Webinars address issues with Marcellus gas in two upcoming offerings

http://live.psu.edu/story/47887/nw69
Monday, August 16, 2010

Three county commissioners — Mark Smith of Bradford County, Pamela Tokar-Ickes of Somerset County and Paul Heimel of Potter County — will be the featured speakers during a free, Web-based seminar titled, “Local Natural Gas Task Force Initiatives,” which will air at 1 p.m. on Aug. 19. Sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the webinar will provide an overview of how county task forces are responding to the ramp-up of shale-gas exploration in their respective counties.

Information about how to register for the webinar is available at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars. Online participants will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions during the session.

The “Local Natural Gas Task Force Initiatives” webinar is part of an ongoing series of workshops addressing issues related to the state’s Marcellus shale gas boom. Another one-hour webinar will be held at 1 p.m. on Sept. 16, titled “Natural Gas Experiences of Marcellus Residents: Preliminary Results from the Community Satisfaction Survey”; Presenter: Kathy Brasier, Penn State.

Previous webinars, which covered topics such as water use and quality, zoning, and gas-leasing considerations for landowners and implications for local communities, can be viewed at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars.

For more information, contact Joann Kowalski, extension educator in Susquehanna County, at 570-278-1158 or by e-mail at jmk20@psu.edu.