PANEL EXAMINES IMPACT OF MARCELLUS SHALE DRILLING

Posted on April 4, 2011

A panel of academic specialists will join Washington County Commissioner Bracken Burns and representatives of PennEnvironment and the natural gas industry to discuss the wide-ranging impact of drilling in the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania.

A series of short presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and a question-and-answer session.

Before the panel presentations, the award-winning documentary Gasland will be shown. The film focuses on communities in the United States that have been affected by natural gas drilling and, specifically, a stimulation method known as hydraulic fracturing.

Schedule of events

Film:
3 p.m. — Film Gasland
Written and directed by Josh Fox

Panel presentation:
With moderator Dr. Carol Bocetti
Assistant professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Science

• 5 p.m. — Dr. David Argent
  Chair, Department of Biological and Environmental Science
  Impacts of Marcellus shale drilling on water quality and aquatic communities.
  
• 5:15 p.m. — Dr. John Confer
  Assistant professor, Department of Earth Science
  Impacts on parks and protected area

• 5:30 p.m. — Dr. Pamela Twiss
  Chair, Department of Social Work
  Potential social impacts

• 5:45 p.m. — Bracken Burns
  Washington County Commissioner
  Impacts on local infrastructure

• 6 p.m. — Industry representative
  Impact on the economy
• 6:15 p.m. — Erika Staaf
  Clean water advocate, PennEnvironment
  Wise activism

Discussion, question-and-answer session:
6:30-7:30 p.m. — Panel
Where do we go from here?

The film and panel presentations are free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available in the Vulcan Garage, off Third Street near the campus entrance.

The event is sponsored by California University’s Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society and the Northern Appalachian Network, also based at Cal U.