Shale Gas is Revitalizing Communities

Cliff Wehrmen has a new pickup truck, thanks to the booming economy in Williston, North Dakota. In North Dakota, companies are fighting over workers via bidding wars, state unemployment is 3.7%, and the state budget has a $1 billion surplus. What’s their secret? Oil shale drilling. Since 2006, the Bakken Shale has revitalized North Dakota’s economy. Could the Marcellus Shale have the same affect on rural Pennsylvania?

In our new video series, Know the Drill, we find that residents in Bradford county — the heart of the northeast shale gas boom — are telling a similar story. Bradford County has been the been the beneficiary of lots of well paying jobs, new investments, and tons of new pick-up trucks.

Will Harrisburg wise up and capitalize on the Marcellus boom or will they squander this opportunity by imposing new taxes for wasteful spending?