Pamela Engel
Reporter | Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
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The head of the
encouraged its member companies and organizations to forge relationships with communities where they plan to use hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas.
The controversial process, also known as fracking, uses water containing chemicals to extract natural gas from rock formations such as the Marcellus shale. Communities with fracking sites can benefit from the industry because of jobs, but some people worry the chemicals could contaminate their drinking water supplies.
“We’ve made a lot of progress on the ground in communities where the operations are happening,” Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the coalition, said at a luncheon Tuesday. “The latest numbers show … 93 percent of hires are from the five Marcellus states, so we’re keeping it much more local, and we’ll continue to move in that direction.”
The states are New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition is an advocacy group based in Pennsylvania that works with regulators, government officials and communities. Its members are mostly energy companies.
Some who are opposed to fracking say the chemicals used in the water that blasts apart the rock could contaminate wells and streams. There have been no documented cases so far of fracking chemicals contaminating drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a study about fracking, due out in 2014. The report could lead to regulations about disposal of wastewater.
Wayne National Forest in Southeast Ohio announced earlier this month a delay in leasing more than 3,000 acres of land that could be used for fracking. Forty-eight Athens County organizations oppose fracking in the Wayne forest. The U.S. Forest Service is assembling a team to study the effects of fracking before deciding if the land can be leased.
Educating communities about what it means to extract natural gas safely and about the regulations that apply is an important step, Klaben said.
“What’s important is to have people on the ground, working in this industry who can build relationships within their communities,” she said.
States develop laws based on their own geography to regulate fracking practices, including how to dispose of wastewater.
Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, and Tom Stewart, executive vice president for the
, spoke at a House committee hearing Nov. 16 to support state, as opposed to federal, regulations for the fracking industry.
