Shale Gas Industry Impacts & Threats
well pad in the forest
Current and future impacts of gas production development on State Forests and Parks are and
will continue to be significant.
These impacts include but are not limited to the following:
Land Conversion from Forest to Non-Forest:
Estimates vary as to the acres of forest land that will be cleared in the next 10 to 20 years, and what will actually take place may depend on the market for natural gas both abroad and in the United States. Gas development, therefore, will likely see the conversion of 30,000 – 90,000 acres of forest cover, which could threaten forest species in an additional 91,000 – 220,000 acres. New well pad estimates of 1,100 to 4,000 could result in 8,000 to 40,000 new wells. Forest impacts will be concentrated in the northcentral and southwest parts of the Commonwealth where many of the State’s largest and most intact forest communities could be fragmented into smaller patches.
Alteration of Forest and Aquatic Ecosystems:
Forest Stewardship Council Certification:
Cumulative harm from the fragmentation and stress from invasive species and disease threatens the certification of Pennsylvania’s State Forest System as compliant with the gold standard for environmentally and socially responsible forestry established by the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This certification is vital to the economic viability of the forest products industry in Pennsylvania.
Additional Negative Impacts including Noise, Dust and Stream Sedimentation, and Air Pollutants:
Increased noise from the construction and operation of gas wells, from compressor stations that operate 24 hours a day, and from truck traffic on the roads will affect the ecology and public uses of leased Commonwealth lands. Conversion of permeable to impermeable surface, and increased and expanded gravel roads and traffic on roads on leased Public Trust lands, which are necessary to support the production of gas on these lands, creates runoff and dust which have caused and will continue to cause increased volumes of water and sediments into our natural streams. Compressor stations required to compress the gas for transport emit a significant quantity of pollutants, including methane, into the air. The industry necessarily uses gas-powered engines in the operations of gas production, which also emit contaminants into the air. These contaminants will cumulatively affect the ecology and public enjoyment of the leased lands.
Sources (click on a report to download it):
DCNR Bureau of Forestry Draft Oil and Gas Philosophy
Governor’s Executive Order 2010-05
Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Report
Pennsylvania Energy Impacts Assessment: Executive Summary: Marcellus Shale Natural Gas and Wind Energy
Estimates vary as to the acres of forest land that will be cleared in the next 10 to 20 years, and what will actually take place may depend on the market for natural gas both abroad and in the United States. Gas development, therefore, will likely see the conversion of 30,000 – 90,000 acres of forest cover, which could threaten forest species in an additional 91,000 – 220,000 acres. New well pad estimates of 1,100 to 4,000 could result in 8,000 to 40,000 new wells. Forest impacts will be concentrated in the northcentral and southwest parts of the Commonwealth where many of the State’s largest and most intact forest communities could be fragmented into smaller patches.
Alteration of Forest and Aquatic Ecosystems:
- Projected gas industry development located principally in the concentrated area of State Forest lands in northcentral Pennsylvania known as the Pennsylvania Wilds will significantly increase openings in large blocks of currently contiguous forest canopies, resulting in fragmentation and stress from invasive species and disease. (In 2009 alone, tree mortality caused by gypsy moths and other insects and diseases totaled 32,000 acres.)
- Since the State Forest contains some of the largest blocks of contiguous, unfragmented forest in the Commonwealth, it provides and protects habitat components for plants and animals that are limited on private lands. Changes to surface and groundwater chemistry and hydrology affect aquatic ecosystems as well as soil chemistry and structure, eventually causing additional stress to trees and plants. This will impact forest interior breeding habitats, healthy native brook trout populations, and the health of watersheds overall. A significant percentage of Pennsylvania’s globally rare and threatened species, including many neo-tropical migratory birds, can be found in areas with high potential for Marcellus gas extraction.
- The cumulative effects of this conversion and fragmentation will dramatically change the character and threaten the ecological integrity of the State Forest. The mineral rights on 80% of State Park lands are in private ownership.
Forest Stewardship Council Certification:
Cumulative harm from the fragmentation and stress from invasive species and disease threatens the certification of Pennsylvania’s State Forest System as compliant with the gold standard for environmentally and socially responsible forestry established by the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This certification is vital to the economic viability of the forest products industry in Pennsylvania.
Additional Negative Impacts including Noise, Dust and Stream Sedimentation, and Air Pollutants:
Increased noise from the construction and operation of gas wells, from compressor stations that operate 24 hours a day, and from truck traffic on the roads will affect the ecology and public uses of leased Commonwealth lands. Conversion of permeable to impermeable surface, and increased and expanded gravel roads and traffic on roads on leased Public Trust lands, which are necessary to support the production of gas on these lands, creates runoff and dust which have caused and will continue to cause increased volumes of water and sediments into our natural streams. Compressor stations required to compress the gas for transport emit a significant quantity of pollutants, including methane, into the air. The industry necessarily uses gas-powered engines in the operations of gas production, which also emit contaminants into the air. These contaminants will cumulatively affect the ecology and public enjoyment of the leased lands.
Sources (click on a report to download it):
DCNR Bureau of Forestry Draft Oil and Gas Philosophy
Governor’s Executive Order 2010-05
Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Report
Pennsylvania Energy Impacts Assessment: Executive Summary: Marcellus Shale Natural Gas and Wind Energy