** *
**Loyalsock Township Gas Activity Ordinance Hearing Tuesday*

Loyalsock Township supervisors will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, August
23, from 7pm – 9pm at 2501 East Third St. to give residents (and members of
the gas industry) a chance to voice their opinions on an amendment to the
Loyalsock Township Ordinances regarding gas activities in the township.

At their last meeting, the board of supervisors voted to advertise for a
public hearing on Ordinance # 343, which, if enacted, would regulate gas and
oil activities in the township. Copies of the proposed ordinance currently
are available at the township building.

RDA member residents of Loyalsock township are urged to come to the hearing
and voice support for stronger ordinances more protective of the property
rights of those whose neighbors may want to allow gas activities on their
own property. As the ordinances stand now, there is little teeth to them.
Many of the proposed ordinances appear quite timid in terms of protecting
the quality of life most residents thought they chose when they decided to
purchase property in the township.

If you own property, work or live in Loyalsock, or have friends who do,
please come and/or pass this on, so the supervisors know that residents who
voice objections and suggestions for stronger ordinances have widespread
community support. Come and hear different opinions and choose which you
think are the best course for your family and property.

*RDA Billboard on Rt. 15*
**

On Monday August 22nd, the first-ever RDA billboard was installed on the
north side of Rt 15 in South Williamsport, across from the Little League
Baseball complex where the annual World Series event is taking place through
Sunday the 28th. The billboard will remain up for 30 days.

RDA wishes to thank its donors for funding this attempt to stimulate
awareness, conversation and activity on the RDA web site. We’d also like to
thank Lamar Outdoor Advertising for its commitment to free speech and civil
public discourse in a community increasingly dominated by advertising that
seeks to promote the deep shale gas drilling.

The message on the sign is a simple one: *Shale Gas Drilling: Not all it’s
FRACKED up to be*. A lot of discussion in a short window of time went into
concocting this brief message, delivered alongside a brilliant ominous
photograph provided by Terry Wild Studios.

The gas industry perspective is everywhere for our out of town visitors to
see and hear, but the realities we are living with may not be so obvious to
those focused on the activity at the stadium. It is RDA's hope that the
billboard will lead visitors to question some of the local folks about the
changes to our area, and the challenges we face.  It's a good bet that deep
concern about our future will be included in the honest response of many
area residents.

*U.S. Energy Secretary’s Advisory Board Report*

The Shale Gas Subcommittee of the United State's Secretary of Energy's
Advisory Board has identified measures that can be taken to reduce the
environmental impact and improve the safety of shale gas production.

From the report, issued August 11, 2011:

“The growth (of gas production) has also brought questions about whether
both current and future production can be done in an environmentally sound
fashion that meets the need of the public trust.”

"As with all energy use, shale gas must be produced in a manner that
prevents, minimizes and mitigates environmental damage and the risk of
accidents and protects public health and safety. Public concern and debate
about the production of shale gas has grown as shale gas output has
expanded.”

"The Subcommittee identifies four major areas of concern: (1) Possible
pollution of drinking water from methane and chemicals used in fracturing
fluids; (2) Air pollution; (3) Community disruption during shale gas
production; and (4) Cumulative adverse impacts that intensive shale
production can have on communities and ecosystems.

There are serious environmental impacts underlying these concerns and these
adverse environmental impacts need to be prevented, reduced and, where
possible, eliminated as soon as possible. Absent effective control, public
opposition will grow, thus putting continued production at risk. Moreover,
with anticipated increase in U.S. hydraulically fractured wells, if
effective environmental action is not taken today, the potential
environmental consequences will grow to a point that the country will be
faced with a more serious problem. Effective action requires both strong
regulation and a shale gas industry in which all participating companies are
committed to continuous improvement..."

Both industry and environmental leaders have commented on the report. RDA
has its own perspective. If you’d like to read ours, it will be available on
our website:  www.responsibledrillingalliance.org

Look for it under the NEWS tab, subheading:
Environment<http://www.responsibledrillingalliance.org/news/environment.html>
.

For a full copy of the subcommittee report, go to:

http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/energy/subcommrpt.pdf