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Two state Department of Environmental Protection employees that manage natural gas extraction and water resources will be among a panel of speakers answering questions about the industry at a forum in Forest City on Wednesday, September 16.
The forum - free and open to the public at 7 p.m. - is hosted by Wayne / Susquehanna R.E.S.C.U.E., an area environmental organization that spawned in 1988 over a proposed landfill in Ararat, Susquehanna County.
It will be held at the Forest City High School Auditorium in Forest City, Lackawanna County.
The overarching topic is: “Gas exploration and our drinking water: can we develop one resource without endangering the other?”
“What we try to do is provide information,” said Joann Morsch, a past president and current secretary of the organization, who also a resident of Buckingham Township.
Morsch noted that protecting water resources is of the utmost concern for area residents with natural gas drilling and that the forum should shed light on the issue.
“To be without energy is an inconvenience, to be without water ... we can’t live without,” she said in an interview with The Wayne Independent on Wednesday.
Craig Lobins, who is a regional manager with the state environmental regulator’s (DEP) oil and gas division, will address the technical requirements gas companies must follow in order to abide by state law and to protect water quality.
His office is located in the traditional natural gas fields of western Pennsylvania in Meadville, covering a 27-county jurisdiction in that region, according to R.E.S.C.U.E. He has been with DEP for 23 years, with the last six years as an oil and gas regional manager.
Jennifer Means, who is a DEP regional manager with the oil and gas division in northcentral Pennsylvania, has worked for the environmental regulator for the past 17 years, mainly in protecting water quality. Her office is located in Williamsport.
Also speaking is Bryan Swistock, a water resource specialist with Penn State University.
He will touch on the gas drilling process, along with strategies homeowners can use to protect their water in areas where natural gas drilling is underway.
Two state Department of Environmental Protection employees that manage natural gas extraction and water resources will be among a panel of speakers answering questions about the industry at a forum in Forest City on Wednesday, September 16.
The forum - free and open to the public at 7 p.m. - is hosted by Wayne / Susquehanna R.E.S.C.U.E., an area environmental organization that spawned in 1988 over a proposed landfill in Ararat, Susquehanna County.
It will be held at the Forest City High School Auditorium in Forest City, Lackawanna County.
The overarching topic is: “Gas exploration and our drinking water: can we develop one resource without endangering the other?”
“What we try to do is provide information,” said Joann Morsch, a past president and current secretary of the organization, who also a resident of Buckingham Township.
Morsch noted that protecting water resources is of the utmost concern for area residents with natural gas drilling and that the forum should shed light on the issue.
“To be without energy is an inconvenience, to be without water ... we can’t live without,” she said in an interview with The Wayne Independent on Wednesday.
Craig Lobins, who is a regional manager with the state environmental regulator’s (DEP) oil and gas division, will address the technical requirements gas companies must follow in order to abide by state law and to protect water quality.
His office is located in the traditional natural gas fields of western Pennsylvania in Meadville, covering a 27-county jurisdiction in that region, according to R.E.S.C.U.E. He has been with DEP for 23 years, with the last six years as an oil and gas regional manager.
Jennifer Means, who is a DEP regional manager with the oil and gas division in northcentral Pennsylvania, has worked for the environmental regulator for the past 17 years, mainly in protecting water quality. Her office is located in Williamsport.
Also speaking is Bryan Swistock, a water resource specialist with Penn State University.
He will touch on the gas drilling process, along with strategies homeowners can use to protect their water in areas where natural gas drilling is underway.
