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The Allegheny National Forest (ANF)

The Allegheny National Forest (ANF). A Land of Many Ab Uses. The NEPA Process is Routinely Ignored. Environmental Integrity is Threatened. Created for Watershed Protection. In 1923, the U.S. federal government originally established the ANF for the protection of the Allegheny Watershed.

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The Allegheny National Forest (ANF)

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  1. The Allegheny National Forest (ANF) A Land of Many AbUses

  2. The NEPA Process is Routinely Ignored Environmental Integrity is Threatened

  3. Created for Watershed Protection • In 1923, the U.S. federal government originally established the ANF for the protection of the Allegheny Watershed.

  4. Mismanagement

  5. Oil and Gas Development • 12,000 active wells • 6,000 wells drilled 2003 to 2008 (1,000% increase) • National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) process, NOT applied

  6. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. • evaluation of the environmental effects of a federal undertaking including its alternatives • Three levels • categorical exclusion determination • preparation of an environmental assessment/finding of no significant impact (EA/FONSI) • preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS)

  7. NEPA is • Public consultation • Transparency • Environmental assessment

  8. 2,000 Miles of Oil and Gas Roads • No NEPA • Secret, no-bid timber sale • Illegal stone mining • Not constructed to USFS standards (erosion, siltation)

  9. No Bid Timber-Sales • Timber sales for all private oil and gas development on the ANF do not follow the NEPA process. • Not public • No-bid

  10. Illegal Surface Stone Mining

  11. Oil and Gas Industry Litigation Challenging U.S. Forest Service • Duhring Resources v. U.S. Forest Service • ADP intervention • PA Oil and Gas Association v. U.S. Forest Service • Papcov. U.S. Forest Service

  12. Duhring Resources v. U.S. Forest Service • Status: • Plaintiffs arguing that Forest Service (surface owner) cannot regulate plaintiff’s access in pursuit of its sub-surface private minerals

  13. PA Oil and Gas Association v. U.S. Forest Service • Status: • Plaintiff is asking the court to declare that the ANF’s management plan cannot contain regulations that apply to the exercise of private mineral rights

  14. Papcov. U.S. Forest Service • Status: • plaintiff is asking the court to declare that even the sandstone that is mined for use in oil and gas road construction is part of the mineral estate

  15. FSEEE, ADP, and Sierra Clubv. USFS • Complaint filed November 20, 2008 • Failure to apply NEPA • Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, Allegheny Defense Project, and the National Sierra Club v. U.S. Forest Service

  16. FSEEE, ADP, and Sierra Clubv. USFS • Plaintiffs argue that the U.S. Forest Service must apply, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to oil and gas developments which disturb federally owned surface lands within the Allegheny National Forest. • NEPA must apply when the U.S. Forest Services gives a “notice to proceed” to private companies accessing their minerals which lie below federal lands.

  17. Notice to Proceed=Federal Action Notice to Proceed O&G Co. ANF Development Plan Well Permits PA DEP

  18. Wells have already been drilled or are proposed in remote / roadless areas • Morrison Run • Tracy Ridge National Recreation Area proposed for wilderness designation • Allegheny Front National Recreation Area • Rimrock Scenic Overlook and Picnic Area

  19. 4 types of drillingthreatening ANF • Shallow oil and gas drilling • The drilling of old wells deeper for natural gas • Marcellus Shale gas drilling requiring an average of 15 hydrofracturings, each requiring 1 million gallons of water • Trenton Black River drilling for deep, high pressure gas formations

  20. The Allegheny National Forest (ANF) A Land of Many AbUses

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