The following comments were submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection as part of the February 3, 2026 virtual hearing on the proposed PA General Energy’s ‘Saluda’ shale gas access road and staging area project in the Loyalsock State Forest, Cascade and Gamble Townships, Lycoming County.
Gas companies do not choose the names of their projects and well pads randomly. Instead, names are frequently an effective branding tactic, creating an emotional softening far from the reality of noise, lights, and environmental destruction.
For example, well pads in close proximity to this proposed project include TLC and Little Fawn.
PGE’s “Saluda Project” is no exception. This gentle and almost lyrical word is Spanish for “greeting”.
When we raise a glass and say, “Salud!” we’re toasting health and well-being.
In sharp contrast to its name, if Saluda is permitted, this project will bring decades-long destruction and degradation to a treasured and unique mountaintop ecology.
The only “healthy” outcome will be corporate profits.
Degraded For Generations To Come
The beauty and exceptional woodlands and wetlands of Jacoby and Cove mountains in the Loyalsock State Forest will be degraded both now and for the “generations yet to come” referred to in Article 1 Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Laws and regulations are always an enormous inconvenience to corporations wishing to profit from use of public land.
Yet, with enough money and determination, those corporations are historically able to find a way to navigate the regulatory maze that leads to the profits they seek.
Meanwhile, residents read the laws and regulations and continue to wonder how government agencies charged with protecting the health and welfare of its citizens can so blatantly ignore their own mission and rules, endlessly placing the priority on corporate strategies over that of citizens.
Pennsylvania General Energy’s 1,268-page application tells the story of how the extensive degradation of land owned by the Common Wealth will take place.
The word “minimize” appears as some kind of promised assurance that degradation won’t be significant, for even the fossil gas driller cannot claim that the industrialization of two mountaintops will not degrade the environment.
And what of that environment?
I’ve Lived This Mountain
I speak from lived experience. I’ve known this mountain in some capacity for all of my 77 years.
As a baby, I was carried in these woods by my grandfather, Dr. P.H. Decker, who rented a cabin on his land along the Loyalsock Creek to Billy Chapman, whose surname appears in the Saluda permit application.
I have mountain biked, x-country skied, horseback ridden, and most of all – hiked, both alone and with family and friends of all ages, on the Dad-Dad Chapman Trail.
I’ve traversed Jacoby Mountain from the top of Butternut Grove Road to Bar Bottom, down the sloped trails on one side to the Loyalsock Creek, and on the other to Jacoby Falls.
I’ve experienced these woods in every season, and more times than I can count.
In spring, I’ve sat in awe beside Jacoby Mountain’s vernal pools teeming with amphibian eggs.
I’ve come to an abrupt halt at the sight of a rattlesnake sunning itself on Dad-Dad Chapman trail.
Even in the driest months of a parched summer, I’ve witnessed gravity springs adding clear water to the prolific mountain wetlands of the forest’s unique ecology.
I’ve watched in wonder as the ephemerals come to life each spring –Dutchman’s Breeches, Spring Beauties, Bloodroot, Violets, Star Chickweed, Trout Lillies, and more - those almost magical woodland wildflowers that emerge, bloom, and disappear within a brief window of early spring as they take advantage of sunlight before the trees leaf out.
The changing colors of the springtime forest canopy are more subtle than the bright leaves of autumn, but equally awe-inspiring as the hardwoods begin with the reddish hues of infant leaves before bursting into a thousand shades of green.
PGE Seeking A Radically Different Mountain
This year, PGE is seeking to bring a radically different springtime arrival on the mountain – one where enormous earth-moving equipment will wreak havoc with the fragile, balanced, very wet, and altogether unique and precious ecology of this part of the Loyalsock State Forest.
PGE’s claim that the company will minimize degradation while cutting through core forest to build a 3.9-mile access road and 6 well pads, drilling 90 wells, crossing 8 native trout streams, and clear-cutting a 50’ pipeline right of way, a portion of which is just 600 feet from the much-loved Jacoby Falls – is a claim that is utterly insane.
Why? Because IT IS NOT POSSIBLE. LET’S BE REAL: DEGRADATION WILL BE MASSIVE.
Under DEP’s regulations, which are the focus of this hearing, 25 Pa. Code section 105.18a, subsection (c), states that DEP cannot issue a permit for a project that “has a significant adverse impact on a wetland” unless the “project is necessary to abate a substantial threat to public health or safety.”
