To the Editor: 
The gas drilling does not just affect the landowners who sign a lease.  They need to make sure their land is protected during the drilling process, and they also need to make sure they receive proper payment.  But those of us who are not large landowners or who are not drilling also need protection—for our wells and for the lakes and streams in beautiful Wayne County. 
The Wayne County Extension “hopes to have a workshop in June covering the environmental impacts of gas drilling.”  Shouldn’t the environmental impacts be considered before any drilling begins?  The method of drilling here in Wayne County is fracturing, a technique that is exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and other protections by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 
It is not only landowners who should have their wells tested before any drilling takes place.
Mr. Messersmith “did not have the acreage total” for the drilling leases.  But we need to know exactly where and when the drilling is taking place so we can protect our water and our property.
Katrinka Moore, Poyntelle, Pa.