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News: November 29, 2005:
Good News!!!! Dominion Gas has finished
re-drilling Well #1643. Photographs were taken by my
employee of the process; the work was well done except for cutting both
my phone lines at one point. But the best news is that not much
gas is coming into that well (Several other dowsers and I tried to tell
them that beforehand). Therefore it is unlikely that the two wells
contemplated in the rear of the property will be drilled. Come to
the Lavender Fair the last Saturday in June 2006 - that's June 24th -
the 4th La Paix Herb Farm Lavender Fair subtitled "Livin' Easy".
We plan to combine lavender, herbs, gourmet food, workshops and
sustainable energy, green building and organic gardening all in one day
committed to helping you Live Easier in your life and on the earth!
Please put this on your calendar. More Later.
Peace Myra News: August 3rd, 2005
Photos taken by former apprentice, Judith Vojik, of current well
road to Well #1643 show
condition of road (what road?)
News: August 2nd, 2005
Dominion Gas to start work on road and redrill
well despite discrepancies in the Department of Environmental Protection
Permit and Ignoring the request for information from the West Virginia
Division of Culture and History. (as La Paix has been approved for
Historic Registration as a homestead)
My lawyer, Tom Michael, informed me today that Greg Cunningham,
landsman for Dominion Gas, had phoned to say that they will begin work
on the well road tomorrow, Dig the Pit and Frac the well on the north
west corner of La Paix on August 10th and be finished by the Pizza Fair
on September 3rd., 2005.
News: June 11, 2005
West Virginia's Department of Environmental
Protection approves Permit to Rework Well #1643 despite
1) The road leading to the well site road is a
private road (although Greg Cunningham, Sr. landsman, Dominion Gas
insists it is a county road after I researched and the State Highway
Department verifies that this road is a private road.)
2) The slip on the well to be reworked (#1643) has not been fixed,
so Dominion Gas is going into an area already compromised by their
machinations in 1986.
3) Dominion Gas states they will keep road in "current or better"
condition (see current condition in photos below - the current condition
is no perceptible road, but ruts and mud. Actually there are trees
growing in the middle of the road!) The ambiguous "better"
is no assurance that the road will be anything but a catastrophe waiting
to happen.
4) The gas leak finally found after eight months of inquiry by me
was "from a bad line likely to leak again" according to well tenders for
Dominion Gas, but Dominion Gas claims in a letter to DEP that "an in
depth investigation" (as far as I can see they dug 5 feet deep in two
places to pin point the leak which had traveled up the line, used a
device to determine where the pipeline ran and put 4 or 5 markers there
- although the pipe line continues unmarked about 600 more feet) had
solved the problem.
Myra's comment: It seems that big
corporations like Dominion Gas can do anything they please, and their
greed blinds them to any other value in the land that I so love.
The government, paid for by the people, and represented by the
Department of Environmental Protection, does not protect the ordinary
citizen or small business, but is at the beck and call of the big
corporations. What is happening at La Paix is only a microcosm of
what is happening all over the world.
News: May 27, 2005
COMMENTS ON APPLICATION TO REWORK WELL #1643
For complete letter, click here
News: April 20th, 2005:
Coal Oil and Gas Companies to get huge tax breaks from Congress while
getting no further mandate to develop alternative fuels which are
less environmentally hazardous.
The
dependence of the United States on oil and gas is creating a country
constantly at war. Rather silly when it is predicted that the oil
and gas reserves in the U.S. will be gone within ten years or less
anyway. Here's a short quote from the full article below:
"The most egregious
provision is a tax break that will allow the industry to write off the
cost of exploring for deposits - even in instances when they actually
strike oil. In addition to these subsidies ($3.2 billion in tax
breaks), the energy bill would cost taxpayers billions more by forcing
states and local communities to pay for the cleanup costs associated
with decontaminating drinking water polluted with the gasoline additive
MTBE. The energy bill would shield the oil industry from any
responsibility for the contamination problem, although oil companies are
responsible for putting the chemical in our gasoline, taxpayers will be
forced to pay to get it out of our water."
http://www.tompaine.com/20050428/articles/the_donothing_energy_bill.php
News: August 1, 2005 - Congress passes huge Tax Breaks to Oil,
Gas, Coal companies - nothing to alternative sources of energy. News: March 15.
