Crystal Stroud is a 29-year-old hairdresser from Granville Summit, Pa who has become an outspoken critic of the gas industry after she says drilling contaminated her water supply. A recent DEP investigation into her well water contamination concludes that toxins like barium, total dissolved solids, and methane are naturally occurring. An additional investigation by Chief Oil and Gas came to the same conclusion. A story on Stroud’s case was broadcast on WHYY in June.
Pennsylvania may be the only state that has no regulations regarding private drinking water wells. That means well location, construction, testing and treatment are all up to the individual landowner. So the Department of Energy’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee’s recommendations on water quality testing could change things for the more than 3 million Pennsylvania residents [...]
Cambria County homeowners Chester and Edith Slesinger have filed a lawsuit against the Pittsburgh based T&F Exploration L.P. The story appeared today in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. The Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh is representing the Slesingers. The Slesingers’ problems began in December 2009, after a well was drilled more than 2500 feet from their [...]
Newswork’s Tonight host Dave Heller interviewed me about the lastest developments in the Crystal Stroud story. Listen to the podcast below: In other news, ProPublica has a piece about New Yorkers on both sides of the fracking fence gearing up for court battles.
Chief Oil and Gas spokeswoman Kristi Gittins says there’s a lesson to be learned from the case of Crystal Stroud’s water. “Rather than pointing the finger at companies, just assuming we’ve done something, when there’s obviously issues in that area and have been for a long time I think we need to look further into [...]
The Bradford County woman who says she was poisoned by gas drilling activity near her home says the recent report by the Department of Environmental Protection looks like the work of an elementary school student. Here’s what Stroud had to say to State Impact PA: They had released my water results to the press before [...]
Last month I did a story for WHYY about Granville Summit, PA resident Crystal Stroud who linked her recent symptoms of barium poisoning to nearby natural gas drilling. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has finished their investigation and concluded that nearby gas drilling did not pollute Stroud’s well water with barium. The DEP says elevated levels [...]
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