11/25/24 - 156 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/54ukts8z
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Oil And Gas Industry Petitions For Resumption Of Drilling In Allegheny National Forest
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A petition distributed by the PA Oil & Gas Association and the Allegheny Forest Alliance gathered nearly 2,000 signatures urging President Obama, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Gov. Rendell to lift a ban on oil and gas development in the Allegheny National Forest.
Local and regional managers of the Allegheny National Forest have banned oil and natural gas exploration and barred mineral owners from accessing their property throughout the forest, effectively seizing the development rights to privately owned oil, gas and mineral resources. The petition maintains that the ban illegally violates Pennsylvania's grant of consent to the United States in 1921 to acquire the forest and also violates the protection of private property rights in the federal law, the Weeks Act of 1911, under which it was acquired. "The behavior by the Forest Service is most irresponsible, and it amounts to the unlawful taking of private property," said Stephen W. Rhoads, POGAM president. "State records show that fewer than 50 wells, all of them permitted prior to the drilling ban imposed on January 1, have been drilled in the Allegheny National Forest during 2009. The Forest Service has prevented the drilling of between 200-300 wells that would have otherwise occurred. These undrilled wells translate into private investment of nearly $100 million and jeopardize hundreds of good-paying jobs in the region. The action of the Forest Service amounts to a full-scale assault on the economic health of the families and communities living in and around the Allegheny National Forest." Private oil and gas development within the Allegheny National Forest accounts for at least 20 percent of Pennsylvania's oil production and as much as 10 percent of Pennsylvania's natural gas production. It contributes tens of millions of dollars annually into the regional economy of northwest Pennsylvania and western New York. Thousands Of Permits Issued Through October 23, DEP issued 5,333 oil and natural gas drilling permits this year—1,516 of which are for the Marcellus Shale formation. Of the 1,944 wells drilled in 2009, 403 are Marcellus Shale wells. The department has performed 10,365 inspections of drilling sites during that period. Since 2005, DEP has issued 2,112 Marcellus Shale permits and there have been a total of 660 Marcellus Shale wells drilled. Related Stories:
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11/2/2009 |
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