John Hanger's Marcellus Keystone Foundation

January 11, 2011

John Hanger, Pennsylvania’s outgoing Secretary of Environmental Protection (DEP), leaves a strong foundation of economic expansion and environmental protection for his successors, and we hope that the incoming administration continues his legacy of approaching the issues based on sound facts.

Mr. Hanger served during a historic period in Pennsylvania’s energy history, with the discovery of trillions of cubic feet of new natural gas reserves beneath the Marcellus Shale formation. He retires from his position with the knowledge his service was instrumental in building a solid foundation for Pennsylvania’s future economic prosperity, while still protecting the Commonwealth’s environment.

When it was first discovered, in the early to mid-2000’s, that new technologies could yield significant stores of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation, Mr. Hanger could have immediately supported a shutdown of all drilling and hydraulic fracturing based on a fear of an environmental threat. However, he viewed Marcellus gas production as “both an environmental threat and opportunity” and thus approached the issue “based on the facts."

With this cautious, fact-based perspective and strict oversight of the DEP, hydraulic fracturing has not contaminated underground water sources; nearly 70 percent of hydraulic wastewater is now recycled instead of being discharged into Pennsylvania waterways; and according to Mr. Hanger, “Pennsylvania’s air, water and land are cleaner today than eight years ago when Gov. Edward G. Rendell took office.”

Economic growth has also burgeoned during his tenure, adding more than 88,000 new jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenues, and billions in economic development.

Even with the legacy Mr. Hanger leaves behind, he has further recommendations for improvement. The Keystone Energy Forum asks that the incoming administration continue to take the same fact-based approach to overseeing Marcellus Shale development, and to work with citizens and industry to spur economic growth in the region without compromising the environment and health of its citizens.

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