Pennsylvania

Fracking in Pennsylvania: Jobs down, environmental violations continue

Published

4 months ago

October 1, 2024

Fracking in Pennsylvania: Jobs down, environmental violations continue

How many fracking jobs are there in Pennsylvania?

Job creation is touted as the most significant benefit of the fracking boom, especially in the more rural parts of the state where good-paying jobs can be scarce.

One of the first job creation reports painted a rosy picture. Published in 2010 by Penn State University and paid for by the industry, it predicted fracking the Marcellus Shale formation would support 200,000 jobs by 2020. Six years later, another Penn State study with different authors reported about 26,000 direct jobs in the industry, half of which were filled by out-of-state residents.

Today, that number is even smaller. In March of 2024, the state reported 16,831 direct jobs in the industry, less than one half of 1% of all jobs.

As a comparison, direct construction jobs account for about 260,000 jobs in the state, while manufacturing currently provides 566,800 jobs.

So why are we hearing in political ads and from some national journalists that fracking in Pennsylvania accounts for about 120,000 jobs?

The number stems from a 2023 report by the industry that takes a very different approach to counting employment and reported 123,000 jobs were related to fracking in Pennsylvania — a year when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics listed direct oil and gas jobs in the state at about 12,000. The Marcellus Shale Coalition surveyed companies in 2022. Its report states that the 123,000 figure includes direct jobs, as well as those “generated through the supply chain and employee spending across different sectors of the economy.”

But the methods used in the industry job study are very different from those used by academics and financial analysts, and as a result, cast a very wide net. The report’s job numbers are about 10 times the number of direct fracking jobs reported in the state for 2022.

“Typically anything over [twice] the number of direct jobs is looked at as unreasonable by economists who do this type of economic impact analysis,” said Tim Kelsey, a professor of agricultural economics at Penn State who also co-authored the 2016 job study.

Indirect jobs could include a warehouse job related to oil and gas drilling, for example, or a factory job that makes parts for a drilling rig.

“There are of course going to be some indirect jobs, but to go from [16,800 direct] jobs to 123,000 total, that’s a stretch,” said Kenneth Gillingham, professor of economics at the Yale School of the Environment.

“Induced” jobs refer to spending by gas workers creating a lunch rush at a local pizza shop, for example, and potentially leading the owner to hire extra workers. It could also count increased spending by local residents who get royalties from a gas lease.

Gillingham said most of the country is experiencing full employment right now, meaning jobs are “just moving from one place to the other.” There may be areas of rural Pennsylvania that are economically depressed, he said, but the bulk of the “indirect” or “induced” jobs will likely be low-paying.

Jeremy Weber, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh specializing in energy and environmental policy, agreed that the multiplier typically used to calculate “indirect” jobs is rarely more than two or three.

He said the numbers of jobs in the Marcellus Shale Coalition report are often misinterpreted. “These numbers are not how many more jobs we have today in Pennsylvania because of shale gas development,” said Weber.

He used the example of how the 2023 industry report counts the increased use of natural gas as a source of electricity generation in the state.

“And they attribute all of that natural gas employment associated with power generation to the shale gas industry,” Weber said. “Well, in Pennsylvania we’re producing roughly the same amount of electricity today as we did before there was any shale gas development. So the total number of people employed in the electric power sector probably hasn’t changed hardly at all. We’ve just shifted the chairs, so to speak, and are now drawing more [electricity from] natural gas.”

The industry calculation also includes jobs associated with natural gas distribution, which Weber said “makes no sense.”

“In Pennsylvania, we’re consuming in our homes and businesses about the same amount of natural gas today as we did 15 years ago before shale took off. And yet, their methodology and study includes all of the jobs associated with providing natural gas to homes and businesses as attributable to shale development.”

Weber said it’s unclear what assumptions were made regarding spending by leaseholders.

“We know that from surveys of lenders, [the leaseholders] don’t spend all of it right away,” he said. “They save a lot of it, and they spend it differently than other sources of income. So how are the modelers treating that?”

Fracking proponents also point to the decrease in utility bills due to the shale gas boom. Weber said there’s no dispute about that.

“The explosion of natural gas production from the Appalachian Basin and from other parts of the country resulted in a game-changing downward shift in price,” Weber said.

