Groups opposed to this energy technology “engaged in irrational fear-mongering”

Economic Benefits Associated With Responsible Shale Gas Development

• NY Co. Govt. Official: “Broome County Legislator Steve Herz [Democrat, District 9] says he learned through Penn State’s research, that small businesses would see a big boost from drilling, something our area sorely needs. ‘The laundry services, for some of these workers, are doing great, bed and breakfasts are being booked months in advance, 100 percent payment, it’s astonishing what this will do.’” (11/30/09)
• Washington Observer Reporter: “According to a recent Penn State University report, the Marcellus Shale is the largest unconventional natural gas reserve in the world with recoverable reserves estimated to be at least 489 trillion cubic feet. In 2008, the Marcellus gas industry in Pennsylvania generated $2.3 billion in total value added and more than 29,000 jobs. The pace of development and extraction is expected to increase and by 2020, the Marcellus Shale activity is forecast to be generating $13.5 billion in value added and almost 175,000 jobs.” (12/2/09)
• Fmr. Congressman John Peterson: “The 60-year old technique is called hydraulic fracturing. Without this technology, the clean-burning natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale — which some independent experts believe to be the world’s largest natural gas reserve — could not be reached and delivered to families, small businesses and seniors in the form of more affordable energy supplies. … With unemployment at a 26-year high, this energy development helped create 29,000 jobs last year, according to Penn State.” (11/27/09)
• Beaver County Times: “Penn State University estimates that Marcellus Shale drilling will infuse $14 billion into the state’s economy next year, including the creation of 98,000 jobs. … horizontal drilling and subsequent hydraulic fracturing process that will be utilized in Marion is similar to what drillers are doing in the Marcellus formation.” (11/28/09)
• NY Econ. Development Director: “Development of the Marcellus Shale, the largest natural gas resource in the country, has the potential of creating thousands of jobs, an economic development official said Monday. ‘It’s absolutely huge in terms of the number of jobs and economic impact,’ said Larry L. Michael, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s workforce and economic development director.” (11/30/09)
• Windfall for City Budgets: “Because even though the [Haynesville Shale exploration and development] operations so far are happening outside of Mansfield’s borders, the city is benefiting financially through increases sales taxes while at the same time anticipating an increased demand for services.” (12/1/09)

Technological, Fracking Advancements Have Made Assess to Job-Creating Energy Possible

• Geologist W. Jack Ford: “Imagine this: A new technique for drilling into layers of a black rock called shale unlocks vast amounts of previously inaccessible natural gas. … Hydraulic fracturing … is key to the future of natural gas.” (11/30/09)
• Economist Patricia Mohr: “New ‘game-changing technology’ – improvements in horizontal drilling and multi-fracturing of unconventional gas – has dramatically changed the dynamics of the North American natural gas market in the past year and a half.” (12/1/09)
• Charleston Daily Mail: “Geotechnical engineers and other specialists have figured out how to drill down into shale and then go sideways to open a much bigger area of the gas-bearing formation. They’re also injecting a mixture of water and sand into the well at high pressure, creating multiple fractures throughout the shale, freeing the trapped gas to flow. Daniel Yergin and Robert Ineson said in a Nov. 3 Wall Street Journal article that some are calling it a revolution. … Instead of talking about running out of natural gas within 10 years…the discussion is about having up to 90 years of proven and potential supply.” (11/30/09)
• Fmr. Congressman John Peterson: “Today, thanks in large part to hydraulic fracturing — which has been used for decades in our state to produce oil and gas — Pennsylvania is once again poised to transform the way Americans use energy.” (11/27/09)
• Grand Junction Sentinel Editorial: “Major new gas plays in the eastern United States, Louisiana and Texas that have become feasible to drill because of improved technology have helped to decrease gas prices.” (11/30/09)

Fracking is Environmentally Sound, Commonsense Safeguards Already in Place

• US Senator John Barrasso Spokesman: Frackings is a “safe and effective way to develop our domestic oil and gas reserves for decades. … “There is a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework in place to ensure the safety of oil and gas operations, as well as to protect our nation’s drinking water. Senator Barrasso believes the FRAC bill will simply add another layer of federal bureaucracy, increasing the hurdles for responsible development of America’s natural resources.” (11/30/09)
• NY Landowner Group: “Hydrofracking into the natural gas rich Marcellus Shale could be performed ‘safely and in an environmentally secure way’ and should be allowed to proceed.” (11/30/09)
• NY Co. Energy Task Force Member: “At a recent session of the Tompkins County Council of Governments, Brett Chedzoy, a member of the Schuyler County Task Force on Energy Development Issues, said he has visited existing Fortuna Gas drilling sites in Pennsylvania and found the experience enlightening. ‘If you talk to industry, they’re not really trying to hide what they are doing,’ Chedzoy said. ‘If you ask, they are usually willing to share information.’” (11/30/09)

Attacks on Fracking Are Agenda-Driven, “Not Scientific”

• Geologist W. Jack Ford: “The process has come under attack from emotional (not scientific) environmental groups engaged in irrational fear-mongering. They claim the process poses a danger to groundwater systems. But there are no documented cases of groundwater contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing.” (11/30/09)
• NY Landowner Group: “While natural gas exploration has been conducted safely in New York for decades, the public has been misinformed repeatedly by extremists/obstructionist groups whose agenda is only to kill new investments in some of the state’s most economically deprived regions.” (11/30/09)