Things that Matter

It's stories like this one, which I heard on NPR the other night, that make me so frustrated that I find myself shaking my fist at the radio and shouting back comments on my drive home from work. 

I have been following the Marcellus shale/hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") issue as it has developed in Pennsylvania. Many states in the surrounding region as well as across the nation (Colorado and Wyoming for example) are also dealing with the gold rush to drill the natural gas wells contained in Marcellus shale, but since Pennsylvania is my home state, my ears perk when I hear it named on the news. 

For those unfamiliar with the topic, Marcellus shale contains natural gas, which gas companies can break through and access via "fracking," where they blast water and other chemicals at such a high force so as to break through the shale and extract the natural gas.  This process results in a lot of really polluted water that is often going into local streams and groundwater. Gross. And really frightening. And that's my biggest beef with this whole thing.


Among the many issues arising with the rapid development of Marcellus shale drilling is how to regulate it. In Pennsylvania, municipalities have been regulating it (or banning it - yay, Pittsburgh!) through their local zoning laws. The result is that each municipality gets to control fracking in its community. Natural gas companies don't like this; they prefer a statewide permitting and regulating process (preferably a weak and cheap one, written by legislators and backed by a governor who supports their industry) that will make it easier for them to put up drills all over the state. Now Pennsylvania is considering legislation that will create statewide "guidelines" for what local governments can and can't regulate (see HB 1950 and SB 1100 if interested). So the debate ensues. 


A couple of points that got me shaking my fist: 

(1) First of all, the term "guidelines" as opposed to "rules" sends shivers down my back. It sounds like a rubber stamp or at the very best, suggestions without consequences. 

(2) The new legislation would REQUIRE local gov­ern­ments to allow nat­ural gas wells to oper­ate in all zones, includ­ing res­i­den­tial. WTF?!? Residential?! Who wants that giant drill, the noise and disturbance in their neighborhood, let alone drinking water that literally catches on fire? Gross. Oh, and why is it okay to  override local zoning laws?


(3) Okay, here's the next thing: One pro-drilling lady argued, "If I live in a residential area, don't I have a right to lease my natural gas?" 

Blah, blah, private property argument. I get it. It's my property and I should get to do with it as I please. But here's the thing: it's not okay for you to do whatever you want on your property if you're destroying the drinking water of your neighbors. As well as local waterways. 

(4) Gov. Corbett says allowing municipalities to regulate (or ban) drilling is going to kill job creators. I am so fucking sick of that argument. Is that the only argument Republicans can make on every issue? If you're against us, then you're killing the job creators. UGH. It's bullshit, and it's fear mongering, and I don't buy it. Along similar lines, so-and-so from the Marcellus Shale Coalition says if Pennsylvania makes it too difficult to drill there, then fine, they'll just take their drills to Ohio. Bullshit. As long as there is natural gas in Pennsylvania, someone will want to drill it. We're not going to kill job creators by taking the time to form comprehensive, thoughtful legislation to regulate this industry and control the significant damage to our waterways, health and environment.

Also, side note, many municipalities in PA are in financial trouble (ah hem, Harrisburg, which filed for bankruptcy a few weeks ago) --- so passing a law restricting their ability to regulate fracking, and if they overstep their restrictions, withholding revenue received for each well drilled seems, at the very least, counter-productive. 


I'm not saying there should not be statewide regulations of the Marcellus. But there's got to be a better method to go about this. Strong-arming municipalities and the rest of the public is not the way.