PA Fish & Boat Commission to Host Special Session on Marcellus Shale

News Release

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will hold its fall quarterly meeting on Oct. 4-5 at the Genetti Hotel and Suites in Williamsport. In addition to the regular meeting, the PFBC will host a special public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Genetti to discuss water quality issues surrounding the Marcellus Shale drilling industry.

The evening session allows members of the public who cannot attend during normal business hours the opportunity to hear about current issues and to interact with Commissioners, the executive director and agency staff. Titled “Water Quality and Marcellus Shale: An Aquatic Resource Perspective,” the evening meeting will feature several guest speakers.

The agenda includes:

• Welcome – John Arway, PFBC Executive Director
• Pine Creek Water Dogs – Jerry Walls, Retired Director, Lycoming County Planning Commission
• In-Stream Data Loggers – Len Lichvar, District Manager, Somerset Conservation District and PFBC Commissioner
• Perspectives, Concerns, and Responses of a Municipal Water Supply – Walt Nicholson, Interim Executive Director, Williamsport Sanitary Authority and Williamsport Municipal Water Authority
• Fish and Boat Commission Roles, Observations, and Recommendations – Tom Kamerzel, PFBC Director of Law Enforcement, and Mark Hartle, Chief, Aquatic Resource Section, Division of Environmental Services, PFBC
• Closing Remarks – Bill Worobec, President, PFBC Board of Commissioners

Commission committees will meet beginning at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 4, and again at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5. Formal consideration of the agenda by the full Commission will begin at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5. All committee meetings and the formal meeting are open to the public. Commissioners will address a variety of issues during Tuesday’s formal meeting, including property acquisitions in Huntingdon and Blair counties; boating regulation changes; and a final rulemaking order to prohibit the collection of live, freshwater mussels. A complete copy of the meeting schedule and the full agenda for the meeting can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.fishandboat.com/minutes.htm.

The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.