A day after a controversial Indiana County Marcellus Shale gas well got the go-ahead from the state to restart drilling, someone fired six shotgun blasts into the lining of a drill cuttings pit and stabbed more holes into the liner with a stake, the well owners said Wednesday.

The owners of the well, MDS Energy of Kittanning, believe the vandalism was the result of the seven months of public debate over whether they should be able to drill the well, which sits within the county's "conservation zone" around Yellow Creek State Park.

The conservation zone requires drillers to obtain a special-use permit, which the county granted Sept. 9.

Tuesday, inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Envrionmental Protection inspected the site and gave the go-ahead to begin drilling.

The $3,500 in damages -- the cost of a new liner -- was caused sometime after 4 p.m. Tuesday, when crews and inspectors left the site, and 2 p.m. Wednesday, when crews returned, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.

MDS is now posting a security guard at the site from 5 p.m. till 8 a.m. every day.