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Pennsylvania Fracking Law Opens Up Drilling On College Campuses

Posted by Soulskill on from the freshman-hazing-just-got-entertaining dept.

PolygamousRanchKid writes with this news from MotherJones: "Last year, when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett suggested offsetting college tuition fees by leasing parts of state-owned college campuses to natural gas drillers, more than a few Pennsylvanians were left blinking and rubbing their eyes. But it was no idle threat: After quietly moving through the state Senate and House, this week the governor signed into law a bill that opens up 14 of the state's public universities to fracking, oil drilling, and coal mining on campus. Environmentalists and educators are concerned that fracking and other resource exploitation on campus could leave students directly exposed to harms like explosions, water contamination, and air pollution."

10 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Learn to spin news like this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We're not opening up the college campuses to resource exploitation. We're expanding our engineering program and our geology program. New fields of study to include Mine Safety Engineer, Gas Well Engineer, Resource Geology, Mining and Mineral Engineering, and more! Internships right on campus! Sorry for the coal dust on the windows.

    1. Re:Learn to spin news like this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Medical pathology students could also benefit from this.

    2. Re:Learn to spin news like this... by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Everybody in America who cares about their health should make it a point to live as far away from exploitable natural resources as possible

      I see you've chosen to live as far away from the natural resource of rationality as you can.

      In third world countries, living near resources should be a boon--a ticket out of poverty. What usually happens though is some multinational corporation comes in, aided by a corrupt government

      There we go. Complaining about tea partiers when the real problems you complain about are the same problems that the tea partiers are complaining about.

      Advocating for no government as a solution for a corrupt government makes about as much sense as proposing decapitation to cure a headache.

      The tea partiers are idiots who are going to solve government corruption by making it legal.

  2. Only in the US by Arancaytar · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can imagine how this conversation went.

    "So, does anyone have any suggestions how we can fuck over the country's college students some more?"

    "I don't know, we're already indebting them for most of their adult lives. How do you top that?"

    "Hey, I have an idea, but it's kinda far-fetched..."

  3. Isn't this the same state... by nuclearhazzard327 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I recall correctly isn't PA the state with the ever burning coal mine fire? I think it was called Centrailia or something. Let's open up college campuses to mining as well. I'm sure putting a mine on the same property as drunk frat boys is a brilliant plan.

    1. Re:Isn't this the same state... by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Interestingly the start of the Centralia coal fire had nothing to do with mining activities. The local town managers had the brainstorm that setting the local landfill on fire would be a positive clean-up step. Unfortunately there was a natural coal outcropping in the landfill which caught and spread underground, eventually making it into the mines.

  4. Look on the bright side... by matunos · · Score: 4, Funny

    This isn't the worst thing to happen on Pennsyvalnia college grounds.

  5. This is nothing new by Mononoke · · Score: 4, Informative

    State University systems can own thousands of acres of land not actually being used as campus land. A large portion of the University of Texas's income comes from leases operated on UT-owned land. In fact, there is an entire entity solely dedicated to handing this for UT: University Lands. It's unlikely that Pennsylvania is looking to lease Campus Commons areas. More likely they are simply making it possible for unused land owned by the system to bring in funds for the State University System.

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  6. Re:Coal mining? by scum-e-bag · · Score: 4, Informative

    Coal mining is completely different to seam gas extraction.
    Coal mining removes the coal.
    Seam gas extraction leaves the coal seam in-situ.
    Seam gas extraction extracts water that is within the seam, this water contains gas, the gas is separated from the water.

    The size of an exploration pad is nothing more than 30x30m, including all the equipment.
    The size of a production drill pad for CSG extraction is nothing more than 2 basketball courts.

    At least, this is how it works in my part of the world... and seriously, in Central Queensland (Australia) we have boat loads of the stuff.

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  7. Re:LOL, welcome to united states of hurrdurr by Troyusrex · · Score: 5, Informative

    Any land owned by the University system is part of the "campus".

    No, son. "Any land owned by the University system" is not considered part of the "campus".

    I won't argue what "campus" means but, the bill never mentions "campus". here' the text of the bill:

    Senate Bill 367 (P.N. 2349) – This bill establishes the Indigenous Mineral Resource Development Act, allowing the Department of General Services to make and execute contracts or leases for the mining or removal of coal, oil, natural gas, coal bed methane and limestone found in or beneath land owned by the state or state system of higher education.

    In other words, the article from Mother Jones was entirely misleading making people think of gas rigs next to dormitories when, in reality, the bill opened up all state lands pending government approval. Typical Mother Jones scare tactics.