Citizens Unite – Compile Your Water Quality Data
(Note: Brian Oram is a charter member of the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians.)
Citizens – there are more private wells than public water supplies in Pennsylvania. In many regions, the natural gas companies have conducted baseline testing and have returned the data to you. The problem is that the industry has the data and can easily compile, but for citizens they are lacking an explanation of the data and it is not being compiled. We need to work together to protect our groundwater data.
To help – send NO Money – All that is being asked is as follows:
1. Send a copy of your water quality data or host a community meeting where the water quality data could be compiled.
To request a community meeting or presentation on “Getting the Waters Tested- The Marcellus Shale Factor” or the “Community Groundwater / Surfacewater Database” – email brian.oram@wilkes.edu or bfenviro@ptd.net. Please put Citizen Database in Subject.
2. Release the data to the Citizens Groundwater / Surfacewater Database. Here is the information sheet. The database will only include the data and No personal information.
3. Email the information to the addresses above or send a hardcopy to
Mr. Brian Oram, PG
Citizen Outreach Program
15 Hillcrest Drive
Dallas, PA 18612
4. You get a review of your data for free and you can be sure your data will help track water quality change in the region.
5. Private Well Owner Survey – Funded by Mr. Brian Oram. Please participate – the survey results in be published in the New Free Guidebook for Private Well Owners
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NMG6RQ3
This survey is part of the efforts of Mr. Brian Oram, Professional Geologist, and owner of B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc to help educate and inform the community. The survey will not be published and all information is confidential. Part of this survey will be used to create a new booklet that helps educate private well owners and policy makers in our community. This survey is not funded by any outside company or organization and solely funded by Mr. Brian Oram.
Please act now.
Thanks for your consideration
Brian Oram, Professional Geologist, Soils Scientist, Licensed Well Driller
My Blog Site – http://pennsylvania-solutions.blogspot.com
Free Outreach to Private Well Owners – http://www.water-research.net
Gas well cement issues reported
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/gas-well-cement-issues-reported-1.1205029#axzz1YDTV7QfJ
By Laura Legere (staff writer)
September 18, 2011
At the recent Shale Gas Insight conference in Philadelphia, the CEO of one of the largest Marcellus Shale drilling companies in Pennsylvania was unequivocal in his message that methane contamination of drinking water supplies from faulty gas wells is at an end.
“Problem identified; problem solved,” Chesapeake Energy’s chairman Aubrey McClendon declared.
But violations data released last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection show problems persist with the cemented strings of steel casing meant to protect groundwater from gas and fluids in Marcellus wells.
In August, DEP inspectors found defective or inadequate casing or cement at eight Marcellus wells, including Hess Corp.’s Davidson well in Scott Township, Wayne County – the first casing violation found in the county where only a handful of Marcellus wells have been drilled.
During the first eight months of 2011, 65 Marcellus wells were cited for faulty casing and cementing practices – one more than was recorded in all of 2010.
Casing and cementing violations do not necessarily indicate that gas has or will migrate into drinking water supplies, and methane is present in many water wells in Pennsylvania from natural pathways unrelated to gas drilling. But in the three dozen instances when methane has migrated into water supplies from gas wells in Northeast Pennsylvania, cement flaws have been identified by state regulators as a primary pathway for the gas.
In his comments at the conference, McClendon credited an “updated and customized casing system” included in stronger state oil and gas casing and cementing regulations for “preventing new cases of gas migration.”
The increase in casing and cementing violations reflects the state’s increased attention to the issue, especially since the regulations were updated in February. The steady pace of new violations – an average of eight new wells a month have been cited for casing, cement or leaking gas violations this year – also indicates the complexity of the problem in a state where the geology is neither uniform nor predictable.
DEP Secretary Michael Krancer, who was not present for McClendon’s statement, said he could not respond to it directly when asked about it at the shale conference.
“One case of methane migration or well contamination is one case too many,” he said.
Most of the casing and cement violations recorded this summer became evident to inspectors when bubbles rose from between the cemented casing strings in water pooled at the well sites or when combustible gas was detected with meters at the surface, according to notes in the violation reports posted by the department online.
The department considers bubbling or escaping gas at the surface an indication of problems below.
