Posts Tagged ‘natural gas boom’

HARRISBURG, PA.

Approval of enforcement actions and punishments aimed at Marcellus Shale drilling operators must now go through top officials in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in a change that the agency said Wednesday is aimed at improving its consistency in handling the rapidly growing industry.

Acting Secretary Michael Krancer is changing the procedure after receiving complaints that agency staff in different regions of Pennsylvania were carrying out their responsibilities unevenly, a department spokeswoman said.

The new policy covers a variety of enforcement actions that can require a company to pay a fine or correct a problem, spokeswoman Katy Gresh said. In some cases, those matters reach top officials. But the policy also covers notices of violation — which Krancer’s predecessor, John Hanger, equated to a traffic ticket making its way up to the chief of police and said it represents an encroachment onto the professional independence of the agency’s inspectors.

The policy applies strictly to Marcellus Shale-related drilling activity, and not to any other activities that the agency also inspects across six regions, including mining, construction, water and sewer treatment, power generation and medical X-rays.

Gresh said the week-old policy may be only temporary.

“We need to make sure we are consistent and that we make our best effort to be the most effective regulator of this industry, which will benefit all Pennsylvanians,” Gresh said.

Gov. Tom Corbett, whose successful campaign last year received sizable donations from members of the natural gas industry, has said he wants to make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom. Pennsylvania is the largest natural gas state not to tax the activity, and Corbett is against imposing a new tax on it.

Notice of the change surrounding the hotly pursued natural gas formation wasn’t announced publicly. Rather, a March 23 email from a top department official ended up in the hands of reporters.

In the email, the department’s regional directors and the director of the bureau of oil and gas management were instructed to seek approval for actions involving Marcellus Shale drilling from two top agency deputies, with final clearance from Krancer.

“Any waiver from this directive will not be acceptable,” wrote John Hines, the agency’s executive deputy secretary.

On Wednesday, Hanger called the change to longstanding practice “ill-advised.”

“I can’t think of anything more likely to erode public confidence in the inspection process than this,” Hanger said. “I urge them to rethink and reconsider.”

Hanger said it oversteps the built-in checks and balances that give every company the ability to contest a notice of violation by responding in writing, asking for a meeting with regional staff to discuss it, appealing a decision to the Environmental Hearing Board and even going to court.

If there are complaints about consistency, the best way to handle those complaints is to carry out a management-level review of consistency and then train staff, if necessary, Hanger said.

“The idea that the secretary himself and the deputy secretary would presumably review, literally hundreds if not thousands of (notices of violation) before they were issued, when they were not on the site, they didn’t do the inspection, is incredible,” Hanger said. “It’s a new full-time job for the secretary, is what’s going to happen.”

Copyright: BusinessWeek.com

MARC LEVY Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Approval of enforcement actions and punishments aimed atMarcellus Shale drilling operators must now go through top officials in the Department of Environmental Protection in a change that the agency said Wednesday is aimed at improving its consistency in handling the rapidly growing industry.

Acting Secretary Michael Krancer is changing the procedure after receiving complaints that agency staff in different regions of Pennsylvania were carrying out their responsibilities unevenly, a department spokeswoman said.

The new policy covers a variety of enforcement actions that can require a company to pay a fine or correct a problem, spokeswoman Katy Gresh said. In some cases, those matters reach top officials. But the policy also covers notices of violation — which Krancer’s predecessor, John Hanger, equated to a traffic ticket making its way up to the chief of police and said it represents an encroachment onto the professional independence of the agency’s inspectors.

The policy applies strictly to Marcellus Shale-related drilling activity, and not to any other activities that the agency also inspects across six regions, including mining, construction, water and sewer treatment, power generation and medical X-rays.

Gresh said the week-old policy may be only temporary.

“We need to make sure we are consistent and that we make our best effort to be the most effective regulator of this industry, which will benefit all Pennsylvanians,” Gresh said.

Gov. Tom Corbett, whose successful campaign last year received sizable donations from members of the natural gas industry, has said he wants to make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom. Pennsylvania is the largest natural gas state not to tax the activity, and Corbett is against imposing a new tax on it.

