TAKING A STAND, DRAWING A LINE
	Organization: PennFuture    Date Posted: 02/03/10    Originally Published: 01/29/10
	Contact: Christine Knapp / 215-545-9692 http://www.pennfuture.org/     knapp@pennfuture.org Short Description: Representative David Levdansky (D-Allegheny) and Representative Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) are each seeking co-sponsors for bills that would impose a moratorium on the additional leasing of state forest land for natural gas drilling. Levdansky plans to introduce a second bill that would mandate a thorough review of the likely impacts of drilling in the state forests. Long Description: DCNR has leased almost 106,000 acres of state forest for gas drilling in just the past 16 months. This means that the gas industry already has access to 700,000 acres of state forest - about one-third of the entire 2.1 million acre state forest system and nearly half the 1.5 million acres that overlay the Marcellus Shale formation. Officials estimate that there will be several thousand wells – and associated pipelines, roads and other infrastructure – operating in the next decade or two. Originally Published: 01/29/10