P
lay Grounds depicts Montrose, Pennsylvania, a rural community on the front lines of the natural gas revolution, and the local residents who have been transformed by the industry.
In Montrose, numerous household water supplies have been contaminated, traditional farmers are concerned for the safety of their products, and families have begun to invest in expensive air-to-water technology to monitor the quality of their drinking water.
The surrounding Susquehanna County holds the highest number of drilling violations in the state of Pennsylvania.
Hydraulic fracturing, the process for extracting natural gas, injects large amounts of water, chemicals, and sand more than a mile beneath the earth’s crust to release gas.
In the United States, the process benefits from a unique exemption from aspects of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Around the globe, governments are on the fence about gas extraction, from Scotland, the most recent country to enact a moratorium, to China’s desperate plans to alleviate their reliance on coal via drilling.
In the United States, the process has ignited a fierce controversy, as the nation drastically searches for more energy within its own borders. Last year, the state of New York banned hydraulic fracturing, the second of three states to do so, due to health and safety concerns.
After living in Montrose for the summer of 2014, Madeline Cottingham set out to document her time exploring the landscape and engaging with the community. The title is drawn from the industry term for an area expected to be profitable—shale play.
The Washington Spectator presents an excerpt of Cottingham’s collection in partnership with the artist.
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- East Rush Road, Montrose, Pennsylvania.
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- At an Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) workshop, residents of Susquehanna County examine a map of the surrounding natural gas wells; each red dot represents a well. Much of the effort to scientifically document the effects of natural gas exploitation in the region has fallen upon residents.
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- Rebecca Roter, 53, is the founder of Breath Easy Susquehanna County, a grassroots advocacy group focused on air quality and public health. “Air seems to be something that is unifying our community because everybody wants their family to breathe clean air and everybody understands the connection between public health and what we breathe. You can choose to not drink your water, but you cannot choose not to breathe.”
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- A drilling platform at dusk outside of Montrose.
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- Contaminated tap water and local peaches, Meshoppen, Pennsylvania.
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- Barbara Van Brunt, 79, lives on the outskirts of a farm her family acquired in the late 1800s. Her grandsons are now the 6th generation to inhabit the farm in Montrose. The nearest gas well is less than a half a mile away.
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- Carolyn Knapp, 58, an organic farmer, with her tap water and her pre-drill water test. The test proves the purity of her water prior to nearby drilling. “We don’t realize how dependent we are on water.”
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- Tammy Manning, 46, and her granddaughter, Madison. In 2011 Manning noticed a grayish color in her water. After testing her indoor air quality for methane, Resource Environmental Management told her not to use the kitchen stove because of its proximity to the sink and to keep the bathroom door and window open. “Our bathroom is small enough where the gas could be contained and ignited if something happened, like turning on a hairdryer.”
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- Frank Finan, 65, uses a highly specialized infrared camera in order to document the air pollution emitted from gas infrastructure. “It turns outs my life savings were for this. Even growing up I thought if I had the time and the money I would do something important. So I spent about $55,000 to buy the camera.”
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- Tammy Hadlick, 45, and her granddaughter. Hadlick’s water has been contaminated since 2011. Her household is connected to a 1,100-gallon water container, which she is responsible to refill each week. “What do I leave her? Nothing. I can’t even leave her this piece of property, why would I leave her here with bad water?”
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- Lake Montrose provides water for the Montrose Borough, a population of approximately 800. The nearest hydraulic fracturing well is less than one mile away. Montrose is located in Susquehanna County, where there have been 36 documented cases of contaminated water supplies and 762 drilling violations over the past four years.
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