Alternate Shale Commission Holds First Meeting

A “Citizens Marcellus Shale Coalition” held its first public meeting last night, in Fayette County.
Environmental groups put the panel together to serve as a counterbalance to Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, which worked from March through July to issue 96 policy recommendations, on how Pennsylvania can both grow and regulate its natural gas industry.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, no one would mistake last night’s session for a Range Resources or Chesapeake Energy shareholders meeting:

If there was anyone in the audience who supported gas drilling, he or she didn’t speak up.
Pam Judy of Carmichaels told the commissioners how members of her family have been affected by a drilling operation on property adjacent to their home.
“They sound as if it’s a jet engine. It rattles the windows in our house,” she said. “We’ve experienced sore throats, headaches, runny noses, muscle aches and fatigue. Our children have experienced nosebleeds. I’ve had dizziness, vomiting and vertigo.”
“It’s shocking. It’s a failure of the agencies responsible for protecting public health,” said Ned Mulchay, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper. “It’s not radiation, it’s not nuclear waste, we’re not going to end up with three heads, but it’s something that the state has the power to regulate, and they’re simply not doing it.”
Mike Atherton of Greensburg decried the decreased value of homes and property near drilling sites.
“Risk alone lowers property values. An accident destroys what is left,” he said. “Who would buy a home with unreliable water? Most homeowners get no profit from shale gas, yet we all bear the risks.”

The panel will hold four more hearings, and issue its own report later this year.

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