Forum set on shale-gas drilling in region

Staff report

VILLA MARIA, Pa.

A town hall meeting, scheduled from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the conference center at Villa Maria Community Center, 225 Villa Maria Road, will begin a series of educational sessions on shale gas drilling in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

The first session will deal with the process of drilling and hydraulic fracturing and overview the gas processing techniques.

Presenters will be Dr. John F. Stolz, director of the Center for Environmental Research and Education and a professor of environmental microbiology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh; Dr. Dorothy Bassett, also of Duquesne, who will give an overview of issues involved in shale drilling and its impact; and Terry Greenwood, a farmer from Daisytown, Pa., who will share his experiences with water contamination and its impact on his farm, his livestock and his livelihood.

The second part, which will deal strictly with drilling contracts and leases, will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at the community center. Atty. John M. Smith, a partner and co-founder of the law firm of Smith Butz, will lead the discussion. He has been involved in cases of gas lease negotiations, local zoning regulations on drilling and the litigation of ownership of minerals.

For more information, call 724-964-8920 ext. 3331.