Notice of the change surrounding the hotly pursued natural gas formation wasn’t announced publicly. Rather, a March 23 email from a top department official ended up in the hands of reporters.

In the email, the department’s regional directors and the director of the bureau of oil and gas management were instructed to seek approval for actions involving Marcellus Shale drilling from two top agency deputies, with final clearance from Krancer.

“Any waiver from this directive will not be acceptable,” wrote John Hines, the agency’s executive deputy secretary.

On Wednesday, Hanger called the change to longstanding practice “ill-advised.”

“I can’t think of anything more likely to erode public confidence in the inspection process than this,” Hanger said. “I urge them to rethink and reconsider.”

Hanger said it oversteps the built-in checks and balances that give every company the ability to contest a notice of violation by responding in writing, asking for a meeting with regional staff to discuss it, appealing a decision to the Environmental Hearing Board and even going to court.

If there are complaints about consistency, the best way to handle those complaints is to carry out a management-level review of consistency and then train staff, if necessary, Hanger said.

“The idea that the secretary himself and the deputy secretary would presumably review, literally hundreds if not thousands of (notices of violation) before they were issued, when they were not on the site, they didn’t do the inspection, is incredible,” Hanger said. “It’s a new full-time job for the secretary, is what’s going to happen.”

___

Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com

Reposted from: Times Leader

The Marcellus Shale natural gas boom in Pennsylvania has brought both negative and positive attention from drilling companies, media outlets, environmental protection agencies, politicians, and most importantly, concerned citizens.

It is imperative to stay well informed. The following websites provide thorough and up-to-date information regarding various aspects of natural gas drilling:

The Times Leader, which covers news from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to surrounding areas, publishes stories daily concerning natural gas drilling. The Marcellus Shale section can be accessed here. Additionally, they have compiled a database of natural gas drilling leases, which can be found here.

The Times Tribune covers breaking news from the greater Scranton area. Here you can find the most recent articles and news items concerning natural gas drilling. Also provided are two collections of stories. The first, entitled the “Deep Pockets Series” dates back to 2008 and the second, the “Deep Impact Series” covers 2010. The “Gas Drilling Editorials” section provides both editorials and comments from readers that have been published pertaining to Marcellus Shale exploration.

The Times Tribune’s database contains natural gas leases from the following counties:

• Lackawanna;
• Luzerne;
• Wayne; &
• Wyoming.

Search the natural gas lease database here.

In addition, the Times Tribune provides a database to search for various violations issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. This user friendly database allows you to search by choosing from:

• 37 gas companies;
• Nearly 50 municipalities, From Banks to Wayne;
• 13 counties; &
• 9 types of violations, including frack fluid spills, blowouts, and wastewater spills.

Visit the database here.

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: September 7, 2010

TUNKHANNOCK – Four natural gas companies have leased mineral rights to substantial portions of land throughout Wyoming County, and all four have exploratory gas wells under way.

Depending on what those wells produce, the county could be on the brink of a potential natural gas boom.

“It’s beginning. It’s starting,” said Phillip Corey of Carrizo Marcellus LLC.

Carrizo is one of the four Cs: the gas companies most active in Wyoming County. The others are Chesapeake Appalachia LLC; Chief Oil & Gas LLC and Citrus Energy Corp.

The State Department of Environmental Protection’s active well inventory as of Aug. 30 shows wells are in various stages of progress for Carrizo in Washington Township; Chesapeake in Braintrim, Mehoopany, Meshoppen, Northmoreland, Washington and Windham townships; Chief in Forkston, Mehoopany, Monroe and Nicholson townships; and Citrus in Mehoopany and Washington townships.

However, only a few wells have been completed, and in some cases, natural gas production could be months away.

Carrizo: Seeking permits

Corey said Carrizo’s first natural gas well in Wyoming County, in Washington Township, is under way. The drilling rig arrived at the site Aug. 30, he said.

Carrizo also has two drilling sites picked out further south: one on a parcel owned by Barbara Shields in Monroe Township and one on the Sordoni family’s Sterling Farms in Noxen, not far from the Luzerne County border.

Corey didn’t know exactly when operations will commence at those sites, but does anticipate making preparations for drilling before inclement weather sets in, and to be “out drilling some time this winter.”

