i do not know the author of this message. it came through the suncrest neighborhood assoc. email dist. list. peggy
----Forwarded Message---- From: wvredsoxfan@yahoo.com To: suncrestna@gmail.com Sent: Mon May 30th, 2011 9:39 PM EDT Subject: Gas Well Development
I worked earlier in my career in the oil and gas drilling industry in Roswell, New Mexico; and Meeker, Colorado with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. I share the following with you;
At the council meeting there were a lot of sincere "environmental" advocates who spoke with great emotional concern for our town. They missed covering some big technical issue associated with drilling in a narrow river valley town like Morgantown. There is no where for polluted air or noise from well operations to go in a small steep river valley town like Morgantown, it becomes trapped.
I have worked around drill pads and drill rigs. There is all kinds of machinery operating on a drill pad, and it is loud and goes 24/7 for economic and engineering reasons. Drill site operations are totally insensitive/non-responsive to impacts on the "local human environment." NOISE is a big factor when it is all bundled up and has nowhere to go, except right into neighborhoods and homes in the bottom of a little river valley like Morgantown. Someone better do a noise impact study in this river valley before the well operations commence.
There are serious air pollution issues involved in gas well operations. When we have our routine weather inversions the effluents from the well operations will not be going up into the sky. The effluents will end up being concentrated and stagnant/trapped in our small steep walled river valley. The effluents can't go up, they will just move side ways, up and down the river valley through Morgantown. The noise and air pollution issues are not rocket science, and these factors/impacts are real, I know I worked in oil and gas fields.
Last there is the air, noise, and visual impacts generated when the wells have to "flared" to control well head pressure, and purify the well. The noise sounds like a jet engine, you can see the fireball for miles. Flaring wells in a river valley residential community will not be accepted gracefully.
Pls look at attachments thx jg