DEP crowds out conservation districts

‘Refining’ permitting process removes local oversight on gas drilling

By FRITZ MAYER

PENNSYLVANIA — With the sending of a memo, large amounts of responsibility for ensuring that environmental measures are taken at gas wells have been removed from the hands of local agencies and been shifted to the state.

On March 18, the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sent a memo to the county conservation districts informing them that some of the responsibilities for reviewing permits for the construction of wells drilled in the Marcellus Shale would be handed over to the DEP regional offices.

This was a rather abrupt change in policy, for as recently as October 2008, staff at various conservation districts had been informed that they would be trained in reviewing the drilling applications and would perform the work.

The memo said that the about face was an attempt to refine the programs and processes associated with the Marcellus Play and, “to take full advantage of this opportunity as a chance to improve the efficiency of our resources and maximizing the effective delivery of these programs.”

Robert Muller Jr., manager of the Wayne County Conservation District, said the development concerned him because it takes the matter out of local control. He also said that the development was a surprise because normally the districts have good communications with the DEP, but, in this instance, there was no advance dialogue, and the memo went to the districts the same day it went to the media.

Susan Beecher, manager of the Pike County Conservation District, agreed that communication between the DEP and the districts is wanting. She said, “I’ve been here for 20 years and we’ve worked very closely with DEP in administering programs at the local level, and over the last several years there’s been a real erosion in the communication between DEP and districts, and also in the collaboration of DEP with districts in making changes and updating the regulatory programs that we jointly administer.”

This latest action concerns the review of erosion and sedimentation and storm water permits for Marcellus Shale gas drilling permits, which was moved to the DEP’s regional oil and gas program staff.

“Our role,” said Beecher, “was focused on not necessarily the drilling components of the permitting but the erosion and sediment control, making sure that there wasn’t sediment-laden runoff from earth-moving activities like building roads into the drilling pads, constructing the pads, constructing the water holding and treatment facilities. Also the districts were to ensure that once they constructed those things that the disturbed areas were stabilized with vegetation or otherwise.”

Now not only will that responsibility will be taken away from the districts, but also if the districts receive any complaints related to the construction of gas wells, those complaints are to be turned over to the DEP.

Beecher said it seems that the priority “from the governor’s office on down is promoting economic development, and the DEP mission of protecting environmental resources seems to be taking a back seat.” This is especially true with gas drilling. She said, “It just seems like there’s so much pressure to get the gas drilling revenues at the state level, that it’s really sort of trumping all of the systems that are in place, and that have been in place for many years, to help protect water resources.”

There are 66 conservation districts in the state, which are jointly funded by state and county governments. The conservation districts were created with the purpose of protecting the environment through decisions made at the local level.