Interesting piece in today’s NYT by Sabrina Tavernise (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/us/towns-fighting-to-stand-ground-against-gas-drillers.html?_r=1&src=rechp) reports on concerns of residents living near new natural gas production activitiy in Pennsylvania and New York.  A couple of excerpts can bracket the arguments:

The battle is playing out in Pennsylvania as the Republican-controlled legislature considers bills that would in their current form sharply limit a community’s right to control where gas companies can operate on private property. Critics say the final bill could vastly weaken local zoning powers and give industry the upper hand in exchange for a new tax, which municipalities badly need.

Local governments argue that drilling is an industrial activity, just like that of a gas station or a cement factory, that should be subject to zoning. Dozens of towns, cities and counties across the country have enacted rules on drilling noise, lighting and the distance from homes and, in some cases, outright bans. In New York State alone, there have been at least 70 such actions.

Companies say the rush to regulate has produced an overly burdensome set of demands that is denting their potential when the economy desperately needs a lift.

Supporters of the Pennsylvania legislation argue that it would hold the industry to higher, more uniform environmental standards in addition to charging them fees.

This question of where to regulate is a critical one.  And many view local governments as only half right:  Yes, energy production is “an industrial activity” — but it’s not “just like . . . a gas station or a cement factory.”  Most commercial industrial activities can be sited in areas appropriate for the specific activity.  Energy production needs to occur where the resource is – whether that’s coal, oil, natural gas – or even wind and solar.  And energy is the lifeblood of the US economy.  Energy produced in one locale is depended on by folks living in many others.   So holding industry to high uniform environmental standards while ensuring that local fears don’t trump regional needs makes regulation of energy production at the highest practicable governmental level the right answer for our nation’s energy security.

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