Two recent reports have done little to allay our concerns about the safety of area residents who have to share our rural roads with massive trucks hauling fracking water from Marcellus Shale drilling sites.
State police, in conjunction with several state and federal environmental and transportation agencies, recently conducted another in a series of "Operation FracNET" vehicle inspection efforts. The two-day enforcement operation, focusing on trucks hauling Marcellus Shale wastewater around the state, ended with 14 drivers placed out of service, 131 trucks taken off the roads and the issuance by state police of 421 traffic citations and 824 written warnings. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued another 35 citations and 13 written warnings. There were 731 trucks inspected, so the number of citations and warnings dwarfed the count of vehicles checked.
The report on the latest "Operation FracNET" stated that the most common violations "involved faulty brakes and insufficient exterior lighting." Let's see. Poorly illuminated 40-ton trucks with bad brakes. What could possibly go wrong?Read More
Gas-drilling industry has a truck problem - Washington Greene PA Editorial Opinion - www.observer-reporter.com