Corbett Supports Gas Drilling on State College Land

When Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett [R] first spoke of leasing state college and university land to gas drillers, he was addressing a meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Trustees at Edinboro University in March, 2011. He was suggesting a way to soften the economic blow of $650 million in proposed cuts to Public Higher Education, cuts which amounted to a stunning 50% off the prior year’s budget. Cuts that were in addition to the universally repellant $550 million already slashed from Basic Education funding. When Corbett made his seemingly casual suggestion, however, he wasn’t grasping at political straws. He was sowing the seeds of new fiscal policy.

It’s important to note that many voices - from both sides of the aisle - decried Corbett’s “drastic” cuts to education, some even went so far as to label them “Draconian,” yet my understanding is that the new budget simply restores state educational spending to pre-Stimulus levels. In other words, he dialed the education figures back to the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Frankly, it was the logical thing to do. No responsible governor should have acted as if the temporary cash infusion of federal stimulus money would be permanent. The anticipated budgetary shortfall was an intentional, artificially created gap. By the same token, suggesting something as drastic as hydraulic fracturing to generate revenue to fill that artificial gap sounds like more than an academic leap to me.

Regardless, Corbett’s clumsy pronouncement resulted in a collective gasp among the populace. Mainstream media coverage at the time was surprisingly nonplussed and jaded, like, “Is he joking? No, he isn’t.” Readers grew concerned nevertheless, generally commenting that while they were aware state education was in trouble, they hadn’t realized it had gotten that bad. Campus environmental organizations, like the Sierra Student Coalition, took note. Sierra Students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania promptly offered to work with their administration to alleviate the university’s fiscal woes without resorting to fracking. Meanwhile, our boy Tommy, himself an alumnus of Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA, hasn’t mentioned drilling on state college campuses much lately at all. As far as I can tell, he’s been comfortably mum on the subject ever since. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s isn’t doing something about it.

From Flaming Shots to Flaming Faucets...
In Harrisburg, and in the hallowed halls of Pennsylvania’s state alma maters, discussion over the ownership of campus mineral rights and gas royalties is ongoing. DEP Secretary Krancer and his eager pledge Patrick Henderson are out there, too, attempting to squelch the popularity of the academic opposition by seriously over-intellectualizing it, and literally paving the way for drillers, with permits and concrete, all the while. Reportedly, in Spring 2011 gas companies began preliminary talks in earnest with various shale school officials, and now rumor has it a bill to allow state campus drilling was drafted over the summer, though I have yet to find a copy. I did notice, curiously enough, that talk of such legislation usually occurs in the same breath as lifting the ban on Drilling in State Forests and State Prison lands.

A Guide to Colleges In The Marcellus Shale
Of the fourteen state-owned universities in Pennsylvania, six are located above the ever-more-stupendous gas reserves of The Marcellus Shale. Mansfield, Lock Haven, Indiana and California University of Pennsylvania sit directly atop the ages-old formation, while Slippery Rock and Clarion University are located on it outer edges.

Shale gas industry lobbyists vigorously dispute the wide range of health risks resulting from hydraulic fracturing, but air pollution is noticeably absent among them. That’s because local air pollution near drilling sites is undeniable, a given. The diesel fumes alone, from truck traffic and 24/7 heavy machinery, are measurably elevated. What’s actually up for debate are the chemical parameters of said air pollution, and the extent to which the Department of Environmental Protection considers airborne toxins acceptable in our lives. It’s a well established fact that the young and the elderly are more vulnerable to industrial air pollution than their healthy, middle-aged male counterparts. One might therefore surmise that fracking in the field behind Junior’s college dorm is basically a bad idea.

Fortunately, there’s a strong thread of opposition among respected scientific faculty members of our state universities. Anti-gas blogs are out there, and postings include numerous papers on the subject. A pile of credible, empirical data is steadily amassing. Conversely, many state school administrations appear predisposed to promote pro-drilling interests, such as the Penn State Extension Program, with far more gusto than the work of their own academicians. PSU's series of traveling symposia is informed by the work of Dr. Terry Engelder, Professor of Geosciences and Mack Daddy of The Marcellus. While Dr. Engelder’s science is generally accepted as rock solid, it’s interesting to note that his work has been funded by major gas companies, including Chevron, Exxon, Mobil and Texaco.

Indeed, these days, The Gas Industry has a ubiquitous presence in state college life. They are actively recruiting engineers, technicians, lawyers, geologists, environmental scientists, government affairs representatives and land purchasers, and other positions. So successful are their recruiting efforts that, paired with recent tuition increases, some state schools such as Mansfield University are seeing their enrollment decline. One might even surmise that, at least in the Northern Tier, the state school scene includes one big, year-long industrial job fair.