PGE’s permit application demonstrates that its proposed Saluda Project will have a significant adverse impact on unique exceptional value wetlands that are part of a constitutionally protected forest that DEP and DCNR must conserve and maintain as trustees.
In addition to Chapter 105 regs, neither DEP nor DCNR can authorize the loss of these public natural resources under Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
The Chapter 105 permit review process does not in any way circumvent DEP’s legal and constitutional requirement to conserve and maintain these unique exceptional forest and wetland resources, as well as DEP’s duty to preserve the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of these public natural resources.
By decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 161 A.3d 911, 916 – the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation v. the Commonwealth in 2017, “The Commonwealth must manage our state parks and forest according to the plain language of Section 27, which imposes fiduciary duties consistent with Pennsylvania trust law."
Nothing Says This Project Is Necessary
PGE’s permit application shows that the proposed project area is a core forest public natural resource with exceptional value waters and wetlands throughout.
Nothing in this permit application supports a finding that the Saluda Project is necessary to abate a substantial threat to public health and safety.
To the contrary, the proposed project creates a substantial threat to the health and safety of anyone seeking to enjoy these public natural resources.
PGE’s permit application also paints a picture of compliance with regulations and a corporate brand of respect for the environment.
Track Record Of Failing To Comply
When it comes to water protection, PGE’s track record of such compliance is quite the opposite.
During construction of the Shawnee Water Withdrawal in the Exceptional Value Loyalsock Creek that will provide the multi-millions of gallons of fresh water needed to frack Saluda’s proposed 90 wells, PGE racked up no less than 12 SEPARATE VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN STREAMS ACT.
In addition, the underground water pipeline and equipment that PGE installed in the creek was a blatant violation of the permit, significantly larger than allowed.
The solution was to ask forgiveness for this violation via the granting of a new permit that approved what PGE actually did vs. what the company originally requested and was permitted to do. [Read more here]
Information Is Just Wrong
In addition, the Saluda Project application falsely notes that the Jacoby Falls trail is the only public trail within the scope of the project.
This is simply not true.
Dad-Dad Chapman is a popular public recreation trail used by hunters, bird watchers, scout troops, mountain bikers, cross country skiers and a plethora of hiking enthusiasts wishing to access Jacoby Falls from the top down instead of using the bottom-up DCNR trail off Wallis Run Road.
In spite of this, according to the application, PGE’s proposed Pad B will be located smack dab in the middle of Dad-Dad Chapman, thereby gating off the trail and blocking public access to the forest and top portion of the famed waterfall.
PGE’s entire analysis assumes that the company is entitled to degrade, diminish and/or deplete the unique exceptional forest and wetland public natural resources impacted by its proposed project because DCNR leased the land on which these constitutionally protected trust assets are located.
Don’t Need To Degrade Public Lands
PGE’s claim to the subsurface fossil gas is valid.
Their access to this Marcellus methane via degradation of public lands on the forested surface is not.
Currently existing and ever-expanding technology could allow PGE to gain subsurface access from leased properties surrounding these treasured acres of the Loyalsock State Forest.
By using advanced drilling technology to access the fossil gas via long laterals drilled from the company’s existing infrastructure on COP 726, the exceptional surface acreage of the proposed Saluda Project could be spared from destruction.
This nonsurface disturbance has numerous precedents, including the nearby 600 acres of Rider Park and the Clarence Moore lands to the north.
EQT has already demonstrated the ability to run laterals for miles. The technology exists, and PGE can apply that technology here, and/or access the subsurface via private leaseholds.
If PGE claims no access other than Saluda Project approval is possible, the company must forego extraction and seek to recover its losses from the State.
Denial of the permit would not improve PGE’s profit margins, but would be a great gift to the citizen owners of these Commonwealth lands, and indeed to the nation and world writ large, as no discussion of the continued extraction of fossil gas is complete without an acknowledgement of the greatest existential threat humanity faces.
This threat is not hiding in a military bunker or a terrorist cell; it’s in plain sight and currently manifesting in the prolonged, frigid temperatures we are experiencing.
Our planet’s only life support systems are collapsing at an ever-accelerating rate.
Climate collapse reveals democracy’s most fundamental challenge: can we save our planet for our children and grandchildren when fossil fuel profits demand inaction?
Permafrost is thawing, ice sheets are destabilizing, floods and fires are ever-increasing, and ocean currents are weakening.
