Members of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbet administration routinely insist their Marcellus Shale drilling policy is based on science.
But documents obtained by StateImpact Pennsylvania, as well as interviews with more than a dozen people who work both inside and out of state government, highlight top-level decisions to diminish or defund drilling-related scientific research in the commonwealth. Scientists say the decline in government-funded research during the first year of the Corbett Administration leaves open questions about how animals, wildlife and the climate are affected by Pennsylvania's drilling boom.
