After facing months of public pressure over the possibility of expanding natural gas drilling in the Loyalsock State Forest, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) held a public meeting on the issue.
Nearly 250 people turned out Monday to Lycoming College in Williamsport. The meeting ran an hour over its scheduled time slot, due to the number of people who wanted to comment.
Everyone who spoke expressed either concern or opposition to the proposal, which involves 26 well pads, and four compressor stations over a 25,000 acre swath of state forest, known as the Clarence Moore lands.
Although the Commonwealth controls the surface, Anadarko Petroleum owns about half the mineral rights.
Despite the public opposition, DCNR Secretary Richard Allan says his hands are tied.
“Those companies or parties come to us and ask us — or tell us– that they want to access their mineral rights. We enter into discussions in order to see what we can do to minimize the impact.”
Read more of this story on the website of our partner StateImpact Pennsylvania.
