Transient work force a problem

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Matthew Santoni - June 3, 2011

The topic of jobs quickly took a back seat to drawbacks of Marcellus shale natural gas drilling at a state legislative committee hearing on Thursday in South Park.

Members of the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee called the hearing to hear from experts on the economic and environmental impact of the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing used to extract gas from the Marcellus shale formation a mile underground in much of the state.

While there was optimistic discussion of jobs, concerns turned to the impact of hundreds of new workers on community services and what to do about chemical-laced water that drillers pump underground to crack the shale and release natural gas.

Douglas Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said some counties and municipalities are starting to struggle with an increase in out-of-state workers and specialized legal work accompanying a transient work force. He said some employees are on probation in other states, wanted on other states' warrants or involved in domestic disputes.

"When you come from out of state, you don't have the community support -- the family, the church, the friends -- to keep you out of the system," Hill said.

In addition, courts are starting to hear cases about how gas royalties and leases are divided in divorces or passed on in wills, and not all drilling companies are keeping emergency responders up-to-date on special services needed for hazardous situations at remote drilling sites.

Geoffrey Butia, chief of the Allegheny County Health Department's public drinking water and waste management programs, outlined the county's concerns over drilling water contaminating drinking water supplies. Such concerns resulted in a statewide request that drillers stop treating wastewater in municipal treatment plants. The county is considering changes to its air quality rules that would require drillers to reduce pollution from drilling rigs, Butia said.

Brian Bagby, executive vice president at Cranberry-based H2O Resources LLC, told legislators his company's "WaterTRAC" system could account for every gallon of water used in drilling operations. GPS- and flow-based monitoring could alert companies and regulators if water is being dumped illegally.

"There should be legislation that gives every municipality the right to insist on this kind of tracking," said Jet Miskis of the Peters Township Marcellus Awareness group.

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