June 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 62

Trout unlimited

With hydrofracking comes
the risk of
damaged roads
and trails.

60 Parks & Recreation

supplies. A lready
some home water
faucets in areas that
have been fracked
have emitted methane gas.
The blow-outs and well accidents in recent months
are a short-term concern. Keith Curley, director of
government affairs of Trout Unlimited, worries about
the long-term implications of fracking.
" Often, the issues that are important to the health
of streams and rivers go far beyond the drilling site
or the drilling activity, " Curley says. " For example,
what is the source of the water for the gas well? If it is
a small headwaters stream that cannot afford to give
up that volume of water, the impacts of the fracking
can go far beyond just those at the well head. "
Katy Dunlap, Eastern Water Project director
for Trout Unlimited, says, " Pennsylvania is ground
zero when it comes to the environmental impacts of
hydro-fracking and Marcellus Shale development. "
Dunlap notes that the state's own analysis in 2010 of
the environmental impacts of drilling on state forests concluded that the state could not commit to the
large-scale leasing of any more state forest land beyond that which was already leased " without impairing the ecological integrity and wild character " of the
state's vast forest lands.
Yet, Dunlop notes, more than 700,000 acres of
the state's 2.1 million acres are already leased for
drilling.
" More control could and should be exercised
by the states, " she says. " This is their responsibility
as custodians of natural resources and public trust
lands. They should be exercising the highest level of
monitoring and control possible. "
In addition to the underground and above-ground

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impacts of fracking, other environment issues arise
once wells are drilled and in production, notably air
pollution and continuous noise from compressor stations. Air pollution similar to smog in Los Angeles has
been observed at compressor stations in the West,
and for those who enjoy the tranquility of a hike in
the woods or camping peacefully along a stream, the
noise of continuously operating compressors can be
heard for miles under certain circumstances.

Revenues and Regulations
In Pennsylvania, recently elected Governor Tom Corbett has vehemently resisted imposition of a widely
popular severance tax on the drilling industry. Even
though it is the only tax popular with voters (62 percent say they are somewhat or strongly supportive
of the tax), Corbett flatly squelched the proposal in a
public no-new-taxes speech in April.
Pennsylvania remains the only state not to apply
some form of tax on natural gas drilling. The Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Association has taken a
strong stand in support of the severance tax proposal, noting that 36 percent of the revenues would go
to the state's Environmental Stewardship Fund which
funds the Growing Greener Program and which
would contribute to other natural resource agency
programs that benefit conservation and public use
of state lands.
Recent discussions between the Pennsylvania
governor and legislature may result in a proposal for
an " impact fee " to be paid by the industry. However,

June 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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