Range Resources

4/16 promoted to primary, evil pending=30 cases range r; lipsky settled<a href="https://udayton.edu/directory/law/documents/watson/blake_watson_hydraulic_fracturing_primer.pdf">https://udayton.edu/directory/law/documents/watson/blake_watson_hydraulic_fracturing_primer.pdf</a>https://prezi.com/bl4mvzxfywr/range-resources-and-psyops/
? pro industry mild critique?summary of<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=6yBuDQAAQBAJ">https://books.google.com/books?id=6yBuDQAAQBAJ</a>cites transparency <a href="http://fracfocus.org/chemical-use/what-chemicals-are-used">http://fracfocus.org/chemical-use/what-chemicals-are-used</a>does not say where (widget does geo search?), how much or effects? smith-mundt act 1948 psy-ops in US illagl by mil<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/04/21/top-shale-fracking-executive-we-won-t-frack-wealthy">https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/04/21/top-shale-fracking-executive-we-won-t-frack-wealthy</a>
Fracking companies deliberately keep their wells away from the “big houses” of wealthy and potentially influential people, a top executive from one of the country's most prominent shale drilling companies told a gathering of attorneys at a seminar on oil and gas environmental law earlier this month, according the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“'We heard Range Resources say it sites its shale gas wells away from large homes where wealthy people live and who might have the money to fight such drilling and fracking operations,' said Patrick Grenter, an attorney and Center for Coalfield Justice executive director, who attended the lawyers’ forum,” the Post-Gazette <a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/latest-oil-and-gas/2016/04/18/Executive-s-remark-about-shale-gas-well-sites-prompts-sharp-criticism-calls-for-review/stories/201604180027" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a>. “A handful of attorneys in the audience confirmed that account,” and added that the Range Resources official had prefaced his remarks by saying “To be frank”.The comments were made by Terry Bossert, Range Resources’s vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs, during a presentation at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Environmental Law Forum on April 7. In 2004, Range Resources was the <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/range-resources/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">first company</a> to drill in Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale – but it has racked up a string of environmental violations so severe that state regulators slapped it with a record-breaking $4.15 million fine in 2014, followed the next year by an $8.9 million fine over a different incident.  

The company has also repeatedly been sued by landowners – and not just in Pennsylvania, but also in their home state of Texas. It made <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/05/children-ban-talking-about-fracking" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">international headlines</a> when a gag order – part of a $750,000 settlement agreement between the company and a family over a contaminated 10-acre farm in Mount Pleasant, PA – barred two children from speaking about fracking for life (a ban that the company later <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/08/01/lifelong-gag-order-imposed-on-two-kids-in-fracking-case/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">repudiated</a>, after the settlement terms were unsealed and made public). It's also involved in a high-profile legal battle in Texas, where the company is <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/09/10/battle-over-flaming-water-and-fracking-continues-texas-federal-government-asked-investigate" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">suing</a> Parker County homeowner Steven Lipsky over a video showing Mr. Lipsky's flaming water well, claiming that the video is defamatory.

It's also not the first time that comments by top company execs have caused concern. In 2011, at a media relations conference for the fracking industry, Range's public relations director, Matt Pitzarella revealed that the company's communications strategy involved hiring combat veterans with PSYOPs experience to influence communities in the U.S.

As DeSmog <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">previously reported</a>, Mr. Pitzarella told the crowd:<blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">
“…looking to other industries, in this case, the Army and the Marines. We have several former PSYOPs folks that work for us at Range because they’re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments. Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of PSYOPs in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania.”</blockquote>
Mr. Bossert's comments drew an immediate response from two of the environmental groups at the seminar, the Center for Coalfield Justice and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club, which <a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/latest-oil-and-gas/2016/04/18/Executive-s-remark-about-shale-gas-well-sites-prompts-sharp-criticism-calls-for-review/stories/201604180027" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">sent</a> a letter demanding an investigation into whether Range Resources wells showed any discriminatory patterns.

“Mr. Bossert’s comments serve as actual notice of the need to implement policies and practices that protect these communities from the adverse effects of industrial land uses,” the groups wrote.

Studies testing for discriminatory impacts from shale drilling have come to widely differing conclusions, especially given that fracked wells can be found in densely-populated urban areas like Fort Worth, TX as well as remote corners of Wyoming and North Dakota. As of 2013, over 15 million Americans <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/10/26/2841841/15-million-americans-live-near-fracking/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">lived</a> within a mile of a shale well — roughly one out of every 20 U.S.residents.

But there are some signs that lower-income Pennsylvanians may be more vulnerable to the impacts of shale drilling.

“No matter how you estimate proximity, it always came up as exposure was significantly, much higher” in low-income Pennsylvania communities, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, a Clark University assistant professor who published a paper last year that concluded that active fracking wells are “strongly associated” with poverty in the state, <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poor-communities-bear-greatest-burden-from-fracking/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">told</a> Scientific American.

That has environmental groups questioning what steps regulators are taking to protect communities from deliberate targeting by industries that view them as more vulnerable.

“Although Pennsylvania has had an environmental justice office since 2002, its oversight duties have regularly suffered from understaffing,” the Post-Gazette <a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/latest-oil-and-gas/2016/04/18/Executive-s-remark-about-shale-gas-well-sites-prompts-sharp-criticism-calls-for-review/stories/201604180027" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a>. “And prior to October 2015, shale gas well-drilling permits were not one of the state permits that triggered an environmental justice review.”

Although the new administration has pledged to step up its enforcement of environmental justice standards, critics have long charged that the state's laws are toothless, even when adequately enforced, because they only require communication and do not give communities the power to reject wells over racial or class-based discrimination.

“It’s movement in the right direction for the DEP to consider environmental justice communities when making its decisions. And it makes no sense to have carved out those exceptions for oil and gas operations,” George Jugovic Jr., chief counsel at the environmental group PennFuture, <a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/news/state/2015/10/19/Pennsylvania-panel-to-examine-drilling-impacts-on-poor-communities/stories/201510190005" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">told</a> the Post-Gazette in October, referring to an exemption for the industry imposed under former Governor Tom Corbett. “But the question the department really needs to answer is what difference does a review make if drilling companies aren’t required to make changes to reduce risks in those communities?”

Nationwide, environmental justice issues have rarely been effectively addressed by state or federal regulators, according to a powerful investigative reporting <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/environment/environmental-justice-denied" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">series</a> published last year by the Center for Public Integrity. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Rights is charged with investigating complaints of discrimination filed against state and local agencies that receive EPA funds and, upon unearthing evidence of injustice, making things right,” The Center for Public Integrity reported last year. “But our investigation shows that the office has not made a formal finding of discrimination in 22 years, despite having received hundreds of complaints, some exhaustively documented.”

The EPA's Civil Rights office is not only charged with addressing income-based discrimination, but racial discrimination as well. But the agency has rejected more than 90 percent of the complaints it received between 1996 and mid-2013, the Center for Public Integrity <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/environment/environmental-justice-denied" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">found</a>. The agency most often failed to pursue an investigation, and when investigations have happened, they've moved at a snail's pace, with the EPA routinely missing statutory deadlines.

“In this country, we’ve talked a lot about Black Lives Matter, and children especially living in overburdened communities of color, their health matters,” Marianne Engelman Lado, an Earthjustice senior staff attorney, who last year sued the EPA on behalf of five Black and Latino communities over the agency's backlog of discrimination cases, <a href="http://www.ebony.com/news-views/epa-environmental-racism-landfill-alabama#axzz46PSl6Ul5" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">told</a> Ebony in January. “The issue of whether the EPA is going to enforce civil rights is immediate and important.”

In December, EPA <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/epa-begins-wholesale-attempt-fix-much-criticized-office-civil-rights-n472411" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">announced</a> some rule changes aimed at improving the Civil Rights office's turn-around time. But the office is chronically under-staffed and under-funded, critics <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/08/20/17834/how-fix-epas-broken-civil-rights-office" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">charge</a>, and their staffers need experience seeing even relatively clear-cut cases of discrimination through to a resolution, <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/08/20/17834/how-fix-epas-broken-civil-rights-office" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">according to</a> former agency insiders.

<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2014/01/13/range-resources-spokesman-matt-pitzarella-misrepresented-education-credentials" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Matt Pitzarella</a>, the Range Resources spokesperson, told the Post-Gazette that Mr. Bossert's statements about deliberately avoiding the wealthy were intended as sarcasm. But environmental attorneys present said that wasn't the way it seemed when Mr. Bossert made his remarks.

