Matthew Bieniek
Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Mon Mar 21, 2011, 07:55 AM EDT
CUMBERLAND — Allegany County commissioners said they had a productive meeting with Gov. Martin O’Malley and his staff last week, after the governor surprised them by showing up at what they thought was a meeting with several of his staff members.
Among other things, commissioners were pleasantly surprised when O’Malley indicated interest in the possibility of developing Marcellus shale in Garrett and Allegany counties through the use of a carbon dioxide gas process, rather than the more commonly used hydraulic fracturing.
“The governor pulled no punches with us in that meeting,” said Commission President Michael McKay.
McKay credited Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr. with setting up the meeting with O’Malley’s staff in order to discuss Marcellus shale, among other matters. O’Malley arrived during the Sunday evening meeting with Allegany and Garrett County officials at Will O’ the Wisp near Oakland.
The governor told commissioners that as a former mayor, he understood the impact state cuts were having on local governments. The largest part of their discussion though, centered on Marcellus shale, said commissioners.
The commissioners said they conveyed what they believed to be the importance of Marcellus shale development and their willingness to look at various options to develop natural gas while protecting the environment. O’Malley seemed particularly interested in using carbon dioxide gas for pushing the gas out of the shale. The gas method is used daily in Canada, said Commissioner Bill Valentine.
O’Malley has been very cautious about drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale, asking for further study before large scale drilling commences. O’Malley’s staff last week denied seeking a moratorium on gas exploration.
Valentine said a local company captures carbon dioxide gas from one of its operations and conceivably, that gas could be used to assist the so-called fracking process to push natural gas out from Marcellus shale. It’s believed using carbon dioxide would be more environmentally friendly than the so-called hydrofracking process, which involves using water and chemicals to open cracks in the shale sufficient to allow the gas to escape into pipes and be brought to the surface. Because it opens the seams more gently than hydrofracking, the industry refers to the use of carbon dioxide gas in the process as “massaging,” Valentine said.
McKay said the governor was “definitely interested” in looking at using carbon dioxide gas as an environmentally friendly way to conduct Marcellus shale exploration for natural gas.
If Allegany County used this process in a test well, it could set the standard for Maryland, Valentine said. “They (the governor’s staff) seemed interested in that process,” said Valentine.
The current stalemate in Marcellus shale exploration isn’t good for Maryland, Brodie said. Competing bills in the General Assembly are supported by environmentalists and the industry.
“It’s like working at the ... fountain and I can’t take a drink,” he said. Brodie said the governor and his staff went above and beyond to accommodate the commissioners.
The Maryland Department of the Environment is already using existing regulations for the protection of air, water and land and applying them to Marcellus-related permits, Delegate Wendell Beitzel has said.
Marcellus shale formations throughout the Eastern United States are believed to harbor large untapped natural gas resources. The shale is a sedimentary rock formation that extends underground through about 95,000 square miles in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. The total value of the natural gas in Allegany County’s Marcellus shale could be close to $15.72 billion, with the average well earning $65,000 to $524,000 yearly, University of Maryland Extension staff have said.
“There is a little bit of sunshine peeking through the clouds,” McKay said.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com
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