DCS. Damascus Citizens for Self-Government and Friends, LLC.

HYPERLINK http://www.damascuscitizens.org www.damascuscitizens.org

PO Box 147, Milanville, PA 18443

April 7, 2008

Dear Wayne County Landowners:

Gas companies have approached landowners in our area by spreading misinformation. There is extensive proof that gas drilling is not a benign activity. Contrary to the information that only sand and water are used in drilling, the use of over 200 documented toxic chemicals are involved. After gas drilling accidents occurred –termed blowouts -- the government took samples of the drilling muds. Test results found them to contain a long list of toxic substances. These chemicals have been shown to contaminate aquifers, ponds, lakes, land, and the wells, streams, and rivers that provide drinking water.

We are including a list of some of the chemicals used in the fracing process as identified by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2002, before gas and oil companies were exempted from revealing the chemicals used in their drilling. At least nine of the chemicals used exceed the EPA's regulatory standard. The other chemicals on this list reach either the EPA maximum contaminant level or their risk rated concentration level. What this means is that if the Bush/Cheney administration had not exempted gas and oil companies from EPA regulation, the fracturing liquid used by these companies would not have been able to include the chemicals that will be used on your land if you lease. This is because these chemicals are known cancer-causing agents, or because they cause severe health problems such as respiratory and/or neurological illnesses, as well as organ damage. These chemicals have also been proven to be volatile. This means that when exposed to air through the drilling process they do not dissipate, but become a part of the air that we breath, harming those close to the drilling as well as those downwind. These volatile chemicals have been known to create the illnesses described above, as well as developmental problems in children, and potentially birth defects.

But maybe the most frightening thing with regard to extensive gas drilling is not only the factual information. The stuff that can not be proven will also destroy our community - the accidents, secrets, mistakes, lies, shortcuts, explosions, miscalculations, blowouts, greed, incompetence, lack of accountability, and personal shortcomings (like "let's brake for lunch now instead of connecting that pipe" . . . or "let's get a few beers and dump our load of contaminated production water right here and now.")

We include excerpts of extensive testimonials from people living with gas drilling. Countless people around the country have had to move from their homes and towns due to the contamination of drinking water and air through gas drilling in shale conditions exactly the same as those that exist in our area. They have not been able to get the gas companies or the Department of Environmental Protection to rectify the problems caused by drilling. It is not an exaggeration to say that gas drilling has ruined many, many lives.

We have been told that some landowners are leasing and planning to move out of state, intending to make a profit on their leasing without thinking about the health and environmental consequences for their neighbors and family members who plan to stay in the area. Please be aware that in many towns, in both Pennsylvania and elsewhere, some landowners who have leased are now suing the gas companies and the DEP (see attached article) for not correcting the dire conditions created by gas drilling. There is also the strong probability that non-leasing landowners will end up suing those who lease and are responsible for contaminating the land, water, and air of their neighbors. Any reputable lawyer will tell you that lease signers will not be able to escape liability for the damage to others caused by drilling on their land, regardless of any waiver signed with the gas companies or coverage by insurance company "protections."

Please think long and hard about the consequences of leasing your land to gas companies that are not held to any regulatory accountability. How many stories have we heard of corporations acting out of greed and with disdain for the people they supposedly serve? What it comes down to is this: when you lease your land, you lose control of it. You have one opportunity to make a safe decision. Before you act, please contact us. We can provide answers to questions, as well as scientific data and first-hand accounts, and audio and video recordings of the serious crises related to gas drilling.

Sincerely yours,

The Steering Committee, Damascus Citizens for Self-Government and Friends

http://www.DamascusCitizens.org

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