Defending Pennsylvania's Authority over Marcellus Shale
The battle between the Commonwealth and the federal government over the right to regulate the Marcellus Shale industry in Pennsylvania has been engaged. US EPA is now considering whether it needs to assert its own regulatory authority to protect Pennsylvania's citizens. There is also legislation in Washington that would provide EPA statutory cover to step in. In response, PADEP Secretary John Hanger was quoted in an AP story appearing earlier this week saying "I'm not ready to turn Pennsylvania's resources over to the Federal government." He then went on to say that Pennsylvania has one of the best oversight programs for gas well drilling in the country and it is working hard every day to improve it. For a Secretary who came out of PennFuture, an environmental advocacy group, to make that statement shows just how important the Marcellus Shale industry is to Pennsylvania's economic future.
As someone who has practiced environmental law in Pennsylvania for over 20 years, I've seen this state slowly lose its manufacturing base as companies fled south or overseas for cheaper labor, lower taxes, or reduced regulatory burdens. We tried to stem that tide with brownfields legislation in 1995, encouraging businesses to reclaim those blighted, abandoned industrial sites and to create new jobs and economic opportunities. PADEP's Act 2 program was given the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard in 1997. Since that time, it has not only cleaned up thousands of sites, but it has helped create tens of thousands of new jobs for Pennsylvania's citizens. For example, I worked with the development team for Harrah's and PADEP to transform the vacant, blighted, old Sun Shipyard in Chester into Harrah's Chester Downs Harness Track and Casino, which created almost 1,500 new jobs. Pennsylvania's brownfield legislation, regulations and technical guidance were all homegrown. PADEP has been both an active regulator and redevelopment partner in the effort to put those sites back into productive use. The federal government's role in that effort has been minimal. It has helped by providing brownfield grants and loans to economic development agencies and local governments, but it has not been actively engaged in any meaningful oversight or regulation of the remediation work. It plays no role in selecting the sites or in choosing winners and losers. The market selects the sites and PADEP ensures that the remediation work is done properly in order to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth and its natural resources.
With regard to whether Pennsylvania needs EPA's assistance in regulating the Marcellus Shale, I'm on Secretary Hanger's side. Having worked at PADEP, I know that the people regulating the Marcellus Shale operations are hard working, diligent, and believe deeply in the Department's mission to protect human health and the environment. They have the tools they need to effectively regulate those operations, and I'm sure they'll be given any new tools they need to do their jobs effectively by the General Assembly, the EQB and PADEP, because it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to protect its environment while controlling its own economic destiny. From what I can see, it appears that PADEP has told the oil and gas industry that there will be a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to violations. Companies have already been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for their mistakes and non-compliance. Secretary Hanger's statement, coupled with his actions, sends an important message to those outside the Commonwealth. The message is that Pennsylvania is fully capable of regulating the Marcellus Shale, and it will take all steps necessary to avoid turning "Pennsylvania's resources over to the Federal government", because responsible development of those resources presents one of the best economic growth platforms that Pennsylvania has seen in decades.
