Miller: Nat. gas migration could have been avoided

You know the snapshot: a woman puts a match to her kitchen faucet and, as water comes out, there’s a huge flame.

It’s an image that’s been publicized by opponents of natural gas drilling. But state Republican Rep. Ron Miller of York County, says the story has been around for decades.

“Many of my college roommates and friends were from the Northern Tier, and there were stories then of people who could hold a match to their faucet and light the water on fire,” said Miller.  “Natural gas migration exists.  It existed long before the Marcellus gas wells were drilled, long before fracking.”

Natural gas migration is one of the problems Miller says could have been avoided if the state had better rules governing how private water wells are drilled. He’s proposing new construction standards, but similar efforts have failed in the past.

The governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission recommended new rules in its report last summer.