"An Executive Decision"

– Straight Talk
by John A. Arway
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission

Article – Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Leasing for Natural Gas

PFBC Property within Marcellus & Utica Shale Region

Frequently Asked Questions

Proposal Information

Operating Statement

Properties Under Agreement
If available, links to feature pages on our website are provided. Other properties can be located on our County Guide.

Non-surface use oil and gas agreement

Donegal Lake
Westmoreland County
—Williams Production Appalachia LLC
Non-surface use oil and gas agreement

Dutch Fork Lake
Washington County
—Range Resources – Appalachia, LLC
Non-Surface use oil and gas agreement

Rose Valley Lake
Lycoming County
—Bigstar Energy, LP
Non-Surface use oil and gas agreement

Trimble and Terrytown Accesses
Bradford County
—Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC
Non-Surface use oil and gas agreement

Water access license

Donegal Lake
Westmoreland County
—Williams Production Appalachia LLC
Water Access agreement
Fact Sheet
John Arway Open House Presentation, August 17, 2011

Pennsylvania’s lakes, rivers and streams provide clean water, aquatic resources, and recreational opportunities for anglers and boaters. All of these contribute to the health and sustainability of the communities within the Commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s (PFBC or Commission) mission is to protect, conserve and enhance aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. This includes helping to achieve a balance between competing land uses, including the extraction of natural gas and managing our lands and waters to protect and sustain them now and for the future.

For information about the permitting of gas wells on private lands, visit the Department of Environmental Protection at www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/
oilgas/new_forms/marcellus/marcellus.htm. For more information about the PFBC’s statewide perspective on Marcellus development and the Commission’s role in the permitting process and environmental enforcement, please visit
http://fishandboat.com/anglerboater/2011ab/
vol80num3_mayjune/08marcellus.pdf.

On March 7, 2011, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission established a non-developmental Natural Gas Leasing Program and a Water Access Program on properties it controls (view press release). This decision is designed to minimize environmental impacts while maximizing revenues and enhancing benefits for all users of the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources.

Under the two programs, projects may be approved on lands or waters when the projects are designed and implemented in such a way that they have little or no negative impact on the resource or property use. The Commission will not enter into natural gas leasing projects which are developmental in nature, meaning it will not permit the installation or use of production wells or any other type of natural gas production equipment on its properties. Under the Water Access Program, the Commission will consider requests to use its property to access, acquire or transport water resources.

Revenues generated from these projects are to be used to fund programs and projects that support the agency’s mission in the form of capital infrastructure improvements, with priority being given to the repair and restoration of the 16 Commonwealth-owned high hazard dams managed by the Commission. For information on the Commission’s high hazard dams, please visit www.fishandboat.com/dams. Other potential projects which may be considered after top priority infrastructure needs are met include habitat restoration and enhancement projects, public access, and innovative environmental research projects.

Executive Director John Arway and the Board of Commissioners have emphasized that the program is particularly significant since the Commission receives no funding from the state’s general fund and relies on fishing licenses, boat registrations, and federal funding tied to fishing and boating to support everything it does.