No drilling by Encana is good news to activists

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.comTimes Leader Staff Writer

When Michelle Boice heard the news on Thursday that Encana and Gas was pulling out of Luzerne County, she stepped outside of her Harveys Lake home and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Thank you, God.”

For Boice, a community activist who has been one of the most vocal opponents to drilling for gas in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the news was “wonderful.”

“It was more happiness than I’ve experienced in a long time,” said Boice. She called the decision “an early Christmas present. The best one I’ve ever had.”

She said protecting water supplies is paramount to economic prosperity.

Boice said that while she feels for the people who saw the gas industry as a way to help with dwindling finances and to boost businesses in the county, she said their children and grandchildren will appreciate the announcement because “you can’t drink money. You can’t drink gas. You can drink water.”

One of those lease owners who will not reap and windfalls is Michael Giamber, who owns 74 acres in Fairmount Township.

Though he’s only “made” $950 the past two years from his lease deal, he said he was set to make thousands of dollars in March had Encana continued operations.

While he sees the fast rise and subsequent collapse of the Encana exploration in Luzerne County as “nothing more than nothing ventured, nothing gained” for him personally, he knows the impact will hit others much harder.

“The people who are in need of cash right now will not get those additional dollars. To me, that’s sad. That was a lifeblood for them the next year or two,” Giamber, 57, said. He estimated $70 million would have poured into Luzerne County next year had the drilling proven to be profitable for the company.

Though he hasn’t seen the results of the test drill, Giamber said it’s clear that wasn’t the case though he wonders if it just wasn’t profitable enough for Encana or for any driller.

“Is it a done deal? Is it the end of it?” Giamber said.

Though Encana is out of the picture for now, it’s not the end of the fight for stronger regulations.

“The celebration will be short lived,” said Boice. “I hope it means people in Luzerne County don’t get lax. Just because there’s a county line it don’t mean the line will keep the poison out” she said, noting that drilling is going on in neighboring counties and other companies hold leases in Luzerne County.

“Noxen is just as close to Harveys Lake as Encana was on the other side,” said Boice, noting that Carrizo Oil and Gas is planning to start exploratory wells in Wyoming County.

Thomas Jiunta, the head of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, has fought drilling throughout the process and said the announcement is nothing more than “a nice minor positive blip on the screen.”

“I think we’re all cautiously optimistic about what happened. We have to realize we’re surrounded by counties that have drilling,” Jiunta, of Lehman Township, said.

While Jiunta’s coalition was at the forefront of opposing drilling in the county, he said he had no delusions of grandeur that he had much to do with Encana’s decision.

“I’m not so sure we had any impact on this. It’s the science … The only thing we can take credit for is educating people,” Jiunta said.

Like Boice, he said he has “mixed feelings” about Encana’s decision.

“Especially for all the people that counted on income from the natural gas boom and are disappointed.”

There were at least 1,100 leases signed in Luzerne County, though not all with Encana.