04/22/24 - 117 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/9bh4zbtr
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Opinion- Clearfield County Marcellus Gas Well Blowout: Costly Omen Or Lesson Learned?
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Rep. Camile "Bud" George The saying goes that wisdom is not making a mistake but in never making the same one a second time.
The Marcellus Shale well blowout on June 3-4 in Lawrence Township, Clearfield County, is one of those "teachable" moments.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is miles behind the curve when it comes to prevention and preparation. The recent accident buttresses what we've known for a long time: Extraction of any natural resource comes with risks and harms.
Either we learn from them and prepare for them and or face costly consequences.
While the blowout may have been among the first in Pennsylvania's gas-drilling boom, it won't be the last. Four days later, a gas well in West Virginia's panhandle exploded, burning seven workers, after a company allegedly violated its drilling permit by failing to seal the well as required.
Pennsylvania is playing catch-up to the drilling boom, from PennDOT to the DEP. The Public Utility Commission has scheduled hearings, noting that, "Marcellus Shale development creates numerous issues and unanswered questions."
Pennsylvania has to show the same urgency and responsibility that local officials and responders did when the well went haywire.
By all accounts, the response by local and state responders was exemplary. In roughly 16 hours, the EOG Resources well was brought under control without injuries and no major water supplies contaminated.
Within a week, the state Department of Environmental Protection had suspended operations by EOG and another Texas-based contractor, C.C. Forbes, as the agency searched for answers.
It appears to be more luck than foresight that Pennsylvania has not suffered significant harms to water supplies from Marcellus Shale gas drilling.
Just as some watersheds are inappropriate for mining, so, too, are they for drilling gas. Yet, in Pennsylvania, wells are being sought perilously close to water supplies.
In Luzerne County, gas companies have leased land on the shoreline of one reservoir and a few hundred feet from a second. The water company owning both reservoirs sounded the alarm after concerned residents questioned the leases.
It's foolish to play chicken with valuable water resources.
My House Bill 2213 would update well set-back requirements from water sources and high-quality and exceptional value streams. It would address the potential harms from drilling.
House Bill 2213, the Land and Water Protection Act, also would require inspections at crucial drilling phases, safeguards that seemingly would have mitigated the sickening ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Clearfield County Emergency Management Agency had prudently scheduled Marcellus Shale training for first responders the same week as the well blowout. If other counties and fire departments are half as sharp as Clearfield County's, they will be doing the same.
The county commissioners suggested locally based gas well response teams. It's a great idea, and we have many potential sites, including in the Firemen's Commerce Industrial Park.
Shouldn't the gas drillers be required to pay the training costs? After all, the gas industry's investments and workers benefit from well-trained local responders.
House Bill 1489 would return money to the municipality and county where the wells are drilled, to help pay for roads, training programs and prevention.
It's estimated that Pennsylvania has lost more than $55 million since the state Senate scuttled my severance tax language last fall. The $54 million – adding $11,000 every hour -- could go to police, firefighters, environmental cleanups and roads, which are taking a beating from the drilling rigs.
Otherwise, the money will be coming out of taxpayers' pockets.
Some gas companies have quickly rebuilt roads and have embraced safer extraction procedures and chemicals. However, Pennsylvania should insist that responsible drilling and safeguards be the rule, not the exception.
It's disturbing that the industry insists on politics instead of partnership and throwing money at lawmakers to curry favor instead of accepting its responsibilities.
Paying for discredited studies and attacking citizens who question drilling practices could spark a backlash, and a severance tax 40 percent higher than what I proposed has surfaced.
The promise of jobs, energy and income from the Marcellus Shale gas boom will not be found at the bottom of a wishing well, but by insisting on responsibility, safety and fairness.
It's a lesson learned locally.
Rep. Bud George (D-Clearfield) is Majority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Click here to go to his website.
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6/28/2010 |
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