“We did file for our permits,” he said. “Now we’re waiting on the state to grant the various permits we’re going to need before we can drill.”

Besides permission from DEP, Carrizo will need a highway occupancy permit from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to construct an access road off Route 29 for the Shields site, according to Corey. Carrizo also has to get Wyoming County planning and zoning approval.

Chief: Ready but reviewing

Drilling started on July 7 for Chief Oil & Gas’s first well in Wyoming County, on land owned by the Polovitch family in Nicholson Township. However, it has not yet been hydraulically fractured, Chief Spokeswoman Kristi Gittins said.

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” involves blasting millions of gallons of water deep underground to crack the shale and release the natural gas. Wells must be fracked in order to produce.

Gittins said it could take weeks or even months before the well is fracked. In new areas, Chief typically takes more time after drilling before scheduling the fracking, in order to gather and review information.

“There is no readily available pipeline for Marcellus wells in Wyoming (County) yet either, so even when a well is drilled and fracked and has shown that gas can be produced, it will still be months before any gas gets on a pipeline and off to market and any royalties paid,” she said.

One of the wells permitted and ready to be drilled is on Robert Longmore’s Noxen farm, but it’s too early to determine when work will start, according to Gittins.

“None of them are on the drilling schedule at this time so the earliest would likely be end of this year,” she said.

“But my canned statement is ‘drilling schedules change frequently.’ Bottom line, the wells are permitted and we could move a rig in any time. Moving in a rig to drill is not a process that goes unnoticed, and we are open with our plans and talking to the public about them.”

Chief holds public meetings to introduce the company to the community; it also holds informational meetings with local emergency responders and municipal officials, gives tours of its operations, and has participated with counties in starting gas drilling task force groups, Gittins said.

“Once we know more about our plans in Wyoming (County), we will schedule a community meeting,” she said.

Chesapeake: Preparing

Throughout the summer, Chesapeake has been filing hundreds of leases in the Wyoming County recorder of deeds office.

However, company spokesmen would not comment on future plans for expansion, although they did note that two wells have already been drilled and four more sites are in the works.

DEP records show that drilling started Aug. 27, 2009 on Chesapeake’s Skoronski well in Northmoreland Township, and on March 9 for the company’s Cappucci well in Mehoopany.

“In the coming year, operations in the county are expected to continue,” Brian Grove, Chesapeake’s senior director for corporate development, stated in an e-mail.

Citrus: Squeezing further

Steve Myers, director of Land and Legal Affairs for Citrus, said the company is drilling five wells in the Mehoopany and Washington Township area in partnership with Procter & Gamble, and now is looking to move into Meshoppen. He said Citrus is “just kind of moving out a step away from existing production.”

“We’ll go across the (Susquehanna) river to the west, drill on that side,” Myers said. “We’ll be all over that tri-township area.”

He stressed that expansion will depend upon success.

Looking to Luzerne

Myers confirmed that other natural gas companies, particularly those drilling in the southern municipalities in Wyoming County, are keeping an eye on what happens with Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc.

Encana has started drilling the first of two planned exploratory wells in Luzerne County at a site owned by Edward Buda off Route 118 in Fairmount Township. Site preparation is nearing completion for the second well, on Paul and Amy Salansky’s Zosh Road property in Lake Township.

Geologists, including Penn State professor and Marcellus Shale expert Terry Engelder, say there tends to be less natural gas around anthracite coal-producing areas. Route 118 is generally considered to be the dividing line, below which the natural gas has mostly been “cooked” out of the shale, but above which it is plentiful.

If Encana is successful in drilling so far south, it will encourage other natural gas companies, Myers believes.

But there’s an eastern boundary to watch out for, too: Wayne and Lackawanna counties may not be fruitful, according to Myers.

“There’s a line in there somewhere. As things progress and people drill closer to it, it will have more definition,” he said.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

View article here.

