By Stacy Cotter

In the sprawling hills of Pennsylvania, situated just below the New York state line, sits Bradford County, the second largest county in the Keystone State. Known for our maple syrup and abundance of deer, Bradford County isn’t your typical area. Some might consider our area God’s country or a place where the trees outnumber the population. Regardless, it’s our little slice of heaven—or is it?

Bradford County, Pa., has experienced some challenges in the past couple of years because of the natural gas industry. This is a first-hand account of the changes, improvements and modifications our 9-1-1 center and dispatch staff have gone through along the way.

Pennsylvania History
In the 9-1-1 center, we work as a two-person team, and our schedule is made up of two 12-hour and two eight-hour shifts. Our call volume has increased by 40–50% over the past five years. In 2008, we were averaging 60 calls for service (CFS) per day; now it’s 100–125 CFS per day—with the same staffing. Our pay has increased slightly, but it’s still difficult to compete with higher paying jobs in the private sector.

Our 9-1-1 center serves as the primary PSAP for Bradford County. As of the 2011 census, our population was 62,917. We serve 37 townships and 14 boroughs in the county. These communities are protected by one state police barracks, seven municipal police agencies, 25 volunteer fire departments, three paid ALS and six volunteer BLS agencies. We answer phones for several other agencies after hours as well.

Let’s go back to 2006. Why is this an important year you ask? That year saw several “gas booms” throughout the U.S. With the possibility of using resources from our own country, gas companies started looking for locations that might provide fuel for the nation’s growing demand for cheaper, cleaner energy. With the prices of heating oil and gasoline at an all-time high, Pennsylvania was in the spotlight.

The first commercial oil well was drilled by Colonel Edwin Drake in 1859 near Titusville, Pa. Between 1859 and 1901, Pennsylvania produced about half of the world’s oil. That continued until someone in Texas struck black gold. We still have operational oil wells, but they account for only a small fraction of today’s U.S. production.

Before 2006, it was not uncommon for farmers to have some sort of an oil/gas lease for their property, but there was little to no production, and most were from a decade prior. Royalties were far less than today, and most farmers signed for less than $35 per acre.

Natural Gas
Starting in 2008, the talk of the Marcellus Shale was making its way through local restaurants and coffee shops. Marcellus Shale is a unit of marine sedimentary rock that contains largely untapped natural gas reserves. With the discovery of the shale in eastern North America, this new industry created quite a buzz, especially because many in this area are farmers and have inhabited family-owned land for generations. No one really understands the full effect it will have on the area, but leases were being signed for around $700 an acre.

Flash-forward five years: Bradford County is now the largest area for drilling and producing natural gas in the state. We have been inundated by out-of-towners. The local farmers are now chomping at the bit to lease their mineral rights and get their slice of the gas well pie. Some people who worked and struggled for a decent living are now getting royalties that will pay for the college educations of their grandchildren’s grandchildren. On the other hand, some are being evicted from their rental homes and apartments so that some landlords can rent to the gas well workers for triple the amount.

We have a perceived increase in our homeless population (which we really never had), and a definite increase in motor vehicle accidents and crime. So how does Mayberry cope? We’re still learning. I’m hoping that from our experience, you can combat problems in your area when the gas wells come marching in.

Boom Effects
With any influx of population, there are bound to be problems. Not all of our problems are from the new people who are living among us; we already had our share of rotten apples and the jail and court system are proof of that. But while not all gas well workers are bad, they often seem to get caught in the typical stereotypes.

So let’s get to specifics. Since the natural gas industry has made its way into our area, we’ve had some new and challenging problems we may never have faced if not for the growth.

We now have new dispatch policies in place. For any type of gas well incident, including medical calls, local fire and rescue is sent along with EMS. Because of the different stages of production on a well site and their isolated locations, ambulances are having a difficult time accessing the sites. Just recently, we had a call for a male who had been injured while working in the rigging area of the derrick and was suspended in the air. An additional fire department was requested for their ladder truck to assist with patient extrication. Our Emergency Management Agency was notified, along with PEMA. Depending on the situation, there may be additional calls made to other support agencies. All well sites are issued 9-1-1 addresses before any work begins at the location.

