Sure, there are positive economic effects that will undoubtedly last for several decades, at least until the gas companies have tapped out every last well on every anticipated drilling site. We will look for short-term employment and work for local businesses that supply the industry, such as oil field service companies, restaurants and retailers, and hotels. Bradford County, for example, has reported an economic boom as towns like Wysox and Towanda experience a renewal of once-vacant storefronts and hotels and the rebirth of independent, family-owned businesses.  
    A study by Penn State University concluded that shale exploration created 29,000 jobs in Pennsylvania last year; another 98,000 jobs are expected in 2010.
    Likewise, individual landowners will benefit from newfound local wealth in the form of royalty income, which will inevitably filter through Pennsylvania’s economy. It has been forecasted that the impact of every additional $1 billion of royalty income earned through 2011 will create a positive impact on Pennsylvania’s employment, economic output, personal income, and population. This is quite a boom for our cash-strapped state, but what happens when the rush is over and the gas companies leave and take with them many of the jobs that were created to facilitate their mission?
    Case in point: Consider Jamison City, located on the boundary between Columbia and Sullivan counties, founded in 1889 when a saw mill and tannery and the construction of the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad provided the means to exploit 200,000 acres of virgin timber. As history dictates, business establishments moved quickly into the village, augmenting the services and amusements demanded by a prospering community. Sadly, a short life was to be Jamison City’s heritage. As the limited natural resources were depleted, the town eroded away and, today, only a few inhabitants remain.
    Jamison City’s fate might appear as an extreme. Our towns and farmlands will remain, although most assuredly not unscathed. Ironically, the downfall of Jamison City as well as other small towns in NEPA was due to its sole dependency on lumber and tanning. Both industries enjoyed prosperity, but at a cost. Within 10 short years, tanning operations had already peaked and were beginning their descent. In addition to the depletion of the region’s forest lands, toxic residue from the tanning process poisoned once-plentiful fish and wildlife that had thrived there long before man paved the way for unconcerned entrepreneurs to exploit the territory.

   
     Natural gas exploration and extraction pose both positive and negative impacts for Pennsylvania communities. On the downside are water, air and noise pollution, and impact on roads. Without a doubt, the most controversial issue involves our watersheds– drinking and bathing water, rivers and streams. Once a water supply is contaminated, it is then too late to be proactive. Consider the residents of Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, where environmental damage and health concerns are being linked to natural gas drilling. 
    There are numerous environmental impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, which is the process that allows drilling companies to extract natural gas from the shale. Among them are water consumption, wastewater disposal, use of toxic chemicals, substantial truck traffic, air pollution, noise from 24-hour hydrofracking operations, potential groundwater and well water contamination, deforestation, road building and surface water runoff from large industrial sites. Notably, hydraulic fracturing requires up to 3 million gallons of water per hydrofrack, and, typically each well is hydrofracked many times. The water must be trucked in and stored on-site, and the wastewater must be disposed of properly- nearly all of the fracking fluid injected returns to the surface, bringing with it materials from underground including brines, heavy metals, radioactive material, and organics. Even though the gas industry claims that toxic chemicals represent less than 1% of hydrofrack fluid, the U.S. Geological Survey explains that a typical 3 million gallon hydrofrack produces 15,000 gallons of chemical waste. In existing Marcellus wells this waste is stored on site in large holding ponds until trucks haul it away.
    A single report of contamination is one too many– and much too late. To date, both in the Western US as well as in Northeastern Pennsylvania, countless aquifer/watershed catastrophes have already taken place. Reports of methane-related well explosions, hydrochloric acid leaks, and toxic spills are plentiful, both in newspapers and internet news sources. One account reported a 285-gallon hydrochloric acid leak in Asylum, Pa. (the first of three spills in Bradford County) that levied miniscule fines on the gas companies involved. Operations at several gas companies have experienced temporary shutdowns, while others have filed for bankruptcy– after the damage has been done they get to walk away leaving their catastrophic messes behind.
    “We need to be concerned about our water quality, stream pollution and aquatic life,” said Naturalist Rick Koval, North Branch Land Trust. “Some bird species will be diminished, while others could increase in numbers. The landscape will change, especially our forested areas where drilling could fragment our ecology.”
    One of the gas companies presently involved in drilling in NEPA is Canada-based EnCana. Representatives on-hand at a recent Back Mountain Community Partnership meeting in Dallas addressed the organization and a packed room of area residents. Questions posed focused primarily on safety and water issues, including concern for two reservoirs that supply water to residents in a wide swath surrounding the Back Mountain region. EnCana Community Relations Advisor Wendy Wiedenbeck described procedures that would be implemented to test public and private water supplies, both before and after drilling has commenced. The construction of three exploratory sites is anticipated to begin there in May of 2010.
    Tantamount to water-related concerns was inquiry about the gas industry’s exemption from a provision in the federal Clean Water Act that requires full disclosure of chemicals injected into the ground, an issue that has raised protests among advocates seeking tougher oversight.

   
     While it is clear that haphazard drilling practices should not continue to go unchecked, hope lies in the institution of laws and regulations that have the power to stand up to the big gas companies whose only purpose is to assume their rights to Pennsylvania s natural resources and then move on to the next big rush.
    At present, Governor Rendell is considering the imposition of a severance tax on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, in response to a query about present regulations imposed by the Commonwealth, State Representative Karen Boback (R-Columbia/Luzerne/Wyoming) stated, “Three key Pennsylvania state laws specifically govern oil and gas drilling operations: the Oil and Gas Act, the Oil and Gas Conservation Law, and the Coal and Gas Resource Coordination Act. In addition to these laws, drilling operations are also subject to Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law, the Solid Waste Management Act, and the Pennsylvania Air Pollution and Control Act. Each of these laws addresses a wide range of environmental protections, including setbacks from buildings, water wells, and other bodies of water, land restoration, and water– and air-quality protections.”
    “The industry is also subject to a variety of state regulations that govern well-drilling operations. These regulations include procedures to control erosion and sediment, standards relating to proper well casing, use of various safety devices, and procedures for properly plugging dry wells,” she added. “It is important to note that before drilling can occur, the development company must submit a permit application to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Department has the obligation to ensure the proposed drilling operation complies with all applicable laws and regulations and will meet standards for ensuring the environmental integrity of the site. “

  
       Local communities must be vigilant and watchful of the oil and gas industry- current federal environmental policies do not protect landowners or residents downstream of natural gas production. Farmers who are concerned about the introduction of lead, mercury, radium, uranium, or barium into their soil and food crops should take advantage of soil test reimbursements from the Luzerne Conservation District. Residents and other interested parties may inquire to the non-profit Community Science Institute (CSI) in Ithaca, New York, to learn about volunteer water quality monitoring programs. For more information about the protection of this important natural resource, visit www.communityscience.org.
    “In Northeastern Pennsylvania, we will get what we deserve unless we urge our elected officials to get behind monitoring and enforcement,” Lumia said. “We’re dropping the ball. The gas industry is so powerful and I’m concerned that we’re not organized enough.”
    Boback’s statement appears below inits entirety.