Pennsylvania says natgas drilling risks inevitable

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Pennsylvania’s top environmental official said on Friday that a natural gas drilling boom would inevitably result in some environmental damage including possible contamination of water supplies.

Responding to concerns that drilling in some areas has caused toxic chemicals to pollute drinking water, John Hanger said the value of the gas underlying Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states outweighed damage drilling may cause.

“You can’t do a large amount of drilling and have zero impact,” Hanger, acting secretary of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, told Reuters. “There’s going to be a lot of good that comes from drilling in Pennsylvania, but there are also going to be some problems.”

Hanger said he could not confirm or deny reports that water in the northeast Pennsylvania township of Dimock — where many producing wells are located — is being contaminated by chemicals from a process called hydrofracturing, or “fracking,” in which chemicals are forced deep into the rock mixed with water and sand.

He acknowledged that some of the chemicals could be dangerous to human health but said that risk has to be weighed against the benefits that will come from the exploitation of what he called the “enormous” gas reserves contained in the Marcellus Shale.

Reuters