Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana) at 10 a.m. on April 7 will host a House Republican Policy Committee meeting to hear from experts about water issues surrounding natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. 

“Pennsylvanians need good jobs and clean drinking water,” Reed said.  “The goal of this meeting is to try to find ways to ensure we have both.  Folks shouldn’t be forced to choose between clean rivers and streams or a good-paying job to put food on the table.  Instead of pitting sides against one another, we want to bring them together to find real solutions.” 

The meeting will take place at the Oak Place Community Center, located at 1001 Oak St. in Indiana. 

The meeting will focus on issues surrounding the treatment of water after it is used in the natural gas drilling process.  Large amounts of water are used during the hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – process necessary to free natural gas from underground shale deposits.   

Fracking involves pumping water down to the shale deposit with a significant amount of pressure behind it in order to fracture the deposit and free the gas for harvesting. 

The meeting will focus on the use of water in the fracking process and its treatment and cleansing before safely being released back into local waterways. 

“We want to combat fears with facts,” Reed said.  “Marcellus Shale natural gas harvesting is something that is relatively new to Pennsylvania, so we should expect local folks to have questions.  We want to address any legitimate concerns, but also take any false claims or scare tactics off the table.” 

The following individuals are scheduled to testify at the meeting:  Thomas Beauduy, deputy director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission; Alan Eichler, environmental program manager of the oil and gas section from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s southwest regional office; Ray Walker, vice president of Range Resources; Paul Hart, president of Hart Resource Technologies; and Susan McClure from the Indiana County chapter of the League of Women Voters. 

The meeting is free and open to the public. 

Rep. Dave Reed
62nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(717) 705-7173
www.RepDaveReed.net
Contact: Dan Massing
House Republican Public Relations
(717) 772-9845
www.pahousegop.com