An uptick in shale gas drilling activity in Potter County carries far-reaching implications. To share information and address concerns, the Potter County Natural Gas Resource Center (NGRC) has scheduled a public meeting for 7 pm Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the auditorium of the Gunzburger Building in Coudersport. Featured speaker will be Dan Brockett. As an educator at Penn State University the PSU Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, he is well-versed on the industry and its potential impacts. Brockett will present a summary of economic, environmental, agricultural and social issues in communities where shale gas development is taking place or anticipated. He will follow up on some of the conclusions shared by a Penn State colleague, Jim Ladlee, during a presentation to the NRGC steering committee:
--Roughly 50 percent of Potter County’s 684,000 acres contain shale gas that could be subject to drilling.
--Marcellus Shale production figures suggest it may be “marginal” in Potter County. However, Utica Shale gas appears to be more productive.
--Production of shale gas will likely be a long-term phenomenon, with thousands of wells drilled in the county over a period of decades.
--Greatest environmental vulnerability in the drilling process lies within the first few hundred feet, where the casing passes through groundwater aquifers.
Tuesday’s public meeting will also include updates from Terry Cole, Pennsylvania CareerLink; Charlie Tuttle, Triple Divide Watershed Coalition; Bob Wicker, Potter County Education Council; Glenn Dunn, Potter County Emergency Management Agency; and Jason Childs, Potter County Conservation District and Potter County Water Quality Work Group. Those attending are asked to use the Gunzburger Building’s Water Street entrance.
