Pa. May Say “No” to Fracking in Forests

Gov. Tom Corbett's nominee to head the Pennsylvania parks and forests department says the agency would try to avoid further surface impact if more state-owned land is leased to drill for natural gas.

Richard Allan, the acting Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said Wednesday the agency isn't discussing leasing more state forest land for drilling and there's still a moratorium on it.

But Allan says if more land is leased his agency would look to reuse all of the established well pads for horizontal drilling to avoid establishing new drilling sites.

He made the comments at the second meeting of Corbett's advisory commission on Marcellus Shale drilling.

Dozens of protesters outside the meeting complained that members aren't interested in protecting public health and safety.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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