Governor Rendell: PA Taking
Aggressive Action to Protect Public, Environment as Marcellus Shale
Drilling Operations Expands
Directs DEP to Hire 68
Additional Staff to Bolster Inspections, Environmental Compliance New
Regulations Planned to Improve Well Safety Standards
PA-DEP News Release
28 January 2010
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
CONTACT: Tom Rathbun, DEP, 717-787-1323
HARRISBURG -- In order to protect Pennsylvania’s residents and
environment from the impact of increased natural gas exploration across
the state, Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the
commonwealth is strengthening its enforcement capabilities.
At the Governor’s direction, the Department of Environmental Protection
will begin hiring 68 new personnel who will make sure that drilling
companies obey state laws and act responsibly to protect water
supplies. DEP also will strengthen oil and gas regulations to improve
well construction standards. These critical upgrades are designed to
prevent gas leaks that can pose risks to the public and water quality.
“Interest in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation is greater than
ever before and as natural gas prices continue to rise, that interest
will only increase,” said Governor Rendell. “In fact, the industry has
told us that they expect to apply for 5,200 permits to drill in the
Marcellus Shale this year -- nearly three times the number of permits
we issued in all of 2009. Given these conditions, an extraction tax is
gaining widespread support across our state and I will again ask the
General Assembly to enact such a levy. It is fair and affordable to
drillers. They know it, and so do members of the House of
Representatives who voted for it last year.
“The actions I am announcing today, however, are about decisive,
progressive protections for the people of Pennsylvania. We were able to
hire 37 additional inspectors and permitting staff in 2009, but the
industry’s projected growth in 2010 means that we need additional
inspectors to ensure oil and gas companies follow environmental laws
and regulations. As I’ve said all along, we want to encourage the
development of this resource because it’s a tremendous economic
opportunity for the state, but we will not allow that to happen at the
expense of our environment.”
DEP performed 14,544 drilling site inspections in 2009 and took 678
enforcement actions against drillers for violations.
The 68 additional personnel will be funded entirely from money
generated by new, higher permitting fees that were instituted in
2009—the first such increase since 1984. The new fees were put in place
with bipartisan support from the General Assembly, industry and
environmental organizations.
The Governor noted that given the need for these additional health and
safety personnel and the dedicated funding source that is independent
of the state’s General Fund, these new hires are exemptions to the
general hiring freeze he instituted last year.
DEP’s work to amend Pennsylvania’s oil and gas regulations will
strengthen well construction standards and define a drilling company’s
responsibility for responding to gas migration issues, such as when gas
escapes a well or rock formation and seeps into homes or water wells.
Specifically, he said the new regulations will:
• Require the casings of Marcellus Shale and other high-pressure wells
to be tested and constructed with specific, oilfield-grade cement;
• Clarify the drilling industry’s responsibility to restore or replace
water supplies affected by drilling;
• Establish procedures for operators to identify and correct gas
migration problems without waiting for direction from DEP;
• Require drilling operators to notify DEP and local emergency
responders immediately of gas migration problems;
• Require well operators to inspect every existing well quarterly to
ensure each well is structurally sound, and report the results of those
inspections to DEP annually; and
• Require well operators to notify DEP immediately if problems such as
over-pressurized wells and defective casings are found during
inspections.
“These new draft regulations, which were developed through open
meetings with experts in the industry, are designed to give
Pennsylvanians peace of mind by bringing our state’s requirements up to
par with other major gas producing states or, as in the case of the
well casing requirements, to a level that is even more rigorous,” said
Governor Rendell.
The new regulations will be offered for public comment on Jan. 29
before going through DEP’s formal rulemaking process.
Interest in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation has been
increasing. One third of the more than 6,200 oil and natural gas
drilling permits DEP issued in 2009 were for drilling in the Marcellus
Shale. By comparison, only four of the more than 6,000 permits issued
in 2005 were for the Marcellus formation.