This from the Warren Times Observer:

Oil spill in ANF
contained by dike
By DEAN WELLS
dwells@timesobserver.com
There has been another
oil spill in the Allegheny
National Forest.
However, this one appears
to have been contained.
Pennsylvania State Police
reported on Thursday afternoon
that someone opened
an oil tank owned and operated
by Howard Drilling, an
oil company based in Mount
Jewett, releasing an estimated
129 barrels (approximately
5,400 gallons) of
crude oil valued at $9,600.
The incident occurred in
Hamilton Township in
McKean County off of Forest
Road 261 sometime between
April 14 and 28.
According to Howard
Drilling employee Judy Sap,
U.S. Forest Service personnel
reported the spill to the
Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection,

which in turn alerted
Howard Drilling.
“Apparently it was all
contained in the dike,
which is fortunate,” Sap
said. “It’s awful whenever
anything like this happens.”
Sap said that the company
was able to recover
most of the spilled oil.
“We have no idea who
would have done this,”
Sap said, adding that the
company reported to the
state police in order to
have an official record of
the incident.
Anyone with any information
regarding the spill
is asked to contact Kanebased
state police at 814-778-5555.

Without more facts calling this a spill which implies an accident does not take into affect that it was reported that someone opened the valve releasing the oil which implies vandalism. In the not so distant past a similar incident occurred. It was found that the oil company was not at fault, rather 2 disgruntled former employees were.

Although a terrible thing to have happen to the environment, it sounds as if the berms set up by the company, as required by law, did their job.

If I'm not mistaken there is a regulation that the valves have padlocks on them to prevent the "casual passer-by" from cracking open the valves.

Especially after the infamous Snyder Brothers spill.

So my guess is the company complied with the common sense regulation and had a secure pad lock on the valve.

So, from what little information we have, we might assume it was "an inside job". The Snider Brothers spill and the Hedgehog spill were both done by insiders. One intentionally, one not.

And I wouldn't really take the word of the company or the DEC that the containment pond contained "most of the oil". They often say that when it's blatantly untrue. I'll give you a full report of the seriousness of the spill. The truth, not spin by the oil company or the untrustworthy DEC.

Don't forget that the big one in the gulf, when first reported (first few days) claimed that "no oil was leaking from the well", then we found out it was leaking from the beginning about 200,000 gallons a day at least! THAT was a big whooping lie.

Do you honestly think that a padlock would stop someone like the Snyder Bros.? Vandals will always find a way. Especially vandals looking to fire up the masses against big oil or to get retribution against a former employer. Your run of the mill vandals wouldn't carry bolt cutters but I bet a lot of enviromental activists and disgruntled employees would.

It is true that the government and oil companies often downplay the size of any spill. This does not however excuse the exaggeration of same. Their honest estimates and your honest estimates might be both honest estimates. Often it is difficult to accurately gauge the size of the spill until clean-up is well under way.

And before you go calling me a shill for big oil, I'd back you up too if you were any more believable.

There should be a padlock on every single valve out there that could allow oil to run onto the ground.

An "environmentalist" would NEVER intentionally spill oil. So far ALL the spills locally were done by oil people.

All the environmentalist I know, "activists" or not, are law abiding citizens, who would never consider spilling oil for any reason at all.

Your incorrect assumption or hypothetical scenario would be the same as a guy who is against rape, going around raping young girls to show how awful rape is.

Same thing, ..... an environmentalist would never spill oil to demonstrate how bad spilled oil is, or spill oil to punish or hurt the oil producers.

The most radical environmentalist that I know around here, only take photos and report environmental law or regulation infractions. That is as "radical" or "activist" as we get! Or we might band together with other environmental groups and sue in court, those who are supposed to be doing their jobs, who aren't doing them! We might sue to enforce the long standing applicable laws! THAT is as radical as local environmentalists get. None I know carry bolt cutters or hacksaws ...... just cameras, pencils and note pads .... and sometimes a GPS!

Yes, those "in the industry" might be inclined to break the law and remove a padlock, but having one on the valve is very important so the "average passer-by", not necessarily an environmental minded person, might crack open the valve, because of a disagreement they might have with the producer.

So far, as I mentioned, the Hortons (oil field workers) were responsible for the Snider Brothers spill, and a current employee was responsible for the Hedgehog oil spill in that area.

There are no bolt cutter wielding, "boogie man" environmentalist terrorists around here! You are way off on that one!

Environmentalists don't commit crimes?
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=88993
http://www.eskimo.com/~rarnold/convicted.htm
http://www.eskimo.com/~rarnold/convicted.htm
http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/movements/ecoterrorism/default.htm
You must not keep up with what your brethren are up to.

You need to start asking questions of some of the purported environment friendly types around town. Damage, vandalism and sabotage HAVE been committed in the name of environmentalism in and around Bradford. In the early 80s someone was turning off the pumps in the fields. This causes stress on the pump and lost time to the producer. Just entering someone's property without permission is illegal meaning a crime has been committed. I'm not as far off as you would like to think. Keep pulling the woven hemp blindfold over your eyes.

Our top law enforcement agency believes that the environmentalists are getting out of control.

Flash, I was talking about the current, local environmentalist being well behaved. If you have to go all the way back to the early 80's to find an example of bad ones ..... that should speak volumes.


I understand that out west or out in California there are whack jobs.

I didn't make it to the current ones. Lets see...

Colorado is currently holding grand jury hearings on another arson committed by ecoterrorists. The Seattle area has several ongoing trials along the same vein. This has been going on for years and is actively not only cheered by such groups as ALF and ELF, but is taught to many through the use of books and the internet.

Just one of hundreds of cases that are current:http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/movements/ecoterrorism/steven_murphy_guilty_plea.htm

Like reading paper instead? Check out: ARSON-Around with Auntie ALF, Setting Fires With Electrical Timers: An Earth Liberation Front Guide or The Final Nail: Destroying the Fur Industry - A Guided Tour. All interesting reads on how to cause damage to people, industries and places in the name of animal rights or ecology.

This is a current problem. There is no way to deny that. And everyone thinks it wouldn't happen in their back yards until it does.

Local! Local groups .... I said recent local groups, here in Bradford or the ANF. The groups around here! The local oil producers can thank god we don't have ALF, ELF or Earth First people around here (yet?).

All the terrorism against the environment around here is done by oil people! Not local environmentalists!

This is a current problem. There is no way to deny that. And everyone thinks it wouldn't happen in their back yards until it does.[/quote]

I'll probably be "flogged" for this.... but, change the topic to Hedgehog Lane and your statement works. Ironic isn't it?!