I chatted with an environmentalist who lives in the heart of Pennsylvania's new boom economy: the Marcellus Shale. She said that farmers are not running a farmer's market this year, because they make more money by leasing their land to gas drillers. Hotels are packed with out-of-state contractors who are drilling with little accountability or oversight. Will the BP disaster inspire Pennsylvania state senators to vote for HB 2235, a bill that will require strict oversight of drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale?
Maybe stories about gas drilling accidents that are polluting our local water supply make a difference. In Union Township, municipal reservoirs are in danger of contamination because of gas leaks such as the gas drilling accident that recently occurred in Clearfield County: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10164/1065304-455.stm
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