on what’s known as the G33 pad), the gas well operator “blew up” the Amos’s water well. Fracturing created or opened a fracture or fault between their water well and the gas well, sending the cap of the Amos’s water well flying and blowing their water into the air like a geyser at Yellowstone. Immediately their water turned gray, had a horrible smell, and bubbled like 7-Up. Water production dropped drastically from 15 gallons per minute to nothing or near nothing. 

Tests of their water showed 14 milligrams (mg) per liter of methane. They were warned to make sure there were no closets or pockets in their home where the gas could build up and explode. They tested the water in the Amos’s well a couple more times that summer, ending in August 2001. 

In the spring of 2003, Laura became very ill. She spent months in doctors’ offices and hospitals. She was eventually diagnosed with Primary Hyperaldosteronism, a very rare condition of a tumor in her adrenal gland. None of her doctors had any idea of how she could have acquired such a rare disease. The tumor and her adrenal gland had to be removed. From August 2001 until January 2004, no testing was done on their water. Their daughter was only 6 months old when fracturing blew up their water well. Laura bathed Lauren in that water every day. She also continued breast-feeding her for 18 more months until she was 2 years old. During that time the tumor was developing in Laura’s adrenal gland. If there was a chemical in her body causing her tumor, Lauren was exposed to it as well. 

Encana’s spokesman, Walt Lowrey, assured several of the Amos’s neighbors and the Amoses themselves that the toxic chemical 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE) was NOT used in fracking on their property. In addition, Lowrey told many reporters in western Colorado, Denver, and the Associated Press that 2-BE was not used on the pad or anywhere in this area. However, on January 31, 2005, Laura learned that the industry had not been telling the truth. They fractured 2,000 feet below the surface, and they DID use 2-BE. 

According to newspaper accounts, the plaintiff’s lawyer obtained documents providing that chemicals present in the drinking water were used in the defendant’s fracking fluids. Laura Amos now has a gag order, nondisclosure agreement and settled out of court in a lawsuit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Responsible Environmental Management of Oil and Natural Gas in New Brunswick Rules for Industry  (February 15, 2013)

“The operator must not locate an oil or gas well head or a battery or a flare end, or a compressor station or a gas conditioning plant within: a) 500 metres [1640 feet] of an elementary school, middle school, high school, hospital, or nursing home; b) 250 metres [820 feet] of a dwelling; c) 250 metres [820 feet] of a place of outdoor public concourse such as a playground, fairground, outdoor theatre or campground; and d) 100 metres [330 feet] of any other permanent building, railway, pipeline, or public road.”

“Well pads are not permitted within 250 metres [820 feet] of a water well or a spring or a reservoir serving as an individual water supply, or within 250 metres [820 feet] of a surface water intake feeding into an individual water supply.”

Deborah Rogers: Fort Worth TX 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Exposure: Drilling near her home by Chesapeake 

Harm: Water Contamination: 16 Toxic compounds found on her property including: Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, Chloroform, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Disulfides 

Human Health Impact: Nausea, Severe nosebleeds, Severe headaches 

Animal Health Impact: Asphyxiated goats and chicks 

Oversight Failures: • Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) hotline response time was unsatisfactory; TCEQ’s toxic vapor analyzers are not sensitive enough to pick up VOCs

      Deborah Rogers, a financial analyst, has a professional knowledge of the many numbers related to the price of natural gas, exportation, and the potential economic impact on citizens in the United States. She calls shale gas drilling “a failed economic model.” While Deborah understands the issues associated with the industry from an economic standpoint, she also has experienced the negative impacts from this industry on a personal level. 

Deborah reported egregious odors to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) hotline shortly after drilling began near her home in April 2010 and did not receive a prompt response. Subsequent testing showed that all of the sulfur compounds found on her property were above short- and long-term TCEQ Effects Screening Levels. Carbon disulfide was 300 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) normal standard for ambient urban air. Another round of testing found toxic compounds, including benzene, barely below the new TCEQ long-term levels and carbon disulfide about 250 times the norm for ambient urban air. 

Deborah has experienced nausea from the strong odors and two massive nosebleeds that began with severe headaches. According to Deborah, “The nosebleeds are spontaneous and very frightening because the blood flows copiously, and within seconds, you are covered in blood-your face, your hands, your clothes. I have never had nosebleeds in my life either.” 

The evening after her first environmental tests, two baby goats and 6 baby chicks were asphyxiated. The senior veterinary toxicologist at Texas A&M University wrote a letter of concern after test results concluded that the compounds were problematic to the animals’ health and to the food chain. These compounds, when ingested or inhaled, magnify potency further up the food chain in milk and meat. 

For Additional information: www.earthworksaction.org/voices/detail/deborah_rogers 

Tim & Christine Ruggiero: Wise County TX 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014 

Name: Tim and Christine Ruggiero and Family 

Location: Wise County, Texas 

Water Contamination: Benzene • Methane • Sodium • Heavy Metals 

Air Contamination: Methane • Sodium • Heavy Metals 

Human Health Impact: Loss of sensation in extremities • Rashes • Nausea • Memory loss • Asthma 

Oversight Failures: • Failure to notify neighbors of the occurrence of a spill; Delay in taking samples after spills occur; The companies self-report the findings 

Loss of Property Value: 75% Loss of Value $257,330 to $75,240 

Aruba Petroleum began drilling on a property adjacent to Tim and Christine Ruggiero’s in August 2009. On September 16, Aruba began drilling two wells on the Ruggiero property. Since that time, they have experienced several spills, a possible methane seep where bubbles ignite, constant emissions from various stages of the extraction process and noise pollution. They have had several Texas Commission Environmental Quality (TCEQ) air studies as well as private testings that show toxins exceed standards, including benzene at 120 ppb. 