These aren’t distant threats: they’re happening now, accelerated by policies designed to benefit corporate profits and donor class investors while sacrificing everyone else.
The great tragedy is, it need not be this way.
Speaking in April, 2024, Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General, not only reminded his audience that “Climate change is the single greatest threat to a sustainable future,” he simultaneously proclaimed this powerful truth, “Addressing the climate challenge presents a golden opportunity to promote prosperity, security and a brighter future for all.”
Tackling climate change is not a zero-sum game; it’s a win for BOTH our economy and our environment.
Time is running out, and the climate doesn’t negotiate.
Surely, future generations will judge us not by our divisive politics, tweets and culture wars, but by whether we protected their right to a livable planet.
There are abundant reasons to deny this permit application.
DEP cannot legally breach the agency’s own Chapter 105 regulations in an Exceptional Value watershed, nor can the agency ignore its trustee duties under Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Permitting and facilitating PGE’s permit and thereby bringing significant and illegal degradation to the Loyalsock State Forest via the Saluda Project must not go forward.
Visit DEP’s Northcentral Regional Office Community webpage for documents related to the PGE Saluda Project.
(Photos: Documented shale gas development impacts in Tioga State Forest by Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group-- top- Tioga State Forest well pads; bottom-- Baldwin Run Road 24/7 shale gas highway; Recently cleared pipeline right-of-way between Baldwin Run and Norris Brook.)
Resource Links - PGE:
-- DEP To Hold Feb. 3 Virtual Hearing On Chapter 105 Permit For PA General Energy 3.9 Mile Shale Gas Well Pad Development Access Road, Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- PA Trout Unlimited, Keystone Trails Assn., Responsible Drilling Alliance Request DEP To Hold Hearing On Permit For PA General Energy 3.9 Mile Shale Gas Access Road/Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed Budget Includes Performance Standards For Data Centers Seeking State Tax Credits; Renewed Call For Lightening Energy Plan; New PUC Benchmarks For Utility Profits [PaEN]
-- Reactions To Gov. Shapiro's Proposed Budget From Citizen, Environmental, Energy, Industry, Utility Groups [PaEN]
-- House Committee OKs Bill To Give PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads To Protect Ratepayers, Electric Grid [PaEN]
-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports PA Electricity Prices Increased 46.1% From 2018 to 2025, More Than Other PJM States, Largely Due To Pennsylvania's Reliance On Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Pose Big Challenge For PA's Energy Future - Dramatically Increasing Costs For Energy Consumers, And It's Not Getting Any Cheaper - By Tom Gilbert, Pennsylvania Environmental Council [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Cold Weather Alert For Feb. 7 to 9 Across Its Entire Footprint [PaEN]
-- Washington County Residents On Water Wells Not Aware A MarkWest Pipeline Drilling Project Lost 1.2 Million Gallons Of Drilling Fluid In Mount Pleasant & Robinson Townships [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies CNX Gas Company Motion To Throw Out Ullom Family Appeal Over Water Loss In Washington County; Scope Of Rebuttable Presumption Under Review [PaEN]
-- Guest Comments: Jacoby & Cove Mountains In Loyalsock State Forest Will Be Degraded For Generations By PA General Energy's 'Saluda' Shale Gas Access Road, Staging Area Project In Lycoming County - By Barbara Jarmoska, Resident [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 74 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In December, January; 471 In 2025 [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Scranton Times: Local Officials React To Shapiro’s Budget Address [Data Centers] [PDF of Article]
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Gov. Shapiro Wants More A.I. Data Centers, But They Need To Bring Their Own Power
-- PA Capital-Star: PA’s Approach To Joining The A.I. Race Must Put People First, Shapiro Said In Budget Address
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Gov. Shapiro Proposes New Standards Requiring Data Centers To Bring Their Own Power [PDF of Article]
-- PennLive: Gov. Shapiro Lays Out 4 Principles To Steer How Big Tech Builds A.I. Data Centers In PA
-- Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Says He’ll Prevent A.I. Data Center Developers From ‘Saddling’ Pennsylvanians With Higher Energy Costs
-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: What Does PJM Have To Do With A.I. Data Centers And Why Is Gov. Shapiro Always So Made At It?