Copyright:  The Citizens Voice

• “There were a lot of people around here who had a nicer Christmas last year because of the gas busines

• “The greatest economic and clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime

• “This is a good thing for us”

Marcellus Shale creating “family-sustaining jobs”: John Moran Jr., president of Moran Industries, described the arrival of the natural gas industry as “a wonderful thing” that will both create “family-sustaining jobs” and lead people to finally “really believe the clouds (have) parted.” He likened the gas industry to “a blessing from God” and predicted a trickle-down effect and creation of new wealth unlike anything seen here since the long-ago lumber era. Heinz said the gas industry brings to the area “unlimited” business and employment opportunities. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 6/23/10)

Responsible Marcellus development benefiting “the mom-and-pops”: “The burst in industrial activity creates new business opportunities and spinoff benefits for established companies, said Marilyn Morgan, president of the Greater Montrose Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve got a lot of entrepreneurs,” she said, including vendors selling food at drilling sites and start-up laundry services cleaning clothes for gas-field workers. “The mom-and-pops are starting to see some economic benefits,” Morgan said. “Restaurants are seeing a difference.” (Towanda Daily-Review, 6/23/10)

Sen. Mary Jo White: Marcellus Shale “the greatest economic, clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime”: “It must be noted that this activity has generated billions of dollars for landowners, including the state, through lease and royalty payments, as well as hundreds of millions of tax dollars through corporate and personal income, sales, fuel and other taxes. … Without question, we must ensure that drilling occurs in a responsible manner. Thanks to increased permitting fees, we now have twice as many permit reviewers and inspectors on the ground than before the Marcellus rush. … The Marcellus Shale presents perhaps the greatest economic and clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/23/10)

Marcellus Shale expanding PA’s workforce, small businesses: “According to Heinz, M-I SWACO initially will employ about 20 to 30 people at or working out of the Moran site, but he predicted the numbers will grow. … Among the employment opportunities are skilled positions for field engineers. Those hired locally will be those with both high school and college degrees, who will train before going out to well sites, according to Heinz. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 6/23/10)

Congressman Joe Pitts: Marcellus Shale will benefit local companies, “reduce energy costs while improving air quality”: “A Penn State University estimate shows that there is now enough gas in the Marcellus Shale to supply the entire U.S. for more than 14 years. Obviously, the Shale is not going to be tapped all at once and will not be the sole source of gas in the U.S., meaning that wells in Pennsylvania will provide a source of natural for decades. It is estimated that natural gas exploration could lead to more than 100,000 jobs statewide. While Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District is not located above the shale,local companies will certainly benefit. … With many Pennsylvanians looking for work we shouldn’t pass up this opportunity to create new jobs. Responsible development of the Marcellus Shale can reduce energy costs while improving air quality. (Pottstown Mercury,6/23/10)

Marcellus Shale generating new jobs, significant revenue for local, regional businesses: “Larry Mostoller’s company moves up to 1 million gallons of water a day for Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. “My company has grown 300 percent in one year.” “I employ 80 percent of my workforce from Susquehanna and Wyoming counties,” he said. “I’m definitely going to go over 100 (employees) this year.” Despite controversy about the economic, environmental and employment impacts of Marcellus Shale natural gas development, the industry generates new jobs and significant revenue for regional businesses. … A recent Penn State University study financed by the gas industry concluded that drilling companies spent $4.5 billion in the state in 2009 and helped create 44,000 jobs. (Citizens Voice, 6/23/10)

Marcellus development helping local school districts, “Taxpayers like the idea”: “A school district in Bradford County is now caught up in the natural gas boom. Towanda Area School District agreed Monday night to a $500,000 gas lease with Chesapeake Energy. … “This is added money that we didn’t have before, new money,” said school board vice president Pete Alesky. … There won’t be big gas drilling rigs on the actual school property. The lease only allows the gas company to drill underneath the land. If the gas company finds gas there, then the school district can make more money by getting 20 percent royalties. “They should get in it. The opportunity is there to get some money and they should get it,” said taxpayer Howard Shaw of Wysox Township. … Taxpayers who talked with Newswatch 16 liked the idea of the district getting the surge of cash. (WNEP-TV, 6/22/10)

Marcellus Shale ‘crop’ sustaining family farms: “Natural gas is a new crop for farmers in many parts of the state. It is harvested thousands of feet below the topsoil. This new revenue it generates has allowed countless farms to stay in business, repair and upgrade their barns and buy new equipment to plant their crops. The lease revenue has saved many farms from development and allowed farmers to invest in modern no-till equipment to farm in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way – both are good for water quality and the environment. (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader LTE, 6/22/10)