The Ruggiero’s ten-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with asthma. Christine has experienced rashes, nausea and memory loss. Tim has loss of sensation in his extremities. 

Their home and 10-acre horse property have been devalued from $257,330 to $75,240. Because they and their neighbor do not own the mineral rights under their land, Aruba was able to drill next to their neighbor’s home and under the Ruggiero’s property, where they keep their horses, without consent or notice. In fact, the day they started drilling the company cut down their fence where the horses were grazing. They were not told ahead of time that the company planned to drill there. 

Although Aruba put up a sound barrier, it is not long enough to cover the length of the house, so it does not help with the noise. They have a clear view of the rig and wastewater pit. On the afternoon of October 29th 2009, Christine reports that while she was in the kitchen, she noticed a black smoky liquid shooting across the pit onto the ground and into the neighbor’s trees. There was not an Aruba employee in sight, so Christine called the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC), and filed a complaint. Aruba only cleaned up the spill after the TRC arrived. Samples of the ground were not taken until 5 days after the spill occurred, and Aruba had watered the area down for 5 days. Christine was told that Aruba would conduct the tests and report the findings to the TRC. The TRC found problems with the pit that needed to be corrected. The TRC admitted that the areas should be tested for carcinogens, benzenes and hydrocarbons. 

As Christine states, “Don’t self-report the spill and you don’t have to self-report what was in the spill, clean it up, and fill out all that paperwork. They [Aruba] exist for profit and profit only. Surface right owners are a mere nuisance and are expendable.” 

Darrell Smitsky: Washington County PA 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Water Contamination: • Toluene • Acrylonitrile • Strontium • Barium • Manganese 

Human Health Impact: • Rashes on legs from showering 

Animal Health Impact: • Eight healthy goats dead; Fish in pond showing abnormal scales 

Darrell Smitsky’s family has occupied their rural home for more than four decades, and prior to Marcellus drilling, their well water was well-known in the area for its excellent quality and taste. Not long after drilling began, the Smitsky’s water started looking and tasting funny, so they quit drinking it. Strange things began to happen around anything associated with water on their property. Darrell had eight healthy goats as Marcellus drilling got underway around him, but over a period of several months, five of the goats died, dropping off one by one. Darrell recalls that tragic time this way, “It was like their back legs became paralyzed, and I would have to carry them into the barn. I tried various supplements and other things, but nothing worked.” 

The fish in a small backyard pond began exhibiting strange symptoms as well, with their scales breaking down and becoming translucent, prior to death. Water plants they purchased from a local pond store turned brown and died. It finally became obvious that their well water and surface water were causing these impacts. Even though Darrell’s family began buying bottled water for drinking and cooking, they continued to shower in well water. The Smitskys have developed brown rashes on the front of their lower legs, identical to other shale-fracking victims who live five miles away in Rea, Pennsylvania.

It was originally believed that no gas wells were drilled within a distance of 1,000 feet, but Darrell later learned that his water well was within 1,000 feet of a Marcellus well they drilled on a farm across the road. Since this “less than 1,000 feet” proximity was never revealed prior to these incidents, Darrell’s water well never received the required baseline testing before and after drilling. Why is this important? Drilling is presumed to have caused water well contamination if it occurs within 1,000 feet of drilling within 6 months.

Darrell’s well water tests indicated serious problems that also pointed directly to drilling contamination, especially when compared to other area water well tests close to drilling. Acrylonitrile appeared at an alarming level in Darrell’s water test, being 130 times higher than the permitted level in a Pennsylvania stream. 

For Additional inforwmation: www.marcellus-shale.us/Darrell-Smitsky.htm 

Card Creek’s Exceptional Value Wetland

Potter County, Pa. 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Because of my immaculate quality, which has been naturally preserved within the mountains by which I am fed and sheltered, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had declared me Exceptional Value. But despite being classified among the best quality water in the Commonwealth, my wealth is not valued by all, in common. In fact, risk-laden activity is permitted by the Commonwealth to take place within my watershed - and one natural gas company even built right on top of me.

In August 2009, a major violation was issued to Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE), a gas company the Commonwealth permitted to horizontally drill and fracture in my watershed, uphill from my tributaries, which feed public and private drinking water systems in the valley below. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the violation, as they are the ones charged with my protection.

PGE had built their well site on top of me, an Exceptional Value wetland, by not building its site according to plans approved by the DEP and adding an impoundment pond to hold fluids. Despite these acts, PGE was allowed to continue operations - until the National Army Corp of Engineers overrode the Commonwealth and issued a cease order - stopping further work by PGE until the matter was resolved.

PGE hired a company called Moody & Associates to assess me. They determined that, contrary to what the Commonwealth and Army Corp of Engineers said, I am not a wetland, and therefore not of Exceptional Value. After over a year of back and forth PGE was eventually allowed to continue their work, drilling and fracking several more wells and adding buildings, pipes, and large tanks.

All this was allowed to happen even though the company had broken the law, not just by building on top of me without permission, but for other illegal construction at other Exceptional Value watersheds not far from me.

The United States of America, the Nation I “find myself” in, has a collective Clean Water Act, since we, water systems, don’t adhere to the artificial borders of individual States. This National law requires States to protect and preserve the quality of the waters within those borders.

Pennsylvania has classified “its” waters based on their uses according to humans, such as Potable Water Source, Habitat or Recreation Area. I and all other EV water bodies qualify for the most stringent regulations in the state in order to protect our delicate and pristine ecosystems.

Despite these laws, I and my EV neighbors will never be the same. We can’t, because once shale gas extraction infrastructure, taking up many acres, is in place - it never goes away.

You can see me, my story, and those of my neighboring EV waters, in Triple Divide, a new documentary. Visit www.TripleDivideFilm.org for more...

William Sciscoe: Mayor of Dish, Texas 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014 

   Run for your life! Run for the lives, health, safety and well-being of your family members and loved ones! Run for the value of your estate! There are billions of dollars under your feet and people are coming to get it. They do not care who or what they have to run over or through to get it. It is an under-ground gold rush, with you and your property in the way. 

They have the legal right to take control of your property and do with it what they will. Their rights trump the rights of all others. They can and will take any portion of your property they want and turn it into a heavy industrial zone, toxic waste site and visual eyesore, which will spew toxins, carcinogens and noise. 

In September of 2011, I visited Ithaca, New York. My airplane-type club buddies and I meet in beautiful locales several times a year, and Ithaca was the current choice. Two thoughts kept running through my mind in the several days I spent there. One, I was glad I got to see this area up close before it gets destroyed. Two, these people do not have any idea how much their world is about to change. 

I, too once lived in a serene, ideal, and beautiful place. In the mid 1980′s I moved my young and growing family out to some acreage thirty miles northwest of Dallas/Ft. Worth, on the beautiful rolling green hills of North Texas, with the clean air, peace and quiet of country life. We built a home. We shared the land with my aging parents, and my wife’s aging parents. We raised five great young Americans, and some cows and horses. Our children developed into two Eagle Scouts/U.S. Marines (one is at the U.S. Naval Academy and the other, an Afghanistan war vet, is now serving on the USS Iwo Jima); a veterinarian-technician; a popular radio host/sports commentator; and a Lear Jet mechanic/avionics technician. Life was good for us there. 

Then the heavy trucks started to roll in. And then more heavy trucks. And bulldozers and rock trucks roll in. And drilling platforms arrive, with support trucks and service trucks. A diesel-powered drilling rig, grinding into the earth around the clock for 7 to 30 days, with banging and clanging drill pipes. Then the twenty trucks haul it to the next well site a very short distance away. Following this, trenching machines bigger than houses, scarring the earth from each well head to the compressor stations. They are making way for the high pressure gas pipelines. And sand trucks roll in and out. And water trucks are everywhere. And pipe trucks. And work-over rigs. And then the frac trucks come in. And more trucks, hauling in storage tanks, pipes and valves. This is a procession that happens at every well head. And the well heads will be much closer than you can imagine. But please be advised that it does not end with the completion of the well head. It is an ongoing process. The heavy wastewater trucks will be on your roads 24/7/365 from now on. Where are they hauling all of that radioactive, toxic wastewater to, you should be asking yourself? 

Of course, when the production of a gas well diminishes, it will need to be fracked again. So, some of this process will be repeated several times. 

Calvin Tillman:  Former Mayor of Dish, Texas 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Imagine finding your dream home in the country; a place that you can raise your family in peace and quiet, with room to roam, and raise horses to ride. You invest your life savings into this home, because it is the place you have waited your whole life to own. You spend the next several years remodeling, building fences, constructing barns for the horses, and making this place exactly where you want to spend the rest of your life. 

Now imagine a company moving in next door against the will of everyone in the area, including the owners of the property that they are developing. On this heavy industrial site there will be over a dozen massive engines that create massive amounts of noise and odor, so the quiet country community that you moved to, is quiet no more. No more sitting outside for the quiet cool Texas evenings that we enjoyed during the spring and fall, and no more enjoying the beautiful Texas sunsets. Now the only thing you hear outside is the roar of 3,500 horsepower engines roaring 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

If that were all, the situation would be bad enough, but then heavy industrial equipment has to remove the impurities from the natural gas that they process and move out into the pipelines with their massive compressor engines. They take the liberty of releasing these impurities in the air around your dream home, which causes a noxious odor like many could not imagine. If the unbearable noise were not enough, the odor makes it so you can not stand to be outside, and unfortunately the odors creep into the house through the vents, so you have no place to hide. You wake up one day and realize that the quiet country living that you moved to, is now a dirty, noisy, and smelly industrial zone. You may as well be living next to a refinery or chemical factory on the Gulf Coast. 

If that were all, the situation would be horrible, but then realize that when the odor is at its strongest your children get massive nosebleeds. Imagine the realization that comes when you realize that the natural gas processing facility and compressor station is releasing carcinogens and neurotoxins, and that is what is causing your children to have nosebleeds. Then comes that moment when you realize that you can no longer live in your dream home. To protect the health of your children, you are forced to move away, take your kids away from their school and friends, and give up your dream. 