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA Electricity Rates Jump 46% Since 2018, Outpacing Neighboring States, Due To Reliance On Natural Gas To Generate Electricity [PDF of Article]
-- Utility Dive: US EIA: Natural Gas, Electricity Prices Spiked Year Over Year In November: Natural Gas Up 88.5%, Electricity Rates Rose 20.3% In PA
-- PPL Utilities Statement On Gov. Shapiro’s Budget Address And Energy Affordability
-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: PA’s Energy Bills Out Of Control - Unleash PA Energy Industry - By Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-Washington)
-- E&ENews/Politico: A.I Champion Josh Shapiro Leans On Tech Industry To Bear Energy Costs Of A.I. Data Centers
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Gov. Shapiro Proposes $1 Billion Infrastructure Fund To Address PA’s Housing And Energy Needs [PDF of Article]
-- PA Capital-Star: Should A.I. Data Centers Pay Up Front Or Build Their Own Power Plants? PJM, State Governors Have Different Ideas On How To Fix Your Electricity Bill
-- Scranton Times Chris Kelly Opinion: A.I. Data Center Race A Marathon, Not A Sprint [PDF of Article]
-- Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Pose Big Challenge For PA's Energy Future - Dramatically Increasing Costs For Energy Consumers, And It's Not Getting Any Cheaper - By Tom Gilbert, Pennsylvania Environmental Council [PaEN]
-- Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA Feb. 10 LNG Gas Dead End For PA, Shale Gas Impacts Webinar, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
-- TribLive Guest Essay: PA Needs Answers - Free Environmental Health Project Online Tool Shows Health Impacts Of Regional Pollution - By Nathan Deron, Environmental Health Project
-- The Citizens Voice: Rural Landowners In Luzerne County Offered $175,000/Acre For A.I. Data Center Takeover In Hollenback Twp. [PDF of Article]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Vistra Energy Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant VP Talks Meta/Facebook Deal, Planned 140 MW Uprate At Nuclear Plant [PDF of Article]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: $10 Billion A.I. Data Center Campus, Natural Gas Power Plant Proposed For Former Bruce Mansfield Power Plant Site In Beaver County [Shippingport Boro Approved Jan. 28, Another Hearing To Be Set] [PDF of Article]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Here Are More Details On The $10 Billion Shippingport A.I. Data Center Project Near Bruce Mansfield Power Plant Site: 593 Acres, 2 Million Square Feet [PDF of Article]
-- The Derrick: Clarion Borough Holds Public Hearing On A.I. Data Center Ordinance [PDF of Article]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County Faces Uncertain Future As Chemical Division Posts $66 Million Loss [PDF of Article]
-- The Citizens Voice: Rural Landowners In Luzerne County Offered $175,000/Acre For A.I. Data Center Takeover In Hollenback Twp. [PDF of Article]
-- NE PA Institute For Public Policy & Economic Development: Exploring The Dynamics Surrounding Data Centers In Northeastern Pennsylvania
-- Senate Passes Sen. Yaw Bill To Identify Sites For Natural Gas Power Plants [Except That Isn’t The Problem At All] [Senate Bill 704]
-- Senate Passes Bill To Weaken Plugging Standards For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells [Senate Bill 712] [These wells were abandoned in the first place because there is no effective well plugging bond program and 100% of the burden put on taxpayers. Now conventional well boosters want to cut breaks to the industry another break by making the well plugging program less effective so wells have to be replugged more frequently. At the same time Congress and the President cut federal funding for well plugging.]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Coterra Energy’s Pennsylvania Gas Assets Could Be Sold After Devon Energy Merger [PDF of Article]
-- Bloomberg: Devon Energy To Buy Coterra Energy For $58 Billion In All-Stock Deal
-- Bloomberg: Pipeline Explodes At Louisiana LNG Gas Export Facility
-- Reps. Matzie, Mehaffie Laud Passage Of Bill To Clear The Way For Construction Of Modular Nuclear Reactors [House Bill 2017]
-- Wall Street Journal: Google Is Spending Big To Build A Lead In A.I. Energy Race By Buying Energy Companies [PJM Highlighted] [PDF of Article]
-- Wall Street Journal: These Rural Americans Are Trying To Hold Back The Tide Of A.I. - Fears Of Rising Utility Costs, Job Losses, Privacy Violations [PDF of Article]
-- NYT: President’s Administration Is Blocking At Least 73 GW Of Much-Needed Solar Electricity Generation, 5.8 GW Of Wind Generation
[Posted: February 6, 2026] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment