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October 7, 2010

Local officials get Marcellus Shale lesson

Debbie Wachter Morris New Castle News

NEW CASTLE — The time is here when Marcellus Shale drilling companies are seeking leases on local land to sink gas wells.

And they are looking for a network of lines to get that natural gas to where it needs to go to be marketed, explained Ross Pifer, director of the agricultural law resource and reference center at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law.

Pifer addressed more than 50 local government officials last night about their limitations in the laws governing Marcellus Shale drilling during a dinner meeting of the Lawrence County Regional Council of Governments.

While some zoning and flood plain management ordinances may apply, most of the regulatory powers lie with the state and federal governments, he said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is the lead regulatory agency for drilling of gas and oil, including the Marcellus Shale, Pifer said.

A lot of legal issues have arisen with relationship to the gas companies and landowners signing leases and how they should respond if they are approached by a gas drilling company, he noted.

The state Oil and Gas Act is the primary law that regulates oil and gas operations in Pennsylvania, Pifer explained.

He advised municipal officials that they cannot enact ordinances that establish the same purposes as federal or state law.

Oil and gas drilling has largely undeveloped case law in Pennsylvania, Pifer said, and in a lot of cases there are no answers to legal questions until there is a court case and the judges decide.

“It’s not a black-and-white issue in a lot of cases. There is a lot of gray.”

Complementing Pifer’s talk was advice given by Melvin Bliss, director of Butler County Community College’s public safety training facility, about the preparedness of local emergency responders to react to an explosion or other emergency during the drilling or transporting of natural gas.

“The emergency medical response world is going to respond to injuries out there,” he said.

He asked for a show of hands of municipalities that have their own fire departments and emergency response teams. Most of the hands in the room went up.

Then he asked for a show of hands of departments prepared to respond to an explosion from the Marcellus Shale drilling.

None went up.

Responders should not be quick to put water on a situation without first asking the people who operate that site which valve to shut off, so as not to create an explosion, Bliss said.

Training will teach them not to run out and use water, he said.

“It’s dangerous work. Workers, emergency responders and community people alike have been injured at these sites.”

He stressed communities are going to have to abide by the National Incident Management System to establish a unified command.

Local fire departments and other responders shouldn’t be sent to a scene to put out a fire without proper training in oil and gas well emergencies, he said, noting the community college offers such a training program.

Butler County Community College serves 25 counties in emergency response training, and sees 10,000 students annually, Bliss said.

Penn State Cooperative Extension Service is sponsoring another meeting on the Marcellus Shale tonight, with information tailored to property owners. That session, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., will be at the Jameson South conference center. A $10 admission will be charged at the door.

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