by Cliff White, Staff Reporter

Northumberland – Union, Snyder and Northumberland counties may not see too many gas wells drilled in their territory, but that doesn’t mean they won’t reap some of the benefits Marcellus Shale development will bring to the area.

Rebecca Burke, a commissioner of neighboring Lycoming County and chairperson of that county’s Community Gas Exploration Task Force, assured members of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce at the chamber’s October meeting that there would be plenty of opportunities for area businesses to capitalize on the Marcellus play.

“The indirect opportunities are immense. There are many secondary services required in the drilling process, and gas companies are looking for someone locally to provide those services,” Burke said.

A total of 195 wells were drilled in the Marcellus Shale deposit and 476 permits were handed out by the Department of Environmental Protection through all of 2008. Through September of this year, those numbers had ballooned to 359 wells drilled and 1,340 permits issued, according to the DEP’s Web site.

“The investment has been made,” Burke said. “The challenge for business owners in the area is to find niche areas where you can slide yourself into the gas economy.”

Burke described the process of gas drilling in detail, describing the need gas companies have for fencing, lighting, security, water hauling, equipment, repair services and temporary labor. In addition, local businesses such as hotels, grocery stores, gas stations and movie theaters will all benefit from the added traffic flowing into central Pennsylvania.

Burke urged local companies to use Lycoming County’s Web site, www.lyco.org, as a resource for making contact with gas companies and learning more about Marcellus and its economic impact.

Burke said more than 83,000 jobs are expected to come to the area as a result of Marcellus development. In Lycoming County alone, more than 400 jobs have already been created and 30 new businesses have been started, said Burke, adding that within the next five years around 8,000 additional full-time jobs will be created. A single well requires more than 400 individuals working in 150 different occupations, including heavy equipment operators, truckers, general office workers, engineers, geologists, welders, loggers and lawyers.

“Most of the jobs being created are blue-collar,” Burke said. “People don’t need four-year degrees to get hired. There are basic skills opportunities for people with a willingness to work.”

Burke also discussed a fact-finding trip she took to Tarrant County, Texas along with the rest of the Community Gas Exploration Task Force in July 2008. Tarrant County is the site of the Barnett Shale play, a formation similar in size and type to Marcellus. Burke said the task force met with industry representatives, as well as area residents and elected officials, to better understand the impact of full-scale gas development on the local economy, environment and people.

“What I found was that Pennsylvania is really not ready in any fashion for the kind of impact it’s likely to see,” Burke said.

Certain state, county and local resources can become strained, Burke said – mentioning that the DEP recently added 17 people to its gas office after being swamped with increasing amounts of paperwork. Water quality issues have also arisen after occasions when brackish water wound up in water sources, and roads that are not equipped to handle the frequent heavy loads of moving equipment.

In Texas, Burke said, gas companies had repaired some roads voluntarily, that had not happened in every case of damaged roads. But, Burke said in general, the gas industry is “incredibly philanthropic.”

“The gas industry has been generous in funding emergency service exercises in the area.” She continued. “I believe in my heart of hearts that they want to improve the communities they work in,” Burke said.

Burke said she believes the industry and environmentalists can coexist, and that the biggest question regarding Marcellus isn’t environmental, according to Burke, but economic.

Burke made the comment lingering on the mind of every business person in central Pennsylvania. “The bottom line question is, will dollars stay in the community?”