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This time we must get Marcellus Shale right

by E. Teresa Touey

At a public forum held at Delaware County Community College on Jan. 19, a panel of eight experts brought together by state Representative Greg Vitali held a question-and-answer session regarding Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling and they agreed on one thing: The decisions about the present and future extraction of the large reserves of natural gas located under our water reserves, or aquifer, will shape an important path over the next decade in the Commonwealth. It will require a consensus among our elected leaders, business executives, and environmental and energy regulators about getting it right this time from the start.

I urge a rigorous debate of these decisions. It is a rare opportunity for our Commonwealth to shape the future of our nation and our globe in a strong and positive direction.

We can be leading the way to a new national energy policy. We have been blessed with natural resources from timber to oil to coal, and now, natural gas. Our historical record has been mixed when it comes to protecting the people’s environment and receiving reasonable payment for the use of our public resources. From clear cutting forest, to unlawful, unregulated drilling of oil, to deep mine coal followed by strip mined coal, we missed our chances to get it right initially, if not completely. Natural gas gives us another opportunity to get it right for our environment, for jobs, for business growth, and for energy independence.

There are serious steps to take to get to a point where the projected benefits and costs to drilling are within a calculated range of risk. The marine sedimentary rock, Marcellus Shale, contains untapped natural gas reserves which in the drilling process will require the use of water. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection estimates that the shale-gas industry will use 16 million gallons per day of freshwater in 2010, and increasing its usage to 19 million gallons per day by 2011.

“Recent water restrictions from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, both from the freshwater side as well as the waste-water disposal side, will limit the pace of tapping Marcellus natural gas,” said David Kohl, of CWM Environmental Inc., a local environmental company. “Until an economically viable water desalination process proves itself in the field, industry tends to be skeptical”.

Other stakeholders are skeptical, too. As one audience participant asked, “If we know that purifying the water is the major roadblock to drilling the Marcellus Shale, then why don’t we concentrate on building the waste-water treatment plants that are needed? With ten percent plus unemployment which includes me over the last year, why are we not building?” Deputy Secretary of Water Management for the DEP, John Hines, pointed out to the audience that the water management issues are the most important to resolve. He pointed out that there are many clean water technologies that could be used in the process. Revisions to the current state regulations on the discharge of untreated waste water need to be approved before federal and state policy could be used in a coordinated way to incubate and grow these technology companies.

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, a Democratic candidate for governor, offered his position. “It is imperative that the DEP enact these regulations as swiftly as possible,” he said. “Moreover, we ask that the DEP not issue new drilling and discharge permits until the Chapter 95 revisions are in place. The waste-water from future natural gas wells must be regulated by these new standards for contaminant levels. The threat to our public health and our environment if we do otherwise is too great”.

If elected, I would use my congressional office to bring a sense of urgency to the jobs potential of Marcellus Shale while supporting accountability on the environmental risks. Specifically, how can the federal and state government structure a program to attract innovators in clean water technology? In what ways can these programs incubate the scientists, engineers, and technicians to discover an economically viable water desalination process? How can a public-private partnership facilitate this process? What examples could be used from other states? How can federal policy and state policy be integrated so as to be used as an example to build this kind of cluster in Pennsylvania branding us as a leader in waste-water technology and energy independence? What kind of criteria could be used to attract venture capital and private equity investment firms to partner with this kind of program?And what federal dollars might be available to couple with state dollars to leverage into the private capital markets? How can our education systems be included to train future workers in these industries at all levels:  our world class universities, our community colleges and our high schools?

The scientific community is searching for ways to get to the development of renewable energy sources. Marcellus Shale not only could contribute to the solution of dependence on oil and coal, but it could also provide the Commonwealth with a strong model of long-term planning and development that would show tangible results in jobs, sustainable energy, and financial success for government and the private sector. It would give an example of prosperity where many sectors of the society could benefit. It would demonstrate to taxpayers some tangible results. It is a clear-eyed response and rebuke of an overemphasis on short-term profit only that has made our entire financial system vulnerable to the financial market crisis in the last year. Taxpayer dollars would be rewarding individuals with solutions to our problems rather than providing just a safety net to companies who have contributed to the problem.

We have a great opportunity to get it right. This time, we can show that government can work for everyone. I believe that this is truly an exciting time and perfect subject matter to restore the American dream where we contribute our talent and time towards earning financial security facilitated by policy choices promoting good business and open government. Voters of can help shape these decisions by participating in the public discussion.

In sponsoring this forum, we are served by the dedication and professionalism of Representative Vitali, whose 17 years of service has rendered a strong advocacy for protecting the abundant public forests and waterways of Pennsylvania.

The writer, a Democrat, is a candidate in the 7th Congressional District.

January 25, 2010 at 4:12 pm

--E. Teresa Touey

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