Regulating Drilling in PA Pits State Against Municipalities
There is a “tug of war” going on in Pennsylvania for who will ultimately control where, and under what conditions, Marcellus Shale gas wells can be drilled. The struggle pits the state against local municipalities. As with many issues surrounding shale gas drilling, this one is complicated.
Pennsylvania has more than 2,500 township and municipal governments across the state—more than any other state—even though there are four other states with larger populations (CA, TX, NY, and FL). Local governments are responsive to the people in their communities.
But when it comes to the issue of drilling, local governments, in being “responsive” are often trampling the rights of local property owners to use their land as they see fit. Local municipalities will say they regulate where malls and shopping centers can be built, where factories can be built, and whether or not land in residential areas can be re-zoned for other purposes, on a case by case basis. Why not the industrial process of constructing a gas well? And they ask the state, “Would you like it if the federal government stripped away your rights to self government? Why do you want to take away ours?”
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This week will be important for the effort to get shale gas drilling moving in New York State. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is conducting a series of four public hearings nominally to accept comments on the most recent changes to the draft drilling regulations, also known as the SGEIS (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement). MDN says “nominally” because each of the four events will be used by both those for and against drilling to try and show their side has the most support.
The Shale Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) is a panel of seven experts appointed by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu earlier this year with the task of creating a list of industry “best practices” for shale gas drillers. The SEAB produced an initial 90-day report in August with a list of 20 recommendations (
As MDN reported yesterday, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is set to vote on new drilling rules to allow limited drilling in the DRBC jurisdiction on Nov. 21 (
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) yesterday released a final version of new shale gas drilling regulations (copy embedded below). A vote will be taken on Nov. 21st to adopt the new regulations. So far, no Marcellus Shale gas wells have been drilled in the areas covered by the jurisdiction of the DRBC which includes large portions of Pennsylvania and New York, in addition to Delaware and New Jersey. Of those states, only PA has allowed gas drilling to date. The DRBC is a quasi-governmental body charged with protecting the environmental “health” of the Delaware River and its tributaries.
The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York (IOGA NY), after studying the new draft drilling rules issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) wrote a letter to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on September 2 stating that the new rules, as written, are not acceptable if the state wants there to be any shale gas drilling. A copy of the 15-page letter with attachments (31 pages total) was obtained by Gannett News and can be downloaded below.