Hydro Fracking in the Yellow Creek Conservation Zone

by friendsofyellowcreek@gmail.comMarcellus Shale, NewsPosted on Comments are Disabled

 

MDS Energy has resumed drilling at the Ray Road site within the Indiana County Conservation Zone just 1500 up hill from the lake. After beginning this well illegally, they have now been granted permission to drill, with some conditions, by the Indiana County Zoning Hearing Board which held that the operation would not be in violation of the Conservation ordinance.

Ray Road, Penn Run Pa. Y

Unfortunately, the current law does not explicitly prohibit drilling within the zone, even though its intent is “to ensure adequate protection for the quantity and quality of the park waters and to prohibit any use that poses a potential to degrade the park waters. Additional environmental concerns include air pollution in the forms of particular and noxious odor, noise pollution, and aesthetic incompatibitities, any one of which can destroy the rural park setting if allowed to operate at an abusive level. (4.600 Intent of Conservation (C) Zone)”

As many FOYC members will know, this well is close to both the Boy Scout Camp and the DCNR cabins.  If you would like to become more informed and participate in the effort to get this 30-year old law revised, please visit Coalition for a Healthy County.

Puddle Ducks Launched – July 3rd, 2011 – Yellow Creek Lake

by friendsofyellowcreek@gmail.comGallery, Programs, Puddle Duck, sailingPosted on Comments are Disabled

 

 

The Launch

On July 3rd, 2011, Yellow Creek Lake was the scene for an happy if unusual launching.  Six new, homebuilt sailboats made of wood took to the water. These six Puddle Duck Racers were built by groups fo Indiana families in a project organized by FOYC with the help of Moraine Sailing Club’s John Bridges.  We gathered as a group for construcion oft the hulls in February and  sail building in March.  Now after much sanding, caulking, and painting, we had sailboats.

There were last minute questions about rigging. Is this boom supposed to be 8 or 10 foot?  Some of the builders had never sailed, so we held a 20-minute crash course.  How do you sail up-wind?  What if you capsize? What is the main-sheet for again? But the winds were gentle, and even first-time sailors made it off the shore and back again! Our sails made as cheaply as possible from Tyvek and stuck together with carpet tape held!  Not only did the boats float but, thankfully, but they sailed pretty well and only mine leaked!

In the picture below, you can also see a pair of wooden Optimist sailboats and a Weekend Skiff that came along for the ride.  In the gallery, you can see that we launched from shore. The soft mud is gentle on boat bottoms, but you sometimes need a push to get “unstuck.”  We found ourselves having to launch the boats into deeper water before hanging on the rudders.

Building and sailing a PDR offers a few chances to be create.  Our PDRs sport some  colorful, custom paint jobs.  For our first build, we suited up the six boats with a popular sail style called the “Leg-o-mutton” which is efficient and easy to build.  You may see other PDRs with very different sails, since while the boat hulls should conform to the same shape, sail design is totally open to experiment.

 

 

Puddle ducks, and other wooden boats; Optimist, far right. Yellow Creek Lake 2011 –  From PDR