Wayne County launches gas task force

Economic opportunity top priority

By SANDY LONG

HONESDALE, PA — The first public meeting of the Wayne County Oil and Gas Task Force (WCOGTF) transpired on May 13, making transparent its goals to “capture economic opportunities, protect the environment and educate the people and community related to Marcellus Shale development in Wayne County.”

Audience members both supported and objected to the emphasis on economics before environmental protection and at times, provocative comments from the audience elicited applause or jeers.

Wayne County Commissioner and leaseholder Brian Smith opened the two-hour session. “This task force was put in place for preparedness, to work together in an effort to make the most out of this industry if and when it comes here,” he said.

Smith introduced Wayne County Planning Commission director Ed Coar, who is serving as chair of the task force’s Planning subcommittee, one of seven subcommittees that include Workforce, Outreach, Public Safety, Government, Environment and Economic Development. “We’re working to try to prepare Wayne County for a new industry,” Coar said. “It’s going to be a very challenging process.”

Chairs for each subcommittee gave overviews of their work to date, delivered within a master presentation that can be seen on the planning department’s website. (Visit www.wcpaoilandgastaskforce.info/ for more information, including each subcommittee’s membership, mission, meeting dates and contact information).

Steve Price, chair of Wayne County Emergency Management, who leads the Public Safety subcommittee, said they have been meeting with representatives from the gas industry to identify training and equipment to meet the unique emergency needs associated with drilling. GIS mapping is being coordinated with the assignment of 911 addresses to each well’s access road and fire chiefs are formulating plans for each site identifying essential resources.

Mary Beth Wood, co-chair of the Economic Development subcommittee, said she and others will travel to Troy to visit the Northern Tier Expo ( www.ntmarcellusexpo.com ), a gas-related trade show being held June 26, in hopes of organizing a similar event in Wayne County.

Q & A reveals concerns

Questions and comments from the audience followed the presentations.

“Where is the money going to come from to address the impacts to air, water, emergency services, etc.?” asked one woman.

Barbara Leo, a member of the Environmental subcommittee, added, “For all those who can’t speak for themselves, I would like to say that the goal for this group should be to protect the environment first, and then to capture the economic opportunities.”

While many of the task force members are volunteers, a touchy topic was raised by a Preston Township resident who questioned the salaried time spent by some county employees serving on the task force, such as Price and Coar. “Given that oil and gas is a private for-profit industry, how do you justify this level of taxpayer subsidization of that industry?” she asked.

Other sticky subjects were explored. Will the Environmental subcommittee make an effort to close the gap revealed during the first Wayne County contamination event at the Robson well site, which went unnoticed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the company performing the drilling? Bob Mueller, chair of the Environmental subcommittee, said they will look into it.

Will local firefighters be trained to exacting standards? “They are not going to approach these things without specialized training and equipment,” said Price. “It’s dangerous for them to do so. They are supporting the company’s response teams at the site.”

Will the gas companies or the taxpayers foot the bill for the specialized training and equipment? “We’re not sure,” said Price. “We’re learning as we go.” Who will handle a hazardous materials event? “The companies have their own hazmat teams,” said Price. “We contract with a hazmat response team in Dunmore.”

Smith invited comment from one member of the audience. “I’d like to acknowledge the executive director of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, Marian Schweighofer. She’s done as much research as any of us and is a very, very smart lady,” he said.

Schweighofer responded, “The gas task force is to be commended. We need to be progressive, proactive and engaged in a responsible way to develop the resource. We all realize the importance of water and the environment. The two are not mutually exclusive. This is a time for all of us to work together.”

Honesdale resident Jane Prettyman said, “The majority of the population in the Marcellus Shale area in Pennsylvania and New York are not leaseholders and they have no input into decisions being made in the regional sense. Is there any kind of covenant authority that could address the concerns of non-leaseholders? What power do non-leaseholders have?”

Smith responded, “Leaseholders or non-leaseholders are not discriminated against by the DEP, the DRBC, the NRCS or our conservation district. They are trying to protect the resource itself; they’re trying to protect the taxpayer, everybody who takes advantage of that.”

DRBC decision drives comments

Several audience members took advantage of the public opportunity to raise objections to the recent decision by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to delay well permits until the agency’s new regulations are completed. Dave Jones, a Wayne County leaseholder and Pike County resident, said, “We’re losing control of our land in Wayne County and what we can do with it. The DRBC compact is supposed to be about economic development. What about our economic development? The DRBC needs to be reigned in.”

Tom Shepstone, principal, Shepstone Management Company, Planning and Research Consultants, began a detailed analysis of his take on the same topic. “This is about our future, and our children’s future,” he said. “My son has a lease that will enable him to stay in this county. It’s about keeping the kids here and protecting our economic interests.

“There are 5,970 leases signed in this county,” he continued. “It represents about 150,000 acres of land, about a third of the county. It’s about the livelihood of people who live here. With those upfront leases, we’ve received about $250 million, by my count. Imagine what would have happened if we didn’t have that money. Who is going to pay the taxes on the land they own without that money?

“Somebody needs to defend our economic interest here. The City of Philadelphia is essentially taking over the DRBC,” said Shepstone as he read from highlighted newspaper clips with increasing anger. Next, Shepstone attacked environmental groups that support the DRBC decision. “Who’s the Delaware Riverkeeper? Who’s the Catskill Mountainkeeper? They’re a couple of self-appointed, self-righteous people who represent old money paid for by the Rockefellers and the Kennedys to stop development.”

Objecting to the tone of Shepstone’s remarks, Leo said, “This is not a question. It’s a diatribe.” Others called out for an end to the commentary. Smith asked Shepstone to wrap it up, adding, “We all have to work together. Let’s try to remember the mission of the task force. We need to be prepared and remain united.”

Coar said the task force wants to be a resource for local government and the public, and to that end, will post information related to natural gas on its website. Citizens who would like to participate on the task force or submit information for possible inclusion on the website, should contact Coar at 570/253-5970, extension 4060 or ecoar@co.wayne.pa.us. “We can’t guarantee you’ll get on that committee, or that we’ll post the information. There’s a lot of emotion in some of this information, but we would look at it.” The public may also contact individual chairs of the subcommittees at the numbers listed on the website.