“My personal take on it, and I don’t think there’s another way to interpret it, is that people with fewer resources to challenge the industry are the ones being targeted for well development,” Logan Welde, a Clean Air Council staff attorney present when the Range Resources VP made his comment, told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. “I don’t really think it’s a secret that the industry is doing this, but to be so bold to publicly state that is just so brazen and just shows how confident the industry is in the state.”hornA breaking <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2013/02/05/1" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" investigation="investigation" by="by" energywire="energywire" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.eenews.net="www.eenews.net" public="public" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">investigation by EnergyWire</a> appears to connect the dots between shadowy lobbying efforts by shale gas fracking company Range Resources, and the Obama EPA’s decision to shut down its high-profile lawsuit against Range for allegedly contaminating groundwater in Weatherford, Texas.At the center of the scandal sits former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, the former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the National Governors’ Association.Just weeks ago, the Associated Press (AP) broke news that the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/01/16/breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" u.s="U.S" environmental="Environmental" protection="Protection" agency="Agency" epa="EPA" shut="shut" down="down" the="the" high-profile="high-profile" texas="Texas" lawsuit="lawsuit" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.desmogblog.com="www.desmogblog.com" breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study="breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shut down the high-profile Texas lawsuit</a> and buried an accompanying scientific report obtained during the lawsuit’s discovery phase in March 2012.That confidential report, contracted out to hydrogeologist Geoffrey Thyne by the Obama EPA, concluded that methane found in the drinking water of a nearby resident could have originated from Range Resources’ nearby shale gas fracking operation.Range Resources — which admitted at an industry conference that <a rel="nofollow" href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/7153:fracking-and-psychological-operations-empire-comes-home" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" it="it" utilizes="utilizes" psychological="psychological" warfare="warfare" psyops="PSYOPs" tactics="tactics" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" truth-out.org="truth-out.org" news="news" item="item" fracking-and-psychological-operations-empire-comes-home="fracking-and-psychological-operations-empire-comes-home" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">it utilizes psychological warfare (PSYOPs) tactics</a> on U.S. citizens — launched an aggressive defense against the EPA’s allegations that the company might be responsible for contaminating resident Steve Lipsky’s groundwater.AP <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/01/16/breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" explained="explained" in="in" its="its" investigation="investigation" that="that" resident="resident" steve="Steve" lipsky="Lipsky" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.desmogblog.com="www.desmogblog.com" breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study="breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">explained in its investigation that resident Steve Lipsky</a>, who has a wife and three young children, had “reported his family’s drinking water had begun ‘bubbling’ like champagne” and that his “well... contains so much methane that the... water [is] pouring out of a garden hose [that] can be ignited.”In response, the Obama EPA ordered Range to halt fracking. Range was non-cooperative every step of the way, refusing to comply with the legal dictates of the discovery phase and not complying with the censored water sample study implicating the company with groundwater contamination.The new twist <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2013/02/05/1" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" exposed="exposed" by="by" energywire="energywire" s="s" mike="Mike" soraghan="Soraghan" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.eenews.net="www.eenews.net" public="public" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">exposed by EnergyWire’s Mike Soraghan</a> is that Ed Rendell, acting “as a spokesman for Range” Resources, “proposed certain terms” to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Exactly what was said remains unclear, but the EPA ultimately dropped its case against Range.  More than a thousand pages of emails obtained by EnergyWire “offer behind-the-scenes insights in a case that has come to be seen as a major retreat by the agency amid aggressive industry push-back and support for natural gas drilling by President Obama.” <h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-weight: normal; visibility: visible;"> Rendell: Range’s Chosen One or Rogue Lobbyist? </h3>The emails obtained by  EnergyWire reveal that Rendell intervened directly with Administrator Jackson at some point in 2011, presumably after his term as Pennsylvania’s governor came to a close on Jan 18, 2011. An EPA attorney’s email indicated that <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/02/05/document_ew_06.pdf" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" rendell="Rendell" said="said" he="he" was="was" there="there" as="as" a="a" spokesman="spokesman" for="for" range="Range" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.eenews.net="www.eenews.net" assets="assets" document_ew_06.pdf="document_ew_06.pdf" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Rendell said he was there “as a spokesman for Range.” </a>According to the  National Institute on Money in State Politics, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor_details.phtml?c=90561&i%5B%5D=33" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" rendell="Rendell" took="took" almost="almost" from="from" the="the" oil="oil" and="and" gas="gas" industry="industry" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.followthemoney.org="www.followthemoney.org" database="database" stateglance="StateGlance" contributor_details.phtml="contributor_details.phtml" c="90561&i%5B%5D=33" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Rendell took almost $200,000 from the oil and gas industry</a> in the run-up to his 2006 electoral victory and while governor, he <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7Bfb3c17e2-cdd1-4df6-92be-bd4429893665%7D/MARCELLUSSHALESTUDY.PDF" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" described="described" himself="himself" as="as" the="the" industry="industry" s="s" best="best" ally="ally" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.commoncause.org="www.commoncause.org" atf="atf" cf="cf" bfb3c17e2-cdd1-4df6-92be-bd4429893665="Bfb3c17e2-cdd1-4df6-92be-bd4429893665" d="D" marcellusshalestudy.pdf="MARCELLUSSHALESTUDY.PDF" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">described himself as the industry’s “best ally.”</a> Upon completion of his gubernatorial stint, Rendell immediately fled to the private sector. He currently works both as an <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.elementpartners.com/team-edrendell.html" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" operating="Operating" partner="Partner" at="at" element="Element" partners="Partners" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.elementpartners.com="www.elementpartners.com" team-edrendell.html="team-edrendell.html" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Operating Partner at Element Partners</a> and as a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.greenhill.com/index.php?option=com_peoplebook&Itemid=131&func=grShowProfile&catid=54&profileid=10000425" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" senior="Senior" advisor="Advisor" at="at" greenhill="Greenhill" co="Co" inc="Inc" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.greenhill.com="www.greenhill.com" index.php="index.php" option="com_peoplebook&Itemid=131&func=grShowProfile&catid=54&profileid=10000425" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Senior Advisor at  Greenhill & Co., Inc.</a>Element Partners <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.elementpartners.com/investment-strategy-our-focus.html" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" describes="describes" itself="itself" as="as" a="a" firm="firm" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.elementpartners.com="www.elementpartners.com" investment-strategy-our-focus.html="investment-strategy-our-focus.html" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">describes itself as a firm</a> that, among other things, provides “services to the energy, industrial, and environmental markets” and “capital for growth, acquisitions, shareholder liquidity, recapitalizations, and buyouts.” It provides investment capital for <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.elementpartners.com/portfolio-energy.html" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" numerous="numerous" oil="oil" and="and" gas="gas" industry="industry" clients="clients" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.elementpartners.com="www.elementpartners.com" portfolio-energy.html="portfolio-energy.html" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">numerous oil and gas industry clients</a>. Greenhill is a similar firm, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.greenhill.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=148" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" describing="describing" itself="itself" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.greenhill.com="www.greenhill.com" index.php="index.php" option="com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=148" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">describing itself</a> as a “leading independent investment bank focused on providing financial advice on significant mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings and capital raisings to corporations, partnerships, institutions and governments.” Like Element, Greenhall also provides investment capital <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.greenhill.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=155" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" for="for" numerous="numerous" oil="oil" and="and" gas="gas" corporations="corporations" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.greenhill.com="www.greenhill.com" index.php="index.php" option="com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=155" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">for numerous oil and gas corporations</a>.Prior to the completion of Rendell’s final term as governor, three of his former aides abruptly <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/marcellus-shale/63656357.html" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" left="left" their="their" jobs="jobs" to="to" work="work" as="as" shale="shale" gas="gas" industry="industry" lobbyists="lobbyists" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.philly.com="www.philly.com" philly="philly" news="news" special_packages="special_packages" inquirer="inquirer" marcellus-shale="marcellus-shale" html="html" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">left their jobs to work as shale gas industry lobbyists</a>. Their names: Kenneth Scott Roy, Barbara Sexton, and Sarah Battisti. Sexton, Rendell’s former Executive Deputy Secretary of the PA Department Environmental Protection (DEP), transitioned into a gig <a rel="nofollow" href="http://articles.philly.com/2010-07-13/news/24969499_1_natural-gas-rendell-gas-industry" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" working="working" as="as" a="a" lobbyist="lobbyist" for="for" industry="industry" giant="giant" chesapeake="Chesapeake" energy="Energy" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" articles.philly.com="articles.philly.com" news="news" _1_natural-gas-rendell-gas-industry="1_natural-gas-rendell-gas-industry" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">working as a lobbyist for industry giant Chesapeake Energy</a>. Battisti, another of Rendell’s cadre of Deputy Chiefs-of-Staff, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://articles.philly.com/2010-07-13/news/24969499_1_natural-gas-rendell-gas-industry" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" became="became" a="a" lobbyist="lobbyist" for="for" bg="BG" british="British" gas="Gas" group="Group" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" articles.philly.com="articles.philly.com" news="news" 1_natural-gas-rendell-gas-industry="1_natural-gas-rendell-gas-industry" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">became a lobbyist for BG (British Gas) Group</a>. The third, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/marcellus-shale/63656357.html" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" k="K" scott="Scott" roy="Roy" wound="wound" up="up" as="as" a="a" lobbyist="lobbyist" for="for" range="Range" resources="Resources" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.philly.com="www.philly.com" philly="philly" news="news" special_packages="special_packages" inquirer="inquirer" marcellus-shale="marcellus-shale" html="html" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">K. Scott Roy, wound up as a lobbyist for Range Resources</a> as Vice President for Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-weight: normal; visibility: visible;"> Is Scott Roy the Bridge Between Ridge, Rendell, Range and MSC?</h3>In his Range Resources bio, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://neienergy.org/documents/KScottRoy-2011bio.pdf" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" k="K" scott="Scott" roy="Roy" describes="describes" his="his" former="former" position="position" as="as" ed="Ed" rendell="Rendell" s="s" top="top" advisor="advisor" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" neienergy.org="neienergy.org" documents="documents" kscottroy-2011bio.pdf="KScottRoy-2011bio.pdf" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">K. Scott Roy describes his former position as Ed Rendell’s “top advisor.”</a> His official title was Executive Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Governor. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://marcelluscoalition.org/about/executive-committee/" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" roy="Roy" also="also" serves="serves" on="on" the="the" executive="Executive" board="Board" of="of" marcellus="Marcellus" shale="Shale" coalition="Coalition" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" marcelluscoalition.org="marcelluscoalition.org" about="about" executive-committee="executive-committee" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Roy also serves on the Executive Board of the Marcellus Shale Coalition</a>, the gas industry’s aggressive lobbying arm in statehouses located within the Marcellus Shale basin. Prior to serving in the Rendell administration, Roy worked in the office of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who went on to serve as <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/marcellus-shale-coalition-hires-ridge-as-adviser-257546/" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" strategic="strategic" adviser="adviser" to="to" the="the" marcellus="Marcellus" shale="Shale" coalition="Coalition" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.post-gazette.com="www.post-gazette.com" stories="stories" local="local" state="state" marcellus-shale-coalition-hires-ridge-as-adviser-257546="marcellus-shale-coalition-hires-ridge-as-adviser-257546" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">“strategic adviser” to the Marcellus Shale Coalition</a> in 2012. It is as yet unclear what role Scott Roy played as one of Range’s hired guns to fend off the EPA lawsuit. Might he have contacted his old boss Ed Rendell for help pressuring the Obama administration to lay off Range? It seems a reasonable question to ask.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-weight: normal; visibility: visible;"> Range Denies Rendell Worked on its Behalf</h3>Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarella (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" of="of" psyops="PSYOPs" revelation="revelation" notoriety="notoriety" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.desmogblog.com="www.desmogblog.com" gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities="gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">of PSYOPs revelation notoriety</a>) denied any connection between the company and Rendell.“I don’t know the extent of the governor’s involvement in energy-related matters, but he never functioned as a spokesperson of Range,” <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2013/02/05/1" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" pitzarella="Pitzarella" told="told" energywire="energywire" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.eenews.net="www.eenews.net" public="public" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Pitzarella told EnergyWire</a>.Given the ties that bind Rendell to Range, though, the words “plausible deniability” come to mind.Coming full circle, it’s important to remember the human side of this story. Lipsky’s <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/01/16/breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" family="family" now="now" pays="pays" per="per" month="month" for="for" water="water" deliveries="deliveries" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" www.desmogblog.com="www.desmogblog.com" breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study="breaking-obama-epa-shut-down-weatherford-tx-shale-gas-water-contamination-study" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">family now pays $1,000 per month for water deliveries</a>, with life for them changed forever. “This has been total hell,” <a rel="nofollow" href="http://news.yahoo.com/epa-changed-course-oil-company-protested-082012084.html;ylt=AmveX8E14CsKyLcN.JfNSLQS.MwF;ylu=X3oDMTQ2bTdpNTV2BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YgRW5lcmd5U1NGBHBrZwM2Yjg2NzM2OC00NWE2LTM1OWMtOTI5MC0wZTE4ZGU2YWVkYWUEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDNWY2NjY5OTAtNWZiNi0xMWUyLWJlZmUtMzE1ZDMwNTQ3ZGFk;ylg=X3oDMTFzMnBqYnA4BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfGVuZXJneQRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;ylv=3" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" lipsky="Lipsky" told="told" the="the" ap="AP" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" news.yahoo.com="news.yahoo.com" epa-changed-course-oil-company-protested-082012084.html="epa-changed-course-oil-company-protested-082012084.html" ylt="AmveX8E14CsKyLcN.JfNSLQS.MwF;ylu=X3oDMTQ2bTdpNTV2BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YgRW5lcmd5U1NGBHBrZwM2Yjg2NzM2OC00NWE2LTM1OWMtOTI5MC0wZTE4ZGU2YWVkYWUEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDNWY2NjY5OTAtNWZiNi0xMWUyLWJlZmUtMzE1ZDMwNTQ3ZGFk;ylg=X3oDMTFzMnBqYnA4BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfGVuZXJneQRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;ylv=3" data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgb(13, 190, 152) 0px -2px 0px inset;">Lipsky told the AP</a>. “It’s been taking a huge toll on my family and on our life.” Determining the truth of what happened with the EPA’s failed investigation and lawsuit against Range Resources won’t change the Lipskys’ predicament, but it would go a long way towards identifying the grasp of the oil industry’s tentacles on Washington.Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlogjune 2015<a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/department-of-environmental-protection/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection</a> announced a record fine today against the Texas-based <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/range-resources/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">Range Resources,</a> which the agency says has failed to fix a gas well that polluted groundwater and a stream in Lycoming County. The DEP announced Tuesday that it will assess an $8.9 million fine against Range for refusing to fix the faulty cement job on a natural gas well that the agency says caused methane to migrate into private drinking water supplies. The penalty would be the largest to date against a Marcellus Shale gas driller.“Today, we made it clear that we take seriously our responsibility to protect residents and Pennsylvania’s natural resources,” said DEP Secretary John Quigley in a statement. “Clean water is an important part of a strong economy and Range Resources owes it to the people of Lycoming County and surrounding areas to make the repairs necessary to immediately stop the discharge of natural gas to the waters.”The fine sought by the DEP is more than double the highest fine ever issued by the agency against a gas driller. That fine, $4.15 million and now the second highest, was also issued to Range Resources back in September. In that case the company <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/09/18/range-resources-to-pay-4m-for-violations-at-western-pa-impoundments/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">agreed to pay the fine for violations at six wastewater impoundments </a>in Washington County. But in this recent Lycoming County case, Range Resources has not agreed to the sanction, saying the methane migration is naturally occurring and existed before their well was drilled.The company issued the following statement:<blockquote style="margin: 24px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: italic; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">“We respect and share the department’s mission to safely produce natural gas while protecting the environment. We believe we’ve complied with DEP’s requests and while we have a disagreement about this situation, we are very confident in the mechanical integrity of the well and we are equally confident that the environment and community is not at risk. We will continue to be transparent with the Department with the substantial data we have that proves that the methane of concern exists naturally at the surface and subsurface in this part of the state, long before our activity, and is not in any way related to our operations.”</blockquote>DEP says Range is appealing the decision to the state Environmental Hearing Board.Range Resources originally drilled the well in the winter of 2011, and fracked it in June of that year. DEP issued a notice of violation in September 2013, citing a faulty cement job.  DEP says despite the violations the company has yet to fix the well.DEP Secretary John Quigley told StateImpact it was a case of “severe methane migration” and that at least five residential water wells were impacted and continue to require treatment....<a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/range-resources/page/2/">https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/range-resources/page/2/</a>Range Resources drilled Pennsylvania’s first Marcellus Shale well back in 2004, striking gold long before <a title="The Pennsylvania Guide to Hydraulic Fracturing, or “Fracking”" href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/topic/fracking/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">“fracking</a>” or <a title="So What’s an Impact Fee, Anyway?" href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/topic/impact-fee/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">“severance tax</a>” became household terms. With more than a million acres leased in the Marcellus Shale region, Range is one of the most active natural gas drilling companies in the state. Based in Texas, Range pulled up stakes in the Barnett Shale in order to concentrate their operations in the Keystone state.In December 2014, the company announced that one of their test wells into the Utica Shale formation produced a whopping 59 million cubic feet of gas a day.Pennsylvania native <a href="http://www.centredaily.com/2011/06/30/2810305/pa-native-takes-helm-at-range.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">Jeffrey Ventura</a> took over as CEO in January 2012. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=5576609&ticker=RRC" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">Ventura’s yearly compensation </a>tops $10 million. The company’s senior vice president, <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/marcellus-shale/63656357.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">K. Scott Roy</a>, is board chair at the <a title="The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission’s Members and Mission" href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/topic/marcellus-shale-advisory-commission/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">Marcellus Shale Coalition</a>, the industry’s main trade group within Pennsylvania.Range was also the first company to reveal the <a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/getdoc/50e3bc03-3bf6-4517-a29b-e2b8ef0afe4f/Well-Completion-Reports.aspx" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;">fracking chemicals</a> used in each well. But environmentalists say the information is not detailed enough to determine the risk.<a title="Range Resources to pay $4M for violations at western Pa. impoundments" href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/09/18/range-resources-to-pay-4m-for-violations-at-western-pa-impoundments/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">In September 2014</a>, the Department of Environmental Protection slapped Range Resources with a $4.15 million fine for leaking wastewater impoundments. It was the highest fine ever issued by DEP.In August 2011, a Washington County family settled a high-profile nuisance case against Range Resources for $750,000. Chris and Stephanie Hallowich had been outspoken critics of fracking, saying the family became sick from the gas drilling activity surrounding their Washington County home. According to court testimony released last summer, <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/08/01/lifelong-gag-order-imposed-on-two-kids-in-fracking-case/" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">the settlement placed a gag order</a> on the couple’s two young children. Range Resources seems to now be distancing itself from its lawyer’s remarks, insisting the gag order applies only to the parents.SEPTEMBER 18, 2014Range Resources to pay $4M for violations at western Pa. impoundmentsRange Resources will pay a $4.15 million fine for violations at six wastewater impoundments in Washington County. It is the largest penalty the state has imposed on a shale gas driller, the Department of Environmental Protection said Thursday. The violations include leaks of flowback fluid – the liquid that comes back out of a well after [...]
APRIL 11, 2014Range Resources will pay $75K for Lycoming County spillRange Resources has agreed to pay a $75,000 fine for a July 2012 spill on a Lycoming County well pad, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced Friday. The DEP said 3,066 gallons of a manufactured brine solution leaked out of a storage tank and onto the well pad in Lewis Township. “This was a [...]
DECEMBER 16, 2013Allegheny County could get $73M in park gas drilling dealAllegheny County could receive as much as $73 million by leasing a public park for natural gas drilling, including a $3.5 million signing bonus. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained documents from Range Resources that detailed the company’s proposal to county Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Range wants the county to lease all 1,180 acres of Deer Lakes Park [...]
OCTOBER 9, 2013Reports: Range Resource admits it doesn’t know makeup of fracking fluid
EnergyWire reports a Pennsylvania judge has ordered a major drilling operator to disclose the full chemical composition of its fracking fluid. Turns out, that’s not an easy task, according to court documents that show Range Resources does not know the makeup of the products it uses to extract natural gas from shale. More from EnergyWire: Range [...]
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013‘Landman’ Pleads Guilty To Marcellus Shale Mineral Rights FraudA man accused of selling millions of dollars in fake mineral rights, along with a parter, has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports 29-year-old William J. Ray could face about three years in prison for securing fake leases and selling them to gas companies. The scheme was discovered by [...]
AUGUST 5, 2013Range Resources Wines and Dines State Officials
One of the state’s biggest natural gas drillers, Range Resources, paid for expensive steak dinners for Corbett administration officials, state legislators, and gas industry executives, according to documents obtained by StateImpact Pennsylvania under the state’s Right To Know law. Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Alan Walker disclosed the dinners as gifts [...]nice spin: ...According to Cawley’s filing, he received a dinner valued at $107 in March 2012 from the senior vice president of Range Resources<a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/Our-Company/Senior-Management/Ray-N--Walker,-Jr-.aspx" target="blank" style="font-family: " helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none" transition="transition" all="all" s="s" ease-in-out="ease-in-out" font-weight="font-weight" bold="bold">, Ray Walker.</a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Walker is the co-founder of the Marcellus Shale Coalition and served as gas industry trade group’s first chairman. He was also a member of <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/marcellus-shale-advisory-commission/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; font-weight: bold;">Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission</a>, which Cawley chaired. The 30-member panel was charged with creating recommendations to the state about gas drilling policies.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Cawley’s spokesman Chad Saylor says he also attended the dinner, along with another Range Resources staffer.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">The group dined at a steakhouse in Pittsburgh, although Saylor couldn’t recall the name of the restaurant.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">“I remember them talking about the company’s plans,”  he says, “[Cawley] likes to meet with Pennsylvanians creating jobs.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">According to Saylor it’s not uncommon for the lieutenant governor to have dinner meetings with executives from different industries while he’s traveling throughout the state.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">He says there’s no set policy on whether Cawley pays his own way.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">“I’ve been at some [dinners] where he’s picked up the tab. I’ve been at others where they have.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">A month later, in April 2012 Range Resources bought a dinner for DCED Secretary Alan Walker valued at $154.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Walker dined at Del Frisco’s steakhouse in Philadelphia where the most expensive item on the menu is a 32 ounce rib eye for $89.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">He lists the dinner as a discussion about state’s natural gas supply chain and workforce development opportunities.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">According to the filing, Senators Vince Hughes (D- Montgomery/Phila.) and Tim Solobay (D- Allegheny) were also there.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">DCED spokesman Steve Kratz says Walker was invited by Senator Hughes’ office and attended as a courtesy.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">“It was a simple discussion,” he says. “It wasn’t a business meeting.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Range Resources hosted about 35 people, including area business leaders and members of the Marcellus Shale Coalition.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Kratz says the gathering did not influence any policy decisions. He adds Walker’s meal was just his share of the overall price for a pre-ordered group menu.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">“It’s not like he picked out the most expensive thing. Really, it’s a non-issue.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Hughes’ spokesman Ben Waxman confirmed the Senator organized the dinner, saying it was an attempt to connect women and minority businesses with opportunities in the shale industry.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">“It was a networking event,” says Waxman.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">Neither Range Resources nor Sen. Solobay’s office responded to requests for comment.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb">...
AUGUST 1, 2013Lifelong Gag Order Imposed on Two Kids in Fracking Case
Two young children are forbidden from speaking about Marcellus Shale or fracking for the rest of their lives. The court action stems from a settlement in a high-profile Marcellus Shale lawsuit in western Pennsylvania. The two children were 7 and 10 years old at the time the Hallowich family settled a nuisance case against driller [...]
JUNE 14, 2013Corbett Defends Impact Fee Over Severance Tax
While making a stop in Philadelphia to tout the benefits of natural gas development to the Delaware Valley, Governor Tom Corbett defended his insistence on imposing an “impact fee” rather than a “severance tax.” His remarks made at the industry sponsored Keystone Energy Forum came just a day after the Public Utility Commission announced the [...]
JUNE 6, 2013Confidentiality Agreements Prevent Fracking Contamination Claims From Being Made PublicBloomberg reports on how confidentiality agreements with landowners across the country have helped protect drilling companies from bad publicity and allegations of pollution. The article specifically mentions the Hallowich v. Range Resources case in Washington County. The Hallowich family sued gas drillers after they said drilling activity near their home outside Pittsburgh made their children [...]
APRIL 5, 2013Newspapers Seek Missing Court Documents in Fracking Contamination Case
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports they are seeking missing information from unsealed court documents related to a fracking contamination case in Washington County. Hallowich v. Range Resources is one of the most closely watched cases involving claims of health impacts and property damage against a Marcellus Shale gas driller. A Washington County judge heard testimony yesterday <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/magazine/fracking-amwell-township.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/magazine/fracking-amwell-township.html</a>...<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="636" data-total-count="18451" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb">Later that summer, her son, Harley, was stricken with mysterious stomach pains and periods of extreme fatigue, which sent him to the emergency room and to Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital a half-dozen times. “He couldn’t lift his head out of my lap,” Haney said. Early in November of the following year, after the animals died, Haney decided to have Harley tested for heavy metals and ethylene glycol. While she waited for the results, Haney called Range Resources and asked that it supply her with drinking water. The company tested her water and found nothing wrong with it. Haney’s father began to haul water to her barn.<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="510" data-total-count="18961" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb">A week later, on Haney’s 41st birthday, Harley’s test results came back. Harley had elevated levels of arsenic. Haney called Range Resources again. The company delivered a 5,100-gallon tank of drinking water, called a water buffalo, the next day. “Our policy is if you have a complaint or a concern, we’ll supply you with a water source within 24 hours,” Pitzarella of Range Resources said. He added that the company has “never seen any evidence that anyone in that household has arsenic issues.”<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="1139" data-total-count="20100" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb">Although she was able to work 40 hours as a nurse and care for two kids and a small farm, Haney wasn’t feeling great, either. So a few months later, she had herself and Paige tested too. Their tests results showed they had small amounts of heavy metals like arsenic and industrial solvents like benzene and toluene in their blood. Dr. Philip Landrigan of Mount Sinai said that the results show evidence of exposure, but that it was difficult to determine potential health effects at the levels found. But he added: “These people are exposed to arsenic and benzene, known human carcinogens. There’s considered to be no safe levels of these chemicals.” Pitzarella says that Range Resources was never shown these reports and that arsenic has nothing to do with fracking. Pitzarella cited a study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania that found that 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s water wells had at least one pre-existing water-quality problem, and that there was no obvious influence on private water-well quality from fracking. In a previous study, 2 percent of the state’s wells had arsenic levels that exceeded health standards.<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="1139" data-total-count="20100" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color">...<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="584" data-total-count="27190" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb">That same day, when Voyles told Range Resources she had developed blisters in her nose, it offered to put her up in a hotel, as it does for all nuisance complaints, but she didn’t want to leave her dogs and horses behind. (Range later said that it had no record of the complaint.) Next door on McAdams Road, Haney and her kids began to have intense periods of dizziness and nosebleeds. Of the three, Harley was the worst off. Haney took him to their family physician, Craig Fox, in the nearby town of Washington. Like most local doctors, Dr. Fox had never seen such symptoms before.<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="933" data-total-count="28123" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb">Haney says that Dr. Fox’s advice to her was unequivocal: “Get Harley out of that house right away. I don’t want him anywhere near there, even driving by, for 30 days.” So Haney took Harley to a friend’s house in Eighty-Four, a town named for the lumber company. She took her daughter to her parents’ house in Amity. Each day, she spent about four hours in the car shuttling the kids from school, to and from friends’ homes and driving to the farm to feed the animals, which were O.K. some days and vomiting or collapsing on others. Haney found a cousin willing to take her pigs, but she had nowhere to house the other animals, so they remained at the farm. She stayed home for less than an hour at a time, long enough to put a load of laundry into the washer. Every two days, she spent $50 on gas. Their farmhouse stood abandoned. “Our home has become a $300,000 cat mansion,” Haney said when I visited her in July.<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="421" data-total-count="28544" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color">Haney is no left-leaning environmentalist; she is a self-proclaimed redneck who is proud to trace her roots here back at least 150 years. This is not the kind of fight she usually takes on. “I’m not going to sit back and let them make my kids sick,” she says. “People ask me why I don’t just move out, but where would I go? I can’t afford another mortgage, and if I default on this place, we will lose it. ”<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="421" data-total-count="28544" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color">......Later, test results of the area commissioned by Range Resources revealed the presence of acetone, toluene, benzene, phenol, arsenic, barium, heavy metals and methane. The company maintains that none of these were found in drinking water....Bill Hartley, Rick Baker, Beth Voyles and Stacey Haney received their first royalty checks this summer from the nine gas wells that lie on the square mile between them. Stacey used most of her $9,000 check to pay off the bills she incurred: $4,500 went to co-pays and deductibles for doctors’ visits; $1,150 went to pay for gas. She set $2,700 aside to pay taxes on the earnings. The remaining $750 she used as a down payment on a camper. Haney finally moved the kids to live behind her parents’ home in Amity. Subsequently, the benzene and toluene levels in each of her children’s urine dropped precipitously. For Haney, who continues to return to the farm to feed the animals every evening, the benzene and toluene levels remain higher. Harley still suffers from acute nausea, for which his doctor has prescribed Zofran, a medication frequently given to chemotherapy patients. “They’ve ruined our lives,” Haney said. “I have to worry every day if my kids are going to have cancer. I will worry for the rest of my life about them with the amount of carcinogens we now have in our blood. We’ve lost everything — our pets, the value of our house. No amount of money that we’d ever get from royalties would ever replace my children’s health.”CA<a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/fracking-02-11-2015.html">https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/fracking-02-11-2015.html</a>vs<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/30/toxic-chemicals-and-carcinogens-skyrocket-near-fracking-sites-study-says">https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/30/toxic-chemicals-and-carcinogens-skyrocket-near-fracking-sites-study-says</a><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oil and gas wells across the country are spewing “dangerous" cancer-causing chemicals into the air, according to a new study that further <a class="" href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/10/respiratory-skin-problems-soar-near-gas-wells-study-says" title="Link: //www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/10/respiratory-skin-problems-soar-near-gas-wells-study-says" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">corroborates reports of health problems around hydraulic fracturing sites</a>.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“This is a significant public health risk,” says Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany-State University of New York and lead author of the study, which was published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health. “Cancer has a long latency, so you’re not seeing an elevation in cancer in these communities. But five, 10, 15 years from now, elevation in cancer is almost certain to happen.”</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Eight poisonous chemicals were found near wells and fracking sites in Arkansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wyoming at levels that far exceeded recommended federal limits. Benzene, a carcinogen, was the most common, as was formaldehyde, which also has been <a class="" href="http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/formaldehyde" target="blank" title="Link: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/formaldehyde" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">linked to cancer</a>. Hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs and can affect the brain and upper-respiratory system, also was found.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I was amazed,” Carpenter says. “Five orders of magnitude over federal limits for benzene at one site – that’s just incredible. You could practically just light a match and have an explosion with that concentration.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“It’s an indication of how leaky these systems are.”<div data-config-distributor-id="90080" id="ndn-video-player-2" class="ndn_embed" data-config-site-section="ndn1_usnews" data-config-height="9/16w" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636.656px;"><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;">[READ: <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/10/respiratory-skin-problems-soar-near-gas-wells-study-says" target="blank" title="Respiratory, Skin Problems Soar Near Gas Wells, Study Says (//www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/10/respiratory-skin-problems-soar-near-gas-wells-study-says)" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Respiratory, Skin Problems Soar Near Gas Wells, Study Says</a>]<div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The health effects of living near a fracking site have been felt elsewhere, according to separate research. A study published last month by researchers from the University of Washington and Yale University found <a class="" href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/10/respiratory-skin-problems-soar-near-gas-wells-study-says" title="Link: //www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/10/respiratory-skin-problems-soar-near-gas-wells-study-says" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">residents within a kilometer of a well had up to twice the number of health problems as those living at least 2 kilometers away</a>.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The way fracking’s being done in these five states, it’s not being done safely,” Carpenter says.</div><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For Carpenter's study, trained volunteers living near the wells conducted air measurements, taking 35 “grab air” samples during heavy industrial activity or when they felt symptoms such as dizziness, nausea or headaches. Another 41 “passive” tests – meaning samples were taken during a designated period, not merely when levels spiked – were conducted to monitor for formaldehyde. The tests were then sent to accredited labs.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Not every sample exceeded the recommended limits. But in those that did – slightly less than half the samples taken – benzene levels were 35 to 770,000 times greater than normal concentrations, or up to 33 times the exposure a driver might get while fueling his or her car. Similarly, hydrogen sulfide levels above federal standards were 90 to 60,000 times higher than normal – enough to cause eye and respiratory irritation, fatigue, irritability, poor memory and dizziness after just one hour of exposure.</div><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;">[STUDY: <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/27/oil-fallout-from-bp-deepwater-horizon-spill-coats-miles-of-gulf-floor-study-says" target="blank" title="Oil Fallout From BP Deepwater Horizon Spill Coats Miles of Gulf Floor (//www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/27/oil-fallout-from-bp-deepwater-horizon-spill-coats-miles-of-gulf-floor-study-says)" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Oil Fallout From BP Deepwater Horizon Spill Coats Miles of Gulf Floor</a>]<div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Excessive formaldehyde levels were 30 to 240 times higher than normal, which a statement on the study described as “more than twice the formaldehyde concentration that occurs in rooms where medical students are dissecting human cadavers, and where most students report respiratory irritation.”</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A law passed in 2005 by Congress included what's commonly known as the "Halliburton loophole," which exempts oil and gas companies from federal regulations involving the monitoring and disclosure of fracking chemicals.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“It’s the gift that keeps on giving, the longer you’re exposed to these things,” says Wyoming resident Deb Thomas, who saw a well open across the road from her in 1999 and helped collect air samples for Carpenter’s study. “I had an asthmatic episode – I’ve never had any asthma, I don’t have a history of asthma. I ended up at the hospital where they gave me breathing treatments. I’ve had really bad rashes.”</div><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Thomas has come across similar symptoms at other unconventional oil and gas sites across the country, where as executive director of the nonprofit group ShaleTest, she’s helped take air samples for low-income families and communities affected by fracking.</div><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;">[DATA MINE: <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/10/22/which-states-are-most-least-energy-efficient" target="blank" title="Which States Are Most, Least Energy Efficient? (//www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/10/22/which-states-are-most-least-energy-efficient)" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Which States Are Most, Least Energy Efficient?</a>]<div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“We see a lot of cognitive difficulties,” she says. “People get asthma or breathing difficulty or nose polyps or something with their eyes or their ears ring – the sorts of things that come on very subtly, but you start to notice them.”</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">However, it’s difficult to determine which health issues are a result of oil and gas operations and which stem from other factors, because symptoms often start only gradually and government air quality studies have proved limited in scope.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“It’s really hard to say what’s from the actual exposure,” Thomas says. “It’s very scary. It’s very hard to get information about what the development is. One minute you’re living your normal life, the next, people start to get really sick and they can’t get any answers.”  </div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> The chemicals may pose major risks to oil and gas workers, too.</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The occupational exposures we’re not even talking about,” Carpenter says. “If anybody is exposed at the levels our results show, these workers are exposed at tremendous levels.”</div><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s largest trade and lobbying group, and America’s Natural Gas Alliance, which represents independent gas exploration and production companies, both declined to comment Wednesday ahead of the study’s release. Spokesmen at each group referred questions to another industry organization, Energy In Depth, which dismissed the study's methods and conclusions as "dubious."</div><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">"Their commitment to banning oil and gas development, and their ideological position that fracking can never be adequately regulated, is clearly why this report comes to such harsh conclusions," says Energy In Depth spokeswoman Katie Brown, referring to the group that trained the volunteers, Global Community Monitor. "They were probably determined before the project ever began."</div><div class=" " style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;">[ALSO: <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/15/booming-natural-gas-wont-slow-global-warming" target="_blank" title="Booming Natural Gas Won't Slow Global Warming (//www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/15/booming-natural-gas-wont-slow-global-warming)" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Booming Natural Gas Won't Slow Global Warming</a>]<div class="block-normal" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.9375rem !important;"><div class="ad-in-text-target " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The study's findings come as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo weighs whether to end a state moratorium on fracking. Cuomo, a Democrat, has delayed the release of a state health department study on the industry until after elections Tuesday....</div>
==An executive from a top shale drilling firm told attendees of a fossil fuels seminar in Pennsylvania earlier this month that fracking companies deliberately avoid setting up shop near the "big houses" of the wealthy, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/latest-oil-and-gas/2016/04/18/Executive-s-remark-about-shale-gas-well-sites-prompts-sharp-criticism-calls-for-review/stories/201604180027" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">reports</a>.Two environmental groups, the Sierra Club and the Center for Coalfield Justice, last week sent a letter to the state Office of Environmental Justice to review Range Resources' practices to see if it has indeed avoided rich neighborhoods and targeted<a href="http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2015/may/pennsylvania-fracking-environmental-justice-poor-economics" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> low-income areas</a> for shale gas development. Attorneys from both organizations were present at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Environmental Law Forum on April 7.The comments were made by Terry Bossert, Range's vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, and were reportedly made off-the-cuff as he was giving a PowerPoint presentation titled "Environmental Issues Facing the Oil and Gas Industry."...<a href="http://commondreams.org/news/2016/04/22/fracking-executive-says-rich-neighborhoods-safe-drill-sites">http://commondreams.org/news/2016/04/22/fracking-executive-says-rich-neighborhoods-safe-drill-sites</a>

