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Concerns raised over impact of gas drilling in Bradford County
  
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BY ERIC HRIN
STAFF WRITER
TOWANDA — A resident had a blunt question for a Texas man Monday night at a natural gas program in Towanda as the discussion focused on how Bradford County will be impacted by the acceleration of natural gas exploration and drilling.
Commissioner Kevin Burns from Wise County, Texas, spoke about the impacts he has experienced since becoming a commissioner and also as a Texas landowner during “The Opportunities and Challenges of Natural Gas in Bradford County,” presented at Towanda High School Auditorium Monday night. County officials said Burns has experience and knowledge dealing with the impacts in the Barnett Shale of Texas, which they said is the hottest area of the country for natural gas drilling.
“You said you wouldn’t mind living here, you liked the area,” the person asked from the audience. “Do you think you would like to live here in another decade?”
The comment drew some chuckles from the audience, and Burns responded by saying it was “a very good comment.”
He said his area has grown 40 percent in the last 10 years, and has been put on the map.
“We’ve been on the Conference of Urban Counties by invitation. We’re by no means urban, but because the issues are urban-related, we’ve been put on that council … because of the activity that is going on in that area.”
He said he was proud to live where he does, and it’s still home. “It still feels good to be there.”
“We do preserve our rural flavor,” he continued. Due to flatness, he said, “compressor stations are pretty prominent, and they’re pretty noisy, unless they’re encased.”
“As far as the flavor of life in my community, it’s probably a little better. I can go buy an aspirin at midnight now.”
“We do have 24-hour businesses … so there’s some conveniences,” he said.
“I tell you something I dearly miss is the night sky.”
A video noted that property values can be expected to rise as properties with natural gas beneath begin to be seen as income-generating properties, and it also said that natural gas production activities can heavily impact public roads. Also, it said, housing is usually in short supply in areas impacted by natural gas exploration as an influx of workers can cause a shortage of housing. It said this creates new opportunities for residential developers and sellers of real estate.
“General population growth can be expected, but this does not necessarily translate to an increase in social problems,” video narrator Brittany Colton said. “Individuals interviewed in Wise County, Texas, indicated that they were generally quite satisfied with the quality of individuals in the area due to natural gas operations. However, oilfield thefts have increased, and as Wise County’s general population has grown, so has the county’s jail population.”
In Bradford County, commissioners expanded the county’s jail in response to a growing jail population, despite a stable countywide population. In the past, a growing jail population has been a subject of controversy as people have debated how to deal with it.
Brian Driscoll, county economic development manager with Central Bradford Progress Authority, did some research regarding population growth, and presented his findings.
“We’ve got a county population now of about 62,000 residents. I’m thinking by the year 2015, we’re maybe looking at 70 to 75,000 residents. So, it’s not going to be 40 percent growth, I’m very comfortable with that, but there will be growth associated with this, I’m equally confident of that fact.”
Five hundred to 600 people attended the presentation, county commissioner John Sullivan said. Outside, parking was hard to find, and drivers resorted to parking on the grass.
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.
Commissioner Kevin Burns from Wise County, Texas, spoke about the impacts he has experienced since becoming a commissioner and also as a Texas landowner during “The Opportunities and Challenges of Natural Gas in Bradford County,” presented at Towanda High School Auditorium Monday night. County officials said Burns has experience and knowledge dealing with the impacts in the Barnett Shale of Texas, which they said is the hottest area of the country for natural gas drilling.
“You said you wouldn’t mind living here, you liked the area,” the person asked from the audience. “Do you think you would like to live here in another decade?”
The comment drew some chuckles from the audience, and Burns responded by saying it was “a very good comment.”
He said his area has grown 40 percent in the last 10 years, and has been put on the map.
“We’ve been on the Conference of Urban Counties by invitation. We’re by no means urban, but because the issues are urban-related, we’ve been put on that council … because of the activity that is going on in that area.”
He said he was proud to live where he does, and it’s still home. “It still feels good to be there.”
“We do preserve our rural flavor,” he continued. Due to flatness, he said, “compressor stations are pretty prominent, and they’re pretty noisy, unless they’re encased.”
“As far as the flavor of life in my community, it’s probably a little better. I can go buy an aspirin at midnight now.”
“We do have 24-hour businesses … so there’s some conveniences,” he said.
“I tell you something I dearly miss is the night sky.”
A video noted that property values can be expected to rise as properties with natural gas beneath begin to be seen as income-generating properties, and it also said that natural gas production activities can heavily impact public roads. Also, it said, housing is usually in short supply in areas impacted by natural gas exploration as an influx of workers can cause a shortage of housing. It said this creates new opportunities for residential developers and sellers of real estate.
“General population growth can be expected, but this does not necessarily translate to an increase in social problems,” video narrator Brittany Colton said. “Individuals interviewed in Wise County, Texas, indicated that they were generally quite satisfied with the quality of individuals in the area due to natural gas operations. However, oilfield thefts have increased, and as Wise County’s general population has grown, so has the county’s jail population.”
In Bradford County, commissioners expanded the county’s jail in response to a growing jail population, despite a stable countywide population. In the past, a growing jail population has been a subject of controversy as people have debated how to deal with it.
Brian Driscoll, county economic development manager with Central Bradford Progress Authority, did some research regarding population growth, and presented his findings.
“We’ve got a county population now of about 62,000 residents. I’m thinking by the year 2015, we’re maybe looking at 70 to 75,000 residents. So, it’s not going to be 40 percent growth, I’m very comfortable with that, but there will be growth associated with this, I’m equally confident of that fact.”
Five hundred to 600 people attended the presentation, county commissioner John Sullivan said. Outside, parking was hard to find, and drivers resorted to parking on the grass.
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.
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