You think that what I just described could not happen in America, but it does, and it is happening everyday. You will also think that there is no way this will happen to you, but I personally know hundreds of families in the same situation. If you live in the middle of a natural gas field, this will happen to somebody, and it may be you. That is unless you stand up and choose to do something to prevent it. 

-Calvin Tillman

Marilyn Hunt: Wetzel County WV

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014 

Exposure: Multiple Wells in the Area 

Harm: • Water Contamination: Acrylonitrile 

Human Health Impact: Flu-like symptoms 

Animal Health Impact: Deformed and dying chicks

Thirty years ago, we moved to Wetzel County. It was a quiet farming community crisscrossed with tiny country roads, abundant wildlife, strong families and churches, and blessed with clear night skies. Our water was clear and pure. It seemed like the perfect place to farm. 

That all started to change in 2009. Convoys of trucks started coming in. Land men started making the rounds and trouble started. 

Land men were very aggressive, gathering intelligence like CIA operatives, so they could pit one family member or one neighbor against another. Some unscrupulous land men even took advantage of older folks - sneaking into their homes while their caregivers were out and getting signatures on documents that sold their rights away. Marriages broke up, families fell apart, and longtime friendships were lost over disagreements about money and drilling. 

Our local services and our way of life were overloaded and seriously altered. Serious crime exploded and our emergency responders weren’t equipped to handle the industrial accidents. We didn’t have enough jail space to handle the criminals, many of them drillers from outside the area. Our quiet country roads were pocked with potholes. 

A meeting was called and residents of the area were invited to hear the drillers talk about their operations. They assured us that the process they used was perfectly safe, that they were injecting just water and sand into the ground. They said that the only way anything could go wrong is if there were an accident or an anomaly. Days later I was alarmed when I saw trucks pulling up with pallets and tanks of chemicals. If it was just sand and water, what were these chemicals?

The lawlessness went far beyond assaults and thievery, as we were soon to find out. We decided that we would not lease even though the drillers had designs on our farm.

This, apparently, got some people upset. There were infringements upon our rights. There were attempts at intimidation. We were run off the road, there were attempts to change our property lines, and we caught a tanker truck emptying its contents on a local road without a permit.

Then we started getting sick. In December 2009, we all came down with flu-like symptoms. Drinking water seems perfectly natural when you are sick - and our water was good. There were no smells or tastes but we did notice white flecks that we had never noticed before. It never occurred to us, though, that water might have been contaminated so far from the actual drilling. We assumed we were safe, insulated from harm by our 70-acre farm. We were over a mile from the nearest well. But then a neighbor called and told us her horses refused to drink the water from her well and it had a chemical smell. She, too, was over a mile from a drilling site.

Chicks we were raising drank the water. Soon after, they developed elongated beaks. Many developed neurological symptoms. They were unable to stand. The dying chicks moved their bodies in circles and died.

My husband, Robert, a scientist with several patents to his name, tested the water and found acrylonitrile. Acrylonitrile is highly flammable and toxic and had migrated over a mile from the drill site. We have the findings of the volunteer lab and a private commercial lab. My neighbor has the deepest well in the area and her test results included benzene, toluene, and pages of other chemicals.

We used to live the American dream; we had a middle class existence. Now we’re on a camping trip without the fun. We collect rain water to water the stock and we’ve set up a special system to treat the rainwater for our drinking water. I’m not sure if people realize how critical water is to our lives. We need it to drink, bathe, clean, cook, wash clothes, and it is also critical to our animals. 

This country was set up to give all of its citizens certain rights. What seems to be happening is that we are sliding back to a tiered system where different people get different rights. We are in the midst of a prolonged and intense civil and human rights crisis. 

The gas and oil industry buy the allegiance of our government officials with legalized bribes called campaign contributions. And who pays the steepest price? It’s the poor and marginalized. 

Some people have benefitted from this invasion but most people are no better off than when this “boom” hit Wetzel County. Some people have more money but the quality of their lives is no better and is often worse. You can’t live without clean air and water, and is life really living if you are nothing more than a serf? My father landed at Normandy and fought his way across Europe to protect our freedoms. People need to stand up and fight for the government we were promised or we will lose all that so many gave so much for. We in America have become a beacon of hope and resolution to those who live under totalitarian and repressive regimes. 

- Marilyn Hunt

Randy Moyer: Cambria County PA 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Exposure: Wastewater, flaring, abatements; Randy was responsible for hauling, emptying and cleaning waste water tanks and mats. 

Harm: Human Health Impact Severe Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, extremities, and genitals. Severe pain in spine and back Burning rashes, Dizziness, Lung impairment, Kidney and liver problems Irregular heart rhythm, Memory loss, Swelling of digestive tract and extreme heartburn, Constant ringing in the ears, Blurry vision 

Oversight Failure: Wastewater improperly categorized as residual waste. Industry Dishonesty/Disregard. Not provided proper training or safety equipment Workers not informed as to contents of wastewater 

Loss of Income: Loss of $6,000/month as trucker 

I’ve been driving trucks since 1994. In August 2011 I started driving for a small water-hauling outfit in East Freedom, in Blair County, PA. Every day was different. Some days I’d carry mud but most days I’d haul wastewater from fracked wells to treatment plants. They’d lower the Ph and then I’d haul it back to the wells for another frack job. I didn’t know exactly what was in the brine. It was an endless parade of trucks on those back roads. Some nights there would 350 trucks on just for one pad. 

