See the notes and presentations from the Governor's Marcellus Shale Advisory Committee here

May 3, 2011

Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Meeting 4.27.11 Lieutenant Governor Cawley thanked the members of the workgroups for their efforts and asked each to give a report. Workgroup Reports: Infrastructure Committee: PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch said the committee intends to focus on pipeline infrastructure and the highway and rail infrastructure necessary to support it. The Public Utility Commission Chairman Powelson gave a presentation at their meeting on PUC inspection capabilities. He noted that there is currently one national training center with another being proposed in southwestern PA. They discussed the aging underground pipeline system. They also discussed the standardization of pipeline condition data to reduce inspection costs and the need to validate the condition of pre 1970 pipelines. A construction issue identified is permit time and consistency. El Paso & Tennessee pipeline gave a joint presentation and will provide statistics and recommendations for improvement. They also noted the need for new distribution systems for LNG and Methane. NiSource presented as well on The State of Pipeline Safety. Secretary Schoch noted his agency’s need for salt for the roads in the winter and noted they are examining the salt from Frac water’s use for snow removal. Their next meeting will focus on highway impacts. Koch noted the millions of dollars that industry has already spent on road construction. He said they will also focus on rail freight and how to take advantage of natural gas as a fuel for vehicles. Vice Chair Chris Masciantonio talked about coordination of permitting among agencies and that they are looking at Best Management Practices of other states. Commissioner Wheeland asked about the mapping of gathering lines specifically, will the PUC be responsible for the mapping of gathering lines? PUC Chairman Powelson noted that there are two pieces of legislation, HB 344 & SB 325, that will establish a registry of those pipelines. The Commission will coordinate with localities and will hire between 15 and 20 new inspectors. Public Health Safety & Environmental: Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Krancer cited the presentation given by the American Petroleum Institute on the standards that they promulgate. He noted that there standards are developed in a very transparent way. He also said they received a presentation from a Williamsport facility taking wastewater under a cap established by the previous administration. He noted that last week DEP called on industry to stop taking wastewater and he noted that within 28 hours industry complied with the request. Vice-Chair Cynthia Carrow of the Western PA Conservancy noted a report by the PA Environmental Council and asked Tony Bartolomeo to give a synopsis. Click here for the PEC presentation. Bartolomeo noted that they have been reviewing regulations and published a report. They have divided their efforts into a legislative and regulatory package that is before the board and will be released in the next two to three weeks. They are also working on a greenlease that will make recommendations regarding environmental language in leases. Local Impact and Emergency Response: Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Glenn Canonn said they received an overview from Lycoming County’s safety personnel. He said that PEMA did a survey of 911 centers to look at any impact. The most pressing impact is the need to hire additional personnel. He also noted that the majority of well sites do not have an address. It is important to create an alias address using latitude and longitude. Fortunately use of a cell phone does help but only when there is coverage. He said that major incidents are beyond the capabilities of local firefighters and that a training program exists funded by the MSC but the funding will run out soon. There are 3 companies CUD, Boots & Coots and Wild Well Control that have the equipment and training to handle incidents but they are not located in PA. The equipment is heavy and can only be flown into certain airports and it requires special permits to transport the equipment to the site. They are looking at Act 165 to add a section on shale development. Ray Walker provided model documents or Best Management Practices and discussed them. One area may need to be to consolidate into regional centers to afford the equipment necessary. Cannon said the Sub-Committee will go to drilling sites to learn more. Lycoming Commissioner Wheeland announced that a Well Blowout Roundtable will be held on Monday June 13 in Lycoming County. The objective is to discuss each of the stakeholder’s involvement and responsibility. He said they will bring forth recommendations. Presentations: Lycoming County Gas Task Force (PDF), Local Impact of Marcellus Shale (PDF), Emergency Response Overview (PDF) Economic & Workforce: Vice-Chair Gene Barr said group met and received presentations on the employment impact of the Marcellus activity. From the perspective of the Department of Labor & Industry there is an inverse relationship between activity and unemployment rates. They are also examining impacts on tourism. He said statistics show 48,000 new hires in affected regions with 71% of them being PA residents. Commissioner Wheeland asked about legacy industries noting that the pre-marcellus industries are hurting for qualified workforce employees. Presentations: Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center, Northern Tier Workforce Investment Board , L&I Center for Workforce Information Analysis Next was a presentation by Dan Devlin of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: Q & A: Terry Engelder asked about the minimization of surface impact. He said the lease blocks provide a model for minimizing impact. He asked if the agency has looked at what the unit sizes should be Devlin said the unit sizes are 380 to 400. Englender asked what the major restriction is to a unit size of 640? Devlin said topography is the major restriction. Englender asked if that means that a lot of gas will be left in place. Devlin said the companies feel that they will have access to the gas. County Commissioner Wheeland noted that the sportsmen are ecstatic because the reclaimed well pads will end up as food plots that will become oasis for wildlife. He said Anadarko has a lot of leases wherever they put in a gathering line they are putting in water lines. Anadarko has been very active with stream bank restoration with employees helping even on their own time. He said he would be very happy to recommend a DCNR award to Anadarko. Carrow asked about specifics on invasive species. Devlin said they have set up protocols that require the elimination of invasive species. A question was asked to explain the relationships with sportsman groups. Devlin said they have many advisory commissions that they have relationships with and work well with. Is there a formula on the royalty income? It all goes into the Oil & Gas lease fund and then goes thru the budget process. Ray Walker asked about unit sizes asking if the use of bigger units would minimize the impact and encouraged the state to look at larger units. Are you meeting with success with co-locating companies? Devlin said they have had success with it. They are seeing an uptick in pipeline proposals and need to come up with a solution for sharing in that regard. A member hoped that the Commission would not lose sight of other commonwealth land for development. Dose DCNR do a long term economic impact direction? Devlin said they have not done a long term projection for a few years. They have projections of $26 million this fiscal year and $63 million for the next fiscal year. Vince Mateo asked if pipelines can be run along existing utility lines. Devlin said they have to get permission from the utility but they can. The next presentation on their frac water treatment method was from Ecosphere Energy Services. The next presentation was from the Western Pennsylvania Nature Conservancy It was noted that the conservancy has met with industry and they are working together to minimize the impact. Commissioner Wheeland urged the conservancy to work with industry. Finally, the Academy of Natural Sciences gave a presentation.