Although it may be lower in Pennsylvania, the average national price of natural gas now hovers around $2.33 cents per MMBtu. In any given year it can fluctuate around that figure, but in 2022, it averaged $6.45 largely due to the war in Ukraine.

The number of newly fracked gas wells drilled in the state has decreased, which could be a factor in the decrease in the number of jobs.

An analysis from the state’s Independent Fiscal Office says Pennsylvania companies drilled 63 new wells between April and June — the lowest quarterly number since 2008. Natural gas production also dropped by 4.8%, the lowest quarterly production volume since 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. But over the past 20 years the laterals, meaning the horizontal parts of the wells that travel far from the wellhead, have increased in length, allowing each individual fracked gas well to be more productive.

Twenty years after the state’s first shale gas well was drilled, Pennsylvania remains the second largest natural gas producer, behind Texas.

The drop in the number of natural gas wells drilled meant that 2023 was the lowest year yet for impact fees paid to state coffers. That is because the impact fee is not based on production volumes, but is a fee per well that also takes into account the price of natural gas.

Source link

Related Topics:elections 2024 Featured fracking whyy news climate desk

Click to comment

Pennsylvania

Final Call Snowfall Forecast for Sunday’s Snowstorm in Pennsylvania

Published

15 minutes ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Final Call Snowfall Forecast for Sunday’s Snowstorm in Pennsylvania

Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories have been issued by the NWS ahead of our short, but potent snowstorm that is on tap for Sunday. Travel will be dangerous Sunday afternoon and evening in most of the state, and it’ll be one of those days to stay inside and watch a snowy Eagles playoff game.

On the graphic below, you will also see Extreme Cold Watches in Western and Northern PA, issued for Monday to Thursday. There is a strong chance schools will be closed for multiple days this coming week due to the threat of frostbite. We will have those details on Sunday!

Snowstorm Timing

Light snow will move into Southern PA from SW to NE on Sunday morning between 9 – 11 AM. The leading edge of snow will push northeast towards I-80 around lunchtime, meanwhile snow will become heavy in Southern and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Heavy snow will continue generally along and east of the I-81 corridor through Sunday afternoon, while light to moderate snow falls near I-99 and Route 15 in Northern PA. As we head into the evening, snow will lighten up from SW to NE and begin to move out.

This will be a fluffy snow, which means it won’t be too exhausting to shovel. However it also means as winds kick up behind the storm for the next few days, snow drifts over roadways will be a concern along with the life-threatening cold temperatures.

Below are timing charts for this storm. If you do not see your location, please find the nearest city or area.

Below is the latest future radar from the Hi-Res Rapid Refresh Model as of Saturday evening, lining up with the timing shown above. You will also notice a small chance of mixing in Philadelphia, as well as lake effect snow in NWPA.

Area A: Snowfall accumulation of 6 – 8″ expected. Snow-covered roads will cause dangerous travel conditions soon after snow begins through early Monday morning.

Area B: Snowfall accumulation of 4 – 6″ anticipated. Roads will become snow-covered, making travel inadvisable after snow starts into early Monday AM.

Area C: Snowfall accumulation of 2 – 4″ expected. Snow-covered roads will lead to very poor travel conditions.

Area D: Snowfall accumulation of 1 – 2″ anticipated. Secondary roads may be covered by snow, causing slippery travel.

Be sure to share this forecast with friends and family!

More details on the harsh cold next week will be posted Sunday.

Final Call Snowfall Forecast for Sunday’s Snowstorm in Pennsylvania

Source link

Pennsylvania

Here’s where 6-8 inches of snow could dump on central Pa. this weekend: forecasters

Published

8 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Here’s where 6-8 inches of snow could dump on central Pa. this weekend: forecasters

Forecasters with the National Weather Service (NWS) are calling for between 6 to 8 inches of snow in parts of central Pennsylvania this Sunday after unusually warm temperatures cover the region Saturday.

High temperatures in Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Chambersburg and the surrounding areas are expected to be in the low to mid-40s Saturday, before dropping below freezing in the evening, bringing a possibility of rain and snow to the region.

Srly winds will provide a break from the cold and snow of recent nights. High temp on Saturday will rise above freezing! The break will be short lived, however, as a cold front pushes through central PA late Saturday and be accompanied by snow and rain. Yes, rain, for some! pic.twitter.com/CoBABWWV5K
— NWS State College (@NWSStateCollege) January 18, 2025

Several counties — including Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Perry, Lebanon, Adams, York and Lancaster — are under a winter storm watch from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, the NWS said.

