Workers stand near a rig that drills into the shale at a well site in Washington, Pa.
HARRISBURG, PA — “When Pennsylvania passed a state law that stripped local authority over where potentially hazardous natural gas wells could be drilled, cities and townships decided to take matters into their own hands.
…Thanks to the law, doctors can find out what chemicals are used in fracking, the controversial drilling technique that environmentalists say turns their water taps into flamethrowers and poisons the air. But they are bound by a confidentiality clause that prevents them from telling their patients what those chemicals are. Local counties get the impact fee, but it comes with strict regulations on how it can be spent. They can use it to provide low-income housing for gas workers, for example, but not to conduct air quality testing.
Most importantly, municipal zoning jurisdiction has been overruled. Now gas companies can drill wherever they like, even if local councils vote to keep the wells out of their jurisdictions.”
— Alice Su, iWatch News