On the pads it was common for them to set up a makeshift containment pit out of sheets of plastic and a pipe frame; kind of like an aboveground pool. This was to hold the wastewater after it flowed back from the well. We’d use our trucks to drain them out and once they were almost empty, part of the job was to get in there and squeegee out all the dirt and mud. Others would spray in hot water and I’d squeegee. The more they spayed and the longer I stayed in the wetter my feet got. It would soak through my boots. Some guys would go in there in their bare feet to avoid getting their boots wet. We weren’t told what we were dealing with. We weren’t given MSDS sheets (material safety data sheets) or any training on any of this stuff. They didn’t provide us any specialized equipment or gear because they don’t want to scare the public. The only thing we were required to wear was a flame resistant coat. If the public sees guys in hazmat suits they’re going to start to ask questions. The drilling companies would rather endanger the public and the workers than answer too many questions. We just followed orders. If you asked too many questions, you were labeled a tree-hugger and you were gone. They don’t want any tree-huggers. 

Sometimes we’d go in the tanks. They’d use the super sucker to clean them out. In there you would wear a hardhat and goggles but no mask. In the tank you’d spray hot water to clean out the frack fluid. You couldn’t see but an inch from your nose because of the steam. Eventually all the drivers are going to get sick like I have. It’s all airborne. 

I had to stop working in November 2011. I was too sick. I have a hard time breathing and use an inhaler. I get dizzy and my vision is blurred. Sometimes I go into a room and forget why I’m there. I get migraines so bad I can’t think. If I get anywhere near a frack site or a compressor station I throw up. This stuff gets into your eyes and ears. My tongue, lips, and limbs all swelled up. I’ve had three teeth snap off. The first two broke while I was eating garlic bread and spaghetti. I have burning rashes all over my body that jump from place to place. My heart acts like a pumping station for this junk and moves it throughout my body. It moves up my arm to my chest and then down to my genitals and butt. There were days this past winter when all I could do was lay on the floor in my house with the doors open to cool me down. My skin felt like it was on fire. 

The first time I went to an emergency room was straight from a well pad. I showed a supervisor the rash on my chest and he sent me. Since then, I’ve been to the emergency room 10 more times and have seen over 40 specialists in PA and WV. One told me that I had bed bugs. Another said it must be a food allergy. It only took me four months on the gas rigs to get this stuff in me and now no one seems to know how to get it out. 

On my best day, I have two good hours and then I’m spent. I’ve got two tractor-trailers sitting at my brother’s place that I’ll never drive again. I can’t go back to driving trucks. 

I’ve heard stories of other guys that have it like I do and have taken their own life. I’m a fighter. That’s how God made me. I go to church 3 times a week. No matter what I’m going through, God is still King and he’ll always be. If He brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it. I just pray he gives me enough time to see my seven year-old grow up a bit. 

Randy Moyer 

A Life Lost in: the Rush to Drill: 

The CJ Bevins Story 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014 

   As people skeptical of the gas industry, we are used to bad news. We shake our heads knowingly when we hear about another illegal dumping of frack waste. We scribble pages of statistics as the scientific community publishes newer findings of the dangerous health risks related to horizontal drilling. We pass reports through social networks of semi-truck wrecks, destroyed country roads and explosions. It is very easy to find ourselves in a frack pit of despair, apprehensive that the next article will be the one to finally knock us permanently on our backs. 

But there is a less talked about risk in fracking circles: worker safety. It is an aspect that many ignore. After all, no one is forced to put on a hard hat, just as no one is forced to sign a lease with a gas company. But if the industry can lie to and deceive a landowner, couldn’t they just as easily lie to and deceive an employee? Or worse, poison, endanger and threaten them? Even injure or kill them? 

On May 1, 2011, my son and his coworkers were hurriedly erecting a drill site in Smyrna, NY. The site was extremely hazardous. AWD vehicles were sinking into the mud and ruts were thigh and even waist deep. Supervisors requested, then demanded, more mats to cover the work area. But the company answered that they were too expensive, and pushed the workers to continue. As a result, Charles E. Bevins III, my sweet, sweet boy, was pinned and crushed between an industrial sized forklift and a building when the weight of the forklift on the unstable ground gave way. 

The remote, hidden location which affords so many drilling sites less scrutiny, was not mutually beneficial to my son. The sprint to the Syracuse hospital took over an hour. I’m told the last thing his coworkers heard him say as they loaded him into the ambulance was, “Am I gonna die?” My only son, 23 years old, died repeatedly until the doctors could no longer revive him. My only son, died with no family or friends at his side, to hold him and comfort him. Every night when I go to bed my thoughts are haunted with what his last thoughts must have been...how scared he was...his pain. 

When my son’s body was brought back home, we buried him on our property after keeping him at home one last night. He went into our soil where he had grown up the last 14 years of his life. We buried him among the trees he had cut and planted, the fences he strung and repaired, while the sheep he trimmed and fed overlooked from the meadow. Our family dogs lay quietly among us as we said goodbye and filled his grave with earth. He was supposed to grow old in the house he helped build, not be buried in the woods a stone’s throw from the back door. Our lives became observed, not lived.

