Care, vision can bring natural gas benefits

Consider the following:

We are desperate for alternative energy sources.

Everyone from municipal governments to private landowners is looking for fresh revenue sources.

And it appears Pennsylvania, and this region in particular, has an underground reservoir of natural gas.

That may not amount to a perfect storm, but it’s certainly a confluence of events that set up natural gas exploration as a key regional issue in the next few years.

Beyond the acknowledgement of natural gas companies that they are interested in leasing land for exploration and a series of seminars for private landowers about how to do that, Old Lycoming Township made the biggest news yet this past week regarding natural gas fever.

The township sent a five-year renewable lease agreement to Range Resources, a company with a Montoursville-based satellite office, to its solicitor for review.

The township has 68 acres available to lease to the drillers, who are paying $2,400 per acre. With 15-percent royalties as part of the agreement, the township could see an immediate return of more than $164,000. That fresh revenue coming into the township’s general fund could prevent a tax increase, according to township Manager Linda Mazzullo.

All this gas speculation comes from the belief that Lycoming County has vast natural gas deposits located in the Marcellus Shale, a deep rock formation that runs from southern New York state to West Virginia.

Since such geological circumstances tend to be permanent, there’s an opportunity here for energy interests, municipalities and private landowners.

As long as this happy coincidence is managed with fairness and practicality by everyone involved and reverence toward the local environment.

There’s no need to cut corners here.

The proliferation of gas leasing seminars is a good start.

The state Department of Environmental Protection needs to make sure gas drilling is not environmentally reckless while also not thwarting economic opportunity with unnecessary obstruction.

Muncipalities need to pursue revenue possibilities that benefit their taxpayers without drastically altering the lifestyle their residents are accustomed to.

And private homeowners need to seek counsel so that can get their fair share from leasing opportunities while not losing personal property rights.

Opportunities like this don’t come along often in our region.

Everyone can win if a mixture of proper precautions and vision are exercised on all fronts.