Westmoreland County Joins Shale Consortium

Westmoreland County Joins Shale Consortium

Friday, March 25, 2011
by  Rich Cholodofsky, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday voted to join a consortium of landowners as part of a move that could lead to the first Marcellus shale deep gas well on county property on an historic site dating back to 1773.

The unanimous vote did not directly authorize a lease for any company drill at the more than 140-acre property on which the Historic Hanna's Town tourist attraction sits. The town, established as the first county seat west of the Allegheny Mountains, is operated by the Westmoreland County Historical Society.

"We're looking at all properties so we can explore the natural resources on behalf of taxpayers of Westmoreland County," said Commissioner Charles Anderson.

The commissioners said no deal to lease the land was imminent, but attorney John Ward will handle negotiations for the county and nearly two dozen surrounding private property owners.

Those owners and the county will negotiate as a group with oil and gas companies that wish to lease land to install deep well drilling platforms to harvest natural gas from the lucrative Marcellus shale formation.

"I don't think Pennsylvania or this county can write off a valuable reserve such as a pool of natural gas," said Commissioner Tom Balya.

Before the vote, East Huntingdon resident Jan Kiefer asked county officials to consider advocating against Marcellus shale drilling, saying it was unsafe and could potentially damage the environment.

"People are polluting our air and water and it's affecting our health," Kiefer said.

Commissioners said they can't restrict local governments from authorizing Marcellus drilling, and then voted to join the consortium.

"We have to do it smart and we have to stay on top of it," Anderson said.

Commissioner Ted Kopas said revenues generated from leasing drilling rights and gas royalties would be used to provide a dedicated source of revenue to build a new visitors center at Historic Hanna's Town.

The county and the historical society plan to build a $4.2 million center at the site. The county has given the project a $1 million grant, while about half of the overall project cost has been raised.