Group wants responsible development

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The rush to develop natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale could threaten Lycoming County's greatest assets, including its pristine waterways, wooded landscapes and fresh air, according to a local organization dedicated to promoting responsible drilling.

According to Jon Bogle, co-founder of Williamsport-based Responsible Drilling Alliance, the group began meeting about six months ago. The group initially met at a local coffee shop and now claims to have about 100 members.

Bogle insists the group is not opposed to gas exploration. It only wants gas exploration to be done in a way that has a minimal impact on the environment.

The alliance's bylaws state the organization's mission is to "advocate a balance between the economic benefits of gas exploration and the need to protect the health, safety and welfare of citizens."

"We don't oppose gas drilling. What we want is for the (gas companies) to be responsible about it. We want it done conscientiously," said alliance member Janey Richardson, a landowner who has leased her property for gas exploration.

Bogle added that the group wants to educate themselves and others about the potential environmental dangers of natural gas development and the impact the industry can have on local roads, schools, health care systems, housing and crime.

Alliance members said that although gas exploration in Pennsylvania is in the early stages, there already is evidence it will cause pollution.

Alliance member Robbie Cross pointed to an incident in Dimock, where three instances of hydrofracturing water spills at a single well site were reported to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Cross said he is concerned the danger of drilling-related pollution will increase as the industry grows in the region.

"We're in the earliest stages of this," Cross said. "It's going to grow considerably with thousands of wells. If this is the beginning and spills like that escape the safeguards ... what's going to happen when they drill thousands of wells in this county?"

"Gas companies have admitted there are going to be errors," alliance member Ralph Kisberg said.

Cross expressed concern regarding state regulations that allow gas wells to be constructed within 100 feet of streams, springs or other bodies of water and wetlands more than 1 acre in size. Considering the pristine condition and importance of local streams, that is too close, he said.

"When you consider the value of Pine Creek and Loyalsock, Lycoming and Muncy creeks - it you lose those creeks, you've lost a lot," he said.

Even without historical data in Pennsylvania, the industry's track record elsewhere in the country should give Pennsylvanians a reason to be cautious when it comes to gas exploration, Bogle said.

Air samples taken this year in Dish, Texas, where a large gas field is located, showed large amounts of toxic chemicals in the air that could cause long- and short-term health problems.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a gas field containing about 7,700 wells causes emissions equivalent to that produced by the entire metropolitan area of about 6.3 million people, he said.

Kisberg said he believes agencies such as DEP don't have strict-enough regulations or the manpower to enforce their regulations, given the number of wells expected to be drilled in the coming years.

Cross agreed.

"The DEP is undermanned. With thousands of wells (planned) in Lycoming County alone, how ... are they going to regulate that?" he said.

The organization advocates that the state require the industry to use the best technology it has to contain toxic emissions. It also supports tougher guidelines related to gas drilling waste-water disposal, county and municipal zoning and land use ordinances to protect residents from the negative impacts of gas drilling, stricter regulations related to drilling near streams, wetlands and other waterways and a tax code that requires companies to pay their fair share for the impact the industry has on local communities.

"I think in Pennsylvania, we're in a position to benefit from mistakes made elsewhere in various places around the country," said alliance member Mark Szybist. "We have the advantage of learning from those mistakes."

Szybist said a moratorium on gas drilling, similar to one imposed in New York state, is needed to allow the state to develop a plan for sustainable and environmentally safe gas development.

For more information about the alliance, e-mail responsibledrillingalliance@comcast.net.