Harrisburg’s snow should start after 10 a.m. Sunday, with accumulations up to 8 inches possible. Winds will also be gusting up to 20 miles per hour Sunday.

A quick-hitting and potentially significant snowstorm is expected on Sunday, but there remains considerable uncertainty in where the heaviest snowfall will occur. A multi-day period of dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills will follow Sun night thru Wed. pic.twitter.com/QlhhGd1m72
— NWS State College (@NWSStateCollege) January 18, 2025

The NWS said Harrisburg, York and Lancaster will receive between 6 and 8 inches of snow Sunday, while municipalities further west and north — including Chambersburg, Mifflintown and Selinsgrove — should see between 4 and 6 inches.

Forecasters also predicted this weekend’s snowstorm to be “quick-hitting” and “potentially significant” with dangerously cold temperatures and sub-zero wind chills in the following days.

“We expect cold weather this time of year in Pennsylvania, but the extreme cold and windchills that we’re going to see next week mean we all need to make sure that our families and homes are ready for it,” said Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director Randy Padfield. “PEMA will be working with county partners to make sure they have the resources they need to keep people safe throughout this cold snap.”

According to the National Weather Service, January 2018 is the last time Pennsylvania experienced an extended period of frigid temperatures and dangerous wind chills.

Parts of north-central Pennsylvania are not expected to be hit quite as hard, with cities like Warren, Bradford, Coudersport, Emporium and Wellsboro forecast to receive between 1 and 2 inches of snow by 7 p.m. Sunday.

By Monday, forecasters are calling for frigid temperatures and severe wind chills throughout central Pennsylvania. Harrisburg’s high temperatures for Monday and Tuesday are 19 and 17 respectively, while conditions plummet to around 1 degree both nights.

Governor Josh Shapiro’s office released a statement Friday urging Pennsylvanians to prepare for the winter weather and frequently check forecasts ahead of the storm. The statement also included tips for recognizing cold-related health concerns:

Hypothermia causes shivering, exhaustion, confusion, memory loss, slurred speech or drowsiness in adults and bright red, cold skin and very low energy in babies.
Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and color in affected areas, and symptoms include a white or grayish-yellow area of skin, numbness or skin that feels unusually firm or waxy.

Staying indoors is the easiest way to avoid cold-related health issues, but if you must go outside consider the following:

Make outdoor trips brief and dress warm in layers
Cover your ears, head, mouth and face
Never ignore shivering – it’s your body’s way of saying you’re losing heat and it’s time to warm back up

Older adults often make less body heat than younger people due to slower metabolisms and less physical activity. Anyone over 65 is recommended to regularly check the temperature in their homes during this weekend and next week.

PennDOT wants to remind Pennsylvanians that driving during winter weather can be dangerous. If you do hit the road, it is important to prepare beforehand.

Make sure your vehicle has a full tank of gas, safe tires, a full reservoir of windshield wiper fluid and working windshield wipers. PennDOT also recommends having food, water, warm clothing/blankets and any other necessary items — such as medications or baby/pet supplies — in your vehicle if you choose to travel.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) and UGI Utilities issued statements with tips and tricks ahead of the winter storm, which is expected to drive up demand for electricity and natural gas.

The PUC included the following advice:

Adjust your thermostat – Lowering the thermostat a few degrees, especially during times you are away or asleep, can significantly reduce energy consumption
Seal leaks and drafts – Use weather stripping, caulk, or door sweeps to block cold drafts and keep warm air indoors
Use natural sunlight – Open curtains and blinds on sunny days to let in warmth and close them at night to retain heat
Bundle up indoors – Dress in layers and use extra blankets to stay warm without turning up the heat excessively
Maintain heating systems – Change furnace filters regularly and schedule maintenance if possible, ensuring systems run efficiently
Unplug and power down – Turn off lights and unplug electronics when not in use to conserve electricity

Additional tips from UGI include never using a gas-powered range or oven to heat a home, clearing snow and ice from meters and vents by hand or with a broom, allowing faucets to drip slightly to prevent freezing and opening cabinet doors to warm exposed pipes.

Anyone using portable heaters should follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions, including plugging the heater directly into a wall outlet, not an extension cord or power strip.

Source link