The corporations he worked for sent flowers and representatives to his viewing. I found a short paragraph on one of their web sites about sending their condolences and how committed they are to worker safety...this sandwiched between paragraphs about earnings and upcoming events. As far as the news, a local channel did a very short piece acknowledging his death and that there was an ongoing investigation. After many months, OSHA found the companies at fault, and slapped them on the wrist with a whopping $4,900 fine. Both companies have since filed bankruptcy.

In the more than 2 years following the loss of CJ, our eyes have been opened to the substantial amount of injuries and deaths caused by this dangerous industry. We read more and more articles about rig workers injured or killed by electrocutions, explosions, chemical spills and traffic accidents. Our research also unveiled the unregulated inhumane hours they are forced to work and the unsafe environment they are subjected to. This is an industry known for cutting corners and ignoring scientific evidence. As they race against the turning public opinion and the river of negative articles about their practices, I believe their desperation and blatant disregard for safety will only get worse. Their arrogance will continue to leave environments, communities, and especially their workers, at risk.

How is it possible we live in a world where an industry can poison and pollute with little repercussions? Where their workers are expendable and a death can be brushed aside as part of another day’s work? How many once complete families will be left incomplete?

My daughter Charlotte began working with Senator Tony Avello of Queens, to forward a bill (CJ’s Law) to protect workers. We are beginning to introduce similar legislation in West Virginia and hopefully other states, like Pennsylvania, as well. Josh Fox has recently put together a short documentary to make the public aware of the worker’s plight and the disproportionate amount of death the oil and gas corporations allow, in comparison to all other industries in the U.S. The industry’s mantra of, “Well, this is just a dangerous line of work” should no longer be accepted by the workers, their families, or the public.

David & Linda Headley: Fayette County PA 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Location: Springhill Township, Fayette County, PA 

Exposure: Shallow wells; Marcellus well; Transmission pipes; Well Pads on Property 

Water Contamination: Natural spring that ignites from leaked gas 

Human Health Impact: Crippling stomach issue 

Oversight Failure: Leaking wells 

Industry Dishonesty/Disregard: 10 acres of land burned by workers 

We have been residents of Fayette County for 28 years. We have owned our current residence for seven years. Our rural community in Springhill Township was a serene, safe, picturesque small town, situated along the Monongahela and Cheat Rivers, nestled in the foothills of the glorious Allegheny Mountains. Life here was quiet. This was a beautiful place to live and raise our family, far from the bustle of the city. This was before the drilling. 

We first noticed the gas activity when bulldozers invaded our hay fields to build access roads to well pads. It began only about 6 weeks after we signed on the land, having bought it with the mineral rights, but without the oil and gas rights. Since coal mining was the issue around here and there had been little to no gas activity left in the area, we were made not to worry about the potential for development, and moved ahead with plans to build our dream home. This was before anyone knew the name Marcellus. Yet, in 7 years’ time, the man who owns the rights has put 4 shallow wells, one Marcellus well, and a pipeline across the property. We had no idea they could do this to the land or us. 

The truck traffic is constant. Land damages were of course immediate. Trucks, noise, dust, and nomadic workers followed. Then came the pollution of our air and water, then deforestation and the destruction of fruit trees. They even managed to burn 10 acres of ground with a brush fire, set with used motor oil from a bulldozer’s oil change! Every hour, once an hour, it sounds like a landing jet visits our once quiet farm as well. 

We have even had multiple leaking wells for over a year, ignored by the operators, and now we have a spring 200 feet from our house which is now so rich with gas, it can be set on fire. Doctor visits have become commonplace. Our 4-year-old son has mysterious stomach issues that cripple him with pain; we do not have any answers, yet. 

Then came the transmission pipelines along with more nomadic workers and thousands of gallons of drilling chemicals in our beautiful, trout-stocked stream! And why? All because of an uncaring, dirty industry, driven by greed, selling their souls, and leaving our health, environment, and rights behind as waste. When will this nightmare end? 

Dozens of neighbors and communities in whole have suffered. One next-door neighbor’s well was contaminated. They had to get municipal water after the industry denied responsibility. We know of at least 3 families having serious health problems; they have had to seek legal assistance. Increased loads on rural roads have led to numerous accidents and incidents. Crimes in the area have increased. 

Our experience with our local and state officials and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has been mostly not caring, not responding, or denying. Those who do care usually express feelings of helplessness or frustration. Most say the industry lobbying and money is hard to fight against. Others admit that they are now called the “Don’t Expect Protection” and therein lies the truth. 

Our once peaceful existence has forever changed. This industry is a loose cannon; we need to get a handle on it. Add layers of protection for all our people. Regulate and hold the industry accountable. Please slow the acceleration of this industry. Safe extraction and concern for the environment is a must! If we could put a man on the moon 40 years ago, we can find a better, safer, healthier way to fuel our future and our children’s future. 

We have many photos, videos, and water and soil samples. Our air samples are pending. It’s too late for us. But we are willing to share anything that may help someone else. 

