Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection Acting Sec. John Quigley packed the DEP’s Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board with members who will rubber stamp his onerous new drilling rules (see PA DEP Sec Quigley Pulls a Fast One, Changes Drilling Rules). Quigley used the excuse that the board was splitting in two, one board (the TAB) to cover unconventional/shale drilling, the other–Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee (COGAC)–to cover traditional, vertical-only drilling. TAB is arguably the more important board because conventional drilling, which once was the only kind of drilling in the state, has all but shriveled up. There’s hardly any conventional drilling in PA these days. So with the TAB safely full of Quigley acolytes, it’s time to hand out the consolation prizes to the industry by giving them seats on the COGAC. Which is exactly what happened yesterday…