https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-bossert-9880b720Vice President Legislative & Regulatory AffairsRange Resources - Appalachia, LLCFebruary 2013 – Present (3 years 3 months)Harrisburg, Pennsylvania AreaChief Oil & GasVP - Government & Regulatory AffairsChief Oil & GasJanuary 2010 – February 2013 (3 years 2 months)Harrisburg, Pennsylvania AreaPost & Schell, P.C.ShareholderPost & Schell, P.C.February 2005 – January 2010 (5 years)Chief CounselPa Department of Environmental ProtectionJanuary 1995 – January 1999 (4 years 1 month)McNees Wallace & Nurick LLCPartnerMcNees Wallace & Nurick LLCMay 1979 – January 1995 (15 years 9 months)Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Area
scrape:Sam FragaleCo Founder & President at Freedom Energy Resources LLC
Arturo Elejalde
DeLaine FletcherEnvironmental, Health and Safety Director at Hunt Consolidated, Inc.
Patrick CreightonManaging Director at FTI Consulting
Teresa Irvin McCurdyPresident and CEO at TD Connections, Inc.
Charlie Gerow
Doug MehanDirector - Health, Environmental and Safety at PennEnergy Resources, LLC
Carla SuszkowskiRegulatory Manager - West Virginia Division at Southwestern Energy
Scott RoyVP Government Affairs at Range ResourceJohn H. Pinkerton, Executive Chairman and a director, became a director in 1988 and was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2008. He joined Range as President in 1990 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1992. Previously, Mr. Pinkerton was Senior Vice President of Snyder Oil Corporation. Mr. Pinkerton currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University and is a member of the Executive Committee of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). Mr. Pinkerton received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Texas Christian University and a Master's degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