David Headley 

Terry Greenwood: Washington County PA 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Location: Daisytown

Animal Health Impact: Lost 11 head of cattle, 10 of which were stillborn calves 

Industry Dishonesty / Disregard: Company littered and left garbage on property; Removed six acres of hayfields; Cut fences

Loss of Property: 100% loss $125,000 to $0 

Loss of Income: $10,000 per year lost revenue due to loss of cattle 

I am a small town farmer from Western Pennsylvania. Whether horizontal or vertical wells are drilled, there is destruction and contamination from spills and run-off. 

I have lived on this farm since 1988. This property was leased back in 1921. The gas company, Dominion, came to my farm in 2007 and said, “We’re going to drill two wells on your property.” They acted like dictators. They did what they wanted to do. I had no say. 

The wellhead was 285 feet from my pond. There was a spill on my property a short time later. The frack fluid went into my field and pond. My animals drank this water. I lost 11 cattle. A two-year-old cow died, 10 calves were stillborn, and 4 were blind (2 had blue eyes and 2 had white eyes). This affects the animals something terrible. I had to get rid of my bull, because he became sterile. I called the DEP, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. Also, we called the gas company. No one helped me. The DEP sided with the gas company when I called them. I was told by the DEP, “There’s nothing wrong with this. They dump the water.” The damage was done. 

My drinking water went bad in January 2008. It looked like iced tea. When I called the company, they said, “Don’t drink it.” The gas company only tested my well that was for drinking water and my spring. They had no interest in testing the water my animals drank or answering as to what chemicals killed my cattle. They then came and drilled 5 wells to find a water well, but the water was so salty you couldn’t drink it. However, they refused to supply us with water that we could drink. I have been paying $800 a year for water since. 

In my own field, the gas company said, “Get an attorney. Prove it.” They threw garbage on my property and buried frack pits with plastic liners sticking up in places… This is what they do to you. I lost 6 acres of hayfield to the roads they built. They came one day, cut the fence and did what they wanted to do. When I hauled their garbage to the road, because I didn’t want them burying it on my property, they accused me of blocking the road with garbage. They have even taken me to court. 

I sell cattle for food. My business is bad now since it is not nearly as profitable. This has been hard on us and has caused a lot of stress and pressure. I am losing over $10,000 per year in lost cattle and hayfield. Much more money has been lost than has been collected in royalties from the wells on my farm. 

In 2009, a Dominion employee told me, “The wells are drilled. We’re done with you.” These people just ruin your life. 

• Terry Greenwood 

Judy Armstrong Stiles: Bradford County PA 

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Before my family’s nightmare started, I lived a peaceful life in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Our house nestled in a mountain and overlooked the Susquehanna River. There was little traffic in Sugar Run, but plenty of wildlife. It was quiet and clean. My husband, Carl, and I planned on spending our lives in this beautiful Garden of Eden. 

However, we were not the only ones interested in Bradford County. Chesapeake Energy moved into Bradford in 2009 seeking natural gas. With them, they brought promises of clean energy, fair leases on land, little environmental impact, and more jobs. A Chesapeake Energy representative knocked on our door in January 2010. Since Carl and I were in between drilled land, we signed the lease. 

In February 2010, Carl and I started breaking out in terrible rashes on our hands and feet. Our skin would actually peel. Our tap water now had an odor to it and was yellow. The rashes came and went, as did the water problems, so we shrugged it off. 

Then, we started getting stomach aches and had trouble keeping food down. We grew dizzy and tired, and started to forget simple things. Our joints started aching. We saw doctors who tried to figure out what was wrong with us. Our symptoms mirrored so many other diseases and disorders. The doctors could not figure out what the problem was, and our health kept deteriorating. 

In April, a large hole opened in our yard. It emitted a terrible smell, and it leaked a foamy fluid. 

My daughter, Angelina, moved in with us in June 2010. What should have been a happy time turned sour, because within a month, she, too, started getting sick. 

We could not ignore the signs any longer. We consulted an independent water tester from Scranton. We paid them $1,200 to come and test our water. 

In September 2010, news came out that the Susquehanna River contained methane. Shortly after, we received our water tests. We called the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Also, we called Chesapeake. They arrived the same day. They made a visual determination that our water contained methane. We showed them the four-page report from the independent test. Our water contained dangerous levels of lead, methane, propane, ethane, ethene, barium, magnesium, strontium, and arsenic. Chesapeake disregarded the independent test results. The DEP was only concerned about the methane in our water. Chesapeake sent us a five-gallon water cooler; the level of methane in our well did not merit a water buffalo. 

However, we felt that we finally had proof that our health problems were the result of some sort of contamination. I demanded blood tests from my doctor. He found barium and arsenic in my blood. Carl had to pay out of pocket because he did not have health insurance. The test cost $6,000. Since Chesapeake does not have to reveal the chemicals that they use, our doctors could not treat us for fear of causing a reaction with other unknown chemicals or minerals. 

After seeing a realtor who could not sell our house without us “cleaning it up,” Carl, Angelina, and I left our beautiful home and land to live with relatives. We were living off of Chesapeake’s check while their drilling and denial of their accountability were slowly killing us. Meanwhile, our radon tests came back and we also had radon in the air, and trace amounts of radium 226, radium 228, and uranium in our water. 

