St. Tammany Parish has historically suffered from water pollution from urban and agricultural runoff containing heavy metals, sediments, pathogens, and chemicals. There are also two Superfund sites contaminated by nearby industrial activities. The parish has high levels of air pollution including diesel soot, putting residents at risk of cancer. Helis Corporation now proposes hydraulic fracturing in the parish to extract natural gas. If successful, this could lead to many more drilling operations and associated hazards like groundwater contamination, spills, earthquakes, and depletion of local water resources for fracking. Residents and local government oppose the project due to these health and environmental risks.
Crude Oil Transport on the Hudson- Riverkeeper & Scenic HudsonJeremy Cherson
On April 2, 2016 Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson presented on the risks and solutions to unsafe crude oil transportation in the Hudson Valley. See www.riverkeeper.org/crude for more information.
Crude Oil Transport on the Hudson- Riverkeeper & Scenic HudsonJeremy Cherson
On April 2, 2016 Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson presented on the risks and solutions to unsafe crude oil transportation in the Hudson Valley. See www.riverkeeper.org/crude for more information.
PA Forest Fragmentation from Marcellus Shale, Wind Turbines & Transmission LinesPaul Zeph
Overview of the habitat This is a captioned slideshow reviewing the fragmentation impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling, ridge-top wind development, and proposed new regional electricity transmission corridors to the forests of Pennsylvania.
Early on a spring morning in the town of Damascus, in northeastern.docxjacksnathalie
Early on a spring morning in the town of Damascus, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the fog on the Delaware River rises to form a mist that hangs above the tree-covered hills on either side. A buzzard swoops in from the northern hills to join a flock ensconced in an evergreen on the river’s southern bank.
Stretching some 400 miles, the Delaware is one of the cleanest free-flowing rivers in the United States, home to some of the best fly-fishing in the country. More than 15 million people, including residents of New York City and Philadelphia, get their water from its pristine watershed. To regard its unspoiled beauty on a spring morning, you might be led to believe that the river is safely off limits from the destructive effects of industrialization. Unfortunately, you’d be mistaken. The Delaware is now the most endangered river in the country, according to the conservation group American Rivers.
That’s because large swaths of land—private and public—in the watershed have been leased to energy companies eager to drill for natural gas here using a controversial, poorly understood technique called hydraulic fracturing. “Fracking,” as it’s colloquially known, involves injecting millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals, many of them toxic, into the earth at high pressures to break up rock formations and release natural gas trapped inside. Sixty miles west of Damascus, the town of Dimock, population 1,400, makes all too clear the dangers posed by hydraulic fracturing. You don’t need to drive around Dimock long to notice how the rolling hills and farmland of this Appalachian town are scarred by barren, square-shaped clearings, jagged, newly constructed roads with 18-wheelers driving up and down them, and colorful freight containers labeled “residual waste.” Although there is a moratorium on drilling new wells for the time being, you can still see the occasional active drill site, manned by figures in hazmat suits and surrounded by klieg lights, trailers, and pits of toxic wastewater, the derricks towering over barns, horses, and cows in their shadows.
The real shock that Dimock has undergone, however, is in the aquifer that residents rely on for their fresh water. Dimock is now known as the place where, over the past two years, people’s water started turning brown and making them sick, one woman’s water well spontaneously combusted, and horses and pets mysteriously began to lose their hair.
Craig and Julie Sautner moved to Dimock from a nearby town in March 2008. They were in the process of renovating their modest but beautifully situated home on tree-canopied Carter Road when land men from Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas, a midsize player in the energy-exploration industry, came knocking on their door to inquire about leasing the mineral rights to their three and a half acres of land. The Sautners say the land men told them that their neighbors had already signed leases and that the drilling would have no impact whatsoever on their land. (Othe ...
If the question is asked “What is Love Canal? Why is it important?” the answer could be simply put, it is an incomplete canal, or just a trench, built in western New York state in the 1890s. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was used as a chemical waste dump. The surrounding land was then sold and used for residential purposes, and soon people began complaining about strange odours and possible health problems. Since the late 1970s, many studies have been done to ascertain whether any health problems can be traced to the waste dumped into LoveCanal.
It is significant because it was the first case concerning hazardous waste disposal and its possible health effects that received major national attention. The information in this site is drawn primarily from two publications: Monitoring the Community for Exposure and Disease, a report to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (Nicholas Ashford, Principal Investigator, and Linda Schierow, Project Manager, Centre for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, 1991) and Love Canal: Science, Politics, and People (Adeline Gordon Levine, Toronto: D.C. Heath, 1982). Other information is drawn from materials listed in the other Love Canal Resources sections.
The Love Canal neighbourhood is located in the city of Niagara Falls, in western New York State. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the south-eastern corner of the city. Two bodies of water define the northern and southern boundaries of the neighbourhood Bergholtz Creek to the north and the Niagara River one-quarter mile to the south. Open fields are to the east, and the western border is 92nd Street. The canal itself is enclosed by 97th, 99th, Colvin and Frontier Streets.
A so-called "fact sheet" prepared for the FreshWater Accountability Project Ohio by Dr. Marvin Resnikoff that purports to show dangers from Utica Shale drilling waste (rock, soil, etc.) that may contain low levels of radioactivity. Resnikoff is a well-known anti-driller who uses the radioactivity issue to push his agenda to curtail drilling.
As we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Environmental Claims Journal (“the Journal”), congratulations and thank you to everyone who has been involved as authors, Editorial Advisory Board Members, subscribers, and readers. Important article topics have often focused on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and related state law statutes, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), worldwide health issues from pollutants, environmental releases from climate change, the lack of coverage under general liability and property policies for pollutants, and the availability of coverage under environmental insurance policies. The emergence of new claims exposures is also informative and interesting. Recent important topics have addressed the environmental impacts to groundwater and drinking water, alternative energy-related issues, and chemicals newly deemed hazardous to the environment and health. While there are thousands of examples of environmental claims over the past year, this note will highlight some of the most recent news stories.
Anti-Drilling Letter to OH Gov. John Kasich Requesting He Shut Down Injection...Marcellus Drilling News
A letter authored by the misnamed (and anti-drilling) group Food & Water Watch, signed by 33 "groups" (mostly individuals) requesting Gov. Kasich immediately issue an executive order shutting down all of Ohio's deep injection wells used to dispose of frack wastewater. Don't expect any action on the recommendation from these "helpful" folks.
