Pennsylvania's Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is reportedly funding a study by the
Pennsylvania State University that will examine the potential for natural gas
drilling in the South Newark Basin, which includes Bucks and Montgomery
counties. This study was required in an amendment to Pennsylvania's 2012
budget, which provided for a moratorium on new oil and gas production in the South
Newark Basin until the DCNR studied the practicality of oil and gas production
in the basin and the fiscal implications of such development. The study
is expected to map the sediment thickness of Pennsylvania's section of the South
Newark Basin. State legislators from the
South Newark Basin area, including Senator Charles McIlhinney, proposed the
moratorium after the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the basin
could contain vast amounts of recoverable natural gas.
The fiscal amendment that
includes the moratorium on pages 16-17 is available at: Pennsylvania Legislation link
A related news report for the study
is available at: Media Report link
A press release from Senator
Charles McIlhinney's office regarding the moratorium and its sponsors is
available at: Senator Charles McIlhinney's Press Release
No comments:
Post a Comment