THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 248, October 15, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TAPPING NATURAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS
MARYLAND'S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS:
We Should Develop Previously Unavailable Energy
Resources to Generate Jobs & Revenue
By Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr.
USING HYDRAULIC FRACTURING TO PRODUCE NATURAL GAS FROM THE MARCELLUS SHALE FORMATION:
CREATING JOBS, IMPROVING LIVES, & BOOSTING STATE & COUNTY REVENUES IN MARYLAND -- HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
& ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS -- ENVIRONMENTALISTS SEEKING TO DELAY OR BLOCK EXPLOITATION OF SHALE
FORMATIONS AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY
FULL STORY:
Maryland’s 7.2% unemployment rate is below the national average, but still too high. Budget shortfalls next year could
reach $700 million or more, the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute warns. Many of our cities and counties likewise
face mounting debt.
Families need temporary assistance to address unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Aging roads, sewer systems
and other infrastructure need repair. Revenue projections for 2012 and beyond will not cover these programs, education,
healthcare and public employee pensions, the institute cautions.
Faced with unpalatable reductions in programs and growing opposition to tax increases, the Free State clearly needs
reliable new revenue sources.
One source could be natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation that extends beneath western Maryland and four
neighboring states. Of the four, only Pennsylvania is tapping it so far, but the results are impressive.
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue reports that Marcellus gas production generated more than $1.4 billion in state
tax revenues since 2006; by 2020, it could generate $20 billion more. Those activities created 72,000 Pennsylvania jobs
between October, 2009, and March, 2011.
By 2020, gas production from the formation could support 256,000 jobs across the five states, at an average annual salary
of $73,000 – well above the national average – energy experts say. Abundant new natural gas supplies from other U.S.
shale deposits have helped cut the price of natural gas in half, to below $4.00 a thousand cubic feet, making it more
affordable for home heating, electricity generation, petrochemical feed stocks, and backing up unreliable wind and solar
installations.
A recent analysis found that Pennsylvanians saved $633 million in utility bills since 2006, due to these expanded supplies.
Maryland too could be harnessing Marcellus gas to boost its economy, job growth, and state and county revenues.
Thousands of able-bodied workers would prefer employment at good salaries over welfare, unemployment, and food
stamps.
Drilling and production could also help thousands of small businesses that would provide goods, equipment and services
to drilling, pipeline, and related companies. In Maryland, 19% of these businesses are owned by African Americans – still
more by other minorities.
And, yet, there is strong opposition to harnessing these resources – primarily because doing so involves a new process
called hydraulic fracturing (HF or “fracking”). Actually, fracking isn’t all that new.
It has been used in more than a million U.S. wells during the past 60 years. It employs high pressure fluids to create tiny
fissures in impermeable, hydrocarbon-rich rock formations, allowing companies to tap their energy. But, over the past
few years, HF has been combined with horizontal drilling and other techniques, so that many wells can be drilled from one
site, reaching multiple formations up to several miles away and unlocking huge supplies of previously unavailable natural
gas.
But certain groups are using fear tactics to delay or stop fracking. They claim it is not federally regulated. They say it
“could” contaminate groundwater and drinking water. They suggest it is incompatible with efforts to improve the
Chesapeake Bay’s health.
In reality, hydraulic fracturing is regulated under state and federal laws, as well as industry guidelines. A 2009 Ground
Water Protection Council review concluded that enacting additional federal regulations “would be costly to the states,
duplicative of state regulations, and ultimately ineffective because such regulations would be too far from the field of
operations.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson has said there is no recorded incident in
which fracking contaminated a drinking water well. This shouldn’t be surprising.
Shale gas formations are typically thousands of feet below groundwater supplies, with layers of shale, limestone and
other impermeable rock in between. The first several hundred feet of each well has special steel “casing” cemented in
place to protect water supplies; the actual drill hole and pipe goes through this casing. In addition, the fluids used in
fracturing are 99.5% water and sand.
The other 0.5% is mostly weak salts and acids, vegetable or other oils, guar gum and other chemicals, many of which are
found in foods and common household products. However, we still should know what is in specific fracking fluids, and
must ensure that they are handled, recycled, and disposed of properly.
Faced with environmentalist pressure and public concerns, Governor Martin O’Malley signed an executive order to study
fracking. His decision is understandable.
However, he should ensure that the study is completed in a timely manner; is based on facts, not protests and
unsubstantiated fears; and does not result in unnecessary over-regulation. A proper review would also take advantage of
the studies, laws, regulatory frameworks, and hands-on experience in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Texas, and other states
that have used fracking for years.
It would also recognize that hydraulic fracturing is essential for producing most natural gas (and all these benefits), just as
we need to mine the coal that generates over half of Maryland’s electricity. In fact, every energy option (including wind
and solar) requires mining and fossil fuels – and affects wildlife habitats and environmental quality. We need to be wise
stewards of the Earth God gave us, in everything we do.
Responsibly developing this vital God-given shale gas resource would put thousands of Marylanders back to work,
improve people’s living standards, generate billions of dollars in government revenues, balance county and state budgets,
and produce more American energy for all Americans.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., of Beltsville, Maryland, is Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition and Co-Chair of the
Affordable Power Alliance. (See: www.AffordablePowerAlliance.org)
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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