In June, July and August, bubbling or escaping gas was noted during inspections of Marcellus wells in Wayne, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Bradford and Lycoming counties in the northeast and northcentral region. The wells’ operators include Chesapeake, Hess, Exco Resources, Williams Production and XTO Energy.
The inspector’s notes from the Hess Davidson well on Aug. 18 confirmed bubbling outside of one of the casing strings and that “Hess indicated (the) bubbling is methane.” The company was directed to develop a plan within 30 days to “remediate (the) problem of defective cement.”
Hess spokeswoman Maripat Sexton said the company is working with DEP to resolve the issue.
“There does not appear to be any adverse impacts,” she said.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
Sept. 15 webinar to examine Marcellus gas legal issues
http://live.psu.edu/story/54984#nw69
Ross Pifer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Web-based seminar to be presented at 1 p.m. Sept. 15 by Penn State Extension will examine legal issues associated with natural-gas development in the Marcellus Shale formation underlying Pennsylvania.
There have been more than 2,350 wells drilled into the Marcellus in the Keystone state in the last few years, primarily in the southwest, northeast and northcentral regions. Those wells and wellpads, the gas they produce and construction of related infrastructure, such as pipelines and transfer stations, have created legal dilemmas for residents and municipalities.
In the webinar, which will run for more than an hour, presenter Ross Pifer, clinical professor of law and director of the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, will talk about legal developments, encompassing statutes, regulations and court opinions at the state and federal level.
“I will review the various Marcellus Shale legal developments that have occurred over the past several months as well as those that are ongoing,” he said.”I will discuss the legislation that has been enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and cover some of the other topics that are being considered by the General Assembly and U.S. Congress.”
Pifer also intends to discuss regulations and other ongoing administrative proceedings from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Delaware River Basin Commission, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
As Marcellus activities occur throughout much of the commonwealth, the legal developments related to Marcellus Shale continue to increase, Pifer noted. “I will cover the issue of municipal regulation of natural-gas operations, and I will address highlights from court opinions that have been issued by state and federal courts in Pennsylvania.
“The goal of this webinar is to highlight the numerous legal developments to provide the participants with an overview of the legal landscape surrounding Marcellus Shale.”
The webinar is part of a series of online workshops addressing opportunities and challenges related to the state’s Marcellus Shale gas boom. Information about how to register for the session is available on the webinar page of Penn State Extension’s natural-gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars.
Previous webinars, publications and information on topics such as air pollution from gas development; the gas boom’s effect on landfills; water use and quality; zoning; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; implications for local communities; and gas pipelines and right-of-way issues also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website (http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas).
For more information about the webinar, contact John Turack, extension educator in Westmoreland County, at 724-837-1402 or by email at jdt15@psu.edu.
Study shows Marcellus Shale benefits economy, but questions remain
http://live.psu.edu/story/54756#nw69
Monday, August 29, 2011
Photo courtesy of Timothy Kelsey A new study suggests that the state's natural-gas boom is having a positive effect on businesses such as this lunch wagon at a Bradford County drill site, but the overall economic impact may be muted by municipal costs, as well as by income that's unspent or leaves the local area.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new study examining the Marcellus Shale natural-gas boom in Pennsylvania suggests that, although development of this resource is having a positive economic impact in the state, the net benefits may be more modest than previously reported.
Summarized in a publication, “Economic Impacts of Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania: Employment and Income in 2009,” the study was conducted by the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center, a partnership between Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.
Timothy Kelsey, professor of agricultural economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and a lead author of the publication, said the study looked at several aspects of Marcellus Shale natural-gas development in Pennsylvania that had not been considered in previous research and assessed how these factors affected the overall economic impact.
“For instance, we examined where leasing and royalty dollars actually are going and how they are being spent,” Kelsey explained. “The economic impacts will be very different depending on how many dollars go to Pennsylvania households, to state and local governments, and to nonresidents.
“In addition, how many of those dollars are immediately spent by residents and how many are saved also will affect the impact, as will the proportion of wages being paid to out-of-state workers.”
