Taking upbeat look at gas drilling
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Taking_upbeat_look_at_gas_drilling_10-17-2010.html
Posted: October 18, 2010
Taking upbeat look at gas drilling
Citizens for Cleaner Energy started by Lehman Twp. man who says group does best to convey unbiased data.
MATT HUGHES mhughes@timesleader.com
Citizens for Cleaner Energy secretary Barb Mikielski and president Gary Ide display one of the signs the pro-drilling group is posting throughout the Back Mountain to welcome natural gas driller EnCana to the community.
Lehman Township resident Gary Ide said too much negativity has surrounded the prospect of natural gas drilling in Luzerne County. It prompted him to start a new grassroots organization seeking to put a positive spin on the activity.
Those driving through the Back Mountain lately might have noticed the group’s work already.
Citizens for Cleaner Energy began posting yellow “Welcome EnCana” signs around the Back Mountain about a month ago. The group next plans to distribute “A New Lease on Life” stickers, which might start adorning bumpers throughout the region soon.
Ide said the group seeks to provide unbiased information and combat stereotypes about property owners who have signed leases with natural gas drillers.
Citizens for Cleaner Energy does not take an oppositional stand, Ide said, but it became clear from the group’s first meeting that those who had signed leases were frustrated about how they were being portrayed by those who oppose gas exploration in the Back Mountain.
Ide, a business owner who has leased gas rights on his property to EnCana, said he organized the group to give voice to leaseholders.
The group recognizes the environmental concerns that have led others to oppose drilling in the area, Ide said. Its members are likewise concerned about the state of their drinking water and the environment. He said they are “not just greedy people who signed a lease and are out for as much money as they can get,” but, before his group started, none of them was “coming out and saying, of course we’re for clean drinking water.”
Ide also feels opponents have overhyped the dangers of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
The group recognizes that, in Dimock for example, there have been accidents, but that “you can’t impugn all drilling companies because one had a problem,” he said.
“I don’t think (Dimock) is a reason to frighten people; it’s a reason to be cautious,” Ide said.
The group has thus far held two public meetings, on Aug. 13 and Oct. 4. About 100 attended.
Most were from the area in and around Lehman Township and had already signed gas leases with EnCana, Ide said, though the meetings also attracted others from outlying areas who had signed with other drillers.
EnCana is drilling an exploratory well off Route 118 near Ricketts Glen State Park and another off Zosh Road in Lake Township. Organizers said they were impressed with the safety technology employed by EnCana and are happy to have “one of the biggest and best” drillers working with them.
Ide and group vice president Mary Lansberry said their well water was tested before any drilling was done as part of their lease agreement.
“We researched for two, two and a half years before signing with our company,” Lansberry said. “It proves that there are people who’ve signed leases who are worried about their land, who are worried about their neighbors.”
Ide said EnCana tested his water as far as 5,000 feet away from the drill site, five times the range in which they normally test.
“Not all gas companies are the same, as we know now from Dimock,” Lansberry added. “So, I would hope our community would feel better, knowing we have the best.”
Citizens for Cleaner Energy now has a board of directors and will soon apply for non-profit status in order to collect donations. At future meetings the group will invite experts in drilling-related fields as guest speakers to educate the public.
“We’re here to inform, not to refute,” Lansberry said.
The group is planning a meeting in the first week of November in the Outlet Free Methodist Church.