The Center for Sustainable Shale Development Wednesday announced the Richard King Mellon Foundation has awarded the Center a two-year grant in support of its certification program and public engagement initiatives. 

CSSD was formed by a group of leading environmental organizations, philanthropic foundations and energy companies, which have partnered to provide natural gas producers in the Appalachian Basin with certification to a set of collaboratively developed, leading-edge performance standards for shale development.

"The support we have received from the Richard King Mellon Foundation will be leveraged to help CSSD fulfill its mission to advance transparent and prudent shale development," said Susan LeGros, Executive Director of CSSD.  "We are honored and encouraged that one of the country's leading philanthropic organizations with such a strong heritage in investing in this region has joined us in support of implementing our third-party certification program and our efforts to inform the public about ways to address risk."

In addition to the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is also a funder of CSSD.

CSSD's participants are: Chevron; Clean Air Task Force; CONSOL Energy; Environmental Defense Fund;  EQT Corporation; Group Against Smog and Pollution; Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future; Pennsylvania Environmental Council; and Shell.

Based in Pittsburgh, CSSD is an independent organization whose mission is to support continuous improvement and innovative practices through performance standards and third-party certification.

Focused on shale development in the Appalachian Basin, the Center provides a forum for a diverse group of stakeholders to share expertise with the common objective of developing solutions and serving as the center of excellence for shale gas development. 

Funded by philanthropic foundations and participating energy companies, CSSD is intended to promote collaborative efforts by industry and its stakeholders called for by the Shale Gas Production Subcommittee of the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board. 

For more information, visit the CSSD website or the January 27, 2014 PA Environment Digest.

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