The study included surveys of landowners, local businesses and local government officials, as well as a GIS analysis of land-ownership patterns among Pennsylvania residents, nonresidents and the state. The researchers combined this information with industry spending data to estimate the spatial distribution of natural-gas-company spending over time. They then entered the data into economic-analysis software to model the state’s economy and estimate multiplier effects.
The results suggest that in 2009, Marcellus Shale development supported between 23,385 and 23,884 jobs in the state and generated around $3.1 billion in economic activity. This included about $1.2 billion in labor income and nearly $1.9 billion in added value.
“These results are about half the size of those estimated in previous Marcellus economic-impact studies,” Kelsey said, “but this isn’t surprising because we had more detailed information about leasing and royalty income. Our results confirm that where leasing and royalty dollars are going significantly influences the estimated overall impacts.”
Kelsey explained that only about half of the land in counties with Marcellus activity is owned by residents within those counties. Twenty-five percent is owned by residents living elsewhere in Pennsylvania, and nearly 8 percent is owned by out-of-state landowners. The remaining 17 percent is owned by the public sector, primarily the state.
“This would imply that a large portion of the economic benefits immediately leaves the communities being impacted by drilling,” he said.
Similarly, the study looked at wages paid by the industry and where they are going. “A recent Marcellus workforce study indicated that about 37 percent of Marcellus workers are non-Pennsylvania residents,” said Kelsey. “We estimated two alternative scenarios — 25 percent and 50 percent — for how much of the payroll going to non-Pennsylvanians is sent back to their home-state communities. We also accounted for how their spending likely differs from typical resident workers.”
In addition, the study found that the amount of lease and royalty payments spent or saved affects the gas play’s immediate impacts. The researchers surveyed landowners in Bradford and Tioga counties who live within 1,000 feet of active Marcellus wells. The results suggest that lease holders save or invest about 55 percent of leasing proceeds and about 66 percent of royalty payments in the year they are received, rather than spending them immediately.
“This means a significant portion of leasing and royalty dollars are not spent in Pennsylvania in the year received, reducing the potential economic impact in that year,” Kelsey said.
The researchers also looked at the Marcellus boom’s fiscal impacts on local governments. They found that the effects on municipal coffers so far are minimal.
All 494 municipal governments in 12 Marcellus counties were surveyed, with 293 responding. Only about 18 percent of governments experiencing Marcellus activity said their tax revenues had increased, and about 26 percent said costs had increased, especially related to road maintenance.
“To have a complete understanding of the impacts of gas-development, you have to consider both revenues and costs,” Kelsey noted. “These findings contrast with previous economic studies that predicted large local tax impacts but did not verify what actually is occurring.”
Local businesses in two counties surveyed as part of the study described positive impacts, according to the authors. About a third of all responding businesses in Bradford and Washington counties reported increased sales due to natural-gas development, and only 3 percent reported a sales decline.
“Businesses across the economy reported positive effects, though hotels, construction companies, transportation concerns, eating and drinking places, wholesalers and financial-services firms were most likely to report higher sales,” Kelsey said.
The researchers did not try to quantify other important but difficult-to-measure costs of Marcellus development, such as effects on the environment and health. They said they hoped that future studies can look at such issues as better information becomes available about their prevalence and extent.
“The long-run implications of Marcellus Shale development are still unknown,” Kelsey emphasized. “We believe our results must be viewed as a preliminary, short-term view of the impacts of Marcellus Shale and should be placed in the broader context of these other important concerns.”
The report is available online at the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center website at http://www.msetc.org/, and at the Penn State Extension Marcellus Education Team website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas (under Quick Links, click on Publications).
Pa. 1 of 3 states with eye on big Shell plant
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Pa__1_of_3_states_with_eye_on_big_Shell_plant_09-04-2011.html
Posted: September 4, 2011
West Virginia, Ohio also in running for multibillion-dollar petrochemical refinery.
PITTSBURGH — Big industry may be coming back to the northeast United States. Shell Oil Co. is nearing a decision on where in the Appalachians to build a huge new petrochemical refinery — a project that could bring thousands of jobs and change the face of the region for decades. The plans are driven by the gas reserves discovered in the Marcellus Shale.
The scale of the multibillion-dollar project is unlike anything seen for decades in the region, said David Hounshell, a professor of technology and social change at Carnegie Mellon University.
Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh said the company plans to decide by the end of the year where to build the plant, which would convert natural gas liquids to other chemicals.
The complex would likely attract many smaller, specialized chemical plants, since the main product, ethylene, is used to make chemicals that go into everything from plastics to tires to antifreeze, according to the American Chemistry Council.
The council estimated the complex could attract up to $16 billion in private investment and create more than 17,000 jobs and billions in tax revenue.
Other U.S. and overseas companies are also considering similar projects in the region.
Severance tax compromise bill introduced
http://citizensvoice.com/news/severance-tax-compromise-bill-introduced-1.1193680#axzz1W8W33D4G
Published: August 26, 2011
State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, has introduced a bill he believes is a compromise on a Marcellus Shale natural gas severance tax.
Pashinski’s House Bill 1804, which has been referred to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, calls for a competitive severance tax on natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale.
The tax revenue would be kept in a restricted account until state lawmakers agree on a formula for distribution.
Pashinski said the issue is a matter of fairness because Pennsylvania is the only major natural-gas-producing state without a severance tax.
“The time for action has come,” Pashinski said. “This is a commonsense approach that is fair to the drillers and the public. The taxpayers would stop losing hundreds of millions of dollars as the debate over how to use the money is resolved.”
Pashinski stated that the public and drillers support a severance tax. A recent poll found seven in 10 people want a drilling tax, and an executive with Chief Oil and Gas, a leading driller in the state, said at a House Democratic policy hearing Pashinski hosted that the company has no problem with a reasonable tax.
“Other businesses pay their taxes and residents are facing property tax hikes and higher costs for food, necessities and even college tuition,” Pashinski stated. “At the same time, companies drilling for natural gas are enjoying tremendous profits without paying their fair share.”
Webinars will focus on business opportunities related to Marcellus gas
http://live.psu.edu/story/54563#nw69
The Marcellus Shale formation deep underground -- and the natural gas it holds -- represents a huge economic engine for Pennsylvania.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A series of Web-based seminars aimed at helping local businesses prosper from natural-gas drilling and development will be offered this fall by Penn State Extension’s Marcellus Educational Consortium.
“Your Business and Marcellus Shale: Moving Forward 2011” is a five-part program intended to help local businesses understand and take advantage of the opportunities arising from development of the Marcellus Shale.
“Participants will expand their knowledge of the opportunities that exist in the market and learn how to make connections and plan for doing business in this growing industry,” said Jonathan Laughner, extension educator in Beaver County who is moderating the sessions, one of which will be held every other week. Each webinar will feature speakers who are experts in the field.
“Our webinar speakers will include natural-gas industry representatives, local business people successfully responding to opportunities, financial specialists and business-development representatives,” Laughner said. “Anyone interested in learning more about this aspect of the industry is welcome to attend.”
Each session will last approximately 75 minutes, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Following is the webinar schedule:
–Sept 13, “Local Business View: Experience in the Northeast”
–Sept. 26, “Industry View: What Does Industry Look For?”
–Oct. 11, “Local Business View: Experience in the Southwest”
–Oct. 24, “The Process: How Do You Sell Into Industry?”
–Nov. 8, “The Work Plan: Financial and Planning Suggestions”
This webinar series is for educational purposes only, Laughner cautioned. No part of the presentations is to be considered legal advice. “Please consult with your attorney before signing any legal document,” he said. “Where trade and/or company names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by Penn State Cooperative Extension is implied.”
The website for the webinars is https://meeting.psu.edu/marcellusbiz. Webinar access requires a free Friends of Penn State account, which can be obtained at https://fps.psu.edu.
For more information, contact Carol Loveland, Penn State Extension energy development and special projects coordinator, at 570-433-3040 or by e-mail at cal24@psu.edu.
Panel recommends statewide statewide standards for new private water wells
http://republicanherald.com/news/panel-recommends-statewide-statewide-standards-for-new-private-water-wells-1.1188749
BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF rswift@timesshamrock.com)
Published: August 15, 2011
HARRISBURG – A special state commission recommends setting statewide construction standards for new private water wells, resurrecting an issue that has been debated for the past two decades.
The Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission included the recommendation in last month’s report to guide the development of the deep pockets of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation. The commission also recommended doubling the distance separating a gas well from a water well from 250 feet to 500 feet.
Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, Williamsport, is considering introducing legislation to set standards for new water wells.
More than three million Pennsylvania residents rely on about one million private wells for drinking water. Methane contamination of drinking water such as occurred last year in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, is one of the most volatile issues surrounding the hydrofracking operations used in the deep Marcellus wells in Northeast Pennsylvania. Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. agreed to pay $4.1 million to Dimock residents affected by methane contamination attributed to faulty natural gas wells.
Some 20,000 new water wells are drilled each year in the state, yet for all this reliance on well water, Pennsylvania is one of the few states without private well regulations.
The commission kept its water well standards recommendation general in scope, while referring to a 2009 study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative research agency, that concluded that 40 percent of private water wells have failed to meet at least one health-related drinking water standard. The commission noted pointedly that poorly constructed water wells can be pathways for bacteria and contaminants such as naturally occurring shallow methane gas to migrate into water supplies.
Groundwater aquifers can be polluted by failing septic systems, fertilizer runoff and mining, the center study found, while individual wells can be contaminated by exposed well casings, or having a loose fitting well cap or no cap at all, allowing surface water to enter a well.
The study recommended passing state laws requiring testing of new water wells by a certified lab and standards for new well construction and education programs for homeowners.
The Marcellus Shale drilling has led people to call for protection of water supplies, Yaw said. The senator said there have been a few problems, but they have to be viewed in the context of hundreds of gas wells drilled in recent years.
He said setting water well standards is one way to allay public concerns.
“If there’s a concern people have, let’s do something about it,” Yaw said.
In a related vein, the federal Department of Energy’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee recommended last week that requirements be set to do testing for background levels of existing methane in nearby water wells prior to gas drilling.
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors is opposed to a statewide well construction standard and prefers letting municipalities handle the issue through local ordinances.
Supervisors in some regions are concerned it will lead to state regulations on how property owners use their well water or even metering of wells, said Elam Herr, the association’s deputy director.
The last major push for regulation of private water wells came in 2001-02 when drought conditions led to enactment of a state water resources planning law. The House approved a water-well bill, but it didn’t become law.
Marcellus waste increase attributable to new rules, errors
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/marcellus-waste-increase-attributable-to-new-rules-errors-1.1190648#axzz1Vf1dbwq2
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: August 19, 2011
Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania reportedly produced vastly more fluid and solid waste in the first half of 2011 than the previous six-month period, but changes in reporting requirements and mistakes in data entry account for some of the surge.
More than 34 million barrels of salt- and metals-laden wastewater flowed from the state’s Marcellus wells in the first six months of 2011, according to industry-reported data published by the state Department of Environmental Protection. That is more than eight times the amount reported in the last six months of 2010, despite the fact that drilling did not markedly increase between the two periods.
• Database: Marcellus Shale production (January to June 2011)
http://thetimes-tribune.com/data-center/database-marcellus-shale-production-jan-to-june-2011-1.1190149#axzz1VR8Lf1y7
• Database: Marcellus Shale waste (January to June 2011)
http://thetimes-tribune.com/data-center/database-marcellus-shale-waste-jan-to-june-2011-1.1190150#axzz1VR8Ufhx6
Chesapeake Energy reported the vast majority of the wastewater – 24.5 million barrels – a pronounced spike from the second half of 2010 when the company reported producing only 60,704 barrels of the fluid.
The company attributed the spike to changes in state reporting requirements as well as an increase in production from its wells.
In a change from past practice, the state now requires operators to include all of the wastewater they reuse or recycle not just the waste that is disposed of in the six-month reports, said Matt Pitzarella, a spokesman for Range Resources.
“We believe the current advances are more transparent and make more sense,” he said.
Recycling and reuse has become common practice since the state restricted the amount of salty drilling wastewater that can be discharged into rivers from treatment plants that cannot remove all of the contaminants.
In the first half of 2011, operators reused or recycled 29 million barrels of the wastewater that flows back from the wells or about 86 percent of the waste.
