HARRISBURG – Legislation designed to reduce adverse impacts to the environment from the explosion in gas drilling in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale deposit will be the subject of a public hearing set for 1-3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Knights of Columbus, 512 Arnold Ave., Clearfield.
State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Clearfield County, said the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will sponsor the hearing to explore House Bill 2213, the Land and Water Protection Act.
“I drafted the legislation to mitigate the risks to our land and water posed by the rapid expansion of gas drilling in the Commonwealth,” said Rep. George, majority chair of the committee. “The gas offers tremendous energy and economic opportunities, but we cannot afford the environmental degradation seen under the unregulated coal mining of the past.”
Scheduled to testify are:
? John Hines, deputy secretary for water management, state Department of Environmental Protection;
? Thomas W. Beauduy, deputy director, Susquehanna River Basin Commission;
? John Baillie, senior attorney, PennFuture, Pittsburgh office;
? Kathryn Z. Klaber, president, Marcellus Shale Coalition.
HB 2213 would:
? Require the DEP to inspect Marcellus well sites during each drilling phase;
? Extend to 2,500 feet, from 1,000 feet, the presumed liability of a well polluting a water supply;
? Require disclosure of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing – fracking – of the natural gas from the earth;
? Update bonding requirements to cover the costs of decommissioning a well;
? Clarify local governments’ traditional authority to regulate oil and gas activities.
The public is invited to attend the two-hour session.