Marcellus Shale send rail yards booming, boosting “overall economic development”: “A $500,000 upgrade of the historic rail yard in Fell Twp., which was built in 1825 to help ignite the region’s coal boom, is a good example of the region’s new gas industry’s ability to boost overall economic development and of the growing importance of rail freight to the region. The project will make possible the easy delivery, by rail rather than truck alone, of many of the materials used in the booming Marcellus Shale drilling industry. … The rail yard upgrade is a good example of how to use the gas industry to boost general economic activity. (Scranton Times-Tribune Editorial, 6/22/10)

PA prof.: Marcellus “energy, income, jobs a good thing for us”: “Debate about the economic effect may overlook the impact on the ground, said John Sumansky, Ph.D., an economist at Misericordia University in Dallas. “The burst of energy and income and jobs coming from this spills over to a sector where the economy has been lagging in this region,” Sumansky said. “This is a good thing for us, especially in the fields of transportation and construction.” It is a good thing for Latona Trucking and Excavating Inc., a Pittston company that does well-site preparation and hauls water for Chesapeake. On some days, up to 60 of the company’s 120 employs do gas-related work, said Joseph Latona, company vice president. … “This will probably be our best year ever in business.” (Towanda Daily-Review,6/23/10)

200,000 well-paying jobs will be generated over the next decade: “It is likely, with the continued development of the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale and the aging of the current natural gas industry workforce, that more than 200,000 well-paying jobs will be generated over the next decade, with an even greater number as drilling activity increases. … There is an immediate need for truck drivers/operators, equipment operators, drillers, rig hands, geologists/geophysical staff, production workers, well tenders, engineers, land agents and more. (PA Business Central, 6/22/10)

Marcellus Shale is saving small businesses, allowing folks to have “a nicer Christmas”: “Donald Lockhart sees a big difference over the last two years at his restaurant and gas station in South Montrose along Route 29, a major artery for drilling-related traffic. “We’ve better than tripled our business since last year,” Lockhart said as he sat in a booth in the dining area while a flatbed truck hauling an industrial generator idled outside. “I’m selling more Tastykake than they are in the grocery store.” … “They saved my business by coming here.” … Dozens of small businesses in the Endless Mountains region benefit from gas development, Mostoller said. … “My employees live better because they work in this industry,” Mostoller said. “There were a lot of people around here who had a nicer Christmas last year because of the gas business,” Lockhart said. (Towanda Daily-Review, 6/23/10)

The game-changing resource of the decade: “The extraction of shale natural gas is set to become a major growth industry in the United States. Recently, Amy Myers Jaffa wrote in the Wall Street Journal that natural gas could become “the game-changing resource of the decade.” Already Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Louisiana, and other states are beginning to reap the economic benefits of a natural gas boom. A study by Penn State University predicted that the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania alone will be responsible for the creation of 111,000 jobs and for bringing in an additional $987 million in tax revenue to the state by 2011. Natural gas extraction has been one of few industries growing (without government subsidies) during this recession. (Biggovernment.com Op-Ed, 6/23/10)

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

YOU CAN practically hear the Luzerne County Commissioners yelling: “Eureka! Thar’s treasure in them thar’ hills.”

The trio knows that – much like a century ago – a potential financial bonanza lies below our feet in the form of a coveted fuel. This time, it’s not anthracite.

Instead, companies aim to extract natural gas from deep below Northeastern Pennsylvania’s crust, using new drilling technology to tap a rock formation known as the Marcellus shale. The drillers, and speculators hoping to profit by hoarding land-lease agreements, have knocked on doors throughout the region, promising to put money in the pockets of cooperative property holders.

Luzerne County officials rightly recognize that this region’s (second) energy revolution offers a rare opportunity.

If handled properly, it can provide a much-needed source of relatively inexpensive fuel for home-heating and other purposes. Plus, the industry can be a significant money-maker for private landowners as well as public entities, including the commonwealth (which controls state forests and game lands) and the county.