About 3 million barrels of the waste was taken to 15 treatments plants that Marcellus drillers have largely stopped using since mid-May at the request of DEP Secretary Michael Krancer.
Another 800,000 barrels of the wastewater was injected into deep disposal wells, mostly in Ohio, according to the state data.
The amount of rock and lubricant waste, called drill cuttings, that is displaced as operators bore to and through the shale also apparently surged in the first half of 2011. The reported cuttings increased by 254 times to 50.4 million tons between the last six months of 2010 and the first six months of 2011.
But 50 million of the 50.4 million tons of drill cuttings were mistakenly reported by EOG Resources, which made an error when it entered the data, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
“EOG inadvertently submitted its original data in pounds rather than tons,” spokeswoman K Leonard said. “EOG should have reported 25,000 tons of cuttings for the first half of 2011.”
The company is submitting a revised report to state regulators, she said.
The actual amount of cuttings produced by all operators was closer to 405,000 tons, compared with 198,000 tons produced in the last half of 2010.
That increase also reflects changes in reporting requirements, Pitzarella said.
The industry did not previously have to include in its six-month reports the cuttings that were encapsulated and buried at well sites. As operators move away from using lined pits at well sites, very few cuttings are being encapsulated and more of it is being reported.
“Most is now going to approved landfills,” he said.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
Researchers: Marcellus gas not hurting or helping municipal finances
http://live.psu.edu/story/54506#nw69
Monday, August 15, 2011
Michael Jacobson
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — While being credited by many as a major new economic engine for Pennsylvania, Marcellus shale gas-development so far may not be having much of an effect on the finances of local municipalities, according to a study by two researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
Michael Jacobson, associate professor of forest resources, and Tim Kelsey, professor of agricultural economics, examined how gas drilling and production activities are affecting municipal government and services in two rural counties where they are occurring.
They examined a decade of revenue and expenditure data from more than three dozen townships in Washington and Susquehanna counties, all of which are experiencing significant Marcellus Shale activity.
“Surprisingly, we found no significant differences in spending or revenue collection before and after Marcellus activity in those townships,” said Jacobson, who specializes in forest economics, finance and policy. “The statistical analysis of the audit information showed no clear relationships between Marcellus Shale activity and municipal finances.”
The researchers cautioned, however, that as the scale of Marcellus development increases, municipalities may need to provide new services they do not currently support. Municipalities also may discover they need to expand existing services such as planning and management.
“We had only two solid years of fiscal data as gas development is relatively new,” Jacobson said. “I think as the gas play expands, our conclusions will change — a lot will depend on the rate of scaling up development and accompanying fiscal impacts.”
The researchers noted that in the townships studied, gas companies were mostly proactive in repairing and upgrading roads damaged by gas-related traffic, and that helped municipal budgets as road maintenance and repair account for a large share of municipal spending.
But some municipalities reported having to hire new staff to deal with Marcellus issues — an unanticipated cost — or having to shift responsibilities of existing staff.
“Municipalities identified a range of impacts their local governments were experiencing as a result of Marcellus Shale development, but they stated that so far, most have been either nonmonetary or they have internally shifted resources to cover them, so the impacts do not appear in the municipal budget,” Jacobson said.
“Even with significant gas development, some officials said they have not ‘spent a nickel’ on gas-related issues.”
In addition to examining local government audit data for each year from 2001 to 2009, the researchers conducted focus group interviews with municipal officials in both counties.
“There may be unforeseen costs that crop up — environmental and infrastructure-related come to mind,” Jacobson said. “On the positive side, the play already has brought new jobs, industry and development that will provide added revenues to help offset the cost of these services.”
A Marcellus Education Fact Sheet detailing the findings of the research is available at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/PDFS/EE0006.pdf online.
This research was supported by the Marcellus Seed Grant Research Program, an initiative of the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research with funding from the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment and the Penn State Social Science Research Institute. For more information, visit http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/ online.
Information about the Marcellus Seed Grant Research Program can be found at http://marcellus.psu.edu/research/seedGrant.php online.
To learn about other research supported by the center, visit http://marcellus.psu.edu/resources/publications.php online.
For more information, contact the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research at 814-865-1587 or at marcellus@psu.edu.