To Drill or Not to Drill (Nightline video)File name To_Drill_.docxedwardmarivel
To Drill or Not to Drill (Nightline video)
File name: To_Drill_or_Not_to_Drill.html
Nightline
July 19, 2004
Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley is a crucial link in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Each year more than 100,000 animals, including antelope and mule deer, pass through this valley on a long migration from the Grand Tetons to their winter pasture in the High Desert. This valley is also home to the head waters of the Colorado River, a vital trout habitat. And it’s one of the last strongholds for the rare Sage-Grouse. In fact, the area has been compared to the Serengeti for its spectacular array of wildlife. It has also been compared to Saudi Arabia.
Experts have estimated that there’s roughly 20 trillion cubic feet of gas here. That would supply the entire nation’s natural gas needs for about a year. The same geological formation that creates a natural corridor for wildlife also holds rich deposits of natural gas, miles beneath the surface. This country’s increasing demand for natural gas coupled with new technology is turning this area into a bonanza for the energy industry.
It’s no doubt that the activity level’s increased. What’s happened is that we have evolved the technology which has allowed us to extract this natural gas from the subsurface efficiently and economically. That technology didn’t exist five, ten years ago.
This is public land managed by the U.S. Government. Most of the gas leases were granted under previous administrations before the new technology was developed. Now the Bush Administration has directed federal land managers to expedite oil and gas development all along the Front Range of the Rockies in Wyoming, Montana, Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, and Northern New Mexico. Here in the Upper Green River Valley where a gas field known as the Pinedale Anticline is located no one expects to stop the energy boom but they do hope to slow it down.
They say, “I support Bush, I support energy development but I live here for a reason, this place has a certain quality of life.”
The basin already has about 5,200 gas wells but the government is considering drilling permits for up to 10,000.
This is an empty landscape. It has been so since the first Europeans came here and yet 10,000 rigs would completely change it and I’m afraid it might make it an industrial landscape.
In Pinedale they need only look at an area just south of town known as the Jonah Field for a glimpse of the future.
Before the field, this was just empty. You could look out to the Wyoming Range and not see a drill rig, a condensation tank, nothing was here there were no roads.
There are 470 wells in this area and energy companies want to put in another 3,100. Ted Karasote has been hunting in this valley for many years. And he worries that the energy boom will ruin the sensitive ecosystem.
Many of us feel that given the enormous amounts of profits that are being generated here $20 million from each well that the Wyoming state government ...
Select a provided ethical scenario or choose one from section IV o.docxoniehockey
Select
a provided ethical scenario or choose one from section IV of
Thinking Critically
.
Analyze
your chosen scenario from a critical thinking perspective.
What is the moral responsibility of all participants?
What are the stakeholders' moral failings?
What ideals or obligations are in conflict?
What is the best outcome, given the consequences?
Write
a brief reflection of your analysis by describing the relationship between critical thinking and ethics.
Note.
Remember that this should be based on critical thinking, not on your personal opinion.
INFORMATION NEEDED TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT
To Drill or Not to Drill (Nightline video)
File name: To_Drill_or_Not_to_Drill.html
Nightline
July 19, 2004
Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley is a crucial link in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Each year more than 100,000 animals, including antelope and mule deer, pass through this valley on a long migration from the Grand Tetons to their winter pasture in the High Desert. This valley is also home to the head waters of the Colorado River, a vital trout habitat. And it’s one of the last strongholds for the rare Sage-Grouse. In fact, the area has been compared to the Serengeti for its spectacular array of wildlife. It has also been compared to Saudi Arabia.
Experts have estimated that there’s roughly 20 trillion cubic feet of gas here. That would supply the entire nation’s natural gas needs for about a year. The same geological formation that creates a natural corridor for wildlife also holds rich deposits of natural gas, miles beneath the surface. This country’s increasing demand for natural gas coupled with new technology is turning this area into a bonanza for the energy industry.
It’s no doubt that the activity level’s increased. What’s happened is that we have evolved the technology which has allowed us to extract this natural gas from the subsurface efficiently and economically. That technology didn’t exist five, ten years ago.
This is public land managed by the U.S. Government. Most of the gas leases were granted under previous administrations before the new technology was developed. Now the Bush Administration has directed federal land managers to expedite oil and gas development all along the Front Range of the Rockies in Wyoming, Montana, Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, and Northern New Mexico. Here in the Upper Green River Valley where a gas field known as the Pinedale Anticline is located no one expects to stop the energy boom but they do hope to slow it down.
They say, “I support Bush, I support energy development but I live here for a reason, this place has a certain quality of life.”
The basin already has about 5,200 gas wells but the government is considering drilling permits for up to 10,000.
This is an empty landscape. It has been so since the first Europeans came here and yet 10,000 rigs would completely change it and I’m afraid it might make it an industrial landscape.
In Pinedale they need only look at an area just.
PA Forest Fragmentation from Marcellus Shale, Wind Turbines & Transmission LinesPaul Zeph
Overview of the habitat This is a captioned slideshow reviewing the fragmentation impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling, ridge-top wind development, and proposed new regional electricity transmission corridors to the forests of Pennsylvania.
Early on a spring morning in the town of Damascus, in northeastern.docxjacksnathalie
Early on a spring morning in the town of Damascus, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the fog on the Delaware River rises to form a mist that hangs above the tree-covered hills on either side. A buzzard swoops in from the northern hills to join a flock ensconced in an evergreen on the river’s southern bank.
Stretching some 400 miles, the Delaware is one of the cleanest free-flowing rivers in the United States, home to some of the best fly-fishing in the country. More than 15 million people, including residents of New York City and Philadelphia, get their water from its pristine watershed. To regard its unspoiled beauty on a spring morning, you might be led to believe that the river is safely off limits from the destructive effects of industrialization. Unfortunately, you’d be mistaken. The Delaware is now the most endangered river in the country, according to the conservation group American Rivers.
