LEAVING BEHIND/RE-VISITING THE IMPACT OF FRACKING ON PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNITIES IN THE DIMOCK AREA.
THIS PROJECT IS STRUCTURED IN A PLAY FORMAT OF ACTS.
Proluge
The Natural Gas "Gold Rush as observed in June 2011.
Rigs and well pads were everywhere. Large trucks carried water, sand, and chemicals, the necessary ingredients for well stimulation. This process poisons the land and the aquifers beneath the sites of well stimulation.
Landscape Disturbed
Tanks & Hoses
2011
2011
Landscape Disturbed
Tanks & Hoses
2011
Red Water Truck
2011
Deafening Sounds
2011
24/7 Well Operation
2011
Three Gas Wells
2011
Large truck delivering fracking chemicals or sand on narrow rural roads.
Loud sounds from machines for Natural Gas Mining.
Gas Wells, Not Crosses nor a Cemetery, 2011.
My return this year, 2024, I saw that the well pads were hidden from the roads and the truck traffic was minimal. Coterra (Cabot) Energy had temporarily halted the stimulation of the wells in Susquehanna County as the price to sell Natural Gas per unit is in the fall, 2024, around $2.00. However, the cost to produce a natural Gas Unit is around $3.00.
Under President Donald Trump’s expected policies, the fracking is expected to be promoted. The needs for energy will greatly increase because of AI, Crypto Mining and other technical industries. This will result in the need for more Natural Gas, Petro Chemicals and Plastic Power Plants. The value of the Natural Gas in Dimock is between $3 Billion to $4 Billion, a so-called, sweet spot for mining.
What remains from well stimulation are millions of gallons of flow-back water. It is difficult if not impossible to get rid of this flow-back. If or when the tanks degrade the entire area could be poisoned. (See: Trump Coming Soon))
Act One
2024, Return to Dimock
Trump Coming Soon
2024
Trump Coming Soon
2024
Gas Well Pad Almost Hidden
2024
Act Two
Montrose Town Hall
2024
Montrose Hometown Furniture & Bake Shop
2024
2024
Center of Town Montrose Lucky Dog Grooming
The economic center of the region is subject to a boom-and-bust cycle. Currently well stimulation has almost completely stopped as there is too much gas for the markets. However, we should expect fracking to return to this region. I also plan to take more photographs of the town center.
The Town of Montrose
From the Heart Shop
2024
The health of congregations often mirrors the status of their communities. There are many churches in Susquehanna County.
Act Three
The Churches
A well pad is behind it.
2024
2024
2024
Best Kept Church
Dimock Baptist Church
Once a Church -
Now a Truck Garage
Dead Church
2024
Act Four
The People
These are portraits of the residents in Dimock and Montrose as well as others who have been affected by this issue. I approach all sitters with empathy and respect. This is their space, and they want to express what they want to tell us. This is the time for them to speak though their photo image, the message they want to give us.
The Proprietors of Busy Bee Diner. It was the only place to get breakfast or lunch in Montrose. The breakfast was delicious. They opened their business one year ago.
2024
Craig
Ray
Vera, an early frack activist but wants peace and harmony now.
2024
A Girl from Dimock. She enjoys cheerleading.
2024
Ray’s water permanently contaminated by fracking. He began a non-profit for a clean environment.
2024
Victoria: Her water is polluted by fracking.
2024
His family has had farmland for many generations. He understands well the impact of fracking in the area.
2024
Barbara, Executive Director of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability. She has been educating the public since 2007 about the Dangers of Fracking.
2024
A. R. Ingraffea, Ph.D., P.E., Dist. Member ASCE, Professor of Engineering Emeritus and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University.
“As a concerned scientist/engineer, I engage beyond the academy to further inform and educate the public on critical scientific issues that involve public health and safety, and am also Founding and Past President and now Senior Fellow at: PSE Healthy Energy, Inc.”
2024
EPILOGUE
The mining of natural gas is a threat to all. The question is how we will handle this threat to our health, our country, distortions to our economy and survival of our planet. We are at a tipping point. Taking care of the environment is our most important issue.