Improvement of Laws/Regulations of Marcellus Gas

By Lee D. Jamison

The State Legislature has failed us again,this time by neglecting to adequately prepare Pennslyvania for the development of the Marcellus Gas resource.

Since the very beginning of the Marcellus Shale development in Northeast Pennslyvania, the Abington Council of Governments (ACOG) has been a leader in providing factual information to the general public. I am proud to say that I was one of the founding members of ACOG in 1998. Over the past four years,the Council has featured several qualified speakers from all aspects of the issue. The most recent was Attorney Scott Perry, Pa. DEP Director of the Bureau of Gas and Oil Management, who conducted a presentation on April 1.

Mr. Perrys' predecessor was Mr. Ronald Gilius, who was the featured speaker at the ACOG meeting of October 2008. He provided an update of the Marcellus situation as it existed at that time. After the presentation and discussion, I was of the belief that the regulations and procedures that govern Marcellus drilling needed a prompt review and update. I made the following suggestions to Mr. Gulius.

1) Gather a comprehensive data base of all relevant drilling information from every gas producing region in North America,including all regulatory agencies.

2) Assemble a committee of soil scientists,geologists,and other qualified experts to review this information and create a list of Best Management Practices that are crafted with Pennslyvanias' unique criteria in mind.

3) Once properly reviewed and vetted,convert these Best Management Practices into Regulatory Laws that will be vigorously enforced across the state.

4) Provide constant overview and analysis of these laws going forward,with the goal of appropriate changes when prudent to do so.

While the exact fate of my suggestions is unknown, a number of facts are undeniable. First, the laws that regulate Marcellus drilling continue to be substandard,as recent events have shown. Secondly,the State Legislature has neglected to act responsibly in regulating gas drilling and protecting Pennslyvanias' citizens and environment. And finally, even the large property owners that have the most to gain by drilling have expressed the desire to do so only in a safe and responsible manner.

It is my belief that the State Legislature has failed us again. They knew, or should have known, that this Marcellus drilling was coming to our region long before it arrived. Their failure to act responsibly in this matter only emphasizes the necessity of electing experienced and qualified leaders to office. Had I been a member of this Legislature, I would have begun improvements to our regulations long before my October 2008 meeting with DEP. Given the legacy of the coal industry,it is truly a sad day to witness history beginning to repeat itself. We must diligently work together to correct these problems.

I have a video of the April 1, 2010 meeting with DEP coming to my website - wwwElectJamison.com. The ACOG will also continue its' efforts to keep the public updated with the latest Marcellus information. I am in favor of the safe, intelligent, and responsible development of the Marcellus resource. This fuel is far cleaner to burn than oil or coal, and can greatly decrease Americas' dependence on foreign energy sources.Our Marcellus gas can thereby increase our national security,and decrease the levels of air pollution.

The State Legislature foolishly cut the 2010 budget of DEP by 30%! Of course, DEP is the regulatory agency for the Marcellus drilling. I absolutely oppose reducing the funding of DEP at the exact time that the need for an increased DEP presence is required in order to properly oversee natural gas operations.I will address this unacceptable situation with a severance tax on new gas production.

I am in favor of a severance tax in the 3 to 5% range. I would keep this tax separate from other revenues and initially use it to provide the funding needed to effectively oversee and regulate the expanding impacts of gas production. As stated,the laws need to be upgraded. The DEP needs to add trained,professional staff to provide adequate regulatory oversight. Funding must be available to all impacted municipalities to enable them to deal with all consequences of gas production. The severance tax must provide the necessary financial resources to ensure that the taxpayers of Pennslyvania will never be required to pay for the impacts of Marcellus production. Then - and only then - will I consider other uses of the severance tax revenue.