Survey of Marcellus Shale Residents

The Penn State Cooperative Extension has outlined findings from a survey of residents in the Marcellus Shale region (including New York, which still has a moratorium on drilling).

The results are illuminating:

  • The current view of residents, not surprisingly, is that availability of jobs in the region is very poor (page 13), roads and streets are mediocre, and the environmental quality is good.
  • Only a fraction of residents own the mineral rights to land in the Marcellus region, 10% have leased land for gas drilling, and only 1% have drilling activity on the land they own (page 19).
  • Residents report not having very much knowledge of drilling impacts, jobs, or regulation (page 21). In every case, “none” or “very little” knowledge trumped “a good bit” and “a great deal.”
  • Media is the number one source of information on gas drilling (page 22).
  • Residents expect jobs will get better with drilling, but the natural environment and drinking water will get worse (page 24).
  • More residents support drilling than oppose it – support is higher in Pennsylvania than New York, and much higher where extensive drilling has occurred (pages 25-27).

The Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development has the full study and more on Marcellus Shale drilling.

We have many more resources for info on natural gas development at EnergyFactsPA.com