PA Lt. Gov. Tells Gas Industry to 'Fight Back'

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley says he’s frustrated by all the nay-sayers who he says spread misinformation about the natural gas industry. Cawley said every day he picks up a newspaper, they’re reporting on water contamination, while ignoring the good news — jobs. There’s a “large scale epidemic of ‘they’re gonna affect our aquifers,'” said Cawley. “It doesn’t happen.”
At a panel discussion in Philadelphia on natural gas job development, Cawley said the Marcellus Shale will put to rest the terms “rust belt” and “brain drain” for the Keystone State.
Environmentalists fear the rapid increase in drilling activities in the state will lead to polluted waterways and contaminated drinking water.  But Cawley, speaking to a small number of business people at the Constitution Center Tuesday, compared the effort to promote the benefits of the industry to a political campaign.  “Industry needs to share the good news,” Cawley said. “Fight back.”
Cawley led the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Commission’s work on a recently released report that advises Tom Corbett on how to both encourage and regulate the industry.
Cawley’s three talking points for industry include: thousands of jobs created, hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes paid, and a cheaper, cleaner burning fuel.

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