2005 ~ see photos & description below
For larger photo of Dominion Gas's
Chevy Blazer on Well Road, click here
To sign the petition against further gas well drilling at La Paix,
click here.
To explore the Environmental Road to Peace,
click here |
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On Tuesday, March 15th, Greg
Cunningham of
Dominion Gas came to La Paix with two surveyors. Previously, in
December, I had filed a complaint with the WV Division of Environmental
Protection, Office of Oil and Gas, stating that the "road" leading to
Dominion Gas Well #1643 (WV DEP # 3671)was never constructed according to regulations and had
deteriorated ever since the drilling in about 1986. Mr. Cunningham
agreed to drive us up to the well site in his Chevy Blazer when he came
with Surveyors. My friend, Elaine Ferry RN, inspector
for Organic Farms and Businesses in north east USA, accompanied us.
The ride up the hill was very scary, and I have been told I screamed most
of the way as the SUV lurched sideways, skidded every which way and
continued what looks like straight up the hill with a road only
identifiable by the ruts made by four wheelers.
The road is at a 33% grade and the specs for
the Oil and Gas Office state no more than 20%
grade. The site of the well is at 1,267 feet. The road at
the bottom is at approximately 300 feet.
When the ride became a series of back and
forth, back and forth on the road in an attempt to get over the boulder
in the ditch, creating great gobs of Gilpin Upshur 3 soil (see below), I
elected to get out of the car - which I did and immediately began to
photograph the vain attempts by Mr. Cunningham to get his Blazer over
the ditch.
Regulations of Div. of Environmental Protection
Office of Oil and Gas, WV Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual
http:
//www.wvdep.org/publications.cfm?ssid=23
page 7.
Design Criteria:
(1) Maximum grade will be 20%
Inspector may approve a waiver for grades in
excess of 20% on a case by case basis.
(2) Minimum width will be 10 ft. for a single lane.
(3) Side Slopes for excavated cuts will be in accordance with
information listed in Table 1.
(4) Earth fill slopes will be no steeper than 2-1.
continued under next photo.
The boots shown on either side of the
title of
this page are the boots worn by the Steward
of La Paix on March 15, 2005. The clayey
mud on the boots is a perfect example of
Gilpin Upshur 3 soil - the kind that slides
down a hill. Peace Myra
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This is my friend, Elaine Ferry, on the
left, Greg Cunningham behind the SUV, the Dominion Gas SUV with tree.
The Blazer came to a muddy stop about 2/3rd up the hill to the Well
Site.
Regulations of Div. of Environmental
Protection
Office of Oil and Gas, WV Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual
continued
Design Criteria: (5) Side ditches
will be installed on sections of roads, in cut where surface drainage
impinges the fill areas.
(6) Culverts will be installed under the road in natural drainage
ways. Bridges may be needed for larger drainage areas.
(7) Cross ditches shall be installed to control road surface
water. Refer to Table II-4.
Construction Specifications:
(1) The areas to be excavated or occupied by
fill, shall be cleared and grubbed of all trees, stumps,
large roots, boulders, and debris. All such material will be
disposed of by stacking, piling......
(2) Timber Clearing: Consideration should be given to clearing
woody material back from the roadway far enough to allow entrance of
sunlight and wind to assist in accelerated drying of the road surface.
(3) Road surface stabilization may be required in excessively wet
or soft areas, by use of stone and/or stone and fiber mat.
2. Drainage Ditch
(1) An open drainage ditch constructed to a specific size and
grade, along the road, to collect
and convey surface water.
Editors Note: This is also supposed to be on all roads leading to
the road to the well. That road (see photos below) has never been
ditched.
(2) For allowable velocities, refer to Table II-2. Capacity
of ditch shall be based on handling 0.1 cfs per acre of drainage.
Refer to Table II-3 for sizing of ditch. Minimum depth shall be 1
foot.
(5) Ditch outlets shall have adequate erosion and
sediment control.
