State Rep. Tim Briggs, D-Montgomery, earned a 100 percent on the Marcellus Shale Scorecard for his efforts to protect the commonwealth’s water, air and neighborhoods from gas drilling.

On Tuesday March 27, 2012, four of Pennsylvania’s largest citizen-based environmental organizations released their joint “Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Scorecard” which gave each state senator and representative an environmental grade based on their votes on House Bill 1950, now Act 13. Read more »

Data from the state show that many counties don't have any gas drilling wells tapping into the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation and may never have any despite the proliferation of them elsewhere.

U.S. Geological Survey maps indicate the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation thousands of feet underground in large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia, doesn't exist in the heavily populated southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. Read more »

Natural-gas development appears to be associated with falling dairy production in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region, but the exact reasons for the decline are unclear, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

In recent years, anecdotal evidence has suggested that natural-gas development is benefitting many Pennsylvania farmers, with money from gas leases and royalties allowing producers to pay off debt, invest in new equipment and remain active in a business often characterized by razor-thin profit margins. Read more »

A nonprofit group has opened an office in western Pennsylvania to help the public with health concerns over Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations.

The Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project opened an office last week in McMurray, southwest of Pittsburgh, and says its mission is to support people "who believe their health has been, or could be, impacted by natural gas drilling activities." Read more »