That’s because large swaths of land—private and public—in the watershed have been leased to energy companies eager to drill for natural gas here using a controversial, poorly understood technique called hydraulic fracturing. “Fracking,” as it’s colloquially known, involves injecting millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals, many of them toxic, into the earth at high pressures to break up rock formations and release natural gas trapped inside. Sixty miles west of Damascus, the town of Dimock, population 1,400, makes all too clear the dangers posed by hydraulic fracturing. You don’t need to drive around Dimock long to notice how the rolling hills and farmland of this Appalachian town are scarred by barren, square-shaped clearings, jagged, newly constructed roads with 18-wheelers driving up and down them, and colorful freight containers labeled “residual waste.” Although there is a moratorium on drilling new wells for the time being, you can still see the occasional active drill site, manned by figures in hazmat suits and surrounded by klieg lights, trailers, and pits of toxic wastewater, the derricks towering over barns, horses, and cows in their shadows.
The real shock that Dimock has undergone, however, is in the aquifer that residents rely on for their fresh water. Dimock is now known as the place where, over the past two years, people’s water started turning brown and making them sick, one woman’s water well spontaneously combusted, and horses and pets mysteriously began to lose their hair.
Craig and Julie Sautner moved to Dimock from a nearby town in March 2008. They were in the process of renovating their modest but beautifully situated home on tree-canopied Carter Road when land men from Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas, a midsize player in the energy-exploration industry, came knocking on their door to inquire about leasing the mineral rights to their three and a half acres of land. The Sautners say the land men told them that their neighbors had already signed leases and that the drilling would have no impact whatsoever on their land. (Othe ...
If the question is asked “What is Love Canal? Why is it important?” the answer could be simply put, it is an incomplete canal, or just a trench, built in western New York state in the 1890s. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was used as a chemical waste dump. The surrounding land was then sold and used for residential purposes, and soon people began complaining about strange odours and possible health problems. Since the late 1970s, many studies have been done to ascertain whether any health problems can be traced to the waste dumped into LoveCanal.
It is significant because it was the first case concerning hazardous waste disposal and its possible health effects that received major national attention. The information in this site is drawn primarily from two publications: Monitoring the Community for Exposure and Disease, a report to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (Nicholas Ashford, Principal Investigator, and Linda Schierow, Project Manager, Centre for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, 1991) and Love Canal: Science, Politics, and People (Adeline Gordon Levine, Toronto: D.C. Heath, 1982). Other information is drawn from materials listed in the other Love Canal Resources sections.
The Love Canal neighbourhood is located in the city of Niagara Falls, in western New York State. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the south-eastern corner of the city. Two bodies of water define the northern and southern boundaries of the neighbourhood Bergholtz Creek to the north and the Niagara River one-quarter mile to the south. Open fields are to the east, and the western border is 92nd Street. The canal itself is enclosed by 97th, 99th, Colvin and Frontier Streets.
A so-called "fact sheet" prepared for the FreshWater Accountability Project Ohio by Dr. Marvin Resnikoff that purports to show dangers from Utica Shale drilling waste (rock, soil, etc.) that may contain low levels of radioactivity. Resnikoff is a well-known anti-driller who uses the radioactivity issue to push his agenda to curtail drilling.
As we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Environmental Claims Journal (“the Journal”), congratulations and thank you to everyone who has been involved as authors, Editorial Advisory Board Members, subscribers, and readers. Important article topics have often focused on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and related state law statutes, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), worldwide health issues from pollutants, environmental releases from climate change, the lack of coverage under general liability and property policies for pollutants, and the availability of coverage under environmental insurance policies. The emergence of new claims exposures is also informative and interesting. Recent important topics have addressed the environmental impacts to groundwater and drinking water, alternative energy-related issues, and chemicals newly deemed hazardous to the environment and health. While there are thousands of examples of environmental claims over the past year, this note will highlight some of the most recent news stories.
Anti-Drilling Letter to OH Gov. John Kasich Requesting He Shut Down Injection...Marcellus Drilling News
A letter authored by the misnamed (and anti-drilling) group Food & Water Watch, signed by 33 "groups" (mostly individuals) requesting Gov. Kasich immediately issue an executive order shutting down all of Ohio's deep injection wells used to dispose of frack wastewater. Don't expect any action on the recommendation from these "helpful" folks.
To Drill or Not to Drill (Nightline video)File name To_Drill_.docxedwardmarivel
To Drill or Not to Drill (Nightline video)
File name: To_Drill_or_Not_to_Drill.html
Nightline
July 19, 2004
Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley is a crucial link in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Each year more than 100,000 animals, including antelope and mule deer, pass through this valley on a long migration from the Grand Tetons to their winter pasture in the High Desert. This valley is also home to the head waters of the Colorado River, a vital trout habitat. And it’s one of the last strongholds for the rare Sage-Grouse. In fact, the area has been compared to the Serengeti for its spectacular array of wildlife. It has also been compared to Saudi Arabia.
Experts have estimated that there’s roughly 20 trillion cubic feet of gas here. That would supply the entire nation’s natural gas needs for about a year. The same geological formation that creates a natural corridor for wildlife also holds rich deposits of natural gas, miles beneath the surface. This country’s increasing demand for natural gas coupled with new technology is turning this area into a bonanza for the energy industry.
It’s no doubt that the activity level’s increased. What’s happened is that we have evolved the technology which has allowed us to extract this natural gas from the subsurface efficiently and economically. That technology didn’t exist five, ten years ago.
This is public land managed by the U.S. Government. Most of the gas leases were granted under previous administrations before the new technology was developed. Now the Bush Administration has directed federal land managers to expedite oil and gas development all along the Front Range of the Rockies in Wyoming, Montana, Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, and Northern New Mexico. Here in the Upper Green River Valley where a gas field known as the Pinedale Anticline is located no one expects to stop the energy boom but they do hope to slow it down.
They say, “I support Bush, I support energy development but I live here for a reason, this place has a certain quality of life.”
The basin already has about 5,200 gas wells but the government is considering drilling permits for up to 10,000.
This is an empty landscape. It has been so since the first Europeans came here and yet 10,000 rigs would completely change it and I’m afraid it might make it an industrial landscape.
In Pinedale they need only look at an area just south of town known as the Jonah Field for a glimpse of the future.
