Gas Drillers Pay Penn State to Train Gas Drilling Regulators (!)

[blue neen]

"What happens when the fox builds the hen house?"

"The drilling industry helped get some of the most influential lawmakers elected with lavish donations to their campaigns. It paid millions to lobbyists to influence legislation, and it has hired many of the experienced regulators away from public service."

"Now the industry will pay to train the people who set policy and enforce it."

"ExxonMobil and GE will be investing $1 million each to establish new training programs at three universities, including Penn State, “to ensure that regulators and policymakers have access to the latest technological and operational expertise to assist in their oversight of shale development,” according to a Penn State press release issued Thursday."

"The other schools are the University of Texas at Austin and the Colorado School of Mines."

"With money from the drilling industry, Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research will offer a new Shale Gas Regulators Training Program to provide “best-practices training” to people who oversee the drilling industry."

"The center’s co-director, Tom Murphy, said in a press release the program will “offer new regulators the chance to learn the latest science-based concepts related to geology, petroleum technology and environmental quality.”

"Until now, Murphy had maintained that the Marcellus Center operated free and clear of industry funding."

"Murphy did not return a message left on his cellphone Thursday afternoon."

"Nor did the Penn State office of communications return a call seeking comment."

"GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in the release he thought “smart regulation” was a key “to America leading the world in shale-gas development.”

"According to the release, GE produces nearly 40 technologies for the shale-gas sector in areas such as mobile and fixed water filtration, flare-gas capture and reuse, cleaner on-site power generation, and “demand-side solutions that create liquefied or compressed natural gas for use in truck fleets and other areas.”

"Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest nongovernment-owned energy company, said, “Americans rightly want to know that these resources are being produced safely and responsibly.”

"State regulators are skeptical."

"Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Kevin Sunday said the agency would have to evaluate the proposed curriculum to determine “if enforcement personnel would benefit from the training.”

"He said the DEP has “a very knowledgeable, well-trained staff, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t make the program stronger.”

"Public Utility Commission spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher said that agency would also scrutinize whether the industry-sponsored training would be appropriate."

"It would not, she said, replace the federally mandated Oklahoma City safety training required of PUC regulators."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/gas_drilling_industry_paying_p.html

[PA Democrat]

1. PA's colleges and universities have been Corbetted big time.

First Corbett brutally slashes their funding and then they go looking for alternate sources of funding by selling their souls to corrupt corporate interests.

What next? The Monsanto School of Agriculture?

[blue neen]

2. Next at Penn State: The Rick Santorum School of Women's Studies

Would it really be so surprising?

[HopeHoops]

3. As much as I don't like it, there actually is some logic in there.

If nothing else, at least they're paying SOMETHING. Still, the frackers own Corbett, and buying him was a good investment for them.

[blue neen]

4. I feel that it's tainted money.

The Gas Drillers are training people to do exactly what the drillers want, in the name of education at Penn State! This is chump change for them.

We cannot let them regulate themselves. It's like putting a 3 year old in a candy store with no supervision.

[HopeHoops]

5. Corbett's slashed the education part of the budget. He's a sell out.

If the "Gov"'s owners pony up, at least they're paying SOMETHING!