PennEnvironment Report on Marcellus Shale

The good people at PennEnvironment have released a 20 page report, "Preserving Forests, Protecting Waterways," by Erika Staaf and David Masur.

According to their press release:

The report calls on Pennsylvania ’s elected officials to pass drilling protections that:

* Improve the public’s right to know and access to information about drilling;
* Put areas that supply drinking water, critical habitats, and public lands off limits to drilling;
* Pass mandatory minimum penalties for polluters who violate laws or destroy the environment, and implement severe penalties using existing clean water laws;
* Increase funding to the Department of Environmental Protection to allow for expanded enforcement, permit review and onsite review of drilling; and
* Strengthen existing clean water laws to deal with the rapid expansion of drilling.

As usual, the report has some really nice charts and graphics, as well as a good description of the fracking process used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.