An executive for Range Resources recently exposed a startling revelation about their shale drilling practices. At a meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in Harrisburg, Terry Bossert, Range Resources Vice President for legislative and regulatory affairs, revealed that his company targets poorer areas of Pennsylvania and avoids wealthier neighborhoods. Bossert asserted that the company avoids drilling near “big houses” where the community may have the financial resources to fight these projects.
The original comment was made by Bossert during an April 7 meeting with the Bar Institute’s Environmental Law Forum. Bossert previously served as chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from 1995 to 1999. The shocking remark has led the Center for Coalfield Justice and the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club to call for an investigation from the Office of Environmental Justice (EJ).
In an attempt to backtrack from the comments made by Bossert, Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarella suggested that the comments were made in a “sarcastic” or “facetious” manner. This stands at odds with what event attendants like Patrick Grentner suggested. Several members of the audience have suggested that Bossert prefaced his remarks by saying, “To be perfectly frank…”
While the seriousness of Bossert’s remarks are being evaluated by some, the state’s Environmental Justice office is taking them quite seriously. Founded in 2002, the Environmental Justice office has identified that 514 shale gas wells, drilled since January 1, 2000, have been in EJ communities.
This means that these communities have at least 20% of the population living below the poverty line or at least 30% of the population is non-white. Pennsylvania is home to more than 850 environmental justice communities.
The comments made reflect a poorly kept secret within the oil and gas drilling industry and it should come as no surprise that Range Resources deliberately targets communities that lack the resources to oppose them.
However, it is alarming that a company official would so brazenly admit to such a predatory practice. These comments come at a time when both the Pennsylvania House and Senate Energy committees formally disapprove of an increase in operating standards.