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<div style="">John H. Pinkerton, Executive Chairman and a director, became a director in 1988 and was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2008. He joined Range as President in 1990 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1992. Previously, Mr. Pinkerton was Senior Vice President of Snyder Oil Corporation. Mr. Pinkerton currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University and is a member of the Executive Committee of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). Mr. Pinkerton received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Texas Christian University and a Master's degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.</div>

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Range Resources Names Early Marcellus Advocate as Next CEO

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<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Jeffrey L Ventura</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The man perhaps as responsible as anyone for turning the word Marcellus Shale into a household word along the Atlantic region of the United States will take the reigns of Range Resources as its CEO starting January 1 of next year.</div>

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<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Jeffrey L. Ventura will succeed John H. Pinkerton as the president and CEO of Range Resources in a management move that puts an early proponent of Marcellus Shale development at the head of the Texas energy firm.</div>

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<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mr. Ventura, who had served as president and chief operating officer of the Fort Worth company, was perhaps the single most influential executive in the development of the Marcellus Shale, having persuaded his company’s management in 2003 to explore extraction opportunities in what was then considered a low-level, dried-up basin in Appalachia.</div>

<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On Jan.1, 2012, he will replace Mr. Pinkerton, 57, who becomes the executive chairman of the board after a nearly 20-year tenure as CEO. The transition was approved Thursday and announced early Monday morning.(1)</div>

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<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">From the Range Resources press release:</div>

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<div style="">Range Resources Corporation today announced its Board of Directors approved a CEO transition plan. In accordance with the plan, Range’s President, Jeffrey L. Ventura, will assume the additional role of Chief Executive Officer beginning January 1, 2012. At such time, John H. Pinkerton, Range’s current Chief Executive Officer, will assume the position of Executive Chairman. Mr. Pinkerton has served as Range’s CEO since 1992. Mr. Ventura, 53, currently President and Chief Operating Officer of Range has been with the Company since 2003 and was elected a Director in 2005. Including his service at Range, Mr. Ventura has 32 years of industry experience and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.</div>

</div>

<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"The process of transitioning the CEO responsibilities to Jeff has been underway for some time" said Mr. Pinkerton. "Jeff’s leadership, technical abilities and proven track record make him the logical choice as my successor. Having worked side by side with Jeff for eight years, I have great confidence that he will successfully lead Range for the benefit of all our stakeholders. Along with all of Range’s employees, management team and Board of Directors, we have established a strong culture at Range based on integrity, transparency, performance and teamwork. I look forward to continuing to serve Range on a day-to-day basis assisting in the Company’s strategic planning, industry relationships and public affairs. This transition plan positions Range to continue to build shareholder value for many years to come."(2)</div>

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<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(1) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Jun 27, 2011) – PG exclusive: Range Resources names new president and CEO</div>

<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(2) Range Resources Press Release (Jun 27, 2011) – Range Announces CEO Transition Plan</div>

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==

By <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/user/julie-dermansky" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Julie Dermansky</a>

Weatherford, TX, homeowner Steve Lipsky has nothing to hide. He is not trying to take down Range Resources, a large oil and gas company with a reputation for <a href="http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/02/19/texas-fracker-accused-of-bully-tactics-against-foes/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">bullying its critics</a>, nor is he trying to defame the company as it has accused him of in a defamation lawsuit demanding more than $3 million.

Lipsky, a private, conservative man who made his nest egg in the banking industry, now finds himself playing the role of David against a modern day Goliath in a battle fraught with Kafkaesque moments. After what looked at first like an open and shut case of industrial negligence turned into a lengthy legal battle, he must either fight or accept financial ruin.

<figcaption id="figcaption_attachment_311247" class="wp-caption-text" style=" box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1875rem 0.4375rem; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Lipsky sets fire to gas flowing through the hose that he attached to the vent, Oct. 13. Range Resources claims the use of the hose made it seem like Lipsky was setting his water on fire. ©2013 Julie Dermansky</figcaption>

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In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <a href="http://www.dallasobserver.com/2012-04-26/news/fire-in-the-hole/full/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">determined</a> that Range Resource’s drilling activities at a nearby <a href="http://ecowatch.com/category/news/energy-news/fracking-2/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">fracking</a> project had contaminated Lipsky’s well. Lipsky can light the <a href="http://ecowatch.com/category/water-news/" target="_blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">water</a> coming out of his well on fire.

He discovered this when Peck’s Well Service, the company that drilled the water well in 2005, came to figure out why it wasn’t working properly in July 2010. Peck’s found that gas building up inside the well was lowering the water pressure and causing a gas lock. Peck’s lit Lipsky’s water on fire while explaining to him why it wasn’t functioning normally, showing Lipsky it was full of gas. They installed a vent to allow some of the gas to escape for safety reasons.

Lipsky decided to shut off the well to the house and has since trucked water in at an average cost of $1,000 a month to keep his family safe. Since then, Lipsky only turns on the well for testing and to demonstrate the phenomenon to journalists, the EPA, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Parker County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Texas Railroad Commission, Department of Justice and representatives of Range Resources.

On Oct. 10, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals ruled that Range Resources could move forward with their defamation suit against Lipsky, based in part on accusations that Lipsky is misleading the public about being able to set his water on fire.

A point of contention is a piece of garden hose that Lipsky attached to the vent coming out of his water well headspace. In a video he <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amqXocVjpJA" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">released online</a> and provided to regulatory agencies, Lipsky sets fire to gas flowing through the hose that he attached to the vent. Range Resources claims the use of the hose made it seem like Lipsky was setting his water on fire.

“The hose was used in the interest of safety, not to deceive anyone,” Lipsky counters. The first time he lit the vent on fire the whole well ignited. Lipsky attached the hose to direct the venting gas downwind of the well before lighting it again. In the video, Lispky never claims to be setting his water ablaze. Why would he make gas seem like flammable water, when he has water he can set on fire too?

Lipsky’s dream house has become a nightmare. He is not alone. Several of his neighbors have the same problem he does, but after witnessing what has happened to the Lipskys for fighting back, they’re reluctant to speak out.  Shelly Purdue recently went on camera with local <a href="http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/225190132.html" target="_blank" style="line-height: 25.2px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">TV anchor Brett Shipp</a>, showing that she too can light her water well vent on fire.  She too installed a vent to alleviate the problem but is still living in a volatile situation.

Other neighbors have installed expensive water filtration systems so they can drink their water but that doesn’t eliminate the danger. Independent testing has shown that several residents’ water well holding tanks are well above explosive limits.

A team from <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/06/19/1221635110.full.pdf+html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Duke University is conducting a study</a> in the area and released information to the homeowners alerting them to the hazardous conditions. The final results of the study will be released in the coming months.

The EPA’s findings also established that there are dangerous levels of gas escaping from Lipsky’s well. They named Range Resources as the party responsible for the contamination and issued an <a href="http://www.barnettshalenews.com/documents/EPARangeExhibits/2%20-%20EPA%20Imminent%20%26%20Substantial%20Endangerment%20Order%2012-7-2010.pdf" target="_blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">Administrative Emergency Order</a> against the company in December 2010.

This didn’t stop the <a href="http://www.citizen.org/documents/Drilling%20for%20Dollars.pdf" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">Railroad Commission</a>—a regulatory agency that governs all things oil and gas related in Texas—from holding their own <a href="http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/pressreleases/2011/032211.php" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">hearings</a> that cleared Range Resources, based on evidence provided by the company. The EPA chose not to participate nor did the Lipskys since both were only given ten days to prepare, making a fair hearing improbable.

Range Resources spent millions of dollars putting on a one-sided case for the Railroad Commission, attacking all of the EPA’s findings. Dr. Geoffrey Thyne, who conducted the testing for the EPA, reviewed the Railroad Commissions’ findings that cleared Range Resources. He wrote:

My conclusion, that the gas well could be the source of methane in the (Lipsky) water well, was based on the chemical and isotopic data. After reviewing the Range presentation to the Texas RRC my opinion is unchanged.

The Lipskys sued Range Resources after the EPA named the company the party responsible for contaminating the well. The family was promptly counter-sued by Range Resources for defamation.

The presiding judge, Trey Loftin, dismissed the Lipskys’ claims, citing lack of jurisdiction, but allowed Range’s defamation suit to proceed.

The Lipskys’ lawyer, Allen M. Stewart, argued that the libel suit went against the Texas Citizens Participation Act, also known as the <a href="http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/anti-slapp-law-texas" target="_blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">Texas Anti-SLAPP Act</a>, which was passed in order to allow citizens sued in retaliation for the exercise of their constitutional and common law rights of freedom of expression to avoid the expense and burden of defending meritless suits for defamation, business disparagement and similar torts based on the exercise of those rights. The act achieves its purpose by allowing defendants in such suits to seek and obtain early dismissal before being forced to participate in costly discovery. But the Lipskys’ request to dismiss the case was denied.

The initial rulings against the Lipskys by Judge Loftin are problematic. Loftin found merit in Range Resources’ claim that Lipsky was purposely misleading the public by using the garden hose demonstration, a key element in the libel suit. But Loftin later recused himself from the case. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-24/texas-judge-s-campaign-says-he-s-taken-on-the-epa.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Loftin’s bias emerged</a> when one of his campaign fliers in his recent bid for reelection stated, “The EPA, using falsified evidence provided by a liberal activist environmental consultant, accused and fined a local gas driller of contaminating wells,” and “President Barack Obama’s EPA backed down only after Judge Trey Loftin ruled that the evidence was ‘deceptive.'”

Range Resources didn’t stop at suing the Lipskys. They also went after the EPA. After over a year of litigation, the EPA <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/epa-changed-course-oil-company-protested-082012084.html;ylt=AmveX8E14CsKyLcN.JfNSLQS.MwF;ylu=X3oDMTQ2bTdpNTV2BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YgRW5lcmd5U1NGBHBrZwM2Yjg2NzM2OC00NWE2LTM1OWMtOTI5MC0wZTE4ZGU2YWVkYWUEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDNWY2NjY5OTAtNWZiNi0xMWUyLWJlZmUtMzE1ZDMwNTQ3ZGFk;ylg=X3oDMTFzMnBqYnA4BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfGVuZXJneQRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;ylv=3" target="_blank" style="line-height: 25.2px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background: rgb(255, 255, 102);">withdrew their emergency order</a> requiring the company to provide drinking water to the Lipskys.

In a statement to the press, the EPA stated:

Resolving the lawsuits with Range allows EPA to shift the Agency in this particular case away from litigation and toward a joint effort on the science and safety of energy extraction. EPA and Range will share scientific data and conduct further well monitoring in the area, and Range will also provide useful information and access to EPA in support of EPA’s inquiry into the potential impacts of energy extraction on drinking water.

The EPA’s move hurt the Lipskys since it gave the appearance that the EPA had made a mistake. Why else would a regulatory agency back down when lives are at risk? However the EPA has never retracted their findings that proved Range Resources had contaminated Lipsky’s well.

Lipsky is still baffled by Range Resources’ test results and the letter they sent him and his neighbors on Feb. 2, 2011, assuring them their air and water were safe. One set of results the company produced shows zero gas in his well.

Either Range Resources’ tests were done incorrectly and are not credible, or based on the zero reading for gas in his well, Range Resources has provided Lipsky with a baseline he can use to show how much worse things have gotten since 2010.

The numbers for gas contamination are rising to the highest levels recorded nationwide, and Lipsky has the documentation to prove it, provided by Duke University and private testing conducted with the same equipment the industry uses.

In Sept. 2013, tests showed gas coming out of Lipsky’s water well measuring 162,000 parts per million (ppm). 50,000 ppm is considered a level for potential explosion. Air samples taken directly from the water well headspace vent showed levels exceeding 900,000 parts per million. Several residents alerted the Railroad Commission of new high-test levels, prompting the agency to reopen its investigation.

The Lipskys were not the only ones left bewildered when the EPA withdrew the administrative emergency order. Six Republican senators—James M. Inhofe (R-OK), David Vitter (R-LA), John Boozman (R-AK), Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)—also felt a need to question the EPA’s actions, sending a <a href="http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=9da17054-e920-4505-97d0-8417c2db32c3" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">letter</a> requesting the Attorney General investigate the matter. The Senators hope to prove the EPA is an activist branch of the government.

In a <a href="http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=04ea78d0-802a-23ad-46ae-efcc940aad59&Region_id=&Issue_id=87c0f70e-7e9c-9af9-742c-e26bf9b76447" target="_blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">statement</a> from the Republican minority of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, Sen. Cornyn said, “For too long the Obama EPA has sought headlines instead of facts, as was the case here. Texans deserve to know if this action was carried out in a politically-motivated way, in an attempt to demonize the entire industry and purposely mislead the public.”

The <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2013/10/17/government-shutdown-impacted-health-and-environment/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">government shutdown</a> has held up the Attorney General’s report but Lipsky is hopeful the truth will emerge.

<a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/bVIDEOb-Records-show-drilling-operation-violated-state-law-while-water-wells-contaminated-215185181.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Documents</a> uncovered by ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA Channel 8 show Range Resources failed to cement their drilling operation despite being required to do so by the industry’s own standards. Doug Allmand, an engineering specialist for the Railroad Commission, is aware of this. He sent Range a violation letter on Aug. 10, 2010. According to Dr. Payne, a scientist hired by Lipsky from Pennsylvania, where <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57590888/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background: transparent;">fracking operations have contaminated wells</a> in similar cases, this probably led to the contamination of Lipsky’s and his neighbors’ wells.

Steve Lipsky is now working with attorney Brent M. Rosenthal, who is preparing to petition for a writ of mandamus in the Texas Supreme Court asking to dismiss Range’s remaining claims for defamation and business disparagement against Steven Lipsky.

“I will assert,” Rosenthal says, “as I have before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, that Range’s claims are meritless and threaten the exercise of First Amendment rights by Steve Lipsky and anyone else who speaks out on issues of public concern. I hope that organizations fighting for first amendment rights and social justice, as well as those involved in the environmental movement, will be concerned about the case and will work to persuade the courts to reject claims like Range’s claim against the Lipskys.”

Lipsky is saddled with legal bills and the expense of trucking in drinking water from a nearby town. He worries about his future, since his dream house has been devalued. He also worries about his neighbors living under the threat of a catastrophic gas explosion.

The stress is taking its toll on Lipsky’s health, as his spiking blood pressure attests. But Lipsky doesn’t have to worry about his property exploding, since his well remains turned off as a precaution.

In a culture where the oil and gas industry spends millions on PR campaigns and hires representatives with <a href="http://desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">military </a><a href="http://desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">backgrounds in psychological operations</a> to <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/05/gas-company-goes-after-bloggers-info" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">intimidate</a> private citizens, where <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/07/26/industry-pressure-shuts-down-epa-fracking-investigations" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">regulatory agencies</a> and scientists risk harassment when their results are not ‘industry friendly’, where lawyers don’t want to take on clients who have cases against industry for fear of losing business with <a href="http://ecowatch.com/category/energy-news/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">energy</a> producers, and where industry campaign contributions taint politicians and judges all the way up the ladder, how many people will fight back as staunchly as Steve Lipsky has?

