Approximately $1 million in financial and in-kind contributions to impacted communities

State College, Pa. – In the days during and after the severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month, Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) member companies controlled their operations in northern Pennsylvania to ensure no environmental damage was incurred and no well pads were compromised.  At the same time, noted MSC President and Executive Director Kathryn Z. Klaber, companies operating in the flood-affected areas also stepped up to pledge valuable financial resources, work hours, supplies, and expertise to help communities heal more quickly in the wake of the flooding.  In total, MSC member companies donated approximately $1 million in financial and in-kind contributions to impacted communities in the days following the flood conditions.

In remarks today at the MSC-sponsored Transportation Safety Day in State College, Klaber highlighted these efforts as yet another example of the Pennsylvania natural gas industry’s commitment to the communities in which its employees live and work.  The following flood relief and recovery efforts have been made possible in recent weeks by MSC member companies Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Cabot Oil & Gas, Chesapeake Energy, Chief Oil & Gas, EXCO Resources, Pennsylvania General Energy, Penn Virginia Resource (PVR) Partners, Range Resources, Talisman Energy USA, Williams, and XTO Energy, among others.

Financial Contributions

Contributions were directed to:

  • American Red Cross
  • Interfaith Friends
  • Lycoming County Chamber / First Community Foundation of Pennsylvania
  • Meshoppen Volunteer Fire Company
  • NTSWA – Environmental Steward Fund (Davidson Township)
  • Salvation Army
  • Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce
  • United Way
  • Volunteer Sewer Authority
  • Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce

Equipment and Expertise

In the days following the most severe flooding conditions, MSC member companies have pledged their equipment and expertise in recovery efforts.  For example, the leadership of water management, road use, and land management professionals in the Marcellus industry also has proven important to communities impacted by the catastrophe.  Aside from expertise alone, many companies have donated excavating equipment, dump trucks, vacuum trucks, and tankers filled with drinking water to aid the cleanup and relief efforts.

Work Hours and Supplies

In the hours since the floods began impacting northern Pennsylvania communities, no work was more important than contributing to the recovery efforts.  One MSC member company alone estimates that more than 2,000 work hours have been dedicated by employees of the company and its subsidiaries.  This commitment holds true throughout the Marcellus industry as a whole, with companies donating work hours, food, water, temporary housing and sleeping facilities, cleaning supplies, and volunteer support to emergency management offices.

Commitment to the Community

In the days that have followed some of the most severe flooding ever experienced in northern Pennsylvania, communities have rallied together to make the relief and recovery effort all the more inspirational.  Stories of community commitment are cascading throughout the region, including:

  • Contributions from several MSC member companies have been targeted to Wyoming County’s Meshoppen Volunteer Fire Company to assist in the replacement of equipment lost to the flooding.
  • Employees of one Marcellus company worked directly with a local municipality to reopen its wastewater treatment plant in the days following the floods.
  • Earth Data Northeast, Inc. from Exton, Pa. was recognized on September 9, 2011 as one of two winners of the Innovation Expo at the MSC’s inaugural Shale Gas Insight conference in Philadelphia.  The firm was provided the opportunity to direct monetary contributions from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners to a charity or non-profit organization and chose the American Red Cross to assist with flood relief efforts.
  • Many men and women in the Marcellus industry are former first responders in the affected regions, and have been working virtually full-time in recent weeks to assist those agencies involved in public safety response efforts.

    “While no amount of contributions will ever overcome the crisis of the last several weeks in northern Pennsylvania, the flood response once again has underscored the importance of close-knit communities during difficult times,” concluded Klaber. “The Pennsylvania families in the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry are proud members of those communities, in good times and in bad – once again demonstrating the MSC’s Guiding Principles are not mere words on paper, but a way of life for an industry that proudly calls the Commonwealth home.”

    NOTE: For additional information on the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s Transportation Safety Day, click HERE. And to view Deputy Secretary of Transportation (PennDOT) Scott Christie’s presentation from the event, click HERE.

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