"Gasland" director's father cited for environmental violations on Del. River tributary

By Julia Reischel
3/21/11 - 1:30 pm

According to an article in the Patriot News last Thursday, the creekfront property that belongs to the family of anti-fracking crusader and filmmaker Josh Fox has been cited by Pennsylvania regulators for environmental violations. Fox is the director of Gasland, which was nominated for best documentary in this year's Oscar race. 

The newspaper reports that Fox's father allegedly burned a trailer on the property near a tributary of the Delaware River:

Fox, whose film “Gasland” suggests the natural gas drilling industry is a major threat to the environment, used the property in rural Damascus Township as a touchstone of unsullied natural beauty in his movie.

Citations from local and state officials suggest something a bit different.

After the township filed a complaint against property owner Michael Fox, DEP’s Northeast Regional Waste Management Program issued a notice of violation for the burning of a house trailer on the property. According to the local zoning officer, the burning took place close to Calkins Creek, which flows into the Delaware River.

Comments

(At least) Two sides to every story

The Fox family says the fire on their property was arson perpetrated on and not by them.  That they might be the victims of vandalism, including arson, is not unexpected given the beyond-the-pale invective directed at them by pro-gas interests. Recently, a public official, Teddy Borawski, chief oil and gas geologist for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, provided a high-profile example:

Borawski, who has been involved with oil drilling on the Gulf Coast, was asked about the recent documentary "Gasland," an Academy Award-nominated documentary made partially in Pennsylvania that portrays drilling as harmful to the environment and residents.

"Joseph Goebbels would have been proud," Borawski replied. "He would have given him the Nazi Award. That, in my opinion, was a beautiful piece of propaganda."

 See http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/361158.

Mr Borawski is not the first to make this spurious and offensive charge about Mr Fox, whose family apparently lost many members to the Holocaust.  The reference to Fox or the film "making Goebbels proud" has been heard from pro-gas leasing coalition members since early December and is an indication of the pitch at which emotion is running among promoters of gas extraction.

Regarding the fire on the property, an online news source,CitizensVoice.com, says:

Josh Fox, who directed and starred in the 2010 documentary "Gasland," about the environmental and public health impact of natural gas drilling, said he discovered the torched mobile home on his family's Milanville property last Friday and immediately reported it to state police.

"I would hope that the matter is resolved and the people (responsible) are brought to justice," Fox, 38, said. "It's part of a pattern of vandalism at my house."

.....

Josh Fox said he has attempted to contact DEP several times to address the citation.

"We're the victims of this crime, certainly not the perpetrators," Fox said. "It is a case of arson and our names have been dragged through the papers."

http://citizensvoice.com/news/state-police-investigating-arson-at-oscar-nominated-filmmaker-s-wayne-county-property-1.1121860#ixzz1HLHje8a9

Submitted by laurie on March 24, 2011 - 2:55am.