Googled source - "Slate"
Posted on 09/27/2005 2:22:07 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
DELMONT, Pa. David Hill's forehead is gashed, his fingernails are caked with grease, the outline of a Copenhagen tobacco tin is traced in filth on the pocket of his mud-drenched T-shirt - and he couldn't be happier, because he is drilling another well.
"It's a real boom time for natural gas drilling, and I'm working rain, shine, heat, cold, 24 hours a day, year-round," said Hill, owner of a 50-foot-tall rig that is punching a pipe deep into rolling farmland east of Pittsburgh...
With natural gas prices soaring to record levels, wildcatters are drilling new wells throughout the Appalachian region. But the boom is bypassing Maryland, in part because of its strict environmental regulations and a difficult permitting process, according to industry representatives and state officials.
...."Most companies wouldn't spend the time and money trying to drill in Maryland because the permitting process there is so long and arduous," said Terry Jacobs, Hill's boss and owner of Penneco.
Maryland officials do not dispute his assessment - although they describe their approach as environmentally protective rather than obstructionist. And some environmentalists are happy that crews aren't tearing up Maryland's scenic western mountains with bulldozers and drilling rigs.
"Instead of being hostile to business, we are hostile to environmental degradation, and this is a good thing," said Betsy Johnson, chairman of the Sierra Club's Maryland chapter. "This is one of the reasons that Maryland is the beautiful state that it is. We care about the environment here."
...Oil & Gas Management of Pennsylvania, has fought a decade-long, fruitless battle to drill a second well in the state-owned Dans Mountain Wildlife Management Area, said Vice President Cathy A. Kirsch. ..."Maryland is always so afraid of the environment and public opinion, they just can't move forward to allow drilling," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
"Instead of being hostile to business, we are hostile to environmental degradation, and this is a good thing," said Betsy Johnson, chairman of the Sierra Club's Maryland chapter. "This is one of the reasons that Maryland is the beautiful state that it is. We care about the environment here."
Hmmmm. Maybe when you are shivering through a cold Maryland winter, thoughts about your wonderful environment will keep you warm.
Just an advanced version of "nimby".
There are so many trees in Montgomery Country, everyone holds their breath when the wind blows or the snow falls.
Endless power outages wreak havoc on the people here.
Of course, one of those very beutiful people lives in the area and has a heated tennis court and greenhouses on her property.
Guess she figures the little people can freeze or swelter while she'll just move away.
How did this article get published in the Baltimore Sun, or don't they even understand what they, themselves are saying?
"her heinous and assorted other beautiful people"
You're lumping Hitllery in with beautiful people? Surely it's sarcasm! LOL
I just wish I lived along the pipeline. People get free gas, in return for allowing the pipeline to pass through their property. I have looked for a piece of land, which qualifies, but all are already taken, for some reason...
How interesting.
They have a different understanding of the world.
The highest purpose of man is to become highly educated and to go to a government office everyday, sit down and read or write reports, briefs, grant applications, or application forms for four hours, and attend two hours of meetings.
No danger. No dirt. No risk of economic loss or personal failure. No damage to the environment. And a reliable direct deposit twice a month courtesy of taxpayers who sometimes have to get their hands dirty and actually produce something or make things work.
[grunt]Power bad...trees good.
How dare you think your life is more important than the TREES!![/snark]
Bet the enviros pitch a fit if the power company tries to clear their lines.
Hundreds of Cuban doctors listen to a speech by Cuban President Fidel Castro in Havana, September 4, 2005. Cuban doctors put on stand-by a week ago by President Fidel Castro to fly to the aid of the victims of Hurricane Katrina said on Friday they hoped the United States would put politics aside and accept their help. So far, the word from Washington has been thanks, but no thanks. The White House snubbed Cuba's offer and said Castro would do better 'freeing' his Communist-run country. (Claudia Daut/Reuters)
That sign sort of wraps up WHO is involved in the 'anti-war' protests.
Doesn't it?
Socialists
Womens Rights groups
And ENVIRONMENTALISTS!
Tells the whole story!
That's them.
Wow look at the communistsm, Anti Americans, Anti capitalists, Socialists, All the same thing.
We have some of the same kinds of battles here in NC.
Personally, I like to think of gas lines and power line runs[ the big ones with the towers] as "greenways", perfect for nice long hikes.
But to hear the cries of anguish when the power company announces they are going to clear some tree limbs, you would think they were spreading toxic waste.
Still, around here, they seem to pretty much do it as required, leading to some interesting "topiaries" of huge old trees with angles cut thru them or sheared off on one side.
Yeah, but they'll be sitting on this stuff when you're shivering and have run out of cheap supplies. Or are you counting on global warming? ;-)
A lot of these regulations make sense for MD. MD benefits a lot from tourism. They'd be killing the goose that lays golden eggs if they opened some of this up to become like mineral-extraction areas of WV.
And some of the "restrictions" aren't as leftie as you might think at first. Why should private firms profit from state-owned resources? Why shouldn't it be required to have permission from property owners who own the mineral rights under their land? These are pro-property-owner rights questions.
Also, many of the regs are designed to protect the taxpayer from what used to happen--companies would install gas wells, create environmental messes, and then just leave the bill for remediation to the taxpayers, who had to either clean up the mess or shoulder costs of replacing water supplies, etc. PA still has many wells to properly abandon, and there are lots of dollars being spent to do so (going to firms like the one at which I used to work), but the permitting going on now shows that it's possible to work things out.
It's pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later. Requiring a company to provide assurance the Commonwealth that it won't leave taxpayers holding the bag might increase costs now...but we won't be stuck later.
Did you say 'lumpy hittlery'????????? LOLOL
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