Pennsylvania’s natural gas boom, therefore, deserves to be handled with extreme care so that current residents and future generations reap the full benefits. The approach will require specialized knowledge of geological, environmental and legal issues, coordination among all involved parties and patience.

With no disrespect intended, this is not a job for the Luzerne County Commissioners to attempt on their own.

Commissioner Greg Skrepenak’s proposal to create a gas exploration task force, which will involve professionals, makes sense in the short term. After studying the issue, however, this task force might decide it’s more sensible to combine efforts with a regional or statewide group that has even more expertise and can leverage the best deals on behalf of the taxpaying public.

The commissioners could vote as soon as Wednesday to request proposals for drilling in the county-owned Moon Lake Park area. What’s the rush? Most advisers have been telling private property owners that there is no need to leap on this bandwagon; indeed, better deals probably can be secured at a later time and by coordinating efforts with surrounding property owners rather than trying to compete with them.

In recent years the county has entered into some poorly arranged contracts, such as the juvenile detention center deal. The stakes are too high to botch this one.

Unfortunately, the current commissioners might see natural gas leases as an easy out – an escape from the burdensome budget deficits that have become all-too typical here in recent years. It would be a mistake, however, to make hasty decisions for short-term gain that could impact this region and its residents for the next century.

Luzerne County

officials rightly recognize that this region’s (second) energy revolution offers a rare opportunity.

Copyright: Times Leader

Gas-drilling leases negotiated in Wyoming County, not coming as quickly here.

TUNKHANNOCK – While Wyoming County landowners are heavily involved in the regional natural-gas boom, almost all Luzerne County landowners are out of luck, at least for now.

“It’s not always fun. There’s going to be some angst, there’s going to be some anxiety,” said Jack Sordoni, who heads Wilkes-Barre-based Homeland Energy Ventures LLC.

Energy companies and geologists have estimated for decades that billions of dollars of natural gas is locked in a layer of rock called Marcellus Shale that runs about a mile underground from upstate New York down to Virginia, including the northern tier of Pennsylvania. Only recently have technological advances and higher energy prices made extracting the gas financially feasible.

Speaking during a meeting Wednesday evening at the Tunkhannock Area High School, the Harveys Lake native said oil companies aren’t yet interested in crossing the county border. He said his family’s land in Wyoming County has been leased, but companies have refused to consider contiguous land across the county line.

However, Chris Robinson, who is brokering leases in Wyoming County for nearly $3,000 per acre and 17 percent royalties, said he’s already leased the western edge of Fairmount Township in northwestern Luzerne County.

Sordoni added that Dallas, Lake and Franklin townships are areas “Chris and I are hearing (about) repeatedly” and are “still very much prospective and in play.”

Luzerne County landowners anxiously awaiting a lease offer probably won’t have to wait long for an answer. Robinson, who’s from Allegheny County, said he planned to continue negotiating leases in the area until the gas companies are no longer interested.

“I don’t think it’s going to take that long. It’s measured in months at most,” he said.

The wait might, however, offer local landowners examples to consider. Unlike other land groups, the Wyoming landowners rolled all their concerns into the lease instead of adding addendums.

“The difference is this is our lease. This is about us,” said Chip Lions, a member of the group who’s now doing lease work.

The meeting was sponsored by Stone House Wealth Management LLC, a Montrose-based financial planning firm that’s advising landowners and selling them investment portfolios. The company, which started the www.nepagas.com Web site, got involved a while ago “because we saw where this was going to go,” said John Burke, an investment adviser with the company.

The good news, Robinson said, is that he can get leases for any property within the companies’ interested regions, no matter the size.

“I can’t tell you how many I’ve signed for 1 acre or less,” he said.

Additionally, he said that while some gas companies might honestly stop leasing, other companies new to the area desperately want in on the drilling rights. And, he said, they can check for clear land titles within five days, contrary to the three months they tell most land groups.

For landowners concerned about environmental problems, he said state agencies are good at watching drillers, noting his own enforcement experiences.

He warned, however, to not go it alone.

“The mass of ground gets people the best deal, period,” he said. “People who break away, you may be penalized and you may be penalizing your neighbors.”

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

Copyright: Times Leader