Below, Lipsky warns those in areas where there is fracking:

==

coerced epa?  <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/epa-water-contamination-investigation-fracking_n_2484568.html?ir=green&utm_campaign=011613&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-green&utm_content=Title">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/epa-water-contamination-investigation-fracking_n_2484568.html?ir=green&utm_campaign=011613&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-green&utm_content=Title</a>

<h1 class="title-news" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">EPA's Water Contamination Investigation Halted In Texas After Range Resources Protest</h1>

AP  |  By By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI Posted: 01/16/2013 3:20 am EST  |  Updated: 01/16/2013 9:08 am EST

</div>

WEATHERFORD, Texas (AP) — When a man in a Fort Worth suburb reported his family's drinking water had begun "bubbling" like champagne, the federal government sounded an alarm: An oil company may have tainted their wells while drilling for natural gas.

At first, the Environmental Protection Agency believed the situation was so serious that it issued a rare emergency order in late 2010 that said at least two homeowners were in immediate danger from a well saturated with flammable methane. More than a year later, the agency rescinded its mandate and refused to explain why.

Now a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with company representatives show that the EPA had scientific evidence against the driller, Range Resources, but changed course after the company threatened not to cooperate with a national study into a common form of drilling called hydraulic fracturing. Regulators set aside an analysis that concluded the drilling could have been to blame for the contamination.

For Steve Lipsky, the EPA decision seemed to ignore the dangers in his well, which he says contains so much methane that the gas in water pouring out of a garden hose can be ignited.

"I just can't believe that an agency that knows the truth about something like that, or has evidence like this, wouldn't use it," said Lipsky, who fears he will have to abandon his dream home in an upscale neighborhood of Weatherford.

The case isn't the first in which the EPA initially linked a hydraulic fracturing operation to water contamination and then softened its position after the industry protested.

A similar dispute unfolded in west-central Wyoming in late 2011, when the EPA released an initial report that showed hydraulic fracturing could have contaminated groundwater. After industry and GOP leaders went on the attack, the agency said it had decided to do more testing. It has yet to announce a final conclusion.....

===

Published on DeSmogBlog (http://www.desmogblog.com)

Home > Blogs > Brendan DeMelle's blog >

Gas Fracking Industry Using Military Psychological Warfare Tactics and Personnel In U.S. Communities

By Brendan DeMelle

Created 2011-11-09 14:12

Gas Fracking Industry Using Military Psychological Warfare Tactics and Personnel In U.S. Communities [2]

James Cannon Psyops Range Resources.png [6]

At the “Media & Stakeholder Relations: Hydraulic Fracturing Initiative 2011 [7]” conference last week in Houston, Matt Pitzarella, Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Range Resources, revealed in his presentation [8] that Range has hired Army and Marine veterans with combat experience in psychological warfare to influence communities in which Range drills for gas.

As CNBC reported [9], Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella boasted to the audience:

“[“…looking to other industries, in this case, the Army and the Marines. We have several former PSYOPs folks that work for us at Range because they’re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments. Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of PSYOPs in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania.”

[Listen: MP3 [10]]

At that same conference, Matt Carmichael [11], External Affairs Manager at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, suggested three things to attendees during his presentation:

“If you are a PR representative in this industry in this room today, I recommend you do three things. These are three things that I’ve read recently that are pretty interesting.

“(1) Download the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual [audible gasps from the audience], because we are dealing with an insurgency. There’s a lot of good lessons in there, and coming from a military background, I found the insight in that extremely remarkable. (2) With that said, there’s a course provided by Harvard and MIT twice a year, and it’s called ‘Dealing With an Angry Public.’ Take that course. Tied back to the Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency [Field] Manual, is that a lot of the officers in our military are attending this course. It gives you the tools, it gives you the media tools on how to deal with a lot of the controversy that we as an industry are dealing with. (3) Thirdly, I have a copy of “Rumsfeld's Rules.” You’re all familiar with Donald Rumsfeld — that’s kind of my bible, by the way, of how I operate.”

[Listen: MP3 [12]]

Carmichael is also the former Senior Manager of External Communications for Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) [13], a subsidiary of Halliburton, which at one point had over 15,000 mercenaries placed in Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times [14].

The Counterinsurgency (COIN) Field Manual [15] [PDF] devotes an entire chapter to PSYOPs, confirming its utility as a major element of a counterinsurgency campaign. The COIN manual is the current U.S. military doctrine in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

USE OF PSYOPs PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE ON U.S. CITIZENS IS ILLEGAL

PSYOPs is the military short-hand for “psychological operations,” used extensively in U.S. wars abroad, including in Iraq [16] and Afghanistan [17].  Much of this work is carried out by Army reserve personnel, who travel from village to village dropping leaflets and offering financial incentives in an attempt to convince residents not to support the insurgency.  This often entails using psychological tactics to "win hearts and minds."

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [18] reported about PSYOPs in Iraq:

"…reservists in psychological operations typically do communications with the local folks. In the beginning, they distribute millions of leaflets and do loudspeaker broadcasts. They also spend a lot of time talking with people."

The use of PSYOPs by active military personnel on U.S. citizens is illegal and a violation of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 [19], as Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone explained [20] in his February 2011 investigative story uncovering the fact that U.S. military generals had used PSYOPs on members of Congress. The Smith-Mundt act “was passed by Congress to prevent the State Department from using Soviet-style propaganda techniques on U.S. citizens.”

Hastings wrote in Rolling Stone:

“According to the Defense Department’s own definition, psy-ops – the use of propaganda and psychological tactics to influence emotions and behaviors – are supposed to be used exclusively on "hostile foreign groups." Federal law forbids the military from practicing psy-ops on Americans, and each defense authorization bill comes with a "propaganda rider" that also prohibits such manipulation. "Everyone in the psy-ops, intel, and IO community knows you’re not supposed to target Americans," says a veteran member of another psy-ops team who has run operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It’s what you learn on day one." (emphasis added)

JAMES CANNON - RANGE PSYOPS SPECIALIST IN PA

Range's dominance in the Marcellus fracked gas rush is hardly surprising - Range Resources was the first company to begin drilling for unconventional gas in the Marcellus Shale, back in 2004. Range says on its website [21] that “In 2011, Range is directing 86% of its capital budget toward development drilling in the region.”

It certainly has every reason to protect that investment, but hiring an Army PSYOPs specialist?

Range Resources’ Local Government Relations Manager in Pennsylvania is James Cannon [22], a former Marine and Army Reservist whose unit conducted PSYOPs during Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to his personal website [23] and LinkedIn page [22], Jim Cannon says he is still an active reservist with the 303rd Psychological Operations Company, who served under the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

One of his colleagues in the 303rd Psychological Operations Company discussed the unit's PSYOP experiences in Iraq in April 2003. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [18] reported, “Since October [2003], a massive public information campaign has been under way in Iraq. American and British planes have dropped 36 million leaflets in Iraq. They have distributed scores of solar-powered and hand-crank short wave radios with instructions for tuning in to Arabic-language broadcasts that urge cooperation with coalition troops. Trucks with loudspeakers have been used to spread the message that America is in Iraq to liberate, not to occupy the nation.”

What if the same techniques that the Army used to weaken the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan are being used by the gas industry to intimidate U.S. citizens in Pennsylvania? Of course they wouldn't need the Black Hawk helicopters, the U.S. Postal Service can drop letters just fine. But the tactics of using financial incentives and disseminating propaganda designed to pit neighbor against neighbor?

Jim Cannon's company Range Resources has deployed these PSYOP-inspired tactics in Pennsylvania, sending threatening letters to the citizens of Mt. Pleasant Township in hopes of dividing the community, and attempting to sway the township supervisors to do industry’s bidding.

As best documented by This American Life [24], Range has sent threatening letters to residents of Mount Pleasant, PA, where citizens were concerned about the impacts of natural gas drilling on their community. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also covered the Range Resources letters controversy [25], and included PDFs of the actual letters sent by Range to Mt. Pleasant residents.

The first letter, sent in April 2011 to all Mt. Pleasant Township residents [PDF] [26], used a ‘winning hearts and minds’ style approach, touting the company’s local investments:

"Over those years, we have become a part of your community. From millions of dollars in corporate giving to tax-free road improvements, Range has strived to be a good neighbor and community partner."

Range sent a second letter around the same time, but only to property owners with gas leases. It appears to seek to divide the community, by threatening that the company might pull out of the town if it didn’t get its way, essentially striking fear into residents that such a decision would hurt their lease income and encouraging them to pressure local leaders to keep Range happy. The second letter [PDF] [27] states:

“Throughout the state, Range is held up as the model for the natural gas drilling industry; everywhere, that is, except Mt. Pleasant. While we have made every effort to establish a positive and robust working relationship with your elected officials, our attempts continue to be rejected. As a result, we are sending this communication to inform you that we have revised our future long-term plans in the Township due to continuing difficulties with your Township supervisors and their unwillingness to work with us. As it stands, those revisions may prove detrimental to leaseholders.

Ultimately we may be forced to shift activity to other, more cooperative townships.The shifting of operational activities will inevitably result in the shift of related activities, including the purchase of goods, services and food to other, more cooperative communities.”

At issue was the company’s distaste for a local ordinance banning temporary housing, which blocked Range from erecting bunkhouses at drill sites for its employees. Matt Pitzarella suggested the company might sue or leave the town.

"If the township continues to push this issue, we may have to challenge it in court or walk away," Mr. Pitzarella told the Post-Gazette.

Range’s aggressive pressure tactics created a backlash in the community, as the Post-Gazette story [28] reported:

"We are outraged," said Dencil Bachus, a Mount Pleasant resident and coordinator of a citizens committee that advised the township on the Marcellus ordinance. "This is an effort by Range Resources to divide a community on the eve of a decision on an ordinance that affects them directly. It's an attempt by the company to get what they want rather than operate within the [township government] process. It's a divide-and-conquer public relations strategy."

Other area residents have also experienced Range’s intimidation tactics first hand. Ron Gullah [29], Hickory resident whose pond was contaminated near a Range drilling operation, says,

“Range Resources operates on intimidation. They have intimidated everyone and have taken advantage of this rural area.”

Another Mt. Pleasant resident, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told DeSmogBlog that:

“What’s going on here, it’s kinda like Love Canal. The intimidation from these corporations is astounding to me. I don’t know how they’re allowed to get away with it. I’d like to see them get nailed.”

OTHER POSSIBLE EXAMPLES OF PSYOPs-INSPIRED INTIMIDATION

One indicator of PSYOPs type behavior by the gas industry occurred in April 2011, when an Ohio woman found a binder in her driveway, “Talking Points for Selling Oil and Gas Lease Rights.” [30] The source of the document was never identified, so its authenticity is not confirmed, however the manipulative techniques mentioned in the binder are consistent with PSYOPS tactics.

The focal point of a well-run PSYOPs campaign is to reward those who go along with the mission, and punish those who do not. Other “winning hearts and minds” PSYOP-like tactics include industry sponsorship of county fairs [31], sponsorship of child domestic abuse centers [32], and donating money [33] to other community projects.

This all comes roughly a year after the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security, then headed by James Powers [34], a man with three decades of military experience and formerly a professor at the Joint Special Operations University and the U.S. Army War College, was caught spying on anti-fracking activists [35], via an Israel-based private security firm called the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response [35].

HOW WIDESPREAD IS THIS PRACTICE IN THE GAS INDUSTRY?

According to a March 2011 story appearing in the Pittsburgh Business Times, Range Resources “estimates that veterans account for about 10 percent of its employees.” [36] That is an impressive statistic, and many of the skills learned in the military would naturally come in handy in oil and gas operations. However, legitimate questions arise when companies like Range Resources tout their hiring of military PSYOPs specialists to deploy these tactics on American citizens.

Is Range the only industry player deploying veterans with PSYOPs experience, and using these propaganda techniques in U.S. communities? The company’s leadership role in the Marcellus Shale fracking industry suggests that this practice is likely more widespread.

A November 2010 press release from the Marcellus Shale Coalition [37] (MSC), a Pennsylvania lobbying association that promotes unconventional gas development, shows that scores of veterans now work for the natural gas industry [38], at corporations ranging from Chesapeake Energy, Anadarko, Atlas Energy, and more. The Coalition includes Exxon (XTO), Shell, Statoil, Halliburton, Chesapeake, and others.

The Chairman of the Marcellus Shale Coalition is Ray Walker [39], Senior Vice President of Range Resources. Walker's Range colleague Matt Pitzerella chairs MSC's communications Subcommittee [40], and also is sub-chairman of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), another major gas industry PR outfit promoting fracking and unconventional gas development.

Has Range promoted the use of PSYOPs to these other companies? Do the Marcellus Shale Coalition and ANGA officially sanction its use?

RANGE AND THE GAS INDUSTRY PROMISE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC, BUT DOES THIS PSYOPS ACTIVITY MEET THAT PROMISE?

Engaging in PSYOPs runs contrary to the promises that Range Resources makes to the public about the company’s behavior.

For example, Matt Pitzarella, in a September 2011 interview [41], stated, “We need to engage, communicate, be transparent, accessible and accountable.”

John Pinkerton, CEO of Range Resources stated in a June 2011 press release [42], “Along with all of Range's employees, management team and Board of Directors, we have established a strong culture at Range based on integrity, transparency, performance and teamwork.” (emphasis added)

Range alleges that it complies with all laws, without exception [43]:

“It is the policy of Range that we will conduct business in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as applicable laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions, and in a manner that will always reflect a high standard of ethics,” reads their Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. “The laws and regulations applicable to Range are far reaching and complex. Compliance with the law does not comprise our entire ethical responsibility; rather, it is a minimum, essential condition for performance of our duties.”

It also has stated a commitment [44] [PDF] to “continuously improve our practices and seek transparency in our operations” and that it is “committed to being responsible members of the communities in which we work,” in an October 2011 Company Presentation. Furthermore, it has stated [45], “[W]e can make a better way of life for all Pennsylvanians. At the same time, we remain dedicated to enhancing the environment and communities we all call home.”

In one document, Range states [46], “As one of America’s leading natural gas producers, we are committed to responsibly develop this resource and to being open, honest and transparent.”

Range’s rhetoric is admirable, but does it match the reality of its practices? It appears that Range’s use of psychological warfare tactics on U.S. citizens may mean that it is violating the Smith-Mundt Act.

One has to wonder, though, how frequently and to what depth are these immoral tactics being used by the gas industry on American citizens? It is certainly worthy of an in-depth examination.

Additional Reporting by DeSmogBlog Research Fellow Steve Horn

Sharon Wilson [47] with the Oil and Gas Accountability Project at EarthWorks [48] attended the conference and recorded the audio.  We're especially grateful that Sharon - who also blogs at TexasSharon.com [49] - documented this, since DeSmogBlog's own Steve Horn was out in the hallway after his own entry was denied the morning of the conference. Steve was granted a press pass to cover the event weeks earlier, but after flying all the way from Wisconsin to cover the conference, Steve received last-minute notice that he wasn't welcome. He eventually convinced the conference organizers to let him in later that day. Stay tuned for more news about what happened at the conference in the days and weeks to come.

