Ain't Gonna Frack On Maggie's Farm No More

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

January 28, 2013 | 12:45 PM

courtesy of shadbushcollective.org

Organic pig farmer Maggie Henry stands in front of a giant pig blocking the entrance to her neighbor's property. A well is flaring in the distance.org

About half a dozen anti-drilling activists locked down to a paper mache pig on Sunday, blocking the entrance to a well site operated by Shell. Maggie Henry, an organic pig farmer whose farm is next door to the Marcellus Shale drill site, says she’s worried how the operation may impact her livestock and organic certification.
“People buy my food because they know that it is literally the purest that you can get,” says Henry in a press release issued by the shadbushcollective.org. Henry says her pigs aren’t caged, but roam freely. The Lawrence County farmer says she goes so far as to avoid feeding her pigs genetically modified soy beans. “This threatens my air, my water, my farm, my livelihood,” says Henry.
The well had been flaring for several weeks.
The pig protest ended peacefully, after activists negotiated with state troopers on the scene. So no arrests were made. Shell Western E&P operates 26 wells in Lawrence County, none of which have been hit with violations. But a Shell operated well in Tioga County this summer caused a 30 foot geyser of water and methane to erupt after coming in contact with an old abandoned well. For more on the threat of abandoned wells to fracking operations, view our series Perilous Pathways.
Shell responded to the protest by acknowledging the farmer’s concerns and providing a hotline number to call.
The owner of the property, Tom Kephart, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Marcellus Shale was a “blessing” for the region.

“I have no animosity toward the protesters, but they’re infringing on my rights,” said Mr. Kephart, who grows crops on the 150-acre site where the drill is set up.

Houston-based Shell operates about 760 active Marcellus Shale gas wells in the state. The most recent data from DEP shows 211 violations, with no fines assessed.