This document provides an overview of Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania and discusses environmental and public health concerns associated with the process. It notes that 64% of PA underlies the Marcellus Shale formation and outlines concerns such as chemical and wastewater leaks threatening drinking water, air pollution, excessive water use, and impacts to public lands. It proposes actions citizens can take to strengthen regulations around water use, chemical disclosure, buffer zones, and ensuring industry pays for damages.

1. Citizen Empowerment Training:
Marcellus Shale Overview
PennEnvironment
www.PennEnvironment.org

2. 64% of PA is underlain by Marcellus Shale. As of October 2011 more than 8,400 drilling
permits have been issued and nearly 4,000 wells Marcellus wells have been drilled.
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/oilgas/images/Marcellus%20Shale%20Formation.jpg

3. Environmental and Public Health
Concerns
 Chemical & wastewater leaks and
accidents
 Threatening drinking water
 Endangering public and private lands
 Harmful air pollution
 Water use

4. Chemicals and wastewater leaks
 PA DEP lists 85 hydraulic
fracturing components
 Wastewater returns to
surface over lifetime of
Frack fluid pill at
Dimock gas well the well.
 Drilling wastewater
often stored in open-air
pits before transported
to treatment facility.
Tioga State Forest Turner
Photo Credit: Jenne

5. Threatening drinking water
 Leaks and spills can
also threaten nearby
drinking water sources.
 Drilling allowed to
occur as close as 100
feet from rivers and
streams in PA and 200
feet from private water
wells. Beaver Run Reservoir
 Several cases where
private water wells
contaminated or
depleted soon after
drilling begins (faulty
casing, human error).

6. Endangering public lands
 As of May 2011,
companies had leased Loyalsock State Forest
appr. 7 million acres of
public & private land
(1/4 state land mass).
 Each drilling pad takes
up an estimated 8 acres,
including access roads,
infrastructure
 40 percent PA’s state
forest that sit on top of
Marcellus Shale have
been leased to drilling
companies – parks next?

7. Degrading Air Quality
 At various phases of
extraction, invisible but
harmful emissions can
leak.
 Smog-forming Volatile
Organic Compounds
(VOC);
 Air toxics (benzene,
ethylbenzene
 Methane (Potent
greenhouse gas)
 Air is also the primary
pathway of concern for
fracturing chemicals in
contaminated water
(shower, cooking food).

8. Excessive water use
 Each well requires 2
to 6 million gallons of
water for the process
 Gas companies look
to local waterways to
access water
 Many waterways
cannot handle these
excessive
withdrawals
 Despite increased
water re-use, fresh
water still needed
Matthewbartholemew under license from Shutterstock.com

10. Strengthen clean water laws
 Setting water
withdrawal limits and
reporting requirements
on wastewater disposal
 Expanding the
protective buffer zone
around streams and
drinking water supplies

11. Place pristine places off limits
PennEnvironment supports:
 Designating pristine places
off limits for natural gas
drilling
 Designating a safe distance
between drilling activities
and these places
 Halting all new natural gas
drilling leases in public
Matt Dylan under license from Shutterstock.com
lands (state forests, state
parks).

12. Improve public right to know
 Requiring natural gas
companies to report
the specific types and
volumes of the
chemicals used at
each well.
 Requiring companies
to report withdrawals
Photo Credit: Robert Donnan
from Pennsylvania’s
waterways.

13. Increase public participation
 Requiring a public
comment process for
decisions being made
about large tracts of
state land.
 Improving
Pennsylvania’s property
rights and land use
laws.
 Granting more rights to NicholasT under license for Shutterstock.com
surface owners.

14. Improve tools for Pennsylvania’s regulators
 Increasing capacity and
funding for DEP’s
permitting department
and enforcement staff.
 Increasing DEP’s time
period for reviewing
permits .
 Allowing state health and
environment officials to
provide input on
Bob Donnan applications for
operations that could
affect public health or
wildlife habitat.

15. Ensuring industries pay for damages
 Levying extraction fees on gas
drillers for the valuable
resources they remove form
underneath Pennsylvania.
 Requiring drilling companies
to pay for environmental and
public health problems they
create.
 Requiring natural gas Photo Credit: Wetzel County Action Group
companies to pay the entire
cost of reclaiming wells.

16. Opportunities for Action
 U.S. EPA: Air rules on oil and gas sector
to reduce smog-forming pollutants, air
toxics and methane
 Delaware River Basin Commission:
Likely to allow drilling in river basin soon:
October 21 decision.
 Susquehanna River Basin
Commission: Fast-tracking of Marcellus
Shale projects