Drilling: Use extra caution

As the debate continues over gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, those of us on the "left" are often characterized as being anti-development, wanting to choke off much-needed new sources of revenue through excessive regulation, and being insensitive to the economic plight of rural landowners.

First, it is unfair to characterize those of us who consider ourselves "left-of-center" as anti-drilling when many among us actually signed gas leases, but before it became known that drilling in the Marcellus Shale would be far more disruptive than the conventional drilling lease-signers were familiar with. As we are now aware, the technology used to extract Marcellus Shale gas - high-volume hydraulic fracturing - over the course of many wells will use significant quantities of toxic chemicals and millions of gallons of fresh water from our lakes and streams. It will also generate briny, radioactive wastewater that our local water treatment plants are not equipped to handle, among other major impacts.

Multinational energy companies will rush to exploit New York's Marcellus formation the minute the Department of Environmental Conservation begins issuing permits, and local governments will have no authority to decide where the mammoth drill pads will go or how many wells a given area can reasonably support.

This is the scenario that many of us "anti-drillers" are reacting to. If we are to drill in New York's Marcellus Shale, we need to do so cautiously, with careful monitoring of environmental impacts. The technology needs to be improved to eliminate the need for carcinogenic chemicals in the fracking fluid because some of that fluid will remain underground and the recovered fluid, now containing natural toxins as well, will have to be treated.

We also need to determine where drill pads will cause the least disruption to homeowners and other economic activity, including agriculture, wine production and tourism. The only way to do all this is through strict state and local regulation. We have only to look to Pennsylvania to see the kinds of problems unfettered drilling can lead to.

Even under the best of regulatory circumstances, accidents can happen and rules may be broken. The gas companies, not the taxpayers, should be held financially responsible in either case.

Rural landowners badly need an economic break, and it is understandable that many of them are looking to the Marcellus Shale for salvation. But before we launch into a drilling frenzy, we need to examine the potential impact on other economic activities so that we don't create a win-lose situation. At the same time, we need to look to other ways to increase rural incomes, such as through production of low-impact biofuels and the development of jobs such production might create.

The Marcellus gas is not going anywhere. It has been there for millions of years and can surely wait a few more while we devise a way to develop it that considers all of the associated costs and benefits.