The development of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling has brought many things to our region, including an economic boom for local businesses and some property owners, new employment opportunities for many residents and legitimate questions about both short-term and long-term environmental impact. The sudden and rapid expansion of drilling activity in the region has also created unprecedented issues for government at all levels.As someone who has been up to my eyeballs in Marcellus Shale policy issues for years now, there is no question that public officials at the state, federal and local levels are being forced to tackle problems far beyond the norm. Since federal law preempts many of the “big picture” issues like air and water quality, and Governor Corbett has taken a very hands-off, pro-industry-at-all-cost approach to many of the state-level issues, local governments have no choice but to figure this all out on their own.

In 2009, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made it very clear through several landmark cases that many aspects of Marcellus Shale drilling are to be regulated exclusively through township and borough zoning ordinances. Since drilling was actively going on throughout the region at the time of the decisions, local municipalities had very little time and even less guidance in formulating ordinances and policies to best reflect the wishes and needs of each individual community.

As the natural gas industry continues to evolve and expand, so too have the issues local governments need to address. It didn’t take long before local zoning hearing boards were staging marathon hearings on complicated topics like the location and regulation of compressor stations, processing plants and other issues no one had ever dealt with before. People have become divided, frustrated and scared as they see our small towns undergo dramatic changes practically overnight.

With the eyes of the nation focused on how we develop this industry in a responsible and responsive way, the moment has arrived for us to come together and face these challenges head-on. In an attempt to be proactive, not reactive, I have announced the formation of a Marcellus Municipal Co-op, a group made up of municipalities where drilling is taking place or could be taking place in the near future. Since we are at the epicenter of drilling activity in Pennsylvania, it makes sense to step up and develop the first cooperative environment to work together to develop collective solutions to our mutual issues.

Let me be very clear; this co-op is not designed to be anti-drilling, and it isn’t designed to be pro-drilling. The plain truth is the natural gas industry is here and isn’t going anywhere for a long time, and we need to work together to develop policies to protect our communities, keep industry accountable and try to promote an environment of cooperation and mutual trust.

I will ask the co-op to focus on issues such as ordinance development and enforcement, continuing education, community relations, increased communication, and public safety. These goals can be accomplished by establishing local natural gas citizen advisory boards to hold regular public meetings, developing standards for notifying local officials in the event of a safety concern, holding educational seminars for local planning and zoning officials and potentially hiring a local natural gas enforcement officer to make sure the industry is following the ordinances being passed by our municipalities.

This co-op is a reasonable, rational way to deal with the issues facing our region, and I am inviting all of my municipal officials and anyone else who is interested to participate in a public meeting to be held on Tuesday, March 15 at 6:30 PM at the Canon McMillan High School auditorium. This meeting is designed to be a working session for local officials to identify the principles and areas of concerns the Marcellus Municipal Co-op should address.

The meeting is open to the media and the public, and there will be a limited public comment session based on time constraints. If you are unable to attend the meeting and have ideas on how to make the Marcellus Municipal Co-op better, you can email them to shaleideas@yahoo.com; we will make sure they get passed along to all of the appropriate parties.

This is an important moment for the future of our region. The history of Marcellus Shale is being written as we speak, and our actions will have powerful repercussions for years to come. Contact your township or borough and ask them to be actively involved in this co-op, because the only way this will work is if we come together as a community. I cannot help but be reminded of the words of Benjamin Franklin, “We must hang together, or we will most assuredly hang separately.”