Natural-Gas Drilling Top Issue for Rendell
According to The Times-Tribune, widespread drilling for natural gas in Marcellus Shale is one of the top environmental issues facing Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell said Tuesday as he announced his new choice for state environmental secretary.
Mr. Rendell nominated John Hanger, a prominent environmental advocate, to head the Department of Environmental Protection and appointed James Cawley, a member of the state Public Utility Commission, as chairman of that agency. Mr. Hanger faces Senate confirmation, but he will take office Sept. 1 in an acting capacity. He succeeds Kathleen McGinty who resigned.
Together, Mr. Hanger and Mr. Cawley will play key roles making Pennsylvania a leader in alternate energy development and conservation practices and finding a way to lessen the impact on consumers of the lifting of electric rate caps, said Mr. Rendell.
Ticking off a list of top environmental issues facing Pennsylvania, Mr. Rendell described the Marcellus Shale drilling in Northeast Pennsylvania as a potential “gold rush.”
“It presents tremendous opportunities for the Commonwealth, but as we’ve seen in some early exploration it could present significant problems for our water,” he said. “There has to be a balance.”
Mr. Hanger echoed that assessment, saying the deep natural gas deposits in the shale offer tremendous financial opportunity, but regulators must make sure drilling doesn’t endanger water supplies.
Neither the governor nor Mr. Hanger offered specific proposals to address drilling issues, but DEP has acted in recent months to step up inspections of drilling operations, review state regulations with industry officials, and in a few cases, order a partial shutdown of drilling operations.
As president of PennFuture, Mr. Hanger lobbied for the $650 million Alternate Energy Investment Act enacted by the General Assembly last month.
The governor said he will rely on Mr. Hanger to get the investment program off the ground. Also on the energy agenda is winning legislative approval for separate bills to provide consumers help when electric rate caps expire in Pennsylvania in 2010 and 2011.
Mr. Cawley served a previous stint as PUC commissioner in the 1980s, while Mr. Hanger was a PUC commissioner in the 1990s.