The education process regarding drilling for gas in the state's Marcellus Shale continued Thursday night in Lawrenceville, where state Sen. Jim Ferlo conducted a town hall meeting on the topic before acknowledging "we all have a lot of homework to do."

A seven-member panel including a gas industry representative as well as opponents discussed the matter before a room of 50 people, with others following via telephone or home computer. The two-hour session also involved a question-and-answer period.

Marcellus Shale has been hailed as one of the state's great natural gifts and a resource that could produce jobs and cheap energy. Critics counter that the drilling process and its aftermath introduce toxic pollutants into the water, soil and air.

Mr. Ferlo, D-Lawrenceville, who has advocated a one-year moratorium on new drilling, opened the meeting by expressing his concerns about the industry's desire to pre-empt local zoning in acquiring and drilling well sites.

Richard Weber, president of Atlas Energy, a Moon-based drilling company, said he and his fellow drilling operators opposed varying zoning regulations, preferring instead to have one set of rules, established by the Department of Environmental Protection, to follow.

He also said his industry is aware of environmental concerns and is working to provide "a legacy that we all can be proud of. Everybody I know wants to do the right thing and do it right.

"Is it benign to the point we won't notice it? Absolutely not. It is a process that does have an impact. But I do think we can manage these processes to really mitigate risk and impact to our communities."

But Nadia Steinzor, a representative of EarthWorks Oil & Gas accountability project, said zoning was "a social justice issue" and "communities should be able to decide what kind of economic development they want."

Morgan K. O'Brien, CEO of Peoples Natural Gas, said Marcellus Shale promises "the biggest economic development opportunity that this region has ever seen. ... We have to get this right. Bring back industry to Western Pennsylvania."

Charles L. Christen, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, questioned the amount of gas that could be recovered, suggesting that the state could be undertaking tremendous risk for a 20-year supply of fuel.

Mr. Weber disagreed with Dr. Christen, saying that studies indicate the gas will be a resource for decades. He also defended his industry's use of chemicals in the water involved in the extraction of the gas.

"Our industry is moving toward recycling our water. We don't dispose of the water; we reuse it," he said. "I recognize that this is a scary topic. I live here, too. I don't want the water in our state to be negatively impacted."

Scott Perry, director of the state DEP Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, took heat from some in the audience who questioned the agency's oversight of the drilling industry.

Mr. Perry said the agency has enacted the most aggressive wastewater discharge limits in the nation and issued citations for environmental violations at 816 of the state's 1,900 Marcellus drilling sites.

Mr. Weber took issue with those totals, however, saying very few of the violations "required any kind of remediation."

James Kunz, business manager with IUOE Local No. 66, said many of the jobs the industry promises are not materializing because the drilling outfits are coming from out of state -- many of them from Texas -- and they bring their own crews to operate the heavy equipment.

During the public comment period, Ron Gulla, who owns 141 acres in Hickory, said he was among the first to agree to allow Marcellus Shale drilling on his land, and he came to regret it. The drillers lied to him and had no respect for his land, he said. A pond on his property is now copper-colored.

"What's going on now is very wrong," he said. "There are cattle that have died. There are farmers whose lives have been turned upside-down."

Mr. Gulla also criticized the DEP, asking Mr. Perry, "What did you do for all those years when the drilling was going on and the state was being contaminated? You said you couldn't keep up, but you kept issuing the permits."

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