We are now having housing, hotel and motel shortages. To combat this problem, there has been an increase in construction. Within the past two years, there’s been an addition of two hotels and another three are in the final stages of being completed. With that increase, more locals are able to find steady work for a decent wage. Still, housing issues have been on the rise. In 2008, an apartment that would have cost $300 per month is now renting for $800–1,200 a month. A three-bedroom house that would have been $500–600 a month is now $1,200–2,000 a month to rent. Most of the residents of our county average a take-home pay of $21,000 a year. Due to the rising cost of rent, we have had people evicted and looking for temporary housing or shelter. In some cases, children have been placed in foster care until the parents are able to get a roof over their heads.

Traffic is a nightmare in and of itself. Most of our roadways have two lanes, and when you travel our back roads, they’re dirt. To combat issues with excess heavy truck traffic on most of the roads, the gas well companies have to approach the township officials and bond each road they want to travel. Once a well is prepared and truck traffic is at a minimum, the companies take on the responsibility of fixing the roadways they use throughout the county. In this regard, many of the roads in the area have been greatly improved by the industry.

There has been an increase of accidents due to an increase of traffic on our roads. Most of our fire departments have taken additional training on heavy truck rescue as well as brushing up on their hazmat. Drivers not familiar with our roadways are traveling at unsafe speeds. The road conditions are not the best by any means, and having larger trucks sharing the small two-lane roads is a recipe for disaster. Locals are fed up with traffic jams, which appear to be causing more aggression.

Bradford County Correctional Facility is beyond its 118-bed status. Most of the inmates are not with the gas well industry but with an increase of incarcerations, we are now sending inmates to other counties to be housed.

Site Incidents
Some of our challenges have been on-site accidents, and one in particular made national news. Our first major incident involving a gas well occurred in LeRoy Township, April 19, 2011. According to the owner of the site, Chesapeake, the well head had a “malfunction.” There was crack below the well head that allowed approximately 10,000 gallons of fracking fluid to leak from the site. Most was caught in the EPA- and DEP-required basin that surrounds the pad. Because this incident happened during a presidentially declared flood disaster and it was raining at a rate in excess of 1.5″ per hour, many gallons were lost and went into the adjacent field and stream. It took a day to contain the contamination that reached the creek.

A specialized crew from Texas, “Boots and Coots,” was flown in to assist with containing the leak. Within 15 hours of the initial call, the leak was temporarily stopped. Due to this situation, we utilized the North Central Task Force Mobile Incident Command to serve as an Incident Command Post from which our EMA staff coordinated with the local, state and industry officials who were on site.

As a result of the incident, seven families were evacuated and displaced for two days until all fracking fluid was contained and the area had been checked for any residual waste. There have been other leaks at well sites. Because of safety measures taken by the companies, most leaks/spills are contained and cleanup has minimal effect on the surrounding homes and businesses.

There have been several homes that have had high levels of methane in and around them. Being from this area, I am aware that methane has been a problem for some in years past and cannot speculate whether the problems now are caused by recent fracking in specific areas. One thing that I can say is that when we are contacted about possible methane the proper agencies are notified and this is addressed quickly.

Community Changes
There’s always a silver lining to any situation. With the gas well industry willing to be a part of our little piece of heaven, they are taking on some of our long-term problems. Many volunteered their time and employees to help with cleaning up after a devastating flood in 2011. Without their help, it would have taken much longer and far more energy to get residents back into their homes. They have made monetary donations and volunteered for many nonprofit organizations, helping them when they needed it the most. Many fire and EMS agencies have benefited from the generosity of the new businesses as well. They have been able to purchase much needed equipment that would have taken many chicken BBQs or bingo games to acquire.

We still have a learning curve, and I’m sure we’ll stumble a little along the way. I have a feeling our new neighbors will be here for a while, and like any good neighborhood we’ll do everything in our power to make them welcome and help them adjust to their new surroundings. This is far from the end of our story, and I’ll make sure to let you know how the next few chapters go.

About the Author
Stacy Cotter is a QA/training supervisor for Bradford County Emergency Services in Towanda, Pa., and a member of the APCO Member Chapter Services Committee.