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This photo shows the
site on the n.w. boundary of my property
looking toward the well site on the s.w. boundary of my property.
The s.w. well is the one
which had a severe landslide all the way
down the hill in about 1989. The day
before the landslide, I heard a bulldozer
on the hill and my son, Bill, and I went
up toward the sound. A man was on a
bulldozer showing the Gilpin-Upshur 3
clayey mud all around. I shouted at him
to stop, but he just kept going although it
was obvious he could hear me. I shouted
"You are going to cause a landslide. For
the Love of God, Stop!" He neither
acknowledged me although looking straight
at me, or stopped. The next morning I
was standing on my front porch and heard
a horrible loud noise like many thunders,
and the hill slid all the way down into the
meadow. The slide was ten feet up the
beautiful oak and hickory trees and killed
all the trees, large and small. To this day,
the land around the well (photos to follow)
is pockmarked with 1 and 2 feet holes
every foot or so, making walking a journey
fraught with danger. Trying to keep a gate
across the road in order that four wheelers
coming from other property do not continue
to ride back and forth on the fragile earth
has been almost impossible. These sites
are what I term "An attractive nuisance" something like a private
swimming pool
that is not fenced in. It leaves the land
open to less environmentally friendly
people who can further damage the land.
Regulations of Div. of Environmental
Protection
Office of Oil and Gas, WV Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual
continued
Design Criteria (drainage ditch)
(1) Minimum depth 8"
(2) Minimum width - 2 feet.
p. 24 Access Road Reclamation
(1) Road surfaces shall be regraded.
(2) Permanent side ditches will be in-
stalled where needed and where the site will allow.
(3) Permanent culverts, cross drains, and broad based dips shall
be installed where needed..
(4) Side slopes of excavated cuts and outslopes shall be
maintained, where the site allows.....
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| December 9, 2004.
Mr. James Martin, Chief
Office of Oil & Gas
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
601 57th St.
Charleston W.V. 25304
Dear Mr. Martin:
My farm, home and business is La Paix Herb Farm in Alum Bridge, West
Virginia (Lewis County). I understand that Dominion Gas is contemplating
redrilling an existing well and drilling two new wells on my property (I
have the surface rights). There are many reasons that this is an
imprudent plan and one which is devastating to me and to the land:
1) The soil on which Dominion Gas wants to make extensive roads with
heavy equipment is Gilpin-Upshur 3 soil type. This soil is extremely
likely to slip and erode (something like butterscotch pudding on a
slanted plate). The existing well on the south west boundary of my
property caused a landslide after it was drilled and landscaped. The
soil fell down the hill with a tremendous noise and was ten feet high on
the trunks of the large and numerous trees covering the hill. It killed
them all. Since then, the soil around the well is so pockmarked with
deep indentations every foot or so that it is impossible to walk on. I
have photos of the land the well was drilled on before and after the
drilling and landslide. Gilpin-Upshur Soil is the same soil on the
steeper slopes which are on the sides and back of my property. Even
longer roads would have to be erected over many creeks, rock formations,
caves and ravines if Dominion Gas pursues this foolhardy course.
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This photo shows the
surveyors
on the site of Well #1643, (DEP #3671)
1, 267 feet
above sea level. If you look
closely you will see the large
rock formation in the background.
These rock formations, sometimes
2 stories or more high and
a city block long arise along the
entire northern boundary of
La Paix. |
This is a photo taken from the site of
the south
west oil/gas well on La Paix Herb Farm. It
was taken after the Chevy Blazer driven by
Greg Cunningham of Dominion Gas got stuck
in a big ditch across the "road" "maintained"
by Dominion Gas to Well #1643 on the n.w.
of La Paix Herb Farm. The severe grade of
the road is clearly delineated in the middle
background of the photo.Photo on
right. This is me, the Steward of
La Paix, at 70 years old, wondering what
happened to my dream of Peace??????? |
The arrows indicate the steepness of the grade
on
this gas well road made by Dominion Gas.
The road goes to Gas Well
#1643 which is on
the property of La Paix Herb Farm. This is the
road which Dominion Gas would use to transport
heavy equipment to
re-drill Gas Well #1643. It not
only is steeper than their own
regulations dictate,
but it has never been ditched and is greatly
eroded.
It also means that anyone on a 4 wheeler can enter
my
property without me knowing it.
Photo taken March 9, 2005. |
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| 2) La Paix Herb Farm is my business. The
fragile eco-system on either side and back of the farm is useful only
for wildlife habitat and growing trees, according to NCRS (USDA) Soil
Samples for Lewis County. This is exactly what this land is being used
for now. Because it is so beautiful, with caves, rock formations,
ravines, many creeks and many trees in great bio-diversity, it is used
in the business for hiking, identification of medicinal plants,
mushrooms and trees. It is also used in workshops and tours as a
sanctuary during the Finding Peace in Your Garden Workshop. The creation
of roads and wells all around the back of property would cause
landslides into the bottom where my home is now (my home and the entire
property is being reviewed now for Historic Registration by the WV
Division of History and Culture - May-Kraus Farm). The log cabin built
in the mid 1800's and the Plantation I farmhouse added on in 1890 are
situated only ten feet away from the creek which is fed by at least
seven other creeks in the hills in the back of La Paix. With soil again
in the Gilpin-Upshur category on the bottom where the display gardens
and buildings are situated, a landslide and excess water would cause
flooding due to the low permeability of the soil . As La Paix is located
in the head of the hollow, I suspect that flooding here would result in
flooding of my neighbor's lands and Crooked Run Road as well. Keeping La
Paix's hills forested is not only part of my stewardship of the land,
but I believe it also protects my neighbors from flooding. In addition,
building a road completely around the back of my property (or only half
way around) would create a 4-wheeler heaven, leaving my land open to
anyone with a 4 wheeler and a 6 pack and a gun. This is what has
happened to both well sites now on my property. As they are on the
western north and south boundaries, the 4 wheelin, gun totin', beer
swillin' population is limited to a small area. If either area or both
areas have roads leading from them to around the farm, well, let's just
say, we're looking for peace in all the wrong places. |
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Photo taken March 9, 2005
The gas well road leads from the road going to my farm. This is on
the property of several
Kraus family members who do not live in
the state. Charlie Kraus, a relative lives
on the other side of this road (south side of road). |
| 3) The existing well on the northwest boundary
of my property has a road to it which I believe is far steeper than the
20% incline recommended by your own Guidelines. That road has never been
ditched or otherwise improved. As it
leads up from the only road to my farm, the periodic flooding of the
road (about three times a year for the ten years or so it has been in
place - or out of place as in this case) has caused severe erosion
making it almost impossible at times for standard vehicles to traverse
the muddy potholed treacherous road. The erosion of the road has not
been very much alleviated by putting huge rocks on the road without
benefit of ditching or ways of improving the road. They are merely a
large bandage on a wound that has never been given the proper medicine.
And these large rock dumpings on the road are only gotten after repeated
calls to Dominion Gas. In addition, this well on the n.w. boundary has
ruined my very wonderful water well when it was drilled as it is less
than 1000 feet from the house. The new well Dominion Gas (then CNG,
formerly HOPE) paid for to be drilled subsequent to that has never had
the quality of water I had in the first place.
For these and other reasons, I am requesting that a special permit
review be required in this case to evaluate potential historic impacts
and special mitigation requirements in light of the special use of the
surface estate. Sincerely,
Myra Bonhage-Hale, Steward
La Paix Herb Farm 3052 Crooked Run Rd., Alum Bridge, W.V. 26321 |
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There are Angels in the woods |
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This burst shows the location of the
well on the south west
boundary of La Paix. This is the site which created a land-
slide some fifteen years ago. Because of the nature of the
soil (Gilpin-Upshur 3) on the steep hills of La Paix, land-
slides are easily caused by bulldozing, timbering and road
making. These photos taken March 12, 2005. |
This burst shows the location of the
well on the north west
boundary of La Paix. You can see if you look very carefully
the cages of the new lavender above the road to La Paix on
the left hand bottom and the older lavenders on the hill on
this side of the road to La Paix. (For close up in summer,
see photo below.) Redrilling, given the steepness of the
slope and the propinquity of the lavender, threatens the laven-
der beds. And can they still be called organically grown under
these circumstances? |
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News
Email received from
Greg Cunningham, Dominion Gas March 3, 2005
Ms Hale,
Our engineers have decided they want to rework the existing well
located on your property to evaluate the potential of the shallower
zones
before we look into drilling the two new wells as previously discussed.
Mike Evans the Land Surveyor, will need to survey the existing well for
permitting purposes. Once a date for Mike has been determined to arrive
on
your property I will let you know.
Greg Cunningham
884-2168
This well, which has a road to
it built by the Gas Company which almost goes straight up at a 90 degree
angle, is directly above La Paix's major planting of organic lavender
plants, shown below.
Email received March 8, 2005 from Greg Cunningham, Dominion Gas
Ms Hale,
It looks like pending mother nature's cooperation we will survey
the
existing wells next Tuesday March15,2005. Thanks
This photo shows how steep the hill is on
the south side of
La Paix's homestead. Rock formations which could be
dislodged by bulldozing, timbering and road making could
easily tumble down the hill destroying gardens and
even the historic buildings. This is the same side as the south
west
well site which had a great landslide fifteen years ago as a result
of bulldozing at the well site. This is perhaps even steeper.
During
the drilling of that well, a spring coming out of the ground was also
buried.
Email received March 10, 2005 from Greg Cunningham,
Dominion Gas
Ms Hale,
We have not purchased the other well on your property. Well 1643
is
the only well Dominion E&P owns on your property. With today's modern
surveying instruments, we survey all existing wells with the GPS (Global
Positioning Satellite) instrument allowing for a more accurate mapping
location. I will gladly discuss your gate requests next Tuesday when I'm
in
the field to look at the locations you have requested.
When I asked what a GPS was, Mr. Cunningham sent
the following response on 3-10-05.
It is a small surveying instrument that send signals to
satellites overhead
and takes measurements by recording the time it takes the signal to
reach
the satellites overhead and then calculates where the satellites are in
relations to there positions on the horizon in relation to where the
surveying instrument is on the surface.
It looks like the Ides of March are upon us.
From the National Geographic News of March 11, 2004 by Jennifer Vernon:
For ancient Romans living before that
event, however, an ides was merely one
of several common calendar terms (see
sidebar) used to mark monthly lunar
events. The ides simply marked the
appearance of the full moon.
But the Ides of March assumed a whole
new identity after the events of 44 B.C.
The phrase came to represent a specific
day of abrupt change that set off a
ripple of repercussions throughout Roman
society and beyond.
Josiah Osgood, an assistant professor
of classics at Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C., said: "You can read in
Cicero's letters from the months after
the Ides of March. … He even says, 'The
Ides changed everything.'" ........
The Ides of March remained a pithy
reminder to future rulers, according to
McNelis. "Octavian seems to have been
aware of the problems of presenting
himself as Caesar had. … The Ides became
a lesson in political
self-presentation," he said.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0311_040311_idesmarch.html
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| To see Historical Registration Application,
click here
To see photos of La Paix's woods by R. Tom Sizemore, III,
click here. |
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Beware the Ides of
March!
Peace
Mahatma Gandhi: "There is no way to peace.
Peace is the way."
Make a shift in your awareness. If you can focus
on peace once a day, usually for as little as five minutes, you can help
create a massive shift in the world. You aren't alone in your anguish
about
war. A majority of people in this country--and around the globe--want to
end
this pointless addiction to war. Peace is the next wave of human
evolution,
and there is no better way to live than by catching the next wave of
change.
"Today is a good day for war to come to an end."
Depak Chopra
To my way of thinking, there is also a war being
waged against the environment.
We need to make peace with the environment too. War comes in
many faces and we need to recognize them all. Myra Bonhage-Hale
Steward,
La Paix Herb Farm
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La Paix Herb Farm
3052 Crooked Run Road
Alum Bridge, West Virginia 26321 U.S.A.
(304) 269-7681
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