Baker proposes bills on gas drilling, drinking water

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Baker_proposes_bills_on_gas_drilling__drinking_water_05-24-2010.html

Baker proposes bills on gas drilling, drinking water
Pa. senator says protection needed to ensure drilling doesn’t contaminate water.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
May 25, 2010

The state senator representing the Back Mountain is proposing a series of bills to protect drinking water sources from contamination associated with natural gas drilling.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said on Monday that the chances of water contamination grow as drilling into the Marcellus Shale increases in Pennsylvania, and the proposed bills are in response to citizen and community concerns about the safety of water resources.

“Prevention and protection are preferable to crisis management and emergency response,” Baker said.

EnCana Oil & Gas plans to drill two natural gas wells in the Back Mountain – one each in Lehman and Lake townships – and a third in the Red Rock area in Fairmount Township, not far from Ricketts Glen State Park.

The well site in Lehman Township is less than two miles from the Huntsville Reservoir.

Although there are proposed water protection regulations moving through the approval process, Baker said state law has “more force.”

And as drilling proceeds on a larger scale, “area residents want answers that show responsibility being assured, rather than risks being assumed,” Baker said.

“Reasonable environmental protections will not discourage the development of this industry; they will help to make sure that unreasonable costs are not imposed on local communities and homeowners,” she said.

In order to protect aquifers and determine any adverse consequences attributable to drilling, one bill would require testing at three times – before drilling, at the completion of drilling, and six months afterwards – at three different depths.

A second bill would rule out drilling at sites too close to drinking water sources such as reservoirs.

A third bill would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that operators of wastewater treatment facilities are properly trained and sufficiently monitored to lessen the chances of human error creating a major problem.

Baker said some of the costs would be borne by the gas companies.

Oversight costs could be paid for through a severance tax, which is expected to be debated in the coming weeks.

She reiterated her opposition to any severance tax plan that would devote the revenue generated to filling a hole in the state budget rather than providing for community protection in drilling areas.

“The environmental and economic catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the crucial nature of taking all reasonable precautions and for being prepared for dealing with extreme situations when things go horribly wrong,” Baker said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.