Community impacts of natural gas

Is a ‘man camp’ coming to town?

By SANDY LONG

HONESDALE, PA — Are residents of Wayne County concerned about the myriad ways in which natural gas extraction may affect their communities? One was left to wonder following a presentation hosted by Penn State Cooperative Extension (PSCE) at Honesdale High School last week, where fewer than 40 people turned out on August 14 to learn about potential changes the region may face as the Marcellus Shale is developed.

Among those in attendance were a small but persistent number of individuals who attempted to clarify or correct the presenters on various points.

Offering PSCE’s perspective was Peter Wulfhorst, extension educator of Pike County, who delivered a presentation by Timothy Kelsey, Ph.D. In response to figures showing that high-paying full-time jobs resulted in states such as Texas and Wyoming, an audience member charged that the gas companies import their own trained employees. Others criticized the “boom and bust” cycle associated with the process.

Wulfhorst acknowledged the pros and cons of energy extraction and added, “There will be individuals who will benefit. Others might not. How do we insure that winners pay their fair share of the impact on the community?”

Based on studies in Texas where the Barnett Shale is being developed, similar impacts can be expected here. “Truck traffic will be heavy, equivalent to almost 4 million car trips,” said Wulfhorst. “The vehicles will put a lot of wear on the highways. Pipelines could also impact communities, getting gas from the well sites to the main pipelines. Compressor stations, getting water to the well site and the potential influx of workers to the community are all potential impacts.”

Wyoming’s Sublette County has seen a direct influence on population, including housing construction, public services, cultural changes with new residents and transient workforce issues. The opportunity to gain overtime wages, for example, impacts other businesses that may lose employees to better-paying industry jobs.

Figures from Sublette County show that as the number of drilling rigs increases, emergency management needs rise. “With more people working in the industry, there’s a greater chance for them to get hurt, increasing the need for ambulances, firefighting equipment, emergency personnel and the education needed to handle special types of material associated with this industry. The number of arrests increases with the transient population and this impacts the local police force,” said Wulfhorst.

Opportunities and challenges

Economics and workforce issues were highlighted. Most employment needs occur in the early stages of well development. Once wells are drilled, employment needs drop off, leaving a small number of long-term jobs. “When the industry leaves, the jobs leave,” said audience member Joe Levine.

Wulfhorst suggested local chambers of commerce become involved in this discussion. “Are people willing to learn the skills for this industry? Who will provide this training? And what is the potential impact to tourism, for those visiting the region for beauty’s sake?” asked Wulfhorst.

Wulfhorst also discussed the effects on forests and wildlife related to habitat disturbance, fragmentation and changes in wildlife composition. “Animals that are generalists tend to benefit, such as raccoons, skunks and deer, but those that need large tracts of forested land are impacted,” said Wulfhorst.

“So we could become overpopulated with animals like deer and skunks, while losing those with more specific needs, such as trout, bears, eagles and other species that need special or contiguous habitat,” said Levine. “If you want to evaluate how much money you’re making on one side of the scale for income, you should also factor in the environmental costs.”

Water impacts, population growth and change, infrastructure, human services and housing needs were also mentioned. One such impact occurs when hotels and motels become “clogged up” with industry workers during the boom periods, causing a shortage of rooms for tourist demand.

In Athens Township, Bradford County, a proposal to build a 15-acre “man camp” to house gas drilling workers is underway, according to one of the presenters.

A community task force?

The presentation acknowledged that developing the Marcellus Shale play could transform communities for the better or for the worse and encouraged thinking for long-term, rather than short-term gain.

Wulfhorst noted that addressing such issues will require coordination and communication among partners, jurisdictions, agencies, organizations, businesses, broad public awareness and understanding, resident and taxpayer acceptance and support, ongoing dialogue and participatory support.

“Some communities have developed task forces to tackle these issues,” said Wulfhorst. “It’s time to consider that here. There has to be an effort by local government to talk to all those facets of the community to see how this will impact the community and task forces are one way to start the discussion.”

Anthony Ventello, executive director of the Central Bradford Progress Authority, an economic development agency whose goal is to stimulate investment in its service area, described some impacts of drilling in Bradford County.

“There has been a huge influx of individuals from Oklahoma, Arkansas, West Virginia, Colorado and Texas and a big impact on housing,” he said. “People are getting astronomical numbers for rental units. Local businesses, like restaurants, are busting at the seams. Can I tell you that we’ve been overrun with negative impacts? No. But there’s a lot of trucks, hauling water, hauling sand, hauling drill pipe.

“I tell my son and daughters, ‘Just respect the trucks.’ Tell your children not to pull out in front of those trucks. Just let them go. You’re not going to stop it. You’ve got to find a way to live with it, to deal with it,” he said.

Ventello lauded the economic benefits to Bradford County, but became frustrated at questions related to the possible health effects associated with chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids. “If you want to be critical of the materials they’re using, I suggest you talk to the gas companies,” he said.

“What about the health impacts?” asked audience member Beverly Sterner. “What commissioners are going to represent that? What company is going to represent that? How are you going to deal with the health of the community because there’s evidence that gas drilling has caused terrible health problems and even death?”

“Do you want me to stay here? Because I’ll walk out of here!” Ventello responded. “The gas companies are not villains. They’re technologically savvy. They’re capable individuals.”

Michael Lovegreen, manager of the Bradford County Conservation District, spoke next. “When we realized two years ago that the energy industry was not going away, we invited all major industries to sit down with us and begin figuring out how we could work together,” said Love-green. “So far we haven’t had any major impacts. There were over 200 miles of pipeline proposed. But the gas companies were cooperative and willing to relocate lines around certain areas.”

Lovegreen described the situation as an evolving process. “So far they’ve done a relatively good job. But we’re just getting started. We look at this as probably the biggest environmental impact to our county in generations,” he said.

The session concluded with Robert Muller, manager of the Wayne Conservation District (WCS), who described an unexpected issue for consideration in Wayne County, the existence of “orphaned and abandoned wells.”

The WCD has begun investigating the locations of such wells in the county and will inventory their findings. According to the DEP, the location and status of approximately 184,500 wells in Pennsylvania is unknown. It was believed that no wells were located in Wayne County, but after beginning to research this issue, approximately 15 possible wells have already been reported, according to Muller.

To report an abandoned well, call 570/253-0930. Visit www.naturalgas.psu.edu for more information on the topic of natural gas.