Grants Offered to Study Impact of Marcellus Shale Drilling
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review
21 December 2010
By Kim Leonard
The Colcom Foundation is offering nonprofit organizations $1 million in
grants to study Marcellus shale development, and provide lessons and
advice about environmentally sound natural gas drilling practices.
Amid controversy and mixed messages about the effects of well-drilling,
"Who can you trust? There is a great deal at stake," said John F. Rohe,
vice president of philanthropy for the Downtown-based foundation that
focuses on conservation and the effects of overpopulation.
Colcom announced its Marcellus Environmental Fund on Monday to address
the "accelerating environmental impact" of drillers boring into the
deep Marcellus layer and fracturing shale to extract gas.
"The foundation would like to see a higher sense of trustworthiness and
integrity" as drilling expands, Rohe said. The main question is whether
the industry follows safe practices, or whether Western Pennsylvania
might repeat one of its past mistakes, such as uncontrolled coal
mining, he said. Colcom has funded cleanups of old mining sites.
Applications can be submitted until Jan. 14 for grants to be given out
in February. A second round of proposals is due March 14, for awards to
be distributed in May.
The foundation, created by the late Cordelia Scaife May, hasn't
specified a number of grants, or amounts to be given out. Money will go
toward public education, environmental monitoring and identifying best
practices for the industry, for example.
"This is not designed to be anti-drilling," Rohe said of the grants.
"Possibly, the primary beneficiaries of this fund are the responsible
drillers."
Kathryn Z. Klaber, executive director of drilling industry trade group
the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said yesterday the industry "recognizes
that an educated citizen and landowner are the best partners in
developing this clean-burning, job-creating resource."
Working with regulators and others, gas drillers have "enhanced
well-casing standards to protect drinking water and backed a permitting
fees increase, enabling DEP to hire additional inspectors at no cost to
the taxpayer. To the degree that other organizations seek to contribute
to this fact-based debate, we encourage that."
Kim Leonard can be reached at kleonard@tribweb.com or 412-380-5606.