Tuesday, November 30, 2010
After months of protest, debate and rallying, both Pittsburgh City Council and South Fayette banned Marcellus Shale drilling and production in residential areas on Monday, Nov. 15.
Debate over Marcellus Shale drilling in Lawrenceville and other areas around the city heated up this past summer after the Clearfield and Indiana Township explosions that took place within one month of each other. Residents of Pittsburgh became concerned with these explosions taking place near residential homes, as well as the risks of chemicals leaking into local water supplies.
Even after the ban, debate still rages over whether or not the process should have been banned. Michael Single, a senior funeral services major and Loyalhanna Township resident, disagrees with the ban being enforced.
"It's a natural resource…there are only so many ways to extract it," Single said. "It has to be tapped [or] we'll have a resource that isn't being used."
Single adds that the gas is used for heat and other sources of energy and should be used to serve its natural purposes. He also believes there will always be debate over the subject and it will "come down to who has the strongest lobbyists" to see who prevails in the Marcellus debate.
Another aspect of the debate is that banning the drilling process has eliminated the possibility to create new jobs.
In a statement released after the vote took place, Marcellus Shale Coalition President Kathryn Klaber said, "the vote represents a blow to the city's weak financial standing." Klaber also said the natural gas industry is "generating jobs and prosperity for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians."
Matthew Opdyke, assistant professor of environmental science, said the drilling is not creating as many jobs as expected. Drilling companies bring in employees from other states such as Texas or Oklahoma, who already have the training needed for the extraction process.
Opdyke sees the ban as a positive action based on the environmental and residential concerns involved.
"Banning is a good thing [with the] concerns with water quality and having to possibly displace people to put in the drilling pads," he said. "We don't have the land area."
Opdyke says that he is not against drilling, but wants companies "to wait until more comprehensive studies are available."
"The main thing is waiting until the science catches up with drilling activity," Opdyke said. He further mentioned that more comprehensible studies on environmental impact are scheduled to be released in 2012.
Another group that supports the city's ban is the Marcellus Shale Protest, a group of volunteers from around the Pittsburgh area against the dangers of Marcellus drilling.
Gloria Fororuzan, member of the Protest and resident of Lawrenceville, said the group's main focus is the impact that the drilling has on the quality of ground water. She said most people that contact the Protest live in rural areas and rely on wells to get their water.
"Once the chemicals get into the water, you can't drink, you can't take a bath, then what?" Fororuzan said.
Fororuzan also says that many people that have signed leases for their property to be used for drilling are now contacting them to "get out it" because they realize how loud and destructive the process can be.
Along with those trying to get out of their leases, she said places such as Butler County, Murrysville and other surrounding areas have contacted the Marcellus Shale Protest to attend meetings and assist in the process of getting their commissions to ban drilling.
Fororuzan also stressed the importance that college students and other "young people" played in getting word about the organization out to the city.
"[Young people] have more stamina and great ideas on how to reach out to people," she said. "There were about 500 people at the march and there were a lot of young people."
With the help of all of its members, the Marcellus Shale Protest's next move is to hold a rally in Harrisburg on Jan. 18 when the newly-elected officials acquire their positions. Fororuzan said the focus will begin statewide and hopes to eventually move to the federal level. Anyone interested in volunteering with the Protest or learning more about Marcellus Shale can visit www.marcellusprotest.org. For additional information about Marcellus Shale, visit www.gomarcellushale.com.