Some state schools, like Mansfield, are already ringed by rigs and drilling activity. (One university administrator counted 100 industry-related trucks pass by his window in a single hour.) Others, such as Lock Haven in Clinton County, will eagerly host new natural gas pipelines. Soon, I bet, all fourteen state schools will promote their use of natural gas as a greener energy alternative.

The PA State Shale School List (plus thumbnail descriptions):

California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA (Washington County)
Tuition: $8,012 (in-state); $11,496 (out-of-state)
Enrollment: 9,400; Acceptance Rate: 60.01%
On Hydraulic Fracturing:   Located amidst some of the earliest drilling activity in Pennsylvania, Cal U is ahead of the curve in terms of environmentalism. The university hosts regular public forums on fracking, with topics running the gamut from Donna Brazille speaking on "Civic Responsibility: People, Policy and Politics" to Washington County Commissioner, Bracken Burns, discussing the effect of natural gas drilling on local infrastructure. Washington County has 112 Marcellus wells drilled as of August, 2011.

Clarion University, Clarion, PA (Clarion County)
Tuition: $8,828 (in-state); $15,246 (out-of-state)
Enrollment: N/A; Acceptance Rate: 68.47%
On Hydraulic Fracturing:   According to Clarion’s website, the Marcellus Shale is “the hottest natural gas boom in the United States... offering unexpected business opportunities to Pennsylvania.” Clarion University's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is actively stepping forward to help local business benefit. Recently, CU offered a five-part seminar, working with local economic development agencies to inform business owners how to take advantage of the economic opportunities of the Marcellus Shale. The series hyped the benefits and local employment projections of shale gas drilling within the next decade.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA (Indiana County)
Tuition: $8,352 (in-state); $17,712 (out-of-state)
Enrollment: 15,126; Acceptance Rate: 60.21%
On Hydraulic Fracturing:   In June, 2011, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that IUP students are collecting samples from the Beaver Run Reservoir to determine whether Marcellus shale deep-well drilling has affected the drinking water supply there. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is paying IUP $55,000 this year to conduct voluntarily testing and water analysis to address concerns from customers that chemicals from existing gas wells around the 5,000-acre property could have infiltrated the water supply. As mentioned above, the IUP student body includes an active shale gas opposition arm in the form of its Sierra Students Coalition.

Lock Haven University, Lock Haven PA, Clinton County
Tuition: $7,540 (in-state); $14,246 (out-of-state)
Enrollment: 5,450; Acceptance Rate: 71.5%
On Hydraulic Fracturing:   Officially, LHUP views gas development as a “bright spot on the horizon.” According to the Spring 2009 issue of its alumni magazine, Perspective, “Geology students and faculty at Lock Haven University are optimistic about the prospect of natural resource development throughout the state. Besides boosting the area’s economy, it will provide future opportunities for internships, educational field trips, projects for scientific research, and jobs and careers for graduating seniors.” Oo, goodie, field trips! Despite its simultaneous attempt to present a broad-minded image, academic opposition to drilling is relegated to the lower profile, yet more aptly named university blog, The Hemlock.

Mansfield University, Mansfield PA, Tioga County
Tuition: $8,654 (in-state); $18,014 (out-of-state)
Enrollment: 3,411; Acceptance Rate: 72.93%
On Hydraulic Fracturing:   Tioga County has a whopping 161 wells drilled as of August, 2011, and gas rigs fairly ring the Mansfield University Campus. Because air pollution wafts far and wide, the question of whether fracking should occur directly on campus is kinda mute. Academic opposition to shale gas remains socially acceptable, at the very least. The Mansfield University blog, “A Somewhat Unofficial Source for Mansfield Related Info,” features a clever link to This American Life’s recent, somewhat less-than-optimistic report on Pennsylvania’s gas boom entitled “Game Changer”

Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA (Butler County)
Tuition: $8,506 (in-state); $11,626 (out-of-state)
Enrollment: 8,852; Acceptance Rate: 67.46%
On Hydraulic Fracturing:   Slippery Rock student Lisa Andresky is one of only ten nationwide to participate in the National Science Foundation-funded Ecosystem Restoration project. Slippery Rock recently hosted a dangerously unicorny symposium, “Toward a Sustainable Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale and Sustainability in Pennsylvania.” The academic panels here are more evenly divided than most, and so too is the student population. While nearly 100 attended the panel discussion, others protested outside in classic liberal fashion, beneath a MarcellusProtest.org banner which read: “Fracking. Drilling. Spilling. Killing.” Butler County has 26 Marcellus wells drilled as of August, 2011.