Before the field, this was just empty. You could look out to the Wyoming Range and not see a drill rig, a condensation tank, nothing was here there were no roads.
There are 470 wells in this area and energy companies want to put in another 3,100. Ted Karasote has been hunting in this valley for many years. And he worries that the energy boom will ruin the sensitive ecosystem.
Many of us feel that given the enormous amounts of profits that are being generated here $20 million from each well that the Wyoming state government ...
Select a provided ethical scenario or choose one from section IV o.docxoniehockey
Select
a provided ethical scenario or choose one from section IV of
Thinking Critically
.
Analyze
your chosen scenario from a critical thinking perspective.
What is the moral responsibility of all participants?
What are the stakeholders' moral failings?
What ideals or obligations are in conflict?
What is the best outcome, given the consequences?
Write
a brief reflection of your analysis by describing the relationship between critical thinking and ethics.
Note.
Remember that this should be based on critical thinking, not on your personal opinion.
INFORMATION NEEDED TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT
To Drill or Not to Drill (Nightline video)
File name: To_Drill_or_Not_to_Drill.html
Nightline
July 19, 2004
Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley is a crucial link in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Each year more than 100,000 animals, including antelope and mule deer, pass through this valley on a long migration from the Grand Tetons to their winter pasture in the High Desert. This valley is also home to the head waters of the Colorado River, a vital trout habitat. And it’s one of the last strongholds for the rare Sage-Grouse. In fact, the area has been compared to the Serengeti for its spectacular array of wildlife. It has also been compared to Saudi Arabia.
Experts have estimated that there’s roughly 20 trillion cubic feet of gas here. That would supply the entire nation’s natural gas needs for about a year. The same geological formation that creates a natural corridor for wildlife also holds rich deposits of natural gas, miles beneath the surface. This country’s increasing demand for natural gas coupled with new technology is turning this area into a bonanza for the energy industry.
It’s no doubt that the activity level’s increased. What’s happened is that we have evolved the technology which has allowed us to extract this natural gas from the subsurface efficiently and economically. That technology didn’t exist five, ten years ago.
This is public land managed by the U.S. Government. Most of the gas leases were granted under previous administrations before the new technology was developed. Now the Bush Administration has directed federal land managers to expedite oil and gas development all along the Front Range of the Rockies in Wyoming, Montana, Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, and Northern New Mexico. Here in the Upper Green River Valley where a gas field known as the Pinedale Anticline is located no one expects to stop the energy boom but they do hope to slow it down.
They say, “I support Bush, I support energy development but I live here for a reason, this place has a certain quality of life.”
The basin already has about 5,200 gas wells but the government is considering drilling permits for up to 10,000.
This is an empty landscape. It has been so since the first Europeans came here and yet 10,000 rigs would completely change it and I’m afraid it might make it an industrial landscape.
In Pinedale they need only look at an area just.
Select a provided ethical scenario or choose one from section IV o.docx
St. Tammany Campaign Proposal
1. St. Tammany Hydraulic Fracturing Opposition Proposal
Shannon Vitrano, Adam Kalina, Max Potter, Brooke Warner, Helen Davidoski, Emily Nichols
5/12/2015
Environmental Description
History of Pollution in St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish has historically been referred to as the Ozone Belt due to the false belief
that numerous pine trees in the area were emitting Ozone, making Mandeville a “health resort”.
Therefore, wealthy New Orleanians flocked to the area, and also took advantage of Abita
Springs, where they would take “healthy baths”.1
St. Tammany Parish is located in the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin and is part of the Liberty Bayou- Tchefuncta River Watershed. Due to this,
the area suffers from water pollution from urban stormwater runoff. The runoff causes elevated
levels of heavy metals and soil-derived suspended sediments. In 1989, hundred of communities
were discharging treated sewage into the Lake Pontchartrain Basin every day. The waste from
these communities included suspended solids, biochemical oxygen-demanding materials,
nutrients, and pathogens. Agricultural runoff from animal operations, agrochemical applications
and land-clearing activities also contributes to the water pollution in the area. This runoff
contains pathogens, nutrients, toxic chemicals and sediments. Oil and gas wells pollute the lake
with formation brine, a by-product of the operations. The by-product contains radioactive and
heavy metal contaminants. According to the U.S Geological Survey, “The impact on water
quality in a shallow confined lake, such as Lake Pontchartrain, would be far greater than on
deep flowing seawater such as the Gulf of Mexico.”
There are two National Priority List (Superfund) sites in St. Tammany Parish.
One is Madisonville Creosote Works, which contains a wetland that is contaminated from
drainage of creosote. The other is Bayou Bonfouca, which was subject to toxic spills and
explosions from a creosote plant. As of 1999, St. Tammany Parish was ranked in the 90th
percentile for carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide and dioxide, PM-2.5, and VOC
emissions.2
“The lifetime diesel soot cancer risk for a resident of St. Tammany Parish is 1 in
28,878, which is 35 times greater than the EPA’s acceptable cancer level of 1 in a million”.3
This ranks in the 72nd percentile of all counties in the United States. Compared to the other
inhaled toxins previously mentioned, diesel soot accounts for almost half of pollutants related to
cancer. Compared to the state of Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish has 120:220 added cancer
1
"St. Tammany Parish Laghn." St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Genealogy & History Network. USGHN
Executive Council, 2013. Web. 19 June 2015.
2
"Environmental Releases for ST. TAMMANY Parish." Environmental Releases for ST. TAMMANY
Parish. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 June 2015.
3
"Diesel Soot Health Impacts - Clean Air Task Force (CATF)." Diesel Soot Health Impacts - Clean Air
Task Force (CATF). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.
2. risk from hazardous air pollutants, .0023:.0035 Superfund sites per square mile, and
.0035:.0067 toxics release inventory facilities pers square mile.
Oil and Gas in St. Tammany Parish
In the 1940’s major oil and gas exploration took place across the parish as hundreds of
exploratory wells were drilled. While the majority of these projects found only dry holes, a
handful of productive wells operated in eastern Lake Pontchartrain off of Big Point, Louisiana in
south eastern St Tammany parish from the 1950s through the early 2000s.4
While the majority
of these drill sites have since been plugged and abandoned, a number of them sit inactive but
unplugged. A number of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines intersect the parish. (Appendix C)
One of these pipelines, operated Collins Pipeline Company and Exxon Mobile is due for a 26.2
acre renovation near the community of Lacombe.5
This repair is the only other Oil and Gas
related project located in St. Tammany Parish that is currently in the permitting process with the
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Due to the low percentage of productive wells,
traditional drilling practices have proven to not be economically viable in St. Tammany Parish.
As horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology develop, new opportunities for
extracting oil and gas in the area will present themselves. While most land around Lake
Pontchartrain has been used up by traditional oil & gas extraction, inland St Tammany Parish
provide the Helis Group opportunities and land area for their plans.
Helis Corporation Proposes Hydraulic Fracturing in St. Tammany Parish
Helis Oil and Gas, a Louisiana based energy company specializing in hydraulic fracturing
means of extraction, has proposed a new project in St. Tammany Parish. The first of 16 such
projects in the area, the company submitted a proposal for construction of an exploratory well
north of interstate 12, one mile east of state highway 1088 and abutting Log Cabin Road to the
west. The site lies 2.4 miles from the nearest commercial and residential areas near Mandeville
and only 1.5 miles from the local Lakeshore High school on state highway 1088. The proposed
exploratory area is centrally located within population centers in St. Tammany parish. Abita
Springs, Covington, Mandeville to the west, LaCombe to the south and Slidell to the east, are all
adjacent to this tract. (Appendix A)
A vertical exploratory well has been permitted by Louisiana Department of Natural Resources,
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.6
This
permit does not allow for installation of production rigs but concerned residents believe that
4
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Management
5
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Management
6
Rhoden, Robert. "Wetlands Permit Approved for Fracking Project in St. Tammany." NOLA.com. Times-
Picayune, 8 June 2015. Web. 19 June 2015.
3. once Helis finds natural gas in St. Tammany Parish, more firms will follow. This decision is in
the process of being appealed by St. Tammany Parish council, including Richard Tanner, Jacob
Groby, and Reid Falconer, and supported by local groups such as Concerned Citizens of St.
Tammany and Citizens for a Frack-Free St. Tammany. Despite this overwhelming opposition by
the citizens and council members, they continue to make steps towards beginning to drill.
800,000 gallons of fresh water are to be used for the exploratory well from private ponds
surrounding the area. A 2.5-foot-tall levee is to be built around the entire drill site in case of
flooding. Though the company claims to have completed hundreds of projects such as these
without pollution within a 15 mile radius of this proposed site according to an EPA report Helis
Oil and Gas has claimed 103 incidents nationwide between 2003 and 2010. If the exploratory
well proves to be successful, Helis would need federal and state approval to being horizontal
fracturing and extraction.
The Helis project passed a major regulation in April when Judge William Morvant of the 19th
Judicial Circuit ruled that St. Tammany Parish could not block the project based on local zoning
ordinances. The St. Tammany Parish Council voted unanimously to appeal the decision to the
1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Baton Rouge. Blue Williams Law Group and Attorney Neil Hall
represent the parish in these legal proceedings. While this gives legal authority to Helis for the
implementation of a 13,374 foot exploratory rig and the company says that they will began
drilling in the next 30 to 45 days, the parish and local citizens groups plan to seek a restraining
order while the the appeal is in process.
Future Effects in the Parish
With the Helis Oil and Gas Corporation’s permit approved to begin construction of an
exploration well in St. Tammany parish, they could potentially begin construction of a natural
gas drilling operation within the next few years. While this is all speculative for now, the saying,
“if you build it, they will come”, applies to this situation. If Helis finds a big deposit of natural gas
in the Southern Hills Aquifer and Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (see appendix B), many other
companies could find it valuable and also begin extraction in St. Tammany. They would then
proceed to buy up huge areas of the parish for access to the aquifer for fracking uses. The
Southern Hills Aquifer, would be shared between residents, who use it for 90% of their water
usage, and the natural gas corporations, which need large amounts of water for their fracking.
This competition of fresh water could pose as a health and economic hazard for the citizens.
Additionally with other companies moving to the area, so follows all the hazardous acts that are
associated with hydro-fracking. There are many hazards with fracking, poisonous leakage of
natural gas into private owned properties7
, chemical spills and leakage associated with
production and construction, and recently there has been discoveries that extraction can cause
7
http://www.dangersoffracking.com/
4. a shifting of land contributing to earthquakes such as those that devastated Texas recently8
.
Along with all the dangers that are associated with hydro-fracking there is simply a danger from
over-extraction from the land. Once the influx of companies depletes all the natural resources
they will plug and abandon the well, leaving unmonitored industrial scars throughout the
community. This is only speculation as hydro-fracking in St. Tammany is a new process and
there is very little research on the technology. Only time will tell what is to become of St.
Tammany and their future.
Appendices
Appendix A: St. Tammany Population Centers
http://www.socialexplorer.com/6f4cdab7a0/explore
8
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/fast-track-fracking-study-says-bigger-injections-trigger-
more-quakes-n378116
5. Appendix B: Louisiana Oil Plays
http://dnr.louisiana.gov/
Appendix C: St. Tammany Pipelines
__ Gas Pipeline
__ Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
https://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/PublicViewer/composite.js
6. Appendix D: Location of Helis Site in St. Tammany Parish
Latitude: 30.38806
Longitude: -89.97917
Appendix E: Bayou Liberty-Tchefuncta River Watershed
http://watersgeo.epa.gov/mwm/?layer=LEGACY_WBD&feature=08090201&extraLayers=null?layer=LEG
ACY_WBD&feature=08090201&extraLayers=null
7. Appendix F: Southern Hills Aquifer
http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/swp/ssa/maps/ssa_shills.pdf
Appendix G: SONRIS Map of St. Tammany
http://sonris-www.dnr.state.la.us/gis/agsweb/IE/JSViewer/index.html?TemplateID=181
8. Socioeconomic Description
Demographics of St. Tammany
For the entire region of St. Tammany, the average household income is $65,429. However, the
median household income in each tract greatly differs. In tract 412.08, the median household
income $138,933. That area is 95.9% white, 3.4% Asian, and 0% African American. On the
other end of the spectrum, the tract 411.03 has a median household income of $34,297. That
area is only 66% white and 27% African American. About 30% of this tract also lives in poverty
and 42% of the population is “doing ok”. Tract 412.08 has less than 2% of the population living
in poverty, with over 95% of the population doing ok. These two regions are only about 12 miles
away from each other, yet the residents have drastically different lifestyles (Appendix A).