TAGS: Anadarko [50], Anadarko Petroleum [51], Counterinsurgency Field Manual [52], Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project [53], fracking insurgency [54], fracking PSYOPs [55], Jim Cannon Range Resources [56], KBR [57], Local Government Relations [58], Matt Carmichael Anadarko [59], Matt Pitzarella [60], Mt. Pleasant gas [61], News We made [62], psychological warfare [63], psyops [64], Range Resources [65], Range Resources NYSE: RRC [66], Ron Gullah [67], Sharon Wilson [68], Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 [69]

    Anadarko

    Anadarko Petroleum

    Counterinsurgency Field Manual

    Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project

    fracking insurgency

    fracking PSYOPs

    Jim Cannon Range Resources

    KBR

    Local Government Relations

    Matt Carmichael Anadarko

    Matt Pitzarella

    Mt. Pleasant gas

    News We made

    psychological warfare

    psyops

    Range Resources

    Range Resources NYSE: RRC

    Ron Gullah

    Sharon Wilson

    Smith-Mundt Act of 1948

Source URL: http://www.desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities

Links:

[1] http://www.desmogblog.com/bio/brendan-demelle

[2] http://www.desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities

[3] http://twitter.com/share

[4] http://www.desmogblog.com/print/5841

[5] http://www.desmogblog.com/printmail/5841

[6] http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/blogimages/James Cannon Psyops Range Resources.png

[7] http://www.media-stakeholder-relations-hydraulic-fracturing.com/

[8] http://www.media-stakeholder-relations-hydraulic-fracturing.com/5/speakers/

[9] http://www.cnbc.com/id/45208498

[10] http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Matt Pitzarella PSYOPS.mp3

[11] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/matthew-carmichael/9/193/643

[12] http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Carmichael Three Tips.mp3

[13] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kellogg_Brown_and_Root

[14] http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/04/nation/na-private4

[15] http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fmi3-07-22.pdf

[16] http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/11/psychological-o/

[17] http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,179827,00.html

[18] http://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20030411reganatp2.asp

[19] http://us-code.vlex.com/source/us-code-foreign-relations-intercous-1021/toc/19

[20] http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/another-runaway-general-army-deploys-psy-ops-on-u-s-senators-20110223

[21] http://www.rangeresources.com/Operations/Marcellus-Division.aspx

[22] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jim-cannon/3/144/a85

[23] http://www.james-cannon.com/Personal.html

[24] http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/440/game-changer

[25] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11096/1137242-454.stm

[26] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/pdf/201104/20110406letter_rangeresources_1.pdf

[27] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/pdf/201104/20110406letter_rangeresources_2.pdf

[28] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11096/1137242-454

[29] http://www.marcellus-shale.us/Ron-Gulla.htm

[30] http://www.desmogblog.com/leaked-talking-points-show-oil-companies-dont-give-frack-about-truth

[31] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11226/1167243-28.stm

[32] http://www.bossierpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4662%3Achesapeake-to-sponsor-gingerbread-house-benefit&Itemid=161

[33] http://www.chk.com/Community/Other-Ways-We-Give/Pages/default.aspx

[34] http://articles.philly.com/2010-10-02/news/24999571_1_resignation-rendell-powers

[35] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/09/9475/welcome-home-war-pennsylvania-and-marcellus-shale

[36] http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/print-edition/2011/03/18/push-to-get-veterans-pa-oil-gas-industry.html?page=all

[37] http://marcelluscoalition.org/about/full-members/

[38] http://marcelluscoalition.org/2010/11/msc-gov-ridge-mark-veteran%E2%80%99s-day/

[39] http://marcelluscoalition.org/about/executive-committee/

[40] http://www.media-stakeholder-relations-hydraulic-fracturing.com/5/speakers/98/matt-pitzarella/

[41] http://themarcellusshale.com/q-a-with-matt-pitzeralla-from-range-resources/

[42] http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101196&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1579789

[43] http://www.rangeresources.com/Our-Company/Corporate-Governance.aspx

[44] http://www.rangeresources.com/rangeresources/files/46/461c9c67-47ba-4bc1-bcab-67a4751d595d.pdf

[45] http://www.myrangeresources.com/About-Range-Resources/range.aspx

[46] http://www.rangeresources.com/Media-Center/Featured-Stories/Hydraulic-Fracturing--A-Safe,-Proven-Technology-St.aspx

[47] http://earthblog.org/content/response-industry-caught-their-pants-down

[48] http://www.earthworksaction.org/oil_and_gas.cfm

[49] http://www.texassharon.com

[50] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5977

[51] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7662

[52] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7664

[53] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6154

[54] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7663

[55] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7649

[56] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7648

[57] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7665

[58] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7668

[59] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7661

[60] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7647

[61] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7669

[62] http://www.desmogblog.com/media/news-we-made

[63] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7650

[64] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7666

[65] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6158

[66] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7646

[67] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7670

[68] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6152

[69] http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7667

[70] http://www.desmogblog.com/comment/reply/5841#comment-form

[71] http://www.desmogblog.com/subscribe-newsletter

---

Professional Background

cannon pennsylvania

Current:

Local Government Relations Manager, Range Resources

Former:

Community Liaison

Magazine Editor

Operations Manager for major media company

Community Involvement

Mt. Lebanon Veterans' Memorial Fundraising Committee, 2010-Present

Mt. Lebanon Veterans' Memorial Design Committee 2009-2010

Mt. Lebanon Community Relations Board 2007-2008

Military Service

US Marine Corps (Active), 1990-94--Trained in various aspect of military communications. Served with 3rd Marine Division; support staff at Mountain Warfare Training Center

US Army (Reserve), 303rd Psychological Operations Company, 2005-Present--Served under US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Academic Background

BA, Communication, Florida Atlantic University

Graduated Mt. Lebanon High School 1987

Attended Washington Elementary, Mellon Junior High School

  ===

John H. Pinkerton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a director, became a director in 1988 and was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2008. He joined Range as President in 1990 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1992. Previously, Mr. Pinkerton was Senior Vice President of Snyder Oil Corporation. Mr. Pinkerton currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University and is a member of the Executive Committee of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). Mr. Pinkerton received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Texas Christian University and a Master's degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

----

--

....

COINTELPRO

Another told attendees that his company has several former military psychological operations, or “psy ops” specialists on staff, applying their skills in Pennsylvania. (Click below to hear.)

The comments were recorded by an environmental activist, who passed along audio files to CNBC. The activist, Sharon Wilson, is the director of the Oil & Gas Accountability Project for the nonprofit environmental group Earthworks. She said she paid full price to attend the two day event, and wore a nametag identifying her organization as she recorded the conference.

In a session entitled “Designing a Media Relations Strategy To Overcome Concerns Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing,” Range Resources communications director Matt Pitzarella spoke about “overcoming stakeholder concerns” about the fracking process.

“We have several former psy ops folks that work for us at Range because they’re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments,” Pitzarella said. “Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of psy ops in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania.”

At another session, Matt Carmichael, the manager of external affairs for Anadarko Petroleum , spoke on the topic of “Understanding How Unconventional Oil & Gas Operators are Developing a Comprehensive Media Relations Strategy to Engage Stakeholders and Educate the Public.”

He said he had several recommendations for the oil industry media professionals at the event, one of which, he said, involved the military.

“Download the U.S. Army-slash-Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency,” Carmichael said. “There’s a lot of good lessons in there and coming from a military background, I found the insight in that extremely remarkable.”

Reached by CNBC to provide context to his remarks about psychological operations, Range Resources’ Matt Pitzarella explained that he was referring to one employee of the firm, whose military background makes him particularly good at handling emotional meetings with local representatives.

“Range employs dozens of veterans and active service men and women,” Pitzarella said. “One employee who works with municipal governments in Pennsylvania has a background in psychological operations in the Army. Since the majority of his work is spent in local hearings and developing local regulations for drilling, we’ve found that his service in the Middle East is a real asset.”

Pitzarella explained that Range operates transparently with local communities, and pointed out that it was the first company in the United States to fully disclose all the fracking fluids that it uses. He also took issue with Carmichael’s comments about using Marine Corps tactics on opponents in an “insurgency.”

“That’s not something I think that we would do,” Pitzarella said. “You’re not dealing with insurgents, you’re dealing with regular people who live in towns and want to know what you’re doing.”

Carmichael emailed a comment to CNBC, explaining his remarks. “The comment was simply suggesting industry embracing a broader move toward more active community engagement and increased transparency, as it’s very important to build fact-based knowledge to maintain public trust amidst special interests that often use misinformation to create fear,” he said.

Wilson, who recorded the remarks, said the comments reveal what the fracking industry thinks about people in the communities that are impacted by the industry.

“What’s clear to me is that are having to use some very extreme measures in out neighborhoods,” she said. “And it seems like they view it as an occupation.”

She said she was surprised such military-style techniques would be discussed in an open forum.

“This was crossing a line — they considered it was on the American people, sort of like they are going in and occupying our land — which is what they are doing,” Wilson said.

But another attendee saw the remarks differently.

Chris Tucker, a spokesman for the industry group Energy in Depth, said Carmichael’s comments about facing an “insurgency,” were simply meant as a joke.

“There are no black helicopters here,” Tucker said. “No one’s rappelling down from a helicopter at three a.m. looking through people’s trash. We go to township meetings, and we hear what people have to say.”

===

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Government Is Using Its Police Powers to Protect Fracking</h3>

Fracking is <a title="polluting water all over the country" href="http://www.grist.org/natural-gas/2011-09-14-josh-fox-natural-gas-fracking-documentary-gasland-wins-emmy" target="blank">polluting water all over the country</a>. A new study published in the journal Ground Water predicts that the highly-toxic fluids used in fracking can migrate to aquifers <a target="blank" title="within a few short years" href="http://www.propublica.org/article/new-study-predicts-frack-fluids-can-migrate-to-aquifers-within-years">within a few short years</a>.

The government has <a title="the government has also officially stated that fracking can cause earthquakes" href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/08/its-official-human-activity-can-cause-earthquakes.html">officially stated that fracking can cause earthquakes</a>. And see <a target="blank" title="this" href="http://www2.seismosoc.org/FMPro?-db=Abstract_Submission_12&-sortfield=PresDay&-sortorder=ascending&-sortfield=Special+Session+Name+Calc&-sortorder=ascending&-sortfield=PresTimeSort&-sortorder=ascending&-op=gt&PresStatus=0&-lop=and&-token.1=ShowSession&-token.2=ShowHeading&-recid=224&-format=%2Fmeetings%2F2012%2Fabstracts%2Fsessionabstractdetail.html&-lay=MtgList&-find">this</a>. Some fracking companies now <a target="blank" title="admit" href="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-07/europe/30368594_1_shale-gas-fracking-process-tremors">admit</a> this fact.

And yet a <a target="blank" title="new law" href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2011&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1950&pn=3048">new law</a> passed in Pennsylvania will allow doctors to access information about chemicals used in fracking, but will restrict them from sharing that information with their patients. See the writeups by <a target="blank" title="Mother Jones" href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/03/fracking-doctors-gag-pennsylvania">Mother Jones</a> and <a target="_blank" title="Truthout" href="http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7323:fracking-pennsylvania-gags-physicians">Truthout</a>.

The director of the Emmy-award winning documentary on fracking – Gasland – was <a target="_blank" title="arrested for attempting to film a Congressional hearing on fracking" href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/gasland-filmmaker-arrested-at-capitol-hearing/">arrested for attempting to film a Congressional hearing on fracking</a>.

Actor Mark Ruffalo was <a title="put on a terror watch list after he organized showings of Gasland" href="http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2010/11/23/mark-ruffalo-on-terror-advisory-list/#ixzz16GVkAsQR" target="_blank">put on a terror watch list after he organized showings of Gasland</a>. NOPE

The Washington Post reported in March that the FBI is investigating anti-fracking activists as <a target="_blank" title="potential terrorists" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-eco-terrorism-wanes-governments-still-target-activist-groups-seen-as-threat/2012/02/28/gIQAA4Ay3R_story.html" style="">potential terrorists</a>.

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-eco-terrorism-wanes-governments-still-target-activist-groups-seen-as-threat/2012/02/28/gIQAA4Ay3R_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-eco-terrorism-wanes-governments-still-target-activist-groups-seen-as-threat/2012/02/28/gIQAA4Ay3R_story.html</a>

The state of Pennsylvania hired an Israeli-American company with extensive military and intelligence ties to put out “terror” alerts. The company – ITRR – <a title="describes" href="http://www.terrorresponse.org/" target="_blank">describes</a> itself as:

The preeminent Israeli/American security firm providing training, intelligence and education to clients across the globe.

</blockquote>

ITRR <a title="explains" href="http://www.terrorresponse.org/images/stories/press_room/press_release/The_Institute_of_Terrorism_Research_and_Response_background_information_16Sep2010.pdf" target="_blank">explains</a>:

The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response’s research and analysis center, known as the Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center (TAM-C), is located in Israel. The Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center is staffed with former law enforcement, military, and intelligence professionals experienced in the production and utilization of intelligence products.

</blockquote>

ITRR <a target="_blank" title="considered" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100926050924/http://www.weny.com/News-Regional.asp?ARTICLE3890=9156026" style="">considered</a> opponents of fracking to be potential terrorists.

Fracking companies are also using <a title="military psychological operations techniques to discredit opponents" href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/45208498" target="blank">military psychological operations techniques to discredit opponents</a> (and <a title="see this" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/10-counterinsurgncy-tactics-your-local-fracking-corp-will-use-against-you-2011-11" target="blank">see this</a>).

==
 <h2 style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><a name="Related_SourceWatch_Articles" id="Related_SourceWatch_Articles">SourceWatch </a></h2>

Range Resources is a Texas-based oil and gas company. It is involved in the controversial practice of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fracking" title="Fracking">fracking</a> for methane gas in the Northeastern U.S. in the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale" title="Marcellus Shale">Marcellus Shale</a> region. Range Resources owns the majority of the 1,386 wells in the Marcellus Shale formation, as of 2010.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a> Though lauded as an environmentally-friendly alternative to coal, fracking for gas has been linked to depleting drinking water resources of local communities and polluting the wells of the people living around drill sites. According to a 2010 article in Vanity Fair, "as use of the technique (fracking) has spread, it has been followed by incidents of water contamination and environmental degradation, and even devastating health problems." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a> And according to data released to the EPA, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Halliburton" title="Halliburton" class="mw-redirect">Halliburton</a>, a major supplier of fracking fluid, admitted using 807,000 gallons of diesel-based chemicals in its fluids, in violation of an agreement drillers had with the EPA.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Executive_Summary">1 Executive Summary</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Partisan_Political_Activity">2 Partisan Political Activity</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Corporate_Political_Action_Committee">2.1 Corporate Political Action Committee</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Political_Donations_by_Company_Execs">2.2 Political Donations by Company Execs</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Lobbying">2.3 Lobbying</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Front_Groups">3 Front Groups</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Claimed_Violations_of_Safety_Rules_or_Other_Laws">4 Claimed Violations of Safety Rules or Other Laws</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Health_and_Safety_Violations_Alleged">4.1 Health and Safety Violations Alleged</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Lawsuits">4.2 Lawsuits</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Revenue_and_Profits">5 Revenue and Profits</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Executives_and_Annual_Compensation">6 Executives and Annual Compensation</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Senior_Executives">7 Senior Executives</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Contact_Information">8 Contact Information</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Articles_.26_Sources">8.1 Articles & Sources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#External_Resources">8.1.1 External Resources</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#Related_SourceWatch_Articles">8.2 Related SourceWatch Articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#References">8.3 References</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Executive_Summary" id="Executive_Summary">Executive Summary</a></h2>

<a name="Executive_Summary" id="Executive_Summary">Range Resources has the largest number of </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fracking" title="Fracking">fracking</a> sites in the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale" title="Marcellus Shale">Marcellus Shale</a> region of the U.S and "occupied the first position in terms of gas production in the Marcellus Shale during the period of January to December 2009."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a> It has been reporting annual revenues of between $744 million and $1.32 billion a year over the past five years, with gross profits of between $700 million and $1.26 billion a year in this period. Its CEO is one of the highest paid executives in the U.S., with an annual compensation of $7.4 million. Range Resources has been accused of numerous safety violations, including polluting rivers and spoiling drinking water by contaminating it with methane gas. Range Resources and its executives have also been very active in making partisan political donations, predominantly in favor of Republicans. This company, headquartered in Texas, has invested significant funds in elections in Pennsylvania, a state with large shale deposits, and its PAC was a major spender in the election of the new governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett.Founded 1976Headquarters Fort Worth, TexasNumber of locations Canonsburg, PA; Abingdon, VA;Oklahoma City, OKRevenue 907.34 million

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Partisan_Political_Activity" id="Partisan_Political_Activity">Partisan Political Activity</a></h2>

<a name="Partisan_Political_Activity" id="Partisan_Political_Activity">Although Range Resources has donated to campaigns on both sides of the aisle since it began drilling in the Marcellus Shale area in 2004, the majority of its political donations has gone to pro-fracking Republicans. 2010 was the biggest year in gas and oil political contributions by corporations hoping to encourage lawmakers to continue with the lax restrictions surrounding methane gas drilling.</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a> Nowhere is this seen more than in Pennsylvania, where the majority of the Macellus Shale area lies. According to MarcellusMoney.org, a project of Common Cause PA and Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, $84,816 was given by Range Resources to candidates and political parties in 2010.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a> The biggest chunk of that, $34,916.64, went directly to now Governor of Pennslyvania, Republican Tom Corbett, who supports a no-tax approach for corporations who want to frack. By comparison, $10,500 was given to Corbett's opposition, Democrat Dan Onorato, who supported a tax on methane drilling.

