I was sitting in the lounge of Krause with a group of friends and I randomly asked, “Do you guys remember the BP oil spill that happened last summer?” and they said that they remembered hearing about it constantly on the news.
However, they did not know that as of March 1 the Obama Administrations approved Noble Energy to begin drilling again in the Gulf of Mexico. Most likely, this is because there has not been any news updates since the beginning of March.
Then I asked them if they knew what the Marcellus Shale is. Shockingly, they had no clue what it was.
So I explained to them that the Marcellus Shale is a rock formation in Pa., N.Y., Ohio, and W. Va. that is being drilled for gas. However, there are many environmental consequences from this drilling and these consequences could have the same dire effect as that oil spill.
Kaitlyn Morgan who was one of the students I asked this question to stated “It’s scary that none of us knew what the Marcellus Shale was but we should because this drilling is affecting people in our own backyard.”
Morgan then asked me if drilling at the Marcellus Shale is frequently in the news like how the BP oil spill was. I told her that it is hot topic but there is more coverage in local papers rather than constant media cover.
In addition, Morgan wished she realize that there was a Panel Discussion on Marcellus Shale with Senator Ted Erickson on April 20 at Albright because she would have went.
Associate Professor of Biology, Dr. Andrew Samuelsen, attended the beginning of the Panel Discussion and was able to share some of his thoughts:
Although some folks wanted to do away with the drilling altogether, I am not sure that will be a viable option in the face of pressure to become more energy independent. It would be great to just leave it alone, but in the absence of doing that we need to make it as safe as we possibly can with strict (and enforced!) regulations,newer technology and huge penalties for any accidents that occur. Taxing the companies must come at the front end of this process so that we have the money to police this industry and help with remediation efforts as needed – it shouldn’t fall on the state budget to do this.
Samuelsen was able to explain some of the risks of drilling at the Marcellus Shale. First off, he mentioned that trees have to be removed which negatively effects the habitat. Another risk is the water supply of the people near these drill sites is often contaminated and it is difficult to undo the damage.
“In terms of Pennsylvania,” explained Samuelsen, “we are an important watershed for other states and many of our waters feed into the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River Watersheds. Water flows across state lines, so what we do here has impacts beyond Pennsylvania.”
At the panel discussion, it was mentioned that are not any strict regulations about how much drilling is allowed. Samuelson stated “States such as New York and Maryland have slowed down but Pennsylvania seems to be rushing headlong into this without taking a breath.”
In comparison to Noble’s Energy’s offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to the onshore drilling in the Northeast it seems like there are less regulations for drilling consequences that could harm our environment.
After the initial oil spill, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement enforced new regulations for ocean drillers. Nobel Energy has developed the technology (and the money) to follow the safety regulations.
According to the Fox Business, Noble Energy successfully showed that they can now drill safely and they can now contain a spill if it were to happen again. Chuck Davidison, CEO of Nobel Energy, stated that he thinks there will be more approvals for offshore once other companies fulfill these regulations.
On the other hand, drilling companies at the Marcellus Shale have had violations but these companies usually deny the harmful consequences. Therefore, these companies are not under stricter regulations like those companies that drill offshore.
Samuelsen commented on some recent reports of the drills leaking fracking fluid: “If they contain benzene and other carcinogens (as suspected), there could be great harm done decades from now because most cancers take years to develop in one’s body.”
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” said Samuelsen “and if it is mandated that more precautions need to be taken I’ll bet someone could figure out how to remove these fluids more effectively and perhaps even come up with safer fluids to start with.”
Sara Bogue, a senior and environmental studies major, expresses her opinion about drilling at the Marcellus Shale in the following clip.
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