St. Tammany parish is predominantly white, with 84% of the population being white alone. The
entire state of Louisiana is only about 66% white alone. Only about 10% of the population in St.
Tammany is African American, whereas 31% of Louisiana is Black (Appendix B, C). About
26.3% of the population is over the age of 55 years. 47.8% is between 18 and 54. 25.9% of St.
Tammany is under 18 years of age (Appendix D).
Approximately 24.1% of St. Tammany residents are high school graduates. 10.6% of residents
have not attained a high school diploma 30.2% have attended some college, and 23.2% of the
population has attained a bachelor’s degree (Appendix E).The unemployment rate in St.
Tammany Parish is merely 7.6%. The main employer in the parish is retail trade. 27.4% of
residents work in the retail trade industry (Appendix F). While retail is the largest employer for
the parish as a whole, this differs between census tracts. In tract 411.03, 24% of the population
is employed by retail. However, in tract 412.08, largest sector is education, healthcare, and
social assistance, employing 31% of the population.
28.3% of the population has a social security income. The poverty level in St. Tammany Parish
is very low. 93.7% of the population has an income above the poverty line. 6.9% of the white
population is below the poverty level, while 21.3% of the African American population in the
parish is below the poverty line (Appendix G). Only .7% percent of the population relies on
public assistance. 17.3% has a retirement income. 57.5% of white St. Tammany residents over
the age of 15 are married. 32.7% of African American residents over the age of 15 are married
(Appendix H).
Elected Officials of St. Tammany
The government of St. Tammany Parish consists of a 14 seat parish council, elected from
geographical districts and a parish president. The parish president is Pat Brister. Two council
members have been especially vocal in their opposition to the Helis project. Council Chairman
9. Richard Tanner has actively opposed the project and has been outspoken at public hearings on
the issue. Jacob Groby, councilman for the 7th district of St. Tammany, represents the
community of Lacombe and area west to the city of Mandeville and north to the town of Abita
Springs. This is the area that Helis plans to expand drilling in. Groby has served as a public
official in water quality for thirty years and is currently the Superintendent of Water Quality
Control in St. Bernard parish. Mr. Groby began his career in politics as a community activist
organizing opposition to a proposed waste transfer facility in Lacombe. Mr. Groby is a highly
valuable community asset for CGCC.
Important Associations in St. Tammany
Many citizens in St. Tammany are interested in preserving the environment around them, and
they have been working tirelessly to end the fracking in St. Tammany. The Concerned Citizens
of St. Tammany was established to fight a variety of issues in the parish. Some of the
Concerned Citizen’s past projects include protecting the environment and ensuring the safety
and health of the residents of St. Tammany. One of the most notable successes for the
Concerned Citizens was the fight against a new waste transfer station.9
The facility was
originally intended to be placed at the intersection of I-12 and Louisiana 434 in Lacombe. The
Concerned Citizens argued that the zoning for that region was not appropriate for a waste
facility. After a year and a half long litigation process and spending hundreds of thousands of
dollars, the Concerned Citizens prevailed and the LA Supreme Court ruled that the I-2 zoning
was unconstitutional.
The Concerned Citizens have also attempted to end the proposed fracking in St. Tammany. The
group managed to bring 2 temporary restraining orders against the Army Corp. Of Engineers &
LDEQ, in the Fracking litigation. On the Concerned Citizens webpage, their “Get Involved” page
has a “Help Us Fight Fracking!” link for citizens to donate money for the cause. In addition, the
Concerned Citizens’ website highlights recent news about fracking and lists community events
against fracking, such as a recent community meeting to educate the public about the dangers
of hydraulic fracturing.
Another important group in the area is the Citizens for a Frack-Free St. Tammany. This group
identifies as a Grassroots organization dedicated to fight for a healthy and safe environment for
the parish. As the name suggests, the Citizens for a Frack-Free St. Tammany is specifically
targeting fracking in the area. The website includes information on fracking to educate the
people of St. Tammany about the health and environmental threats that come from it.10
In
addition, the website includes six different petitions to halt fracking in St. Tammany. Similar to
9
"Past Projects." Concerned Citizens of St Tammany. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2015.
10
"Fracking Information." Citizens for a Frack Free St Tammany. N.p., 6 June 2015. Web. 18
June 2015.
10. the Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany, Citizens for a Frack-Free St. Tammany has been
successful in collecting donations and gathering support.
Tammy Together, another important group in the parish, attempts to identify important issues to
members of the community and further educate citizens about these important issues. Tammy
Together has recently been focusing on the fracking situation in the parish. Their homepage
features a youtube video called “The Great St. Tammany Fracking Rebellion.” The video
explains many aspects of the fracking controversy in the parish, and highlights the important
participation from St. Tammany residents. On May 1, 2014, over 600 citizens of St. Tammany
attended a Fracking Informational Meeting held in the Abita Springs Town Hall.11
Later that
evening, 300 residents attended the St. Tammany Parish council meeting to discuss hiring
attorneys to challenge the proposed drilling. On June 17th, about 30 citizens of St. Tammany
traveled to Baton Rouge to a joint hearing between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer and the
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. The hearing was about the permit that Helis was
required to have for drilling in the wetlands. Patrick Courreges, the Department of Natural
Resources spokesperson, stated that the attendance of several dozen citizens that were not
land-owners was “very unusual” for a hearing.
The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce represents the economical interests in St.
Tammany. The Chamber of Commerce is comprised of over 1,100 business in the region,
representing a wide variety of companies including multinational corporations and local shops.12
The organization aims to provide support for these businesses, foster partnerships, and build
coalitions. The Chamber of Commerce has successfully completed many goals, including tax
equalization for Louisiana businesses and working with the U.S. Chamber Federation
Partnership to gain more benefits for its members. While the Chamber hasn’t taken a particular
stance in fracking, the organization urged citizens of St. Tammany to educate themselves
before supporting or opposing fracking. The Chamber of Commerce also highlighted that over
50 companies in St. Tammany are directly involved in the oil and gas industry, and 4,000
residents of St. Tammany work in those facilities. However, the total population of St. Tammany
is well over 242,000; this means that only about 1.5% of St. Tammany residents are involved in
the oil and gas industry.
