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RESOLUTION TO 2012 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PENN WEST CONFERENCE, UNITED CHURCH
OF CHRIST ENCOURAGE ITS PASTORS AND MEMBERS TO URGE PENNSYLVANIA LAWMAKERS
TO ENACT A TEMPORARY CESSATION OF ALL NEW DEEP SHALE GAS WELL DRILLING UNTIL
SPECIFIC CONDITIONS ARE MET AND FURTHER THAT PENN WEST CONFERENCE ENCOURAGE
ITS MEMBERS TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES ABOUT DEEP SHALE DRILLING AND ESTABLISH A
TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE THAT PURPOSE
SUBMITTED BY THE CREATION CARE TEAM, CONSISTORY AND CONGREGATION OF ST PAUL’S
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, JOHNSTOWN, PA (by Congregational Vote on Sunday April 15, 2012)
WHEREAS, God created heaven and earth and everything therein and proclaimed it good (Gen
1:1ff); God mandated that humankind shall have dominion (stewardship or responsibility) over all the
earth (Genesis 1:26); and entrusted humankind with the care of the earth (Gen 2:15); and that we must
provide for the future, acting as trustworthy stewards (1 Corinthians 4:2) of the earth’s finite resources on
God’s behalf (Genesis 41:46-57); and that Jesus Christ teaches the church that our actions on the earth
have cosmic consequences in God’s will for redemption (Matthew 16:18-20)1; and that His followers are
responsible for taking care of “the least of these” (Matt 25:12-13) and
WHEREAS, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, admitting Christian complicity in
the damage human beings have caused to the Earth’s ecological systems, urges responsible stewardship
of God’s creation, expresses profound concern for the pending environmental, economic and social
tragedies threatened by ecological degradation, declares that responsible stewardship of Creation is
integral to Christian discipleship (General Synod resolutions 1959,1975,1989, 2005, 2007); and calls
compassionate action on behalf of those who disproportionately bear the consequences of climate
change and environmental degradation (General Synod resolutions 1977, 1983, 1989); and
WHEREAS, the state of Pennsylvania contains large subterranean supplies of natural gas in
underground rock formations many miles beneath the earth’s surface which is extracted by a process
known as horizontal slickwater hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”; and
WHEREAS this process uses millions of gallons of water, often mixed with sand and chemicals,
including known toxins, radioactive materials, and carcinogens, to fracture the underground rock
formations and release the natural gas, which poses a significant threat to plant, animal and human life i
and
WHEREAS, the millions of gallons of water needed for each well opening currently involves a
corresponding withdrawal of fresh water from its natural source (rivers, aquifers, wells) which has the
potential to negatively impact these sources, and
WHEREAS, there is currently no way to safely process and treat wastewater produced from
hydraulic fracturing, and there are numerous and substantiated reports of a growing body of scientific
studies indicating that fracking contaminates underground and surface water, and causes both immediate
and long-term health problems in those exposed to the process, and
WHEREAS, the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision exempting gas drilling
and extraction from the Safe Drinking Water Act, and other exemptions are also present in the clean Air
Act and Clean Water act, and at present there is no objective third-party oversight of the natural gas
industry, and
WHEREAS, there is scientifically confirmed evidence of earthquakes caused by the injection of
fracking wastewater into drill sites, as well as possible geologic instability due to the drilling and fracturing
processes which may endanger the integrity of aquifers; and
Whereas, potable water which is essential for man, beast, agriculture, recreational tourism and
industry although historically plentiful in Pennsylvania, is increasingly threatened in much of the USA and
elsewhere on Earth and over the long term, is a far more valuable asset for Pennsylvanians than is shale
gas and therefore should be preserved and protected in Pennsylvania, and
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WHEREAS, natural gas is recognized as a cleaner burning form of fossil fuels than oil or coal, yet
the process of extracting and processing the gas contributes to air pollution, and contributes significantly
to greenhouse gas emissions, and
WHEREAS, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas has the potential to create jobs and generate
income in communities where both are scarce, but also strains limited financial resources in rural areas,
often pits individuals and communities against the financial and legal power of multi-national corporations;
and may result in “boom and bust” economic growth that is problematic over the long term; and
Whereas, drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation is already occurring over much
of Pennsylvania, bringing economic prosperity to a few but causing environmental degradation to our
water, air, forests, wildlife and threatening the health and well being of many of Pennsylvania’s citizens
as well as economic problems to many municipalities, farms, recreational and tourist destinations, and
WHEREAS, there are no standards or provisions made for long-term monitoring of the health of
residents, livestock, wildlife and surrounding ecosystems after a drilling site is closed, and no standard
regulations to safeguard the integrity of closed and/or abandoned wells, and
WHEREAS, The Citizens Marcellus Commission has issued a report offering over 100
recommendations to ensure the safety of the environment and public health in the midst of hydraulic
fracturing, few of which have been adopted and enacted by the industry, and
WHEREAS, in the last ten years the oil and gas industry has given millions of dollars to elected officials at
all levels of government and spent millions of dollars on lobbying, and
WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania legislature has recently passed legislation (Act 13) on hydraulic