Range, along with other big Marcellus Shale players like <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cabot_Oil_and_Gas" title="Cabot Oil and Gas">Cabot Oil and Gas</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chesapeake_Energy" title="Chesapeake Energy">Chesapeake Energy</a>, each paid $25,000-$50,000 for Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett's two-day inaugural party.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Corporate_Political_Action_Committee" id="Corporate_Political_Action_Committee">Corporate Political Action Committee</a></h3>

<a name="Corporate_Political_Action_Committee" id="Corporate_Political_Action_Committee" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to their official Web site, Range says "the Company maintains a non-political and non-partisan position. No Range funds or assets may be promised, committed, loaned or contributed to any political party or organization, or to any individual who holds or is a candidate for public office except when permitted by applicable law and pre-authorized by the General Counsel."</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-7" title="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[8]</a> However, it appears the companies General Counsel pre-authorized Range Resources to form a political action committee (PAC) in 2009<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a> called Range Resources Energy Independence PAC. In 2010 alone, its PAC donated over $52,000 to political campaigns and organizations, with the majority of the funds going to known Republican supporters of methane drilling, like Republican Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-9" title="" style="">[10]</a>

To further sway Pennsylvania lawmakers, lobbyists and state officials, a blog called "The Morning Call" reported that Range hosted a Steelers Super Bowl party in Dallas, Texas, for a select few. "For those lucky enough to attend, you'll be among "Steelers fans, friends of Range Resources and even some Steeler greats," where you'll enjoy "a classic Texas BBQ, music and entertainment as we cheer on the Steelers to another Super Bowl championship," the invitation read.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-10" title="">[11]</a>

Pennsylvania politicians are not the only state officials receiving funding from Range. In Virginia, the <a href="http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/index/159632?start_year=2008&end_year=2010&lookup_type=year&filing_period=all" class="external text" title="http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/index/159632?start_year=2008&end_year=2010&lookup_type=year&filing_period=all" rel="nofollow">State site</a> shows that $24,120 was donated to candidates and front groups between 2008-2010, almost all of which, $23,620, was contributed to Republican interests.

A chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, has stated that "Range Resources, with drilling rights to more than 1.4 million acres, is one of the biggest natural gas players in Pennsylvania, and is one of the most frequent campaign contributors as well. The company’s political arm gave to state Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods; Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery; Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson; Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre; and Auditor General Jack Wagner, among others, in 2009. In turn, the biggest donors to the Range PAC are its top executives, such as Charles Blackburn (board of directors), John Pinkerton (CEO), Rodney Waller (chief of compliance) and Roger Manny (executive vice president)."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-11" title="">[12]</a>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Political_Donations_by_Company_Execs" id="Political_Donations_by_Company_Execs">Political Donations by Company Execs</a></h3>

<a name="Political_Donations_by_Company_Execs" id="Political_Donations_by_Company_Execs">Board members and senior management have donated large amounts of money to Range Resources Energy Independence. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has reported that $195,726.97 was donated to either Range's PAC or political campaigns in Pennsylvania by individuals at the company.</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-12" title="">[13]</a> <a href="http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/qind/" class="external text" title="http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/qind/" rel="nofollow">West Virginia's state donor site</a> shows $21,750 in the 2009-2010 election season. Most of the money donated went to Republican political candidates in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-13" title="">[14]</a>

Below is a list of the PAC's biggest contributors in 2009-2010 who are Range Resources Employees:

<li>David Poole - Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary - $27,500</li>

<li>Roger Manny - Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President - $20,000</li>

<li>Ray Walker - Senior Vice President, Marcellus Shale - $18,300</li>

<li>Jeff Ventura - President, Chief Operating Officer, Director - $15,000</li>

<li>Charles Blackburn - Corporate Director, Board of Directors - $15,000</li>

<li>Richard Eales - Board of Directors, Lead Independent Director - $12,500</li>

<li>John Pinkerton - CEO - $12,000</li>

<li>Rodney Waller - Senior Vice President, Chief of Compliance - $11,000</li>

<li>Charles Stephens III - Senior Vice President - $9,000</li>

<li>Mark Whitley - Senior Vice President, Southwest and Engineering Technology - $5,000</li>

<li>Alan Farquharson - Senior Vice President, Reservoir Engineering - $5,000</li>

<li>Carl Carlson - Director of Governmental - $5,307</li>

<li>Allen Finkelson - Board of Directors - $2,000</li>

<li>Matt Curry - Director of Engineering - $2,000</li>

</ul>

(Similar searches were done for Texas, Virginia and New York but individual names were not found on the state sites.)

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Lobbying" id="Lobbying">Lobbying</a></h3>

<a name="Lobbying" id="Lobbying">According to Common Cause's "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets" report from May 2010, Range Resources spent the second most on lobbying, $492,974, in lobbying expenditures from 2007-2009--with only Dominion Power spending the most.</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-14" title="">[15]</a> Range has worked with the influential lobby firm <a href="http://www.greenleepartners.com/clients.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.greenleepartners.com/clients.htm" rel="nofollow">Greenlee Partners</a>, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as well as <a href="http://www.ridgepolicygroup.com/representative-clients" class="external text" title="http://www.ridgepolicygroup.com/representative-clients" rel="nofollow">Ridge Policy Group</a>.

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Front_Groups" id="Front_Groups">Front Groups</a></h2>

<a name="Front_Groups" id="Front_Groups">Range Resources is a supporter of several special interest groups that push for expanded drilling rights and limited or no regulation of </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fracking" title="Fracking">fracking</a>.

Range Resources is a member of: The Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA),<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-15" title="">[16]</a> The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA),<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-16" title="">[17]</a> the Virginia Oil & Gas Association,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-17" title="">[18]</a> the Ohio Oil & Gas Association,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-18" title="">[19]</a> the Marcellus Shale Coalition,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-19" title="">[20]</a> Petroleum Technology Transfer Council,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-20" title="">[21]</a> and Energy In Depth.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-21" title="" style="">[22]</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Claimed_Violations_of_Safety_Rules_or_Other_Laws" id="Claimed_Violations_of_Safety_Rules_or_Other_Laws">Claimed Violations of Safety Rules or Other Laws</a></h2>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Health_and_Safety_Violations_Alleged" id="Health_and_Safety_Violations_Alleged">Health and Safety Violations Alleged</a></h3>

<a name="Health_and_Safety_Violations_Alleged" id="Health_and_Safety_Violations_Alleged" style="">As of May 2010, Range Resources has paid $219,875 in fines to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-22" title="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[23]</a> Below is a list, though not exclusive, of the bulk of the fines paid to Pennsylvania. As of yet, no fines have been paid in Texas or West Virginia.

<li>2011: Taking advantage of lenient zoning laws for drilling sites, Range Resources is accused of working without permits in the Pennsylvania Township of Cecil, where Range's Marcellus headquarters are located. The township is working to change its zoning ordinances, as of January 2011, in response to these concerns.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-23" title="">[24]</a> "Under Pennsylvania law, drilling sites must be kept at least 200 feet from neighboring properties but there are few othter limitations in site location, if any,"<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-24" title="">[25]</a> says an article by <a href="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" class="external text" title="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" rel="nofollow">Sara-Summer Oliphant</a>. Town supervisors in Cecil have proposed changing the zoning rules to "conditional use" in order to ensure that no sites are established next to schools, parks or on the border of South Fayette Township, where supervisors recently voted not to permit drilling.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-25" title="">[26]</a> Township leaders asked Range Resources to take part in the process of the rewriting of the zoning ordinances, but the company was reportedly unresponsive as of February 2011.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-26" title="">[27]</a></li>

</ul>

<li style="">2010: "The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Range $141,175 for spilling about 250 barrels of diluted fracturing fluids into an unnamed tributary of Brush Run, Hopewell Township in 2009. The incident killed at least 168 small fish, along with salamanders and frogs, the agency said. Range said the spill resulted from a defective joint in a water transfer line."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-27" title="">[28]</a></li>

</ul>

<dd>Additionally, in December 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency charged that gas drilling by the company in Texas had contributed to the methane contamination of at least two residential drinking water wells in Parker County, Texas. Range Resources denied the EPA's findings and is fighting the charges. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-28" title="">[29]</a> Bloomberg reported that "the EPA said Range allowed methane from natural-gas wells in Parker County, west of Fort Worth, to seep into two families’ water wells. The order requires Range to provide safe drinking water for landowners and fix the wells. The company could face a fine of as much as $16,000 a day, David Gray, an EPA spokesman, said."</dd>

</dl>

<dd style="">In response to the EPA charges in Texas, <a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/getdoc/50e3bc03-3bf6-4517-a29b-e2b8ef0afe4f/Well-Completion-Reports.aspx" class="external text" title="http://www.rangeresources.com/getdoc/50e3bc03-3bf6-4517-a29b-e2b8ef0afe4f/Well-Completion-Reports.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="">Range Resources</a> disclosed data on the hazardous components in the fluid it uses to drill for gas in Pennsylvania. <a href="http://marcelluseffect.blogspot.com/2010/10/range-resources-follows-through-on.html" class="external text" title="http://marcelluseffect.blogspot.com/2010/10/range-resources-follows-through-on.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Marcellus Effect</a> blog says that "one thing you will notice is that Range is not using a long list of chemicals at each well – often five to seven products. The only problem I have with their reports is that they continue to list only the hazardous compounds listed on MSDS, not a complete listing of chemicals in the compounds. Their friction reducer, for example, they list as containing no hazardous compounds, so they are not disclosing any of those chemicals in their drilling reports to DEP, or to the citizens of PA."</dd>

</dl>

<li style="">2009: "In October, Pennsylvania fined Range Resources $23,500 for spilling nearly 5,000 gallons of wastewater, including hydraulic fracturing fluids, into a tributary of Cross Creek Lake, a protected watershed near Pittsburgh that contains some of the state's most robust fish populations," reported <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/pas-gas-wells-booming-but-so-are-spills-127" class="external text" title="http://www.propublica.org/article/pas-gas-wells-booming-but-so-are-spills-127" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Propublica's Gas Drilling site</a>. The spill happened on May 26 when screws became loose in a pipe. Just three weeks before the fines were announced, Range was penalized by the DEP for another accident -- this time for spilling more than 10,000 gallons of flowback water, which again resulted in a fish kill and a substantial cleanup effort."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-29" title="">[30]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-30" title="">[31]</a></li>

</ul>

<dd>The Sierra Club Allegheny County reports that in May 2009, the Pennsylvania DEP ordered Range Resources and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chief_Oil_and_Gas" title="Chief Oil and Gas">Chief Oil and Gas</a> to suspend operations at two sites in Lycoming County for violating PA’s Clean Stream Law. The companies were withdrawing water from Hoagland Run and First Fork Larry’s Creek without having obtained the required permits."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-31" title="">[32]</a> No fines were recorded, although the <a href="http://nepagasaction.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88:lycoming-county-violations&catid=54:lists-of-violations&Itemid=75" class="external text" title="http://nepagasaction.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88:lycoming-county-violations&catid=54:lists-of-violations&Itemid=75" rel="nofollow">NEPA Gas Action Web site</a> has a record of the violation, as well as all others on the region.</dd></dl>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Lawsuits" id="Lawsuits">Lawsuits</a></h3>

<li><a name="Lawsuits" id="Lawsuits">Class Action: In 2010, Range Resources settled with nearly 2,000 Pennsylvania landowners "of royalty interests in natural gas wells who could benefit by nearly $22 million, including $1.75 million in cash payments and lower charges for post-production costs such as gas gathering and processing," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-32" title="">[33]</a> reported. The proposed agreement, filed in federal court in Erie, Pa., is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin. No hearing date has been set for the royalty owners, many of whom are from Venango County in northwest Pennsylvania.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-33" title="">[34]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Backwater Properties LLC and Aaron Johnson vs. Range Resources and Duncan Land and Energy Inc.: In 2010, more than 100 northern West Virginia property owners sued Range Resources for fraud because they said Range owed them money for natural gas leases signed in 2008.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-34" title="">[35]</a> As of yet, there has been no settlement in this case.</li></ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Revenue_and_Profits" id="Revenue_and_Profits">Revenue and Profits</a></h2>

2010 Annual figures not yet public, as of February 18, 2011.

<li>Revenue: 907.34 million</li>

<li>Gross Profit: 860.44 million</li>

</ul>

2008<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-36" title="">[37]</a>

<li>Revenue: 1.32 billion</li>

<li>Gross Profit: 1.26 billion</li>

</ul>

2007<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-37" title="">[38]</a>

<li>Revenue: 860.37 million</li>

<li>Gross Profit: 814.58 million</li>

</ul>

2006<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-38" title="">[39]</a>

<li>Revenue: 744.81 million</li>

<li>Gross Profit: 700.72 million</li></ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Executives_and_Annual_Compensation" id="Executives_and_Annual_Compensation">Executives and Annual Compensation</a></h2>

<li style="">CEO John H. Pinkerton: $7,429,218 (This is one of the highest 200 salaries in the U.S., according to Forbes.)</li>

<li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">COO Jeffery Ventura: $5,546,479</li>

<li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CFO Roger Manny: $3,014,992</li>

<li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sr. Vice President of Marcellus Shale, Ray. N. Walker: $3,782,109</li>

</ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Senior_Executives" id="Senior_Executives">Senior Executives</a></h2>

<li><a name="Senior_Executives" id="Senior_Executives">John H. Pinkerton: Board Chairman and CEO - </a><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=55130" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=55130" rel="nofollow">Reuters</a> states "Pinkerton became a director in 1988 and was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2008. He joined Range as President in 1990 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1992. Previously, Pinkerton was Senior Vice President of Snyder Oil Corporation. Before joining Snyder in 1980, he was with Arthur Andersen. Pinkerton has been in the energy industry almost his entire professional career and founded and has guided the growth of Range for the last 30 years."</li>

</ul>

<li>Jeffrey L. Ventura: President and COO - "Ventura joined Range in 2003 and became a director in 2005. Previously, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Matador Petroleum Corporation which he joined in 1997. Before 1997, Ventura spent eight years at Maxus Energy Corporation where he managed various engineering, exploration and development operations and was responsible for coordination of engineering technology. Previously, he was with Tenneco Inc., where he held various engineering and operating positions."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-40" title="">[41]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Roger S. Manny: Executive Vice President and CFO - "Manny joined Range in 2003. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Matador Petroleum Corporation from 1998 until joining Range. Before 1998, he spent 18 years at Bank of America and its predecessors where he served as Senior Vice President in the energy group."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-41" title="">[42]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Ray. N. Walker: Sr. Vice President of Marcellus Shale - A former manager at <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Halliburton" title="Halliburton" class="mw-redirect">Halliburton</a>, Walker worked on the first shale well in 1982.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-42" title="">[43]</a> He "joined Range in 2006 and was elected to his current position in February 2010. Previously, Walker served as Vice President – Marcellus Shale, where he led the development of the company’s <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale" title="Marcellus Shale">Marcellus Shale</a> division. Walker is a Registered Petroleum Engineer with more than 34 years of oil and gas operations and management experience, having previously been employed by Union Pacific Resources and several companies in which Walker served as an officer."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-43" title="">[44]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Alan Farquharson: Sr. Vice President - Reservoir Engineering - He joined Range in 1998 and has held the positions of Manager and Vice President of Reservoir Engineering before being promoted to his senior position in February 2007. Previously, he has also held positions with Union Pacific Resources including Engineering Manager Business Development – International. Before that, Farquharson held various technical and managerial positions at <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Amoco" title="Amoco" class="mw-redirect">Amoco</a> and Hunt Oil.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-44" title="">[45]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>David Poole: Sr. Vice President - General Council and Corporate Secretary - Poole "joined Range in June 2008 and has over 21 years of legal experience. From May 2004 until March 2008 he was with TXU Corp., serving last as Executive Vice President – Legal, and General Counsel. Prior to joining TXU, Poole spent 16 years with Hunton & Williams LLP and its predecessor, where he was a partner and last served as the Managing Partner of the Dallas office."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-45" title="">[46]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Chad Stephens: Sr. Vice President - Corporate Development - Stephens "joined Range in 1990. Before 2002, he held the position of Senior Vice President – Southwest. Previously, Stephens was with Duer Wagner & Co., an independent oil and gas producer for approximately two years. Before that, he was an independent oil operator in Midland, Texas for four years. From 1979 to 1984, Stephens was with Cities Service Company and HNG Oil Company."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-46" title="">[47]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Rodney Waller: Sr. Vice President and Assistant Secretary - "Waller joined Range in 1999. He served as Corporate Secretary from 1999 until 2008. Previously, Waller was Senior Vice President of Snyder Oil Corporation. Before joining Snyder, he was with Arthur Andersen. Waller is a certified public accountant and petroleum land man."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-47" title="">[48]</a></li>

</ul>

<li>Mark Whitley: Sr. Vice President - Southwest and Engineering Technology - Whitley "joined Range in 2005. Previously, he served as Vice President – Operations with Quicksilver Resources for two years. Before joining Quicksilver, he served as Production/Operation Manager for Devon Energy. From 1982 to 2002, Whitley held a variety of technical and managerial roles with Mitchell Energy. Notably, he led the team of engineers at Mitchell Energy who applied new stimulation techniques to unlock the shale gas potential in the Barnett Shale formation in the Fort Worth Basin. Previous positions included serving as a production and reservoir engineer with <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Shell_Oil" title="Shell Oil" class="mw-redirect">Shell Oil</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-48" title="">[49]</a></li></ul>

<h1 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Contact_Information" id="Contact_Information">Contact Information</a></h1>

Marcellus Division

380 Southpointe Blvd.

Suite 300

Canonsburg, PA 15317

724-743-6700

Appalachan Division

406 W. Main St.

Abingdon, VA 24212

276-628-9001

Southeastern Division

100 Throckmorton Street

Suite 1200

Fort Worth, TX 76102

817-870-2601

Midcontinent Division

5600 N. May Avenue

Suite 350

Oklahoma City, OK 73112

405-879-6700

<a name="Contact_Information" id="Contact_Information">Web site: </a><a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/" class="external free" title="http://www.rangeresources.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.rangeresources.com</a>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Articles.26_Sources" id="Articles.26_Sources">Articles & Sources</a></h2>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="External_Resources" id="External_Resources">External Resources</a></h3>

<li><a name="External_Resources" id="External_Resources">Beaver County Blue </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-49" title="">[50]</a></li>

<li>Campaign Money.com<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-50" title="">[51]</a></li>

<li>Marcellus Shale.us<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-51" title="">[52]</a></li>

<li>Common Cause<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-52" title="">[53]</a></li>

<li>Propublica<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_note-53" title="">[54]</a></li>

</ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="Related_SourceWatch_Articles" id="Related_SourceWatch_Articles">Related SourceWatch Articles</a></h2>

<a name="Related_SourceWatch_Articles" id="Related_SourceWatch_Articles">Source Watch has a special clearinghouse on fracking, </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Water" class="external text" title="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Water" rel="nofollow">Fracking for Gas</a>.

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a name="References" id="References">References</a></h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a name="References" id="References"> </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml" class="external text" title="http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml" rel="nofollow">"Marcellus Shale Gas: New Results Surprise Geologists!"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006" class="external text" title="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006" rel="nofollow">"A Colossal Fracking Mess"</a>, Vanity Fair 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/11/halliburton-fracking-epa" class="external text" title="http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/11/halliburton-fracking-epa" rel="nofollow">"Fracking Halliburton"</a>, Mother Jones.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://corporate.lexisnexis.com/news/marketing,tracking-measurement-tools/cat300004_doc1360374815.html" class="external text" title="http://corporate.lexisnexis.com/news/marketing,tracking-measurement-tools/cat300004_doc1360374815.html" rel="nofollow">"Marcellus Shale in the US - Gas Shale Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2020"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006" class="external text" title="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006" rel="nofollow">"A Colossal Fracking Mess"</a>, Vanity Fair 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-5" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://marcellusmoney.org/company/range-resources" class="external text" title="http://marcellusmoney.org/company/range-resources" rel="nofollow">"MarcellusMoney.org: Range Resources"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/news-article/444757-big-donors-paid-for-corbett-s-inaugural-bas" class="external text" title="http://seekingalpha.com/news-article/444757-big-donors-paid-for-corbett-s-inaugural-bas" rel="nofollow">"Big Donor Paid for Corbett's Inaugural Bash"</a>, Seeking Philadelphia.com</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/Our-Company/Corporate-Governance.aspx" class="external text" title="http://www.rangeresources.com/Our-Company/Corporate-Governance.aspx" rel="nofollow">"Range Resources Political Guidelines"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/range-resources-energy-independence-pac.asp" class="external text" title="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/range-resources-energy-independence-pac.asp" rel="nofollow">"Campaign Money.com"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-9" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.marcellus-shale.us/political-contributions.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.marcellus-shale.us/political-contributions.htm" rel="nofollow">"Political Contributions"</a>, 2004-2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-10" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2011/02/range-resouces-to-wine-dine-lawmakers-at-super-bowl-party-in-texas.html" class="external text" title="http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2011/02/range-resouces-to-wine-dine-lawmakers-at-super-bowl-party-in-texas.html" rel="nofollow">"Range Resources to wine and dine lawmakers at the Super Bowl"</a>, The Morning Call Blog</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-11" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://beavercountyblue.org/2010/02/16/major-pa-polluter-range-resources-donates-to-dan-onorato-jim-corbett-and-republican-party/" class="external text" title="http://beavercountyblue.org/2010/02/16/major-pa-polluter-range-resources-donates-to-dan-onorato-jim-corbett-and-republican-party/" rel="nofollow">"Progressive Democrats of America - Beaver County"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-12" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us/ContributionSearchResults.aspx?RequestID=451805&SortOrder=0&StartRow=1&RowsPerPage=10" class="external text" title="http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us/ContributionSearchResults.aspx?RequestID=451805&SortOrder=0&StartRow=1&RowsPerPage=10" rel="nofollow">"Campaign Finance Pennsylvania Lookup"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-13" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.marcellus-shale.us/political-contributions.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.marcellus-shale.us/political-contributions.htm" rel="nofollow">"Marcellus Shale.us"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-14" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4952201&ct=8384931" class="external text" title="http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4952201&ct=8384931" rel="nofollow">"Common Cause: Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets"</a>, 2010 Report</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-15" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.pioga.org/about/boards-committees/" class="external text" title="http://www.pioga.org/about/boards-committees/" rel="nofollow">"PIOGA Member"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-16"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-16" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.ipaa.org/Blog/?p=630" class="external text" title="http://www.ipaa.org/Blog/?p=630" rel="nofollow">"IPAA Members"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-17" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://vaoilandgas.com/board.html" class="external text" title="http://vaoilandgas.com/board.html" rel="nofollow">"Virginia Oil and Gas,"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-19" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://marcelluscoalition.org/about/executive-committee/" class="external text" title="http://marcelluscoalition.org/about/executive-committee/" rel="nofollow">"Marcellus Shale Coalition Committee"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-20" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.pttc.org/board.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.pttc.org/board.htm" rel="nofollow">"Petroleum Technology Transfer Council"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-21" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.energyindepth.org/about/" class="external text" title="http://www.energyindepth.org/about/" rel="nofollow">"Energy In Depth"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-22"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-22" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2010/05/31/story10.html" class="external text" title="http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2010/05/31/story10.html" rel="nofollow">"Commonwealth fines Range Resources"</a>, Pittsburgh Business Times, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-23"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-23" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" class="external text" title="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" rel="nofollow">"Cecil Says Range Resources Unresponsive; Lack of Permits Could Mean Fines"</a>,Patch.com Canon-McMillan January 5, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-24"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-24" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" class="external text" title="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" rel="nofollow">"Cecil Says Range Resources Unresponsive; Lack of Permits Could Mean Fines"</a>, Canon-McMillian Patch, January 5, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-25"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-25" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" class="external text" title="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" rel="nofollow">"Canon-McMillian Patch Article"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-26"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-26" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" class="external text" title="http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cecil-says-range-resources-unresponsive-lack-of-permits-could-mean-fines" rel="nofollow">"Canon-McMillian Patch Article"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-27"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-27" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/14/2336154/range-resources-to-disclose-chemicals.html#ixzz14zodC9WD" class="external text" title="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/14/2336154/range-resources-to-disclose-chemicals.html#ixzz14zodC9WD" rel="nofollow">"Range Resources to disclose chemicals used in well fracking"</a>, Fort Worth Star Telegram, July 15, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-28"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-28" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/08/rangeresources-idUSSGE6B709U20101208" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/08/rangeresources-idUSSGE6B709U20101208" rel="nofollow">"Range Resources denies water contamination charges"</a>, Reuters, Dec 8, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-29"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-29" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/pas-gas-wells-booming-but-so-are-spills-127" class="external text" title="http://www.propublica.org/article/pas-gas-wells-booming-but-so-are-spills-127" rel="nofollow">"Pennsylvania’s Gas Wells Booming—But So Are Spills"</a>, ProPublica.com, Jan. 27, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-30"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-30" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/natural_gas/range_resources_consent_assessment090923.pdf" class="external text" title="http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/natural_gas/range_resources_consent_assessment090923.pdf" rel="nofollow">"Propublica.com Range Resources"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-31"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-31" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://alleghenysc.org/?p=2022" class="external text" title="http://alleghenysc.org/?p=2022" rel="nofollow">"Sierra CLub Allegheny"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-32"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-32" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/16/2341338/range-settles-pennsylvania-lawsuit.html" class="external text" title="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/16/2341338/range-settles-pennsylvania-lawsuit.html" rel="nofollow">"Range settles in Pennsylvania"</a>, The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram</li>

<li id="cite_note-33"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-33" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/16/2341338/range-settles-pennsylvania-lawsuit.html" class="external text" title="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/16/2341338/range-settles-pennsylvania-lawsuit.html" rel="nofollow">"Range settles Pennsylvania lawsuit"</a>, Fort Worth Star Telegram 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-34"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-34" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/547837/Range-Resources-Faces-Lawsuit-For-Consumer-Fraud.html?nav=515" class="external text" title="http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/547837/Range-Resources-Faces-Lawsuit-For-Consumer-Fraud.html?nav=515" rel="nofollow">"Range Resources Faces Lawsuit For Consumer Fraud"</a>, The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register. Oct 18, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-35"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-35" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" class="external text" title="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" rel="nofollow">"Y Financial Charts"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-36"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-36" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" class="external text" title="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" rel="nofollow">"Y Financial Charts"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-37"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-37" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" class="external text" title="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" rel="nofollow">"Y Financial Charts"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-38"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-38" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" class="external text" title="http://ycharts.com/financials/RRC/annual_income_statement" rel="nofollow">"Y Financial Charts"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-39"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-39" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/people.asp?ticker=RRC:US" class="external text" title="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/people.asp?ticker=RRC:US" rel="nofollow">" BusinessWeek Board Compensation"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-40"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-40" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=379519" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=379519" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Ventura Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-41"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-41" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=409916" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=409916" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Manny Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-42"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-42" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.shale-gas-water-management-2011.com/5/speakers/25/ray-walker/" class="external text" title="http://www.shale-gas-water-management-2011.com/5/speakers/25/ray-walker/" rel="nofollow">"Walker Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-43"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-43" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/Our-Company/Senior-Management/Ray-N--Walker,-Jr-.aspx" class="external text" title="http://www.rangeresources.com/Our-Company/Senior-Management/Ray-N--Walker,-Jr-.aspx" rel="nofollow">"Range Resources: Ray N. Walker"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-44"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-44" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=931013" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=931013" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Executive Bios"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-45"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-45" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=1204746" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=1204746" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Poole Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-46"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-46" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=55137" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=55137" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Stephens Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-47"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-47" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=147919" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=147919" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Waller Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-48"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-48" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=753810" class="external text" title="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=RRC.N&officerId=753810" rel="nofollow">"Reuters Whitley Bio"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-49"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-49" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://beavercountyblue.org/2010/02/16/major-pa-polluter-range-resources-donates-to-dan-onorato-jim-corbett-and-republican-party/" class="external text" title="http://beavercountyblue.org/2010/02/16/major-pa-polluter-range-resources-donates-to-dan-onorato-jim-corbett-and-republican-party/" rel="nofollow">"Major PA Polluter Donates to Dan Onorato, Jim Corbett and Republican Party"</a>, Beaver County Blue, February 16, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-50"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-50" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/range-resources-energy-independence-pac.asp" class="external text" title="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/range-resources-energy-independence-pac.asp" rel="nofollow">"Campaign Money.com"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-51"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-51" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.marcellus-shale.us/political-contributions.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.marcellus-shale.us/political-contributions.htm" rel="nofollow">"Marcellus Shale.us"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-52"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-52" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4741359" class="external text" title="http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4741359" rel="nofollow">"Common Cause.org"</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-53"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Range_Resources#cite_ref-53" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.propublica.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.propublica.org/" rel="nofollow">"Propublica Web site"</a></li>

</ol>

</div>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Water" title="Category:Water">Water</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Energy" title="Category:Energy">Energy</a>

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<h1>John H. Pinkerton</h1>

<h2>Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer</h2>

<h2><a href="http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=RRC">Range Resources Corporation</a></h2>

<div>Fort Worth ,  TX</div>

<h3>Sector: BASIC MATERIALS  /  Independent Oil & Gas</h3>

<div>Officer since August 1998</div>

<div>57 Years Old</div>

<div>

</div>

<div>John H. Pinkerton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a director, became a director in 1988 and was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2008. He joined Range as President in 1990 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1992. Previously, Mr. Pinkerton was Senior Vice President of Snyder Oil Corporation. Mr. Pinkerton currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University and is a member of the Executive Committee of America?s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). Mr. Pinkerton received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Texas Christian University and a Master?s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. Mr. Pinkerton has been in the energy industry almost his entire professional career and founded and has guided the growth of the Company for over 20 years. In addition to his significant corporate management experience, Mr. Pinkerton has significant experience in the acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas properties, oil and gas hedging, risk analysis and evaluation and corporate finance and he serves in an important role of representing the Company in the industry and with state and national policymakers. On June 27, 2011, the Board of Directors of Range Resources Corporation announced a CEO transition plan. Effective January 1, 2012 John H. Pinkerton, Range?s current Chief Executive Officer, will assume the position of Executive Chairman.</div>

</div>

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