How does a community proactively plan for the impacts of the
oil and gas industry? This is one of the
most important issues we are exploring with Crawford County while developing
their Comprehensive Plan. Jim
Pashek presented some interesting information to the Crawford County Oil and
Gas Task Force on Friday, February 22nd. Here are a few fun facts that we discovered
while conducting our research for the County’s plan:
- The truck traffic generated by a single drilling site is the weight equivalent of 14,400,000 standard cars using the roadway. Imagine the impact of 14 million cars on the small locally-maintained roads!
- Workers, typically young males that have been transplanted from Oklahoma or Texas, want to live within 13 miles of their worksite. Is there available housing/lodging in your community for these workers? If these workers displace existing residents, are there other housing options available to these residents?
- This is a 24-hour industry and 12-hour shifts are common. How might local businesses change their hours of operation or products to capitalize on the economic opportunities presented by the industry?
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This cross-section
was compiled by Geology.com using data provided by the Energy Information
Administration [1], the United States Geological Survey [2], the Pennsylvania
Geological Survey [3], and the U.S. Department of Energy [4].
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The impacts spread wider than these of course. There are environmental challenges and requests
for information and permits at county and local government offices will
undoubtedly increase. Pashek Associates
and the County are both learning how the impacts of this industry can spread
into many different facets of life in the County.
