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Corbett's Fracking 'Impact Fees' Fall Short, Says Pennsylvania Environmental Group

BRISTOL, Pa. (CBS) - Environmentalists who oppose Marcellus Shale drilling are not too keen on Governor Tom Corbett's announcement today proposing "impact fees" on drillers (see related story).

Allowing counties to impose impact fees on drilling is a far cry from the moratorium Tracy Carluccio of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network wants.  She says the fees pale in comparison to the damage that can be done.

"The cost of pollution, the cost of cleaning up from catastrophes, and the cost of lost ground and surface water quality are so great that we believe that gas drilling should be put under a moratorium until the proper regulations are developed," she told KYW Newsradio today.

Iris Marie Bloom, of Protecting Our Waters, says adding several hundred more feet to the separation between gas wells and water wells is futile.

"That's outrageous -- methane migration travels thousands of feet in a few seconds," she notes.

Additionally, both Carluccio and Bloom worry that the Delaware River Basin Commission will soon end its moratorium on gas well drilling in this region, opening the risk of polluting the drinking water of millions of people.

Reported by John Ostapkovich, KYW Newsradio 1060

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