Richard Barrett
Landowner, Tyler Hill, PA

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Richard Barrett explains why the DRBC’s reasons for its proposed fracking ban don’t hold up and actually may bring more Russian gas imports to New England.

Ban natural gas in Northeast Pennsylvania?  Why on earth would we want to do that?

An article in The Wall Street Journal this week makes a clear case for why we shouldn’t.  Headlined “Why Is Russian Gas in Boston Harbor?”,  it reports  that the Massachusetts and New Hampshire “blocking (of) financing for the Access Northeast (gas) Pipeline(is) inflating consumers’ energy bills, destabilizing the electric grid and requiring purchase of natural gas from Russia.”

The Gaselys tanker off the coast Hull, Massachusetts on Jan. 27. Photographer: Brain K. Sullivan/Bloomberg

I’m writing this from Florida’s western Nature Coast where my wife and I have wintered for years. The Nature Coast is home to manatees, world class fishing, clamming, shrimping and endless miles of natural waterways leading out to the pristine Gulf of Mexico.

It is also home to a Gulf side Duke Energy power plant being converted from nuclear to natural gas, making it more eco-friendly and safe. The pipelines supplying the gas have been laid underground, preserving the Nature Coast natural surroundings and the plant itself occupies a vastly smaller and unobtrusive footprint than either solar or wind power would require.

For the sake of preserving the natural state of the Delaware River Valley, and avoiding having to buy natural gas from Russia, let’s hope that the DRBC will reverse course, embrace natural gas and leverage the TGP and Millennium natural gas pipelines we already have to provide low cost, unobtrusive and environmental friendly energy for all of us.