Part of the discussion about the proposed expansion of the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant in Lusby has been the potential impact exporting natural gas could have on drilling areas. The Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Mountains is the area identified by project opponents and proponents as the likely drilling site.
Earlier this week, officials from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) released a draft document on the potential impact on Allegany and Garrett counties, the two Free State jurisdictions affected by the planned drilling expansion.
The preliminary draft notes that in June of 2011, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley [D] issued an executive order establishing the Marcellus Shale Drilling Initiative to determine “whether and how gas production can be accomplished without unacceptable risks to public health, safety, the environment and natural resources.”
This past summer, DHMH signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maryland Institute of Applied Environmental Health at the University of Maryland College Park to evaluate the potential public impacts.
The draft report stated two public meetings on the initiative were held this past fall. Less than 30 people attended each meeting. The first session was held at Frostburg State University and the second at Garrett College. Among the areas of concern for citizens were the impact drilling would have on air quality, water quality, conducting a baseline health assessment, the region’s healthcare infrastructure, climate change, impacts on population subgroups such as farmers and property owners, benefits and zoning.
The draft report noted the fretting over a hydraulic drilling procedure known as “fracking.” The report stated Western Maryland stakeholders expressed concern regarding “the impact that hydraulic fracturing solution and chemicals would have on well water and municipal water supplies. Setbacks and buffer zones were discussed as one way to protect water supplies.” The report stated that buffers as long as 4,000 feet might be needed to mitigate potential denigrations to water supplies.
Garrett County residents have also expressed hope that the drilling would not disrupt the jurisdiction’s “rural legacy,” which attracts tourists. Other areas of concern include jobs—the likelihood that the drilling industry is mostly Texas and Oklahoma-based and the migration of labor would be a “liability to [the]community” and adverse impacts to traffic and possible road damage due to the high volume of “truck trips” that are needed to “frack” a s
