Marcellus Shale Hearing Set for Doylestown

State Rep. Marguerite Quinn will host a hearing Thursday at Doylestown's Aldie Mansion on Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania.

Stretching from West Virginia to New York, Marcellus Shale is a type of rock formation believed to contain a large volume of natural gas.

Until recent years, the gas was too deep - 5,000 to 8,000 feet below the surface of the earth - and too expensive to reach. But new interest in fuel sources has spurred new focus on the rock and the type of drilling needed to get to the gas, called "fracking."

"Recent advances in drilling technology and rising natural gas prices have attracted new interest in this previously untapped formation," reads a state briefing memo on the industry.

And even though little of Bucks and Montgomery counties is believed to contain this type of rock, the impact of the drilling still will be felt here, according to those who say the state needs to do a better job regulating the budding industry.

The scheduled guest list for Thursday's hearing includes:

• Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana)
• Tom Murphy, co-director, Penn State Marcellus Shale Center for Outreach and Research, Penn State Cooperative Extension
• Andrew Heath, executive director, Growing Greener
• Robert Tudor, deputy director, Delaware River Basin Commission
• Jason Hanna, senior project manager, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services
• Carl J. Carlson, director of government affairs, Range Resources of Appalachia, LLC
• Elam Herr, assistant executive director, Pennsylvania Association of Township Supervisors
• Doug Hill, executive director, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
• Patrick Gardiner, construction services manager, Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition

The public hearing is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at on Doylestown's Old Dublin Pike, according to the announcement from the state Republican majority office.