fracturing that severely limits the ability of local governments to protect their citizens and communities,
undermining traditional and court-upheld zoning powers to manage where and when drilling will occur;
takes away the legal right for any municipality to challenge a permit decision by the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) that the local government believes is not in the best interest of its
community; leaves local governments powerless to keep large Marcellus wells and wastewater
impoundments more than 300 feet from homes, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses; allows
compressor stations as a conditional use within 750 feet of any building within all zoning districts,
including residential districts and authorizes them in all agricultural districts; allows pipeline construction in
all areas, including residential zones; requires drillers only to replace, not clean up, private and public
water supplies they contaminate; and fails to protect public parks, forests and other “common wealth”
lands; forbids physicians from sharing information about treatment of individuals exposed to fracking
fluids; and
Whereas, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania declares that: “The people
have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic
values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the
people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall
conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”(Article 1, Section 27), and
WHEREAS, the issue of hydraulic fracturing is recognized as a highly controversial issue with
numerous complexities shaped by regional, state, and local circumstances surrounding the industry and
its impact on individuals and communities; and
WHEREAS, the Penn West Conference of the United Church of Christ recognizes that there is a
wide range of stances on the issue of hydraulic fracturing among its members and that this issue has the
potential to be divisive within the body of Christ, and
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WHEREAS, the Penn West Conference of the United Church of Christ is already deeply
committed to the potentially harmful results of deep shale drilling thru the lease of its Weber Memorial
property to the Chevron Natural Gas Company and therefore is particularly responsible to its members
and the current and futures citizens of Pennsylvania, to do its utmost to insure best practices by the
drilling industry, adherence to the Pennsylvania Constitution (Article 1, Section 27), promotion of the
biblical mandate of Stewardship of God’s Creation and the protection of the “least of these”(Matt 25:1213) effected by deep shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Penn West Conference thru its Conference Minister
and Board of Directors, encourage it’s pastors and members to urge Pennsylvania Lawmakers to enact a
temporary cessation of all new deep shale gas well drilling until specific conditions are properly set in
place including: water withdrawal limits; reporting requirements on wastewater reuse and disposal –
cradle to grave; appropriate expansion of protective zones around streams, public water supplies and
public and residential use areas; requirement for drilling companies to report specific types and volumes
of all chemicals used in each well; the monitoring and enforcement of strict requirements for harmful
leaks, spills and emissions that degrade water and air quality including hydraulic fracturing and waste
water fluids, VOC’s, air toxics and methane; the designation of certain critical places as off limits for
natural gas drilling; the halting all new drilling in public lands including state forests and state parks;
increasing the capacity and funding for DEP permitting department and enforcement staff; increasing
DEP’s time period for reviewing permits; allowing state health and environment officials to provide input
on applications for operations that could affect public health and wildlife habitat; increasing extraction fees
on gas drillers by volume withdrawn from each well equivalent or better to those levied in other states;
imposition of stiff well-enforced penalties that discourage violations; requirement for natural gas
companies to pay the entire cost of reclaiming wells including increased bonding requirements; take the
steps necessary to reinforce the roads and bridges being used on a daily basis by large trucks going in
and out of drilling sites so residents in the area may travel safely. The bottom line is that the
Pennsylvania General Assembly should not allow drilling companies to externalize (pass on) the real
costs of shale drilling to current or future citizens of Pennsylvania. And be it further
RESOLVED, that the Penn West Conference thru its Conference Minister convey its concerns
about hydraulic fracturing in writing, including a copy of this resolution, to the Secretary of the United
States Department of Energy and the Director of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, The Governor of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth
Representatives and Senators who serve within the territory of the Conference, other UCC Conferences
in Pennsylvania and Eco Justice Minister of the Justice and Witness Board of the United Church of Christ,
and be it further
RESOLVED, that Penn West Conference establish a task force to study, monitor and report
occasionally to our members on the justice issues surrounding the hydraulic fracturing industry,
including but not limited to ecological protection, public health endangerment, impacts on local
communities such as housing, school districts, forced pooling, crime, violence against women,
exploitation of rural and impoverished families, and that this task force be charged with developing or
making available materials to provide guidance to congregations as they consider decisions pertaining to
the implications of deep shale drilling in their area
RESOLVED, that the Penn West Conference encourage its members to inform and educate
themselves about the issues pertaining to hydraulic fracturing by engaging in
1) grassroots conversation,
2) the sharing of pertinent stories, and
3) workshops and study groups
to discern the theological, moral, and ethical facets of this entire enterprise.