Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

October 28, 2010

Gas drilling moratorium requested in Harveys Lake

EILEEN GODIN Times Leader Correspondent

HARVEYS LAKE – Residents on Tuesday night requested that the borough council follow in the footsteps of the City of Pittsburgh and place a moratorium against gas drilling.

Resident David Schlow told council members that he read an article a few hours earlier stating the City of Pittsburgh placed a one-year moratorium in an effort to slow down the gas drilling, allowing regulations to catch up with the industry.

Residents had come out seeking answers on ways to slow down the gas exploration interest. Lynn Schlow, a 62-year lake resident, said she read that 300 acres within the borough have been leased to gas companies already.

“Some of the property leased runs straight down to the water,” she said.

Wanting to help protect the state’s largest, spring-fed lake, state Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, suggested council hold a meeting with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish Commission to see if a one-year moratorium is allowable.

She read from a letter she sent to John Hanger, secretary of the DEP. It states DEP should consider imposing a one-year moratorium in Harveys Lake Borough to slow down Marcellus Shale gas drilling.

Since DEP implemented a three-year moratorium against issuing new sewer hookup permits because of seepage and has prohibited dock construction because of wanting to protect micro-organisms within the lake, Boback said the chances are good to delay drilling.

Michelle Boice told council that lateral gas drilling can and will be drilled under the lake.

“We can’t put up a Job-Johnny because it could leak into the lake,” she said.

The threat of trucks carrying waste water from drill sites poses a bigger risk, Boice said.

Borough solicitor Charles McCormick said the council will take the moratorium idea under advisement. A meeting will be scheduled with DEP. It will not be a public meeting, he said. When asked about the chances of a moratorium, he said the system is complicated, but “we are taking it one step at a time.”

Some residents told council that some water trucks were already spotted at Warren Place and Second Street. McCormick said the council can put weight limits on their roads and have the gas company post bonds for repair work, but cannot ban certain trucks from using the roads.

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