Monday, Feb. 7, 2011
A round table was held this morning, led by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.
The main message of the session was education…getting the real facts about the gas industry.
And to get that first-hand experience, the group toured an actual drill site in Central Pennsylvania.
Eyewitness News went along to show you what the drilling is all about.
Not many people can say they’ve been inside the brain of a multi-million dollar drilling site. And according to former governor tom ridge, that’s the problem.
Ridge says, “There are a lot of skeptical people out there. There’s a lot of misinformation and that’s why engagements like this are so important.”
State Senator Gene Yaw agrees. He says false information is what is causing the uproar against the Marcellus industry.
Yaw adds, “It’s almost like ‘Don’t confuse me with the facts.’”
And so elected officials, environmental leaders, and gas industry representatives discussed what they say are the environmental and economic facts about gas drilling.
Jeff Prowant of the Tiadaghton State Forest says, “The industry has created 80,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.”
The group then toured an actual Anadarko drill site to get an up close and personal look at the Marcellus Shale industry.
Many environmental groups in our area are against the drilling.
But officials say it’s because they are not given the right information.
Yaw notes, “People think we’re dumping waste water into streams and that is not true. Frack water has to be basically up to drinking water standards.”
Ridge adds, “The biggest concern I hear is about water. But at the end of the day, every bit of water is reviewed and inspected.”
Representatives from Anadarko say to make sure their environmental footprint is as small as possible, they never leave anything behind at their sites.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition, who put together today’s events, say they are glad to share information about drilling with the public.
To get that information, check out www.marcelluscoalition.org.
