Associated Press
HARRISBURG
- The state is considering lifting a ban on drilling new shallow gas
wells in state forests, just five years after the restrictions were
imposed in response to concerns that roads and pipelines were
destroying wildlife habitat.
The
idea is contained in an updated five-year forest management plan. The
plan is open for public comment before a final one is published,
perhaps next spring.
"I
hope they're serious about it," said Stephen Rhoads, president of the
Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association, which lobbies on behalf of the
industry. "I think they're foolish if they're not. There's a great deal
of interest in trying to find new natural gas opportunities in
Pennsylvania."
Environmental
advocates, however, have supported the ban, saying people want to
protect what few wild places there are left. Exploration companies are
already drilling on many public lands and are rapidly expanding onto
private lands that are outside Pennsylvania's traditional drilling
grounds, they say.
"What
is off limits to the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania?" said David
Masur, the executive director of PennEnvironment. "We'd argue that some
of the public lands should be off limits."
The
gas-exploration industry has strongly criticized the ban on extending
new leases for shallow drilling, particularly since gas prices have
tripled in the last five years and there is a rush to drill, even in
Appalachia.
Exploration
companies have submitted numerous requests for new drilling leases in
state forests. In many cases, two or three separate companies from
Pennsylvania and beyond are seeking permission to drill on the same
parcels.
Rhoads
said the state could realize hundreds of millions of dollars from
companies that want the right to drill into shale, thought to hold
substantial gas reserves, that may be 5,000 feet to 9,000 feet below
the surface.
To
guard against damage to sensitive environmental conditions or
recreational uses, state forestry officials said any new drilling lease
would depend on a review that is more in-depth than under the previous
leasing program.
Dan
Devlin, the director of the state Bureau of Forestry, said no decision
has been made on the leases, but officials felt it was prudent to
consider the idea in public.
The
state manages 2.1 million acres of public forests, much of that land in
north-central Pennsylvania, where there are gas reservoirs at various
depths. It receives payments on leases and royalties from gas flows and
uses the money to buy new forest land and improve facilities and
programs in state forests.
Besides
the industry, some legislators are also pressing for more exploration
in state forests. One bill, introduced by Rep. Scott E. Hutchinson,
R-Venango, would require the state to auction the rights for a parcel
of land that is the subject of two separate lease requests.
If
passed, the measure would "subvert our ability to manage the forests
sustainably," said Chris Novak, spokeswoman for the state Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources.
Leases
for deep-well drilling are still allowed on state forest land to allow
exploration of the Trenton-Black River, a deep underground formation of
natural gas that some people in the industry think could produce
Pennsylvania's most lucrative gas harvest ever. In addition, the state
does not control mineral rights on a small portion of state forest land.
Drilling
on state forest land has gone on since 1947. About 260,000 acres are
under lease currently, with 600 wells producing and another 200 used to
store gas below ground. About 600 other wells have been plugged.