11
"The Great St. Tammany Fracking Rebellion." Tammany Together. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June
2015.
12
"About Us." St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2015.
13. Appendix E: St. Tammany Educational Attainment for the Population 25+
Appendix F: St. Tammany Employment
14. Appendix G: St. Tammany Family Households Below Poverty
Appendix H: St. Tammany Marital Status
13
13
"Parish Profile." STEDF: St. Tammany Parish Louisiana. St. Tammany Economic Development
Foundation, n.d. Web. June 2015.
"The Socio-Economic Study: St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana." The American Journal of Nursing 46.12
(n.d.): n. pag. Web.
15. St. Tammany Campaign Proposal
A campaign framework involves two competing agendas. Often it is the agenda of those
negatively impacted and those with something to gain. Research for this proposal was limited to
online database research, including state and federal databases (see reference list). Therefore,
without local input, we do not purport to know the agenda of those that are negatively impacted.
We do, however, propose the following agenda for the competing interest. The interest of the oil
and gas industry in the case of Helis Energy in St. Tammany Parish is to utilize horizontal
drilling technology to expand their rapacious extraction practices to the backyard of middle
America regardless of unknown consequences on human or ecological health. The following
report describes the elements of a campaign that assumes this framework. This report proposes
tactics for the four elements of a campaign based on the framework mentioned above. After a
discussion of each element, there is a list of issues and opportunities that the Clean Gulf
Commerce Coalition may want to consider as it continues to develop the campaign. The four
elements are 1) Community Organizing, 2) Public Relations, 3) Policy, and 4) Legal. Please
note this campaign proposal does not consider organizational capacity or resource constraints.
The St. Tammany Parish council is the chosen target for this campaign because they have the
final say as to whether or not to allow the building of the well or St. Tammany to be zoned for
future hydraulic fracturing wells. In St. Tammany Parish, there is a large probability of natural
gas producing shale in the earth. However, there is outcry among citizens to block oil and gas
companies from using their precious land to mine natural gas. The St. Tammany Parish council
has the power to block fracking in the parish. They not only have the insight onto what goes on
in the entire Parish, they also have the ability to protect their Parish from any harm that may
come to it. Helis Oil and Gas corporation stands as a major threat to not only the health of the
residents, but also the land. The Parish council is left with the decision on whether to allow Helis
to continue with their plan or to block them and future companies from entering the Parish and
putting it in any harm. However, the St. Tammany Parish council has a number of influences on
either side of the spectrum, trying to convince them to vote for their side. For our list of
influencers, please refer to Appendix A. Within the list you will notice many respectable
members and organizations within St. Tammany and surrounding areas. For our power map,
please refer to Appendix B. On this power map you can notice all the influencers and how they
negatively or positively affect the decision makers.
Community Organizing Tactic
We have chosen three main influencers to target for organization: Abita Brewing Company,
Jacob Groby, and the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce. All three have medium to
16. high levels of influence over the council and different motives behind the decision. Abita
Brewing Company is a major distributor of the local favorite beer of the same name, Abita. Many
people enjoy their beverage and most living in the Southeastern United States know about the
brewing company. Abita is a major advocate against fracking in St. Tammany. The proposed
Helis well is located eerily close to the same springs that Abita uses for their brewing processes.
They are worried that Helis may distort the amount of water Abita is able to use or, even worse,
pollute the springs and poison the water Abita relies upon. They have become a major force in
the attempt to block the construction of the well and are able to project their campaign onto
others not just in St. Tammany but around Louisiana. Jacob Groby is another influencer that is
opposed to the construction of the well. Unlike Abita, he is actually on the Parish Council. Not
only is he a part of the decision making, he is the superintendent of water control in St. Bernard
Parish. Jacob Groby is the representative of the area in which Helis plans to build the well. He is
one of the influencers on the power map that has a major history within activism for areas in St.
Bernard and St. Tammany, such as Lacombe and Abita Springs. He has already been a major
key in the movement to block Helis and will continue his efforts. Finally, a group on the other
side of the decision, St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce, is more concerned with
receiving the revenue from the drilling rather than what the production may do to the land.
However, we believe that we may have a chance to sway that belief of money over quality of
life. It is important to present the actual revenue facts of the operation and communicate with
Chamber of Commerce that they will not be receiving as much money as they believe. These
three are the targets of our campaign for St. Tammany. We believe that these three will be the
major components of the campaign to keep fracking out of St. Tammany Parish.
Media and Public Relations Tactic
Two of the three targets are already on the side against Helis and have used their resources to
spread the message out into the public. However, the Chamber of Commerce will need to be
convinced to flip their views and come on the side to block Helis. There are some other issues
the coalition will be confronted with. Many of the opponents to the anti-fracking movement in St.
Tammany are governmental positions. Bobby Jindal, the EPA, and the Army Corps of
Engineers all have a large amount of political sway within Louisiana and are all for the
construction of the fracking well. Although there are already numerous organizations within St.
Tammany that are banding together to prevent the well, a major influencer could unite them
against fracking. With the population being mostly caucasian most groups are formed with no
attention paid to race or economic status, and most groups main goal is only to prevent the
destruction of St. Tammany and their quaint way of life. Merely 1.5% of the St. Tammany
population is employed by oil and gas. The people of St. Tammany therefore have no loyalty to
these big gas and oil companies and are against those companies from entering their area and
destroying their land. St. Tammany residents are a proud people, they know when they are
about to be treated unfairly, they know when they need to act, and are happy to prevent their
way of life from being disturbed or destroyed.
17. This campaign is about the competing agenda of Helis Oil and Gas to extract every drop of oil
regardless of the cost, and of St. Tammany residents to preserve their community, Louisiana,
and middle America. Our decision maker target is the St. Tammany Parish Council. The best
way to gain the attention of these council members is to attend meetings and public hearings
discussing the fracking proposal and have a large group voicing their opposition. To spread the
word about the meetings, the campaign should utilize the existing organizations that have
already taken a stance on the issue. The Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany, Citizens For a
Frack-Free St. Tammany, and Tammany Together have all taken a stance and mobilized
against Helis Oil and Gas. Utilizing these organizations and their power to communicate with St.
