With the onset of an ever-increasing gas boom in our region, the weight of the impact is being considered by many of us with great concern over the future of our community as a whole. Living a stone’s throw from Rt. 664, I have had fi rsthand experience with the increased truck traffic and the safety hazards on our local roads.
The indelible effects of the gas drilling and related activity and its impacts on the local citizens must be honestly assessed. Unfortunately, to a great extent, one of the consequences with the most impact is being ignored and has not been fully appreciated. As many of you may have noticed, the price for renting any type of dwelling has skyrocketed over the last two years. The reason for this is the influx of workers hired by firms related to natural gas drilling. The jobs pay well for that sector of the employed, and since many of them have come from outside the area they immediately put a strain on the rental market, increasing demand and monthly rental fees. This is not a situation unique to Clinton County. It has been observed in communities throughout the country where gas drilling has occurred.
For those who are otherwise employed, wages have not drastically changed, and many I have had conversations with have either had their rent raised or been forced out so a worker employed by a natural gas-related company could move in at a higher rate. A scenario is arising whereby we may see working-homeless families and individuals who have jobs but can no longer afford housing.
With the current state of the overall economy and the increasing cost of basic needs like energy and food, this added burden on the poor and lower middle class in Clinton County is more than unwelcome; it is, in so many cases, the straw breaking the proverbial camel’s back.
The recent news that one of the largest employers in our region, First Quality, will be laying off some of its employees only serves to highlight the effect higher living costs will have on those who find themselves out of a job or dispossessed by a struggling economy.
This is not to say that the drilling activity has not improved the lives of some. Some local businesses have capitalized on new clientele, flush with cash. There are also the handful of local individuals who have been hired to work in the gas industry and have profited from it. However, it is undeniable to any person with even moderate observational skills that a large portion of the work force for the gas industry is imported from elsewhere.
It is an uncomfortable point to interject, that the source of prosperity for some is placing an unrequited burden upon others in the community, but it is necessary to honestly broach the topic before the disparity widens and further polarizes the citizenry.
Our state Constitution says that the Commonwealth “shall conserve and maintain” our public natural resources “for the benefit of all the people.” In a county where most of the drilling is occurring on public land and so many are forced to live with the impacts on infrastructure, housing costs, and other numerous inconveniences without any individual return, it can assuredly be purported that the current situation is not benefiting all citizens and is, in fact, going a step further and causing actual harm to a large number of persons.
This argument is the basis for a severance tax or an impact fee on the gas industry. It is not right for some to profit at the expense of their neighbors’ quality of life. Indeed, it is not only irresponsible to ignore the current situation, but collectively immoral for any of us to tolerate it.
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