Kevin Spradlin
The Cumberland Times-News Fri Oct 29, 2010, 07:57 AM EDT
— MCHENRY — Candidates for Garrett County commissioner have varying degrees of concern about exploitation of the Marcellus shale natural gas field and feel that local residents’ concerns are not a top priority for energy companies.
“I think we have to be very careful,” said District 1 candidate Gregan Crawford, a Republican, during a public forum Monday at Garrett College of the field, located a mile or more below the Earth’s surface. “Outside extraction industries rarely have the community’s interests at heart. I think we have to look out for ourselves. We just need to go slow and practice prudence.”
Eric Robison, a Democrat facing Crawford in the Nov. 2 general election, said he attended an informational seminar at Frostburg State University in which members of the Susquehanna River Valley Commission, a water management agency in Pennsylvania that helps monitor environmental impact on local drilling in natural gas fields, spoke about a highly evolved certification program. The program helped to virtually guarantee water quality would not be adversely impacted, Robison said.
Robison said in Maryland, the state Department of the Environment is responsible for issuing permits for such projects. MDE representatives also attended the seminar but said the certified process would not be used here.
“It bothers me that we have a regulatory agency that has ignored the violations of some of these companies that come in,” Robison said. “We need to do what the state is not doing for us.”
Democrat Bill Welch, one of four candidates vying for the District 3 seat, said he knows the gas is needed for energy production and that drilling will bring much-needed revenue to the county. But “it comes back to property rights,” Welch said. Residents’ attitude of “‘let’s trust the state and federal government to protect us’ is the reason I’m here” as a candidate.
Welch said there needs to be two emergency plans in place for drilling and exploration activities, one each for health and physical demands.
“Neither one is there today,” Welch said.
Bob Gatto, one of three write-in candidates challenging Welch in District 3, said he owns property where drilling companies wanted to lease the mineral rights. Gatto opted to keep total control of the land.
“I bought it for a specific purpose,” Gatto said. “I enjoy it. I felt (drilling) would destroy what I bought it for.”
Gatto, a Republican, said the analysis and general information available on the potential environmental impact on drilling is vague and lacks a level of thoroughness that’s needed for elected officials to pursue policy.
“There’s not enough history with it to make good decisions,” Gatto said.
Crawford gave the current commissioners, including the late Denny Glotfelty, credit for establishing a Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Advisory Committee. Members of the group, created this summer, are charged with gathering information and advising the commissioners about issues related to extraction.
Fellow write-in candidate George Falter, a Democrat, said the hydrofracturing process by which the sheet of rock underneath is split to access and pump out the natural gas is a scary one that involves explosives and chemicals.
“Perhaps they just can’t say the word,” Falter said. “Is ‘insanity’ a strong enough word?”
Republican Tim Thomas did not file as a write-in candidate until two days after the forum. He did not participate in the event.