Tammany residents is important. We propose using local news outlets such as the New Orleans
Advocate and the Tammany West to spread the word about the campaign and to gain followers.
Ian Somerhalder, a TV actor from St. Tammany Parish, attended a hearing on the proposed
fracking in November. Mobilizing his fans could bring more attention to the campaign. Lastly,
Abita Brewing Company will be affected if Helis proceeds with hydraulic fracturing due to the
water use involved. Using Abita could bring even more attention to the issue. There is a lot of
potential backlash to the campaign. According to Helis, they want to protect national security by
making the United States oil independent. Helis will likely say that the St. Tammany residents
are being selfish by wanting to protect their community at the expense of national security.
However, the potential fracking does not affect only St. Tammany Parish. Once the oil is
extracted, it will be transported through many communities in Louisiana. Every community along
the rail system will be affected. Getting these communities involved in the campaign will help to
frame it as less of a “Not In My Backyard” issue, and more as an issue that affects many
communities across the entire state of Louisiana.
Legislative and Policy Tactic
Currently, the battle over fracking in the parish rests upon debate over the preemption of state
authority over local zoning ordinances. On April 20th, state Judge William Morvant ruled on an
injunction filed by the St. Tammany Parish Government and found that the Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources is the sole regulator of oil and gas development in the state
and that state agencies must consider parish zoning regulations but need not adhere to them.
This ruling was a bitter loss for the parish and local activist groups as it allows Helis to drill their
exploratory well as early as this summer. There is, however, still room for action on the part of
the parish as more strongly worded legislation such as a total ban on fracking would carry more
weight than zoning plans in a court of law.
Aside from a St.Tammany fracking ban, there are other legislative opportunities to limit
expansion of the oil and gas industry. Blocking the NOLA Oil Terminal in Placquemines Parish,
18. for example, is an end-of-pipe legislative tactic to limit regional export opportunities and limit the
economic viability of local mineral production. Alternatively, legislation could be introduced at
the state level to protect ecological value and limit the industrialization of the Florida parishes.
Both of these tacts are rife with pitfalls and opposition and due to the influence of the oil and gas
industry in the state, seem unlikely to succeed.
The St. Tammany parish council voted unanimously to contest Helis’ exploratory well permit and
since only 1.5 percent of the parish is employed by the oil and gas sector, there is widespread
support for the oppositional cause. Grassroots campaigns such as Concerned Citizens of St.
Tammany and Citizens for a Frack Free St. Tammany have generated local support for the
issue. Utilizing their momentum will allow for maximum impact for CGCC.
Legal Tactic
St. Tammany has thus far been almost completely united in the rejection of Hydraulic Fracturing
extraction of oil and gas in their community and have been very active in town and public
hearings. Public commenting opportunities, such as The Preserve St. Tammany Initiative Town
Hall Meeting, June 22 2015, are abundant and well attended by citizens and groups including
Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany, Citizens for a Frack-Free St. Tammany, and supporting
parish councilman Jacob Groby. The most recent town meeting is aiming to “discuss, develop
and put into action educational and advocacy campaigns” against industrial oil and gas
developments. These groups of concerned citizens are educated, aware, and active in current
events of fracking nationwide, which poses potential for nationwide collaboration and unifying
studies, action, and change. Recently CHEM trust, a British charity organization specializing in
research on chemical impact on human and wildlife, came out with a study labeling detrimental
impacts of fracking as “significant” to human and ecological health. 14
Studies like this and
evidence of subsidence, water pollution, and ecological destruction from other communities can
be used as support for this case. Small voices can make a big impact when pooled together and
this could be a great tactic for this campaign. Tulane Law Clinic has been active in this issue
and represented the town in the lawsuit against Helis this year. This seems to be the most
powerful and engaged legal
force for St. Tammany to continue using in their fight for preservation of health and
environment.
This operation will also affect surrounding areas such as Plaquemines parish and Mossville via
transportation of materials making the area of impact even bigger than the 10 acre platform and
nearby material extraction. The extraction site also lays 9000 ft below the aquifer and runs
directly through it posing a potential threat to water quality and security of the surrounding
communities that rely on this for all of their water needs. The state versus local law is posing the
14
http://www.chemtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/chemtrust-chemical-pollution-from-fracking-
june2015.pdf
19. main threat in this lawsuit and must be addressed. So far, the Helis project passed a major
regulatory hurdle in April when Judge William Morvant of the 19th Judicial Circuit ruled in favor
of the State’s authority to allow drilling despite Parish zoning laws. Again the St. Tammany
Parish Council voted unanimously to appeal the decision to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in
Baton Rouge. Blue Williams Law Group and Attorney Neil Hall are currently representing the
parish in these appeals.
Legal action going forward should take into consideration the power of local communities. Since
the first and only public hearing, Helis added 500 pages to their proposal and have not held
another hearing to testify against it. Opening another hearing and overwhelming the Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources with concern against fracking and support for preservation
may be a powerful tactic. Using the frequent town hall meetings as educational and
organizational platforms could be useful. Creating concrete collaboration between other
communities as a platform for overarching federal change is not viable as of yet but using it as
support for local regulation change may be effective.
Appendices
Appendix A: List of Influences
Public Influences
● Saint Tammany citizens
● Citizens for a frack-free St. Tammany (CFFST)
● Tulane Campaign
● Concerned Citizens for Saint Tammany (CCST)
● Media
● Clean Gulf Commerce Coalition (CGCC)
● Lake Pontchartrain Basin
● Big Branch and Bogue Chitto National Parks
● Health Professionals
● Workers for Helis
VIP Influences
● Parish President
● Bobby Jindal
● Jacob Groby
● Louisiana State Government
● Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR)
● Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
● Abita Brewing Company
● Covington Brewery
● Wilma Subra
● Richard Tanner
20. ● Wildlife & Fisheries
● Army Corp of Engineers
● Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Financial Influences
● Investors
● Saint Tammany Chamber of Commerce
Appendix B: St. Tammany Power Map