Emerging Water Topics Highlight Penn State Webinar Series Starting October 31

The first webinar will be held from noon to 1 PM on Wednesday, October 31 and is entitled Tradeoffs for Municipal Officials in Leasing Watershed Lands for Marcellus Drilling. 

“Shale gas development can affect water resources in many ways and one area of concern is gas drilling activity on watershed lands used for public water supply,” said Dr. Charles Abdalla, Professor of Agricultural and Environmental Economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Abdalla stated that such activity has the potential to influence the quality and adequacy of drinking water for a large number of people and businesses. This webinar will examine issues related to leasing municipally owned watershed lands for Marcellus shale gas exploration by reviewing the findings of a recent study of eight Pennsylvania municipalities. 

Abdalla stressed that there are numerous factors that must be considered when municipal watersheds are leased for drilling including officials’ motivations to lease subsurface gas rights, officials’ knowledge of expected revenues and potential risks to their water supply, how benefits and risks were considered and weighed, and how customers and the public were involved in decisions, he said. 

Pre-registration is encouraged but not required for these webinars. Taped versions of each webinar are also posted on the website for those who cannot attend the live version. To register or learn more about future or taped webinars, visit http://water.cas.psu.edu/webinars.htm. The live webinar at noon on October 31 can be viewed at https://meeting.psu.edu/water1.

For more information, contact Bryan Swistock at (814) 863-0194, or by e-mail at brs@psu.edu.