A bad idea: Drilling under Allegheny County public parks

On Wednesday, April 2, Allegheny County held a public meeting on its proposed plan to allow natural gas drilling under Deer Lakes Park. The following is excerpted testimony of PennFuture's western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator, Valessa Souter-Kline. You can register here to speak at the Tuesday, April 8, County Council meeting. 

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Drilling under county parks is, unequivocally, a bad idea. Allowing oil and gas drilling below public parks draws industrial activity directly to our natural resources -- resources held in the public trust, which the county has a duty to conserve and protect for future generations. Even horizontal drilling, without surface disturbances, creates more air pollution, more truck traffic and more toxic wastewater, along with real safety risks, should spills or accidents occur. 

PennFuture opposes drilling on or under public parks altogether. In this case, we also have specific concerns about the lease that has been presented to the public, which not only would open the door to drilling under county parks, but would do so in a way that fails to protect our water or prevent air pollution. For example:

• The lease provides for the protection of surface waters in section 8.1.1 but there is no mention of groundwater, potentially leaving some drinking water supplies at risk. 
• Other requirements also put surface and downstream drinking water at risk. Baseline water testing is required but the lease does not state what must be tested for and only requires testing six months in advance of actual drilling, which may be well after activities with potential to impact water quality are under way at the well site.
• The lease includes no provisions for monitoring or mitigating air pollution impacts. With some of the worst air quality in the country, Allegheny County cannot afford to allow polluters to spew toxins into our air without controls. 

There is also a fatal problem with the draft ordinance: It does not ensure that lease revenue would be spent in a manner consistent with the County’s legal obligations as the trustee of Deer Lakes Park for the citizens of Allegheny County. Any and all monetary benefit derived from transferring public natural resources to private development should be directly reinvested into our parks, not diverted to general operations. 

Furthermore, despite a requirement for detailed documentation of bonus payments and royalties, the lease offers no means of verifying the accuracy of actual royalty payments and deductions. Even Governor Corbett has recognized that deduction provisions in leases can be abused. Do we really trust Range Resources and Huntley & Huntley to ensure that we receive the full value of this shared community resource?

For almost a century, Allegheny County has managed its parks in the public trust. Parks are community assets that offer essential ecosystem services while serving as a destination for recreation and relaxation and thereby providing real community, health and economic value for our region. To those who would say that Deer Lakes Park is in an isolated corner of the county and, therefore, ripe for natural gas development, we would argue that the Park is a haven for fishermen, home to three spring-fed lakes that are stocked by the state. It also houses the Wagman Observatory, an ideal location for viewing the night sky. Is this really the kind of place we want to subject to water and air pollution?

In the end it comes down to this question -- do we want to turn our parks into magnets for industrial activity or preserve them as sanctuaries from noise, traffic, and pollution?