What happens when gas drilling and organic agriculture collide? This series considers some of the issues. Posts are drawn from a 3-part series originally published in New York Organic News (NOFA-NY) in 2012. Research was supported with a grant from SEJ's Fund for Environmental Journalism.
In June 2012, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
(PASA) asked the governor and legislature of the Commonwealth to place a
moratorium on unconventional gas extraction. Like NOFA-NY, they asked that
hydrofracking be halted until studies could determine that the industrialized
drilling practice will not harm farms, the food they produce and the people who
eat that food.
Both NOFA-NY and PASA call for the federal government hold
the oil and gas industry to the same environmental regulations as other
industries – currently drillers are exempted from the Clean Air Act, Clean
Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act. Both organizations call for drillers to
report publicly what chemicals they are using, and to be held accountable for
negative impacts.
As far as certification goes, NOFA-NY allows organic farmers
to lease their land for drilling – as long as they provide a “safe” buffering
distance between drilling activity and their organic fields. But how close is too close when it comes to
growing food near a gas well?
For Adron, that distance ended up being a quarter of a
mile. He and his wife leased land just south of Dimock, PA, where they grew
organic vegetables for a CSA, farmers market and local restaurant. Just one
month after they moved in, a well was drilled half a mile away. A year later
another well was drilled, this one a quarter mile away and located uphill from
the farm. The family experienced headaches, burning eyes, and hives. It often
smelled like a mix of bleach and diesel, said Adron. But he hoped those
problems would disappear once the drilling ended.
Then, in the summer of 2011 his well water changed color.
The family used spring water to drink and cook, but they depended on the well
for irrigation and washing the produce. “I never sold anything I didn’t eat
myself,” he said. “But there’s an emotional weight of trying to grow pure food
and fearing that it might be contaminated.” By the time their well cleared up,
they had decided to leave PA.
“We want to farm
where we don’t have to wonder about the safety of our water,” Adron said.
Shale gas drilling is deeply dividing the farming community
in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, and those divisions are showing up in
the organic community as well. Pittsburgh-based journalist and filmmaker Kirsi
Jansa has been documenting “Gas Rush Stories”, and her latest installment (below)
focuses on the uncertainties and risks facing Pennsylvania’s organic farming community.
Gas Rush Stories: Organic Farmers divided about Fracking
We live in a small farming community in Wales NY where the town board has passed a ban. Our biggest concern is our water supply. There is no public water supply to fall back on if our wells become tainted from our neighbors fracked gas well. We tried to purchase insurance on our well. Our agent advises that you cannot buy a policy to insure your well against environmental contamination. Our only recourse will be to sue the neighbor who has the fracked well on his property.
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