All PoconosB2B, News, Classified and all about life in Poconos
  
To view all features of our Web Site, please consider upgrading your web browser!

Read News

Pocono News Section

Commissioner Not Happy With Drilling Change

Commissioner Not Happy With Drilling Change - Friday, April 10, 2009 at 6:00PM EST

BRADFORD COUNTY- County commissioners are heated up as gas drilling permits are piling up. That's because of a statewide change in permit approval - made without commissioner or public input.
The state took local conservation districts out of permit approval process. That means a decision whether or not to set up a massive drilling site in your neighborhood, might come from an office hours away.

Bradford County Commissioner Mark Smith says, "Just stripping away the permits with no public comment or no process with our conservation districts, we just feel that that was a little bit, a little bit too far."

Oil and gas companies no longer need local conservation district permission to drill. Companies only need state Department of Environmental Protection Agency, or DEP, permission. Commissioner Smith says with no local oversight, oil and gas companies can drill with less supervision.

John Snyder of Dushore leased his Sullivan County property to a gas company for drilling. He says, "Well, local has to have some input that's understandable."

Snyder sees both sides of the argument. He says the DEP and it's workers should be more than capable of inspecting gas drilling. "Going up the road and seeing the environmental controls, they're trying anyway, they're trying to comply," says Snyder.

Commissioners also say statewide DEP workers won't have the in-depth knowledge of an area like Bradford County. They say if gas companies drill in the wrong place, it could have a long term impact on the environment.

The DEP says it will use 37 workers out of Williamsport to monitor northeastern and central Pennsylvania gas wells. "Williampsort is an hour and a half, two hours away, so we're a little concerned," says Smith.

But the DEP says this change will streamline the permit process. That could help drilling sites pump in more money to the local economy.

Since the beginning of this year, the DEP has issued 1600 permits across the state.
 


Discuss this news

Your Name (nickname):
Your Email: (will remain private)
Your Comments:
  


Home | News | Businesses | PA places | Classified | Cars for Sale | Account | Products | Home Recipes | Manuals | Stock Images | Earn Commissions | Advertise | Contact Us | Search
Raw Hack

© 2024 AllPoconos.Com All rights reserved.