When shale exploration and development began in Bradford County, local government was quick to understand the variety of impacts and considerations for the county, as well as the need to keep the community informed of what this would mean for the area. The county provides a wealth of maps, guides and information for the public, as well as a Community Guide.
This month, Ray Stolinas, AICP, planning director of Bradford County Office of Community Planning & Grants shares what Bradford County Planning has done in the past year and in looking forward, regarding shale development. Stolinas will discuss how the county worked together to provide this information and what other information can be provided by counties to help educate the residents, such as the Community Guidebook.
This month’s webinar, “Bradford County Community of Planning: Resources for the Community” will be held from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Nov. 21. “Since 2008, the Bradford County Planning Office, in conjunction with the Planning & Natural Gas Subcommittee, has strived to educate ourselves on natural gas impacts and provide a baseline of information to county/local elected officials, residents, universities and planning representatives in neighboring states to assist in understanding the community change that has occurred due to the Marcellus”, states Stolinas. This information helps to provide a better picture of development over the years.
Penn State Extension’s Marcellus Education Team provides monthly webinars on a variety of topics. Upcoming planned topics include:
Dec. 19, Drilling and Pipeline Cuttings Reclamation, Averill Rance, Vice President, EH & S, and Daniel Mueller, General Manager, Drilling Services, Clean Earth
Jan. 16, PA Wilds Design Guide Supplement for Oil & Gas Best Practices, Jim Weaver, Director, Tioga County Planning
Feb. 20, A Look at Recent Well Waste and Production, Dave Yoxtheimer, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach (MCOR) Associate, and Matt Henderson, Shale Gas Asset Manager, Penn State MCOR
March 20, A Look at Land and Property Valuations with Shale Development, Jeffrey R. Kern, Senior Appraiser, Resource Technologies Corp.
Registration for the webinars is not necessary at this time, and all are welcome to participate by logging in to https://meeting.psu.edu/pscems . For more information, contact Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or by email at cal24@psu.edu .
Previous webinars, publications and information also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas Web site, covering a variety of topics such as Act 13, seismic testing, air pollution from gas development; water use and quality; natural gas liquids regional development, royalties; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; legal issues surrounding gas development; and the impact of Marcellus gas development on forestland.