In February 2011, Carl developed intestinal cancer and had his intestines removed. My daughter, five months pregnant, suffering from seizures, had lead poisoning. We had been out of the house five months and she was one point below toxic. I would like to say that after moving out, our health improved, but it did not. Although the chemical and mineral counts have gone down in my blood, my body is still paying for those high doses. My daughter suffers from daily seizures. She cannot work or drive. My husband, Carl, deteriorated day by day. Unable to handle the loss of memory and speech, as well as the debilitating daily headaches, he took his own life. I don’t blame him. He was in too much pain, and his doctors could not help him. 

I am the family of Judy Armstrong Stiles. I lost my home, my health, and my husband. We are not expendable for natural gas. 

- Judy Armstrong Stiles 

Jaime Frederick: Mahoning County OH

Excerpt from “Shalefield Stories - Personal and Collected Testimonies”

Published by Steel Valley Printers

January 2014

Location: Coitsville

Exposure: • Water Contamination: • Barium • Strontium • Toluene 

Human Health Impact:  Removed gall bladder, numerous surgeries, grapefruit-sized infection in intestine, elevated kidney and liver levels, kidney infections, body pain, difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat 

Loss of Property: 100% loss $125,000 to $0 

Shortly after moving into my home in Coitsville, Ohio, 3 years ago, I became seriously ill. I vomited on a regular basis and had intense abdominal pains every day. After numerous trips to six different doctors and several emergency room visits, I had my gall bladder removed. 

Over the course of the next two years, I underwent five more surgeries in an attempt to repair the grapefruit-sized infection in my intestine, which ate through to the outside of my skin. I continued to get violently ill, had elevated kidney and liver numbers, kidney infections, pain throughout my body, trouble breathing, rapid heartbeat, and many other unexplained symptoms. I saw 18 different doctors who continued to misdiagnose me. Our medical bills burned through our savings. 

Convoys of trucks and drilling equipment rolled down our once quiet road. The neighboring property owner, who lives out of town, had signed a gas lease before we even moved there. Out of the 62 acres signed off by my neighbor, they felt the best place to drill was right by my home, as close as the law would allow. My husband and I paid $500 for a tier 3 test of our water to establish a baseline before the drilling began. Our baseline tests revealed high levels of barium, strontium, toluene and several others. 

We dug deeper. We discovered that several wells had already been drilled and were tucked quietly away in the woods that surrounded our home and other properties. This was never disclosed to us when we bought the house. It’s hard to say which one of the 25 wells within a mile* actually caused the contamination. 

Living through the drilling and fracking phase of the most recent well was a terrifying experience. We were given no notice and had nowhere to evacuate. We were subjected to unbelievable levels of noise, like an airport runway. We couldn’t sleep for days due to the explosions. Worse yet, we could feel the vibration through the house from the drilling. The fracking lasted about 3 days. 

The gas storage tanks and radioactive toxic waste tanks are outside my bedroom window, uphill from a fresh artesian spring on my property. The gas storage tank is now hooked up and regularly releases the pressure, putting fumes into the air and making a lot of noise. A smell similar to rotten eggs and diesel fumes hangs heavy in the air. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), tells me it is perfectly safe, and that I am in more danger breathing in the air in a parking lot. Sorry, ODNR. I don’t live in a parking lot. 

Our little house, in the middle of the woods, will soon be in the middle of a toxic wasteland, as Bocor prepares to cut down the remaining trees to put in the pipelines and compressor stations that will eventually connect the wells. We have already had a blowout of at least one well, a chemical spill, and a tear in a waste pit liner. Forty-seven wells, including injection wells, already cover the 12 square miles that is Coitsville, even surrounding the wildlife preserve. 

Our property value has been reduced from $125,000 to nothing. We have nothing left, having spent every penny on water testing, water filtration equipment, medical bills, and renovating a home in which we thought we were going to raise a family. We check our faucets daily with a lighter, hoping it won’t ignite. My dogs and I feel better these days since we stopped drinking the water. My liver and kidney numbers have improved. I have developed kinetic tremors in my hands as a result of the neurological side effects of some of the chemicals. 

The worst side effect is my concern about safely carrying a child. The doctors fear hemorrhaging or death is possible. If I would become pregnant, there is the risk of birth defects due to the chemicals from my water. I will never take that risk. At the time when I was most sick, drinking the most water, per doctor’s orders. I lay on the bathroom floor, night after night, vomiting, thinking I would surely be dead soon. At that time, I did not know what fracking was, or that I was being deliberately poisoned. But I do now. 

• Jaime Frederick 

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*Responsible Environmental Management of Oil and Natural Gas in New Brunswick Rules for Industry  (February 15, 2013)

“The operator must not locate an oil or gas well head or a battery or a flare end, or a compressor station or a gas conditioning plant within: a) 500 metres [1640 feet] of an elementary school, middle school, high school, hospital, or nursing home; b) 250 metres [820 feet] of a dwelling; c) 250 metres [820 feet] of a place of outdoor public concourse such as a playground, fairground, outdoor theatre or campground; and d) 100 metres [330 feet] of any other permanent building, railway, pipeline, or public road.”

“Well pads are not permitted within 250 metres [820 feet] of a water well or a spring or a reservoir serving as an individual water supply, or within 250 metres [820 feet] of a surface water intake feeding into an individual water supply.”