Drilling in Leetsdale - Outside The Box

First things first - Remembering the victims of the crash of USAir Flight 427, 17 years ago yesterday. Aside from a photo in today's Beaver County Times, the local media seemed focused on other things.

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is certainly getting its share of attention, but other local tragedies, regardless of their comparative size, are nonetheless significant to those who were touched in some way by these events.

Congratulations to Leetsdale Borough Council for moving quickly to establish some type of regulatory framework for gas drilling within the borough, by that does these things.

However, the immediate potential threat to the borough and its citizens doesn't come from drilling within the borough, but the likelihood of drilling elsewhere.

Leetsdale residents receive their water service from the Edgeworth Water Authority, who gets their water from the Ambridge Water Authority. Ambridge Water's main reservoir is located in Raccoon and Independence Townships in southwest Beaver County. This reservoir property is surrounded by properties where the landowners have signed drilling leases.

The Beaver County Marcellus Shale Action Committee is circulating a petition to Gov. Corbett and State Sen. Elder Vogel, whose district includes the reservoir. The petition requests that drilling and/or water extraction for fracking be banned anywhere in the area of the reservoir and the Service Creek watershed.

The petition is available here.

Leetsdale residents, and other Ambridge Water customers who are concerned about the safety and integrity of their municipal water supply, may want to consider learning more about this effort, and communicate with their own State Senator, John Pippy, about the issue.

Remembering those who paid the ultimate price trying to save others - not only at the 9/11 event